Athanata Arts

Poetic Amusement - Reviewed

American Book Review has just published a glowing review of Ray Hammond's Poetic Amusement. I've been mentioning Ray's work in this book, especially his theory of the Muse, for years. Read what reviewer Daniel Leary has to say in the online version at Project Muse.

Arcadia - Review & Reflections

If you haven't seen it already, catch Tom Stoppard's theatrical masterpiece, Arcadia, on Broadway before it closes on June 19th. Then join me for an afternoon of review, reflections, and comments on this classic of contemporary theatre.

Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Time: 12 Noon - 3pm

Location: Manhattan location will be emailed to you following registration

Tuition: $65.00 (includes light lunch)

We're sold out! 

HH Dalai Lama on Creativity

HH Dalai Lama on Creativity at Emory University, October 19, 2010, via YouTube:

Fall Classes - Shakespeare & the Revenge Play

Fall Classes with Peter Arcese:

Shakespeare & the Revenge Play: Why So Much Blood, Guts & Gore?

What kind of a person would write such bloody plays & why?

• Was Shakespeare pandering to the insatiable Elizabethan appetite for blood?
• Was Shakespeare inciting racism for profit?
• Or was Shakespeare trying to show us a better way to live?

We can learn more about Shakespeare from reading his plays than by reading his biographies. By saturating his audience with visions of violence, he prompted them (and us) to imagine paths to peace and justice. Reading the following three plays, we can discover Shakespeare as a humanitarian who used the conventions of bloody entertainment to overcome the basic human desire for vengeance and the destructive distortions of prejudice.

Titus Andronicus (1593/94): a tragedy of human depravity
The Merchant of Venice (1596/1600): a sinister comedy of cold reason
The Tempest (1610/23): a romance of cruelty & compassion

Five sessions, Tuesdays 2-4pm: 9/21, 10/12, 10/26, 11/16, 12/7
Location: NYC Bar Association, 42 West 44th St (between 5th & 6th Avenues)

$145 for the series, $35 per individual session

Course Selections

All 5 sessions $145.00 Session 1 - 9/21 $35.00 Session 2 - 10/12 $35.00 Session 3 - 10/26 $35.00 Session 4 - 11/16 $35.00 Session 5 - 12/7 $35.00

Poetic Amusement - Just Published!

I am pleased, make that thrilled, to announce the publication of Poetic Amusement by Ray Hammond. Now you no longer have to be afraid to ask "Where do poems come from?" I've been referring to Ray's work in this book for years. Now you can read the complete argument for yourself. Here is the book description:

Originally written in 2000 as his Master’s thesis, Raymond P. Hammond’s Poetic Amusement has been passed around underground as a digital file for ten years among those associated with The New York Quarterly. As provocative today as it was when it was written, what began as Hammond’s observations of the influence of “po’ biz” and writing programs on contemporary American poetry became a timeless treatise on poetry itself. Using his experience with NYQ and devouring many literary critics across the ages from the ancient Greeks to contemporary critics, Hammond examines at once both our current literary environment and the essence of poetry. In seeking to answer the questions “What is poetry?” and “Where does poetry come from?” for himself, he encourages readers to ask those questions for and of themselves as well. Relevant and accessible to readers and writers of poetry and to those who think they don’t know or want to know what poetry is, Poetic Amusement will anger, elevate and inspire all those who read it.

Available at Amazon and Barnes&Noble now!

Introducing ABC Alley

Our new children's book imprint will be bringing out its first title: Someday... by Penny Schnee-Bosch and David Bosch (publication date, September 30, 2010). Read about it at ABC-Alley.com!

Caterina Xiroyanni

It is with deep sadness we mourn the loss of Caterina Xiroyanni. A true actor, she gave us inspired and dedicated performances in our productions of William Packard's Behind the Eyes, and Shakespeare's, Under the Greenwood Tree: Reading As You Like It. Her generosity extended well beyond in friendship, work, and support. We will miss her.

December Classes on Close Reading

Brush up on your close reading skills between Thanksgiving and the Holidays!

Two Classes: December 9th & 16th. Register here (classes limited to 7 participants each).

Learn: The key to The Tempest in one line. The key to "Stopping By Woods" in one word.

Close reading allows you to discover the meaning of a text through precise attention to its structure and patterns. It is a method of reading that stimulates interest and knowledge in interpreting literature. We introduced the literary art of close reading over the Summer as part of the Literature as a Life Practice class. In these classes we will apply this method to these literary classics by Shakespeare and Frost.

Deeper than Dante

Peter Arcese reads his poem from The New York Quarterly #65
(Explicit language. Mature audiences only.)

August Classes!

SOLD OUT! - PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR ADDITIONAL CLASSES

Save the dates if you'll be in town! For two Monday evenings this August 17th & 24th, I will be offering a special private class in Midtown, from 6:30 - 8:30pm. Attendance in strictly limited to 5 members.

The topic for 8/17 is: 5 Big Questions Every Great Book Answers 
The topic for 8/24 is: Literature as a Life Practice I

Registration

Descriptions, details, & tuition info to follow. If you are certain right now that you would like to attend and wish to reserve a seat, please email me at pvarcese@athanata.com. I will reply with information and a registration link. I will honor registrations in the order received and completed. Hope to see you this month! -Peter Arcese

What's Google up to?

You may want to keep an eye on Google's influence on the role of the digital book. See this recent NY Times article. Readers, authors, publishers, and lawyers are all involved in this one.

Peter Arcese reading at Cornelia Street Cafe on 2/16

Peter Arcese will be reading his poetry for the New York Quarterly's Reading Series at the Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia Street, NYC 10014) on Monday, February 16th at 6pm. To find us there click the Map & Directions (will open up new window).

NYQ Issue 64 & Hammond Interview

Just released & now available through Amazon:
The New York Quarterly, Number 64

For more details on titles and poets, see the
NYQ Issue 64 page.

Also posted today, a major interview with NYQ editor  Raymond Hammond by Abbeville Press.

Relearn your ABC's

Coming up next, we will be presenting a course of study following Ezra Pound's classic ABC of Reading. The course will be hosted by Peter Arcese & Ray Hammond online combined with in-person class meetings.

Check back for dates, times, location and registration information.

Poetry Workshop - June 14th

Bringing Poetry to Life!
A Full-Day Workshop for Writers, Performers, and Readers
With Peter Arcese & Ray Hammond

Date: June 14, 2008
Time: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Location: Weist-Barron Studios, 35 West 45th, 6th Flr (b/t 5th & 6th Aves)
Tuition: $125, $75 for NYU, HB students, & NYQ subscribers

Register online or at the door.  Since this workshop is limited to 15 participants only, we strongly encourage you to pre-register.

Pre-Register Here

Packard on YouTube

We recently found this video clip of William Packard on YouTube. He's being interviewed at the 1987 New York Book Fair while supporting his novel, Saturday Night at San Marcos.

Ira at Garden City Community Club, March 12th

Ira Joe Fisher will be hosted by the Garden City Community Club at the Garden City Casino on Wednesday, March 12th at 1:30pm for a reading from Some Holy Weight in the Village Air.

Read the announcement in the Garden City News

Location: 51 Cathedral Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530
Yahoo Map

For more information: 516-746-0488

Brooklyn Book Festival

Come to the Brooklyn Book Festival this Sunday, September 16th. Ray Hammond & I will be there representing the New York Quarterly and Athanata Arts, Ltd. at table number 94.

Ira Joe Fisher in Little Valley - June 23 & 24

"Hometown boy makes good ... poetry." Ira recently returned to Little Valley and presented a reading from Some Holy Weight in the Village Air. Here are links to photos of the event:

Ira at Little Valley 1

Ira at Little Valley 2

Brilliant Minds - Fall 2007

The Brilliant Minds book list for Fall 2007 is posted on the Brilliant Minds blog.