7/30/2019 BK Bridge Anniversary

1/2

Contact: Rachel Fletcher, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

rfletcher@brooklynbridgepark.org, 718-802-0603

For Immediate Release

Brooklyn Bridge 130th Anniversary Poetry Reading

23 renown American poets and scholars to share the stage at Brooklyn Bridge Park reciting Hart

Cranes epic poem The Bridge

BROOKLYN, May 2, 2013 The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Park andLiveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, will host a marathon reading of Hart Cranes TheBridgeon May 19 at Pier 1s Granite Prospect. The event, organized in cooperation with local poet and magazine editorAdam Fitzgerald, will begin at 3 pm and will honor Crane, a one-time resident of Brooklyn Heights. The reading will alsopay tribute to the 130th anniversary of the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. Crane's brief life is forever linked to his beloved Brooklyn Bridge and, to add to the intrigue of the poem, Crane brieflyinhabited the apartment owned by Washington Roebling, one of the bridge's engineers. To have an event that celebrates an iconic landmark the Brooklyn Bridge as well as two iconic neighborhoodresidents Hart Crane and Washington Roebling is very exciting for us, said Nancy Webster, Executive Director of theBrooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. The park has an incredibly rich history and we are constantly finding new ways tohighlight these fascinating connections. We are very much looking forward to working with Liveright, Adam Fitzgerald, and all the poets who are coming in fromacross the country to read from The Bridge, said Alison Hughes, Director of Programs at the Brooklyn Bridge ParkConservancy. Bringing people together to celebrate Brooklyns history with the arts will provide a one-of-a-kindexperience for all park visitors. There wouldnt be a New York City without the Brooklyn Bridge, nor an American poetry without Hart Crane, said AdamFitzgerald. Im beyond honored to gather these contemporary poets and scholars, from four different generations, allwith such various intellectual passions, as we give voice to my very favorite poet at this historic location for the Bridges

birthday.

The Bridge opens with the oft-anthologized To Brooklyn Bridge, the epics preface, set at dawn on theBrooklyn Bridge. Before its conclusion in Atlantis, which returns to the bridge at midnight, Crane touches upon thelegacies of Rip Van Winkle, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Isadora Duncan, the Wright Brothers, theAfrican American experience of slavery and blues music, as well as many other iconic American figures and events. Bookcourt, based in Cobble Hill, will be onsite selling select publications of the poets. The event will be followed by areception and book signing. Full Event DetailsSunday May 193 PMGranite ProspectPier 1, Old Fulton and Furman StreetsClick here for a full lineuphttp://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/events/calendar/brooklyn-bridge-130th-anniversary-poetry

### About the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy has worked for over 25 years to bring Brooklyn Bridge Park to life. We started outas grassroots advocates, bringing together residents, government, and local supporters to transform an abandonedwaterfront into the park you see today. Now as the parks lead steward, we work in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge ParkCorporation to ensure that the park reaches its full potential as a dynamic and vibrant public space for Brooklyn, New YorkCity, and beyond. With your help, the Conservancy produces diverse and innovative programming for park visitors andcultivates volunteer and philanthropic support of this special place on the Brooklyn waterfront. Since 2000, more than800,000 visitors have enjoyed the Conservancys free, public programs in the beginnings of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/events/calendar/brooklyn-bridge-130th-anniversary-poetryhttp://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/events/calendar/brooklyn-bridge-130th-anniversary-poetryhttp://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/events/calendar/brooklyn-bridge-130th-anniversary-poetry

7/30/2019 BK Bridge Anniversary

2/2

About Brooklyn Bridge Park Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, known as Brooklyn Bridge Park, is the not-for-profit entity responsible for the planning,construction, maintenance and operation of Brooklyn Bridge Park, an 85-acre sustainable waterfront park stretching 1.3miles along Brooklyns East River shoreline. The self-sustaining park was designed by the award-winning firm of MichaelVan Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. and features expansive lawns, waterfront promenades, innovative playgrounds, agreenway, sports facilities and the popular Janes Carousel. About Hart Crane Hart Crane has been the subject of numerous scholarly essays and biographies by Harold Bloom, Paul Mariani and JohnIrwin among others. In 2007, the Library of America recognized Cranes accomplishment through the publication ofHartCrane: The Complete Poems & Selected Letters, edited by Langdon Hammer. About Adam Fitzgerald Adam Fitzgerald is the author ofThe Late Parade, the first debut collection of poetry from Liveright Publishing Corporationsince Hart Cranes own White Buildings in 1926.