First Tuesdays Presents Celest Woo

Celestine Woo is an English teacher at Trevor Day School on the Upper East Side. She began her career as a professor of English at various colleges in New York and Colorado. She then transitioned to teaching high school in the Bard High School Early College network, in Harlem and Newark, NJ. At Bard, she taught English and French for 9 years, before moving to her current school. She has published scholarly work as well as fiction, memoir, and poetry, both in print and online. Her academic specialties include Shakespeare performance history, British Romanticism, Asian American Literature, and Children’s/Young Adult Literature. Her first poetry chapbook, Burnished Sol, was published by Pudding House, and explores themes of cross-cultural conflict and religious oppression. Her first full-length poetry book, Frost Fair Dance, was published by Clare Songbirds Publishing House, and explores two of her favorite themes: dance and winter. Currently, she is nearing completion of a book-length memoir about growing up in, and coming away from, a very restrictive religious background. She has been a modern dancer for over thirty years, and a choreographer. She has had several poems included in the anthologies of dance-themed poetry published by Imagination Press, edited by Johnny M. Tucker. She lives in Westchester. An open mic precedes the feature. Signup starts at 6:30.