Come for a celebration for a book with not one but six contributing authors from St. John’s!
Oceanic New York, edited by Steve Mentz, began as a symposium at St. John’s in the fall of 2013, and has recently appeared as an open-source book. (Follow the link for a free ebook download or order a reasonably priced paperback copy — and support Punctum Books and open-access publishing if you can!)
The book features the brilliant writings of three recent graduates of the St John’s MA program. Dean Kritikos gives the book a poetic essay that brings Jean-Paul Sartre to “New York, Oceanic City.” Bailey Robertson’s “City by the Sea” describes her salt-water infused home in Long Beach, NY. Matt Zazzarino explores the virtual ocean in “Super Ocean 64.”
The book also contains essays by three SJU faculty members. Elizabeth Albert from Discover New York and Fine Arts describes the adventurous research that led to her gallery show, Silent Beaches, inside which the symposium first gathered. G. Ganter of the English department describes the waterworld of Long Island City. Steve Mentz contributes an essay on swimming in the Hudson River as well as connecting poems and some introductory “Instructions: How to Use this Book.”
The party will be held in the Melville Gallery at the South Street Seaport Museum, 213 Water Street, Manhattan, from 7 – 9 pm. The event will be supported by St. John’s English department and by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Our co-hosts will be Underwater New York, a wonderfully salty online literary magazine.
Please come to celebrate with us!
Here is a link to the ONY Party Flyer for the event, which you should also see around St. John’s in the coming weeks.
Feel free to contact Steve Mentz with any questions or just to let him know that you’re coming!
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