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 and Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, will host a marathon reading of Hart Cranes The Bridge on May 19 at Pier 1s Granite Prospect. The event, organized in cooperation with local poet and magazine editor Adam Fitzgerald, will begin at 3 pm and will honor Crane, a one-time resident of Brooklyn Heights. The reading will also pay 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 briefly inhabited 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 neighborhood residents Hart Crane and Washington Roebling is very exciting for us, said Nancy Webster, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. The park has an incredibly rich history and we are constantly finding new ways to highlight these fascinating connections. We are very much looking forward to working with Liveright, Adam Fitzgerald, and all the poets who are coming in from across the country to read from The Bridge, said Alison Hughes, Director of Programs at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. Bringing people together to celebrate Brooklyns histo ry with the arts will provide a one-of-a-kind experience for all park visitors. There wouldnt be a New York City without the Brooklyn Bridge, nor an American poetry without Hart Crane, said Adam Fitzgerald. Im beyond honored to gather these contemporary poets and scholars, from four different generations, all with 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 the Brooklyn Bridge. Before its conclusion in Atlantis, which returns to the bridge at midnight, Crane touches upon the legacies of Rip Van Winkle, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Isadora Duncan, the Wright Brothers, the African 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 a reception and book signing. Full Event Details Sunday May 19 3 PM Granite Prospect Pier 1, Old Fulton and Furman Streets Click here for a full lineup http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/events/calendar/brooklyn-bridge-130th-anniversary-poetry

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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 out as grassroots advocates, bringing together residents, government, and local supporters to transform an abandoned waterfront into the park you see today. Now as the parks lead steward, we work in partnership with Brookly n Bridge Park Corporation to ensure that the park reaches its full potential as a dynamic and vibrant public space for Brooklyn, New York City, and beyond. With your help, the Conservancy produces diverse and innovative programming for park visitors and cultivates volunteer and philanthropic support of this special place on the Brooklyn waterfront. Since 2000, more than 800,000 visitors have enjoyed the Conservancys free, public programs in the beginnings of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

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 1.3 miles along Brooklyns East River shoreline. The self -sustaining park was designed by the award-winning firm of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. and features expansive lawns, waterfront promenades, innovative playgrounds, a greenway, 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 John Irwin among others. In 2007, the Library of America recognized Cranes accomplishment thro ugh the publication of Hart Crane: The Complete Poems & Selected Letters, edited by Langdon Hammer. About Adam Fitzgerald Adam Fitzgerald is the author of The Late Parade, the first debut collection of poetry from Liveright Publishing Corporation since Hart Cranes own White Buildings in 1926.