A book party like no other, unpacking the pleasures and pain of working in the city.

Kicking off NYPL’s World Literature Festival, join poets Camonghne Felix, Dorothea Lasky, Emanuel Xavier, and moderator Helena de Groot for readings and lively discussion about poetry, language, and labor. From day to day labor to the work of writing, this conversation explores the way poetry embodies work, using our multicultural city’s rich labor history as the backdrop. Pioneering home recording artist Linda Smith will close out the event with a special musical performance.

This event will take place in person and online.

This World Literature Festival event is co-presented with Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a multicultural and multi-arts institution supporting rising poets, actors, filmmakers and musicians across New York City.

To join the event in person | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open 45 minutes before the program begins. For in-person events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; we will do our best to accommodate everyone. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the event online | Please register for an Online Ticket. A livestream of this event will be available on this NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL’s YouTube channel.

The New York Public Library’s World Literature Festival celebrates books and writers from around the world and reflects the languages spoken in our communities. Discover what our patrons are reading in different languages, resources the Library offers, free events, book recommendations, and more.

About the Authors:

Helena de Groot is the host and producer of the Poetry Foundation’s flagship podcast Poetry Off the Shelf. She also created the NYT-featured award-winning audiobook Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver, and is senior producer and sound designer for the Paris Review Podcast, lauded by The New Yorker.

Camonghne Felix received an MA in arts politics from New York University and an MFA from Bard College. Felix is the author Dyscalculia  and Build Yourself a Boat, which was long-listed for the 2019 National Book Award in Poetry. The 2013 winner of the Cora Craig Award for Young Women, Felix has received fellowships from Cave Canem, Callaloo, and Poets House.

Emanuel Xavier was born in Brooklyn, New York. His poetry collections include: Pier Queen, Americano, If Jesus Were Gay, Nefarious, Radiance, Selected Poems of Emanuel Xavier, and Love(ly) Child. He is also editor of Me No Habla With Acento: Contemporary Latino Poetry, Bullets & Butterflies: queer spoken word poetry and Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry.

Dorothea Lasky is the author of seven books of poetry and prose, including The Shining and the forthcoming essay collection, MEMORY.

Home recording pioneer Linda Smith released several collections of delicate, bewitching solo music on cassette in the 80s and 90s, recently reissued by Captured Tracks on vinyl for the first time. ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ originally released in ’95, captures the tension between daily life and creativity. Her album ‘I So Liked Spring’ sets the poetry of Charlotte Mew to music, resulting in unpredictable yet melodic songs — songs that continue to resonate with new listeners nearly 30 years later.