Love Letters: A Night of Poetry

As we kick off the 30th anniversary of Housing Works Bookstore, we’re honoring the love that has sustained this space with a cozy evening of poetry, community, and open‑mic magic.

Featured Poets (readings begin at 5:30pm):
• c.melín lara
• Anneysa Gallie
• Ben Morgan
• Paolo Javier
• Akriti Bhambi
• Rebecca Pinwei Tseng
• K Rejsek

Expect original work exploring love in all its forms — longing, devotion, heartbreak, connection, and the letters we write to the people and places that shape us.

Open Mic (4:30–5:30pm):
• First‑come, first‑serve signups at the Bookstore
• All styles welcome: poetry, prose, music, hybrid forms
• Original work encouraged, but not required

Happy Hour:
The Café will be open with specials from 5–7pm ($6 beer and $8 wine)

BIOS:

c. melín lara a.k.a Car Lara is a Queens-born multidisciplinary artist and experimental writer of Mexican and Honduran heritage. interested in creating a poetry art intersection, their bilingual work is rife with translation play, verses shaped by typographic symbols, and asemic transliterations.

K Rejsek is a queer poet, filmmaker, cyclist, and lover. Their work has been featured in small presses and publications and explores archive, mortality, and metaphorical dogs. K works as an editor and teaches at The College of New Jersey.Rebecca Pinwei Tseng is a Taiwanese American poet and library worker. Her work can be found in Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Tupelo Quarterly, The Academy of American Poets, Honey Literary, and others. She received an MFA from Columbia University where she was a News Writing Fellow and currently lives in Jersey City with a pet spaniel and two bunnies (who are very much in love).

Anneysa Gaille is a poet from Texas who lives on Lenapehoking land in Brooklyn. She teaches in the English Department at Brooklyn College and edits books for Ugly Duckling Presse. Her chapbook, No Such Thing As, was published by the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at the University of Chicago. Her first full length book, Once Upon a Cicada Moon, was recently published by Tender Buttons Press.

Ben Morgan is a poet from Suffolk, UK, living in Brooklyn. His work has featured in the Fort Myers Review, Works & Days, The Brooklyn Review, and elsewhere

Paolo Javier has produced three albums of sound poetry with Listening Center (David Mason), and was a featured artist in PS1 MoMA’s Greater NY and in Queens International. SWERVE, his collaboration with filmmaker Lynne Sachs, debuted at BAM Cinemafest. He is the author of seven books of poetry, and lives with his family in Jackson Heights, Lenapehoking.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Housing Works Bookstore