On a pleasant Thursday evening 6BC was host to trombonist Art Baron and band. They were performing as part of City Parks Foundation's 25th Charlie Parker Jazz festival. The event was held in association with the Jazz Foundation of America and Ariana's List. Ariana is a former long-time member of 6BC. We had a great turn-out. Thanks to all who stopped by!                              

On a steamy Saturday afternoon in July, Phillip Giambri aka "The Ancient Mariner" & friends read their poetry in our garden. At times moving, passionate, powerful and just plain great, these bards lived up to their moniker of "the silver-tongued devils". We hope they will return soon! 

READERS:

John T. Trigonis is a poet and spoken word artist living in Jersey City, working in NYC, and through it all he somehow manages to breathe new life into old literary forms on a daily basis. He's the author of numerous chapbooks and has been raised Right on coffee, comics, and red wine since '78.

Linda Kleinbub is a committee member at Girls Write Now, an organization that works with at-risk high school girls who are interested in writing. She’s co-founder of Pen Pal Poets. Her work has appeared in The New York Observer, The Brooklyn Rail, Yahoo! Beauty, Front Porch Commons, Grabbing the Apple: An Anthology of New York Woman Poets, First Literary Review East, The Nassau County Poet Laureate Society Anthology 2016 and The Best American Poetry Blog. She is a painter and organic gardener. She’s working on her first collection of poetry. 

Every Sunday morning Kevin Becker would wake up at 6 a.m. to scrub the tavern his father owned. After cleaning, his mom would take him and his four brothers to church. The tavern was a place where he learned about humanity. The church was a place where he learned about God’s heart for it. Never fully fitting into either side, he finds himself stuck in the middle. He likes it that way! Welcome to the middle!

Pauline Findlay and her mysteriously dark, loving, seedy, characters in her new book, “DYSFUNCTION: a play on words in the familiar.” One of the original four Silver Tongued Devils at Rimes first show, she’s twice toured Augusta Georgia, and is a judge in The Poetry Matters Contest. She's performed in "The What the Hell is Love " series at Cornelia Street Café and has done regular readings at Barnes and Nobles, Women Of Color series, and open mic's throughout the city. Following the self-reflective intensity of her first book "Mirror Images", she continues to direct that mirror back on herself. 

Phillip Giambri aka “The Ancient Mariner” - A product of the streets of South Philadelphia, he obtained his deviant perspective on life listening to Jean Shepherd on WOR radio back in the ‘50s. His 2016 book “Confessions of a Repeat Offender” is a compilation of his performance stories and poems. He can usually be found in East Village dive bars, spinning yarns and telling tall tales, anywhere that will tolerate him.

Too Tall Joanz was born and raised in Fayetteville, NC until her teen years when her family moved to Harlem, NYC. She loved to read and write and teachers noticed that at an early age. Throughout her academic career, teachers always encouraged her to write and enter contests. It was their faith in her that kept her writing. Her love of poetry began with a book of nursery rhymes. Add Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein to the mix and you have the beginnings of Joanz. Standing six feet tall, her cousin nicknamed her Too Tall Joanz and she decided to keep it. Her goal is to be one of the best poets of her generation.

6BC participated in the 6th Street "Eco" Block Party by having an information stall outside our garden. We had free giveaways - iced tea, lemonade and wildflower seed packets! It had barely begun when the skies darkened, the Heavens opened and we all got rained out. Oh well...a reminder of Nature's awesome power! #peoplepowerplanetparty

Thanks to Urban Aborists for a great job pruning our larger trees in the garden this weekend. It was long overdue. The garden is now safer, the trees are healthier and we have a lot more light!

Students from East Village Community School recently visited our garden for inspiration. They belong to the EVCS after-school gardening club. ​

Long-time East Village resident Pitts and friends presented their spoken word  readings to a small audience at ABC Beer Co. on a chilly Sunday evening. Their poetry was powerful, at times fiery and very enlightening.