Walt Whitman Birthplace Association (WWBA) presents  “Walking With Whitman: Poetry in Performance,” hosted by Writer-in-Residence George Wallace. The signature series, now in its 13th season, continues to bring the most intriguing figures in contemporary literature on the national scene paired with local poets on the Walt Whitman Stage.

Friday, March 3rd Walking With Whitman will feature Valery Oisteanu, author of 18 books of poetry, a book of short fiction:” The King of Penguins” (Linear Art Press, 2000) and a book of essays (in progress):” The AVANT-GODS and Stefanie Maura, whose poems have appeared in anthologies and journals including: Southword, Long Island Quarterly, Big City Lit, Silver Birch Press, and Token Entry: New York City Subway Poems. Join us for this exciting event!

Refreshments will be served. No registration is required. There is a $10 entry fee for this event that will be collected at the door or can be paid in advance, see below.

Valery Oisteanu is a poet, writer, and artist of the avant-garde. Born in USSR (1943) and educated in Romania. He debuted as a poet with the collection PROSTHESIS in 1970(Litera Press, Bucharest). At the age of 20, he adopted Dada and Surrealism as a philosophy of art and life and a few years later English as his primary language. Immigrating to New York City in 1972 he has been writing in English for the past 50 years. He is the author of 18 books of poetry, a book of short fiction:” The King of Penguins” (Linear Art Press, 2000) and a book of essays (in progress):” The AVANT-GODS.  Two new books are just out: In the Blink of a Third Eye (Spuyten Duyvil Press NYC 2020) and Perks in Purgatory (translated in Romanian) Itaca Publishing Dublin 2020 & was chosen best poetry book of the year in Dublin. Over the last 10 years he wrote art criticism for Brooklyn Rail, artnet.com, Whitehot Magazine, and NY Arts. He is also a contributing writer for French, Spanish & Romanian art and literary magazines (La Page Blanche, Art.es, Viata Romanesca, Observatorul Cultural, Artout.ro, levurelitteraire.com, etc) As an artist he exhibits collages and assemblages on a regular basis at galleries in New York and also creates collages as covers and illustrations for books and magazines. He has performed in theater and in poetry-musical collaborations with jazz artists from all over the world in sessions known as Jazzoetry. His work has appeared in international surrealist publications of the last four decades, including: Dream Helmet (1978), What Will Be (Brumes Blondes, 2014) Phala (Sao Paulo, Brazil), The Annual (Phasm Press, 2015) etc

Member of Poets and Writers, Inc. New York (1977-2022)

Founding member of PASS (Poets and Artists Surrealist Society) 1977-2022

“It’s the end of the World as we know it” Award (Vault Literary Society) 2000 award for exceptional cutting edge artists who constantly take risks with their art)

Awarded:  Gold Chivot order of the Chevalier of the Castel for the dissemination of Romanian Avant-Garde in Diaspora, 2010, Republic of Prose Readers, London

Recipient of the Kathy Acker Award, NYC, 2013, for contribution to the American avant-garde in Poetry Performance.

Stefanie Maura is a poet, librarian, and founder of the Writing Yoga® method. Her poems have appeared in anthologies and journals including: Southword, Long Island Quarterly, Big City Lit, Silver Birch Press, and Token Entry: New York City Subway Poems. She has facilitated workshops at Hofstra University, Queens College, the New York City Open Center and at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. She was the co-host of Poetry at Cedarmere for several years and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens College. Read more at www.StefanieMaura.com.

Make a meaningful gift to support our poetry programs:  https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2197152

This program is made possible with funds from NY State Parks, Suffolk County, Town of Huntington, and NYS Council on the Arts through Huntington Arts Council.