Bryant Park

What a lovely afternoon this turned out to be. I'm in NYC after spending the afternoon in Bryant Park with Teresa Carson and Dawn Potter for the Word for Word lunchtime reading series. 

(L to R, me, Teresa Carson, Dawn Potter)

(Dawn Potter)

Traffic from Massachusetts to New York was brutal, but despite my late arrival the reading was terrific and the rain held off. The Reading Room now has this wonderful tent. 

The midday event and series is dedicated to 50th anniversary of Frank O'Hara's Lunch Poems, so we each read selections from this wonderful book. I had the good fortune to read "A Step Away from Them," which was cool because O'Hara mentions the poem takes place on a Thursday, among other reasons why it's a cool poem. Seemed fitting for the moment. Teresa read "Personal Poem" while Dawn read "Ave Maria." Great selections.

(After the reading.)

Reading in Bryant Park makes you feel as if you're reading in the center of the universe. So much chaos going on around you. I loved when passersby stopped to listen for a few minutes, and then moved on.

This may be my favorite part of this outdoor space: the ping pong tables!

Just a lovely, lovely afternoon. Thanks to Teresa and Dawn for including me.