Michael Cirelli Features [1]
P&W–supported presenter of literary events Michael Cirelli, author of Lobster With Ol' Dirty Bastard, Vacations on the Black Star Line, and Everyone Loves The Situation, blogs about his experience as a P&W–supported poet.
As I began to get a steady hold on the roller coaster that is nonprofit management, while still finding time to engage NYC's rich literary scene, I quickly realized that not only did Urban Word NYC [3] benefit from P&W’s Readings/Workshops [4] program, but I would personally benefit from P&W support.
I was asked to read at the P&W–supported Parachute Literary Festival in Coney Island. The coolest thing about the reading was that it was held at the New York Aquarium [5] in front of a wall-to-ceiling sized tank of glowing jellyfish! So, while I read poems about robots, the jellyfish floated behind me looking like spaceships. Fitting. It was an incredible event and the venue made it extremely memorable—not to mention The Cyclone [6] roller coaster and Totonno’s Pizza down the block.
My trajectory crossed paths with another amazing P&W–supported reading, The Inspired Word [7] series. What made this event special, aside from it being a great weekly open mic and feature, was that I was reading as a contributor to Best American Poetry 2011. My former professor and friend, poet David Lehman [8], hosted the reading and it was an honor to read with esteemed poets.
Being in NYC, the circles seem to get smaller and smaller. What once seemed like a dream, slowly became a reality that always seemed to be connected to P&W. I couldn’t have imagined ten years ago that one day I’d be part of a P&W–supported reading for Best American Poetry...
Photo: Michael Cirelli. Credit: Syreeta McFadden.
Support for Readings/Workshops [4] in New York City is provided, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts [9], and the Department of Cultural Affairs [10], with additional support from the Louis & Anne Abrons Foundation, the Axe-Houghton Foundation, the A.K. Starr Charitable Trust, and Friends of Poets & Writers [11].