People + Parks

jessica Care more is no stranger to the stage; she first gained recognition as an Apollo legend after becoming the first poet to win a record five consecutive weeks on the nationally televised It’s Showtime at the Apollo in the 90s. Now, she takes to the stage again – in the parks no less. Starting at Von King Park, Brooklyn tonight, then heading to Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan, her one woman show God is Not An American fuses poetry, video, and live music to explore the concept of God, race, the war in Iraq, genocide, and other social and political issues.

To say that she is a writer assumes she has a choice in the matter; However, Dream Hampton, journalist, said that jessica Care moore “writes to remind herself that she is a writer. Yet her writing has always leaped from the page like a healthy compulsion. To read her work is to understand that there are writers who do so for their very survival; to cope, to process, to keep from killing. (To see her perform her work is another experience altogether—her powerful, sometimes rapid delivery can feel like a shower of bombs). She writes about the poet’s diary as a time capsule for others to find and rewind, imagining that she may one day be torn from her page but with jessica there is no distance between who she is and her page, her work. Any future excavation of her work would likely summon her fire-throwing ghost itself. She breathes and bleeds for her poems, and we are all made anew by her sacrifice.” We can expect no less from her live performances.

Von King Park, Brooklyn — Tues, July 21 & Wed, July 22 — 8PM

Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan — Tues, July 28 – 8PM

– Text by Jessica Glazer.

Well, it’s hard to believe, but the first week of Green Girls is over!  The girls have traveled to new places including Orchard Beach, Inwood Park, and Staten Island.  Many of the girls are experiencing new things like fishing and bird watching, just to name a few.  Tuesday’s service project at Inwood Park had the girls working hard to remove invasive plant species in order to help recently planted trees survive.  It became clear the girls were having a blast when a few asked if they could return to work during the lunch break.  Now that’s real dedication!  And on Friday, the girls accompanied naturalist Steve Brill on a hike through Central Park, where they learned about edible plant species and actually tasted a few! So far the weather has been great, and we hope next week will bring the same.

– By Allison Ryan, Green Girls Intern

Aunque difícil de creer, ya terminamos la primera semana de Green Girls!  Las niñas han viajado a muchos lugares nuevos como Orchard Beach, Inwood Park y Staten Island.  Muchas de las niñas están experimentando nuevas actividades como ir de pesca y mirar los pájaros, para notar algunas.  El martes las niñas hicieron un proyecto de servicio comunitario en Inwood Park durante el cual removieron plantas invasivas a fin de ayudar a unos árboles recién plantados.  Fue obvio que las niñas estaban disfrutándose cuando algunas nos preguntaron si podrian volver a trabajar durante la hora de almuerzo.  ¡Eso es dedicación verdadera!  Y el viernes, las niñas acompañaron a un naturalista, Steve Brill, en una excursión por Central Park, en la cual aprendieron sobre plantas comestibles mientras que probaron algunas!  Hasta ahora el clima ha sido buenísimo, y esperamos que la próxima semana nos será igual de divertido.

– Fue escrita por Allison Ryan, Green Girls Intern