5/20: LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA Launch Celebration at The Rubin Museum

 

On Wednesday, May 20, at 6:30 pm, join Three Rooms Press as we celebrate the release of LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF BEATE SIROTA GORDON by Nassrine Azimi and Michel Wasserman, with a reading and Q&A in the galleries at the Rubin Museum. A book signing in the shop will follow the reading. 

In 1946, a remarkable woman secretly helped create Japan’s new constitution, writing an article that mandated equal rights for all women in Japan. Few could imagine that Article 24 was the work of a 22-year-old Vienna-born, naturalized American woman of Ukrainian-Jewish descent who had grown up in Japan. Her name was Beate Sirota, and to this day she remains an idol for generations of Japanese women. This extraordinary biography includes a foreword by Beate, an in-depth look at her father, the world-renowned classical pianist Leo Sirota, personal diaries from the World War II era by her mother, Augustine, as well as a detailed overview of Beate’s life, including the ongoing impact of her contributions to the Japanese constitution, as well as her personal impact on world ­culture fostered by four decades of dedication to introducing authentic dance, theater, and music of the Far East to American audiences. 

Speakers include: 

• Nassrine Azimi, author, LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA; founder of the Green Legacy project 
• Michel Wasserman, author, LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA; professor, College of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University 
• Richard Lanier, founding trustee and president of the Asian Cultural Council; trustee, Rubin Museum 
• Eiko Otake, performance artist (Eiko & Koma) 
• Nicole Gordon, attorney and teacher; daughter of Beate Sirota Gordon 
• Geoffrey Paul Gordon, playwright and actor; son of Beate Sirota Gordon 

Admission is $15. Tickets available on the Rubin Museum website.

High Praise for LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA and Beate Sirota Gordon

"All of us have a lot to learn from Beate Gordon—a woman with the courage to match her convictions." —Yoko Ono 

"An important book. Every woman on both sides of the Pacific should know about Beate Sirota Gordon and what she did for the women of Japan." —Martha Burk, Money Editor, Ms. Magazine; Director, Corporate Accountability Project, NCWO; Equal Time with Martha Burk, KSFR 

"LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA is a necessary addition to myriad of books written about World War II. It is complementary to Beate Sirota Gordon’s memoir The Only Woman in the Room and deserves a place in any school, public or personal library.” —Anne Lee, Shojo Power

"Anything about the remarkable Beate Gordon is interesting. And that's too mild an adjective.  Nassrine Azimi and Michel Wasserman continue this tradition in their splendid new book, LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA.  I was lucky enough to know Beate and my admiration for her is unlimited. You must get a copy for yourself. I will not lend mine." —Dick Cavett, talk show host, actor and writer 

"Beate Gordon was an amazing woman who was a pioneer in many ways. What she did as a woman in helping to create Japan’s new constitution is historic. She introduced to me Suzushi Hanayagi. We collaborated on 15 major works for opera and theatre. Suzushi changed my life. It was the wisdom of Beate to bring us together. Few women of the 20th century have had her courage and vision. She did in the 20th century what Admiral Perry did in the mid 19th century." —Robert Wilson, experimental theater director and playwright 

"An inspiring book about an inspiring woman." —Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore; and Chairperson, Water Leaders Summit 

"A fascinating book about an extraordinary woman." —BookPleasures 

“[Beate Gordon’s] contribution in drafting language about women's rights for the new constitution was instrumental in effecting significant cultural change.  Later, she would pursue a career in the performing arts in New York, where through her work at the Japan Society she brought the very essence of what was precious in Japanese culture and art to America. Read LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA and be inspired by her remarkable life." —Yo-Yo Ma, cellist

5/19: LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA Inaugural NYC Launch at Cornelia Street Cafe

 

Three Rooms Press cordially invites you to attend the inaugural launch of the extraordinary biography LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF BEATE SIROTA GORDON, Tuesday, May 19, 6 pm, at Cornelia Street Cafe. 

The event will feature readings by authors Nassrine Azimi and Michel Wasserman, a special presentation by composer/musician and Beate associate Raphael Mostel, and readings by Nicole Gordon (attorney, teacher and Beate's daughter) and Geoffrey Paul Gordon (playwright, actor and Beate's son). Admission is $8, which includes a free beverage. Books will be available at the event for signing and purchase. 

In 1946, a remarkable woman secretly helped create Japan’s new constitution, writing an article that mandated equal rights for all women in Japan. Few could imagine that Article 24 was the work of a 22-year-old Vienna-born, naturalized American woman of Ukrainian-Jewish descent who had grown up in Japan. Her name was Beate Sirota, and to this day she remains an idol for generations of Japanese women. This extraordinary biography includes a foreword by Beate, an in-depth look at her father, the world-renowned classical pianist Leo Sirota, personal diaries from the World War II era by her mother, Augustine, as well as a detailed overview of Beate’s life, including the ongoing impact of her contributions to the Japanese constitution, as well as her personal impact on world ­culture fostered by four decades of dedication to introducing authentic dance, theater, and music of the Far East to American audiences.

High Praise for LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA and Beate Sirota Gordon

"All of us have a lot to learn from Beate Gordon—a woman with the courage to match her convictions." —Yoko Ono 

"An important book. Every woman on both sides of the Pacific should know about Beate Sirota Gordon and what she did for the women of Japan." —Martha Burk, Money Editor, Ms. Magazine; Director, Corporate Accountability Project, NCWO; Equal Time with Martha Burk, KSFR 

"Last Boat to Yokohama is a necessary addition to myriad of books written about World War II. It is complementary to Beate Sirota Gordon’s memoir The Only Woman in the Room and deserves a place in any school, public or personal library.” —Anne Lee, Shojo Power

"Anything about the remarkable Beate Gordon is interesting. And that's too mild an adjective.  Nassrine Azimi and Michel Wasserman continue this tradition in their splendid new book, LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA.  I was lucky enough to know Beate and my admiration for her is unlimited. You must get a copy for yourself. I will not lend mine." —Dick Cavett, talk show host, actor and writer 

"Beate Gordon was an amazing woman who was a pioneer in many ways. What she did as a woman in helping to create Japan’s new constitution is historic. She introduced to me Suzushi Hanayagi. We collaborated on 15 major works for opera and theatre. Suzushi changed my life. It was the wisdom of Beate to bring us together. Few women of the 20th century have had her courage and vision. She did in the 20th century what Admiral Perry did in the mid 19th century." —Robert Wilson, experimental theater director and playwright 

"An inspiring book about an inspiring woman." —Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore; and Chairperson, Water Leaders Summit 

"A fascinating book about an extraordinary woman." —BookPleasures 

“[Beate Gordon’s] contribution in drafting language about women's rights for the new constitution was instrumental in effecting significant cultural change.  Later, she would pursue a career in the performing arts in New York, where through her work at the Japan Society she brought the very essence of what was precious in Japanese culture and art to America. Read LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA and be inspired by her remarkable life." —Yo-Yo Ma, cellist 

For more information about this event or LAST BOAT TO YOKOHAMA, please email Three Rooms Press at info@threeroomspress.com

02/23: Tickets still available for NYC Premiere of ANTI by Peter Carlaftes

 Tickets are still available for Monday's NYC premiere of ANTI, a provocative, "joyously absurd" play by 3RP co-director Peter Carlaftes that examines life in an age of government surveillance. The play is being staged for one night only, Monday, February 23, 7pm at Barrow Street Theatre to celebrate the release of Carlaftes' latest book TEATROPHY: THREE MORE PLAYS. 

Critically-acclaimed playwright and author Carlaftes explores themes of identity in crisis with taut language and challenging characters, often fraught with underlying tension and unexpected outcomes. Renowned playwright and film director Israel Horovitz (My Old Lady, The Indian Takes the Bronx) calls the plays in TEATROPHY “Joyously absurd.” Playwright Michael Puzzo raves, “If Dr. Moreau fused the ungovernable souls of Beckett and Genet, he’d have created Peter Carlaftes. These plays read like bomb instructions to blow up the status quo.” 

The first play in the collection, ANTI receives it NYC premiere at the event. ANTI stars Eloise Eonnet*, Olivia Jampol, and Laura Betz and is directed by Kat Georges. In ANTI, Carlaftes explores a frightening future—in which government surveillance and data mining are the norm—through the eyes of a theater director on the verge of giving up hope. The Bay Guardian, claims ANTI “cries out Ultramodern—and that it delivers with unflinching scrutiny.” And SF Weekly raves, “Imagine Samuel Beckett staging Escape from New York as a futuristic romp among the cultural ruins.” 

TEATROPHY will be available at the event for purchase and author signing. The event is free. Doors open at 6:30 pm. One night only. Reservations are recommended, but not necessary. 

Additional info and reservations: info@threeroomspress.com or 212-731-0574. Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow Street (at 7th Ave.), New York, NY 10014.

TEATROPHY: THREE MORE PLAYS

celebrating the launch of the new book by Peter Carlaftes featuring live performance of the New York City premiere of

ANTI

a play by Peter Carlaftes

starring Eloise Eonnet*, Olivia Jampol and Laura Betz

directed by Kat Georges

Monday, Feb 23, 7 pm (doors open 6:30)

Barrow Street Theatre

27 Barrow Street @ 7th Ave., NYC

details: info@threeroomspress.com

*Member, Actor’s Equity Association; Equity Approved Showcase.

For information on where to park near the venue, please go to: http://en.parkopedia.com/parking/underground/3_sheridan_square/10014/new_york/

02/23: NYC Premiere of ANTI, a play by Peter Carlaftes, to highlight launch for TEATROPHY: 3 MORE PLAYS

 

Three Rooms Press presents of evening of provocative theater, including the NYC premiere of ANTI, to celebrate the release of TEATROPHY: THREE MORE PLAYS ((Three Rooms Press Trade Paperback Original; February 24, 2015; ISBN: 978-1-941110-13-3, 138 pages; $15.00) the new book by Peter Carlaftes. 

Critically-acclaimed playwright and author Carlaftes explores themes of identity in crisis with taut language and challenging characters, often fraught with underlying tension and unexpected outcomes. Renowned playwright and film director Israel Horovitz (My Old Lady, The Indian Takes the Bronx) calls the plays in TEATROPHY “Joyously absurd.” Playwright Michael Puzzo raves, ““If Dr. Moreau fused the ungovernable souls of Beckett and Genet, he’d have created Peter Carlaftes. These plays read like bomb instructions to blow up the status quo.” 

The first play in the collection, ANTI receives it NYC premiere at the event. ANTI stars Eloise Eonnet*, Olivia Jampol, and Laura Betz and is directed by Kat Georges. In ANTI, Carlaftes explores a frightening future—in which government surveillance and data mining are the norm—through the eyes of a theater director on the verge of giving up hope. The Bay Guardian, claims ANTI “cries out Ultramodern—and that it delivers with unflinching scrutiny.” And SF Weekly raves, “Imagine Samuel Beckett staging Escape from New York as a futuristic romp among the cultural ruins.” 

TEATROPHY will be available at the event for purchase and author signing. The event is free. Doors open at 6:30 pm. One night only. Reservations are recommended, but not necessary. 
Additional info and reservations: info@threeroomspress.com or 212-731-0574. Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow Street (at 7th Ave.), New York, NY 10014.

 

TEATROPHY: THREE MORE PLAYS 
celebrating the launch of the new book by Peter Carlaftes featuring live performance of the New York City premiere of 
ANTI
a play by 
Peter Carlaftes 
starring 
Eloise Eonnet*, Olivia Jampol and Laura Betz 
directed by 
Kat Georges 

Monday, Feb 23, 7 pm (doors open 6:30) 
Barrow Street Theatre 27 Barrow Street @ 7th Ave., NYC 

Details: info@threeroomspress.com 

*Member, Actor’s Equity Association; Equity Approved Showcase.

FRI FEB 6: Burroughs 101! Event featuring Acclaimed Poet Anne Waldman and Fiery Performance Artist Penny Arcade

 

BURROUGHS 101: 

A Celebration of the 101st Birthday of  

William S. Burroughs

Featuring Anne Waldman * Penny Arcade * Jan Herman 

Steve Dalachinsky * Aimee Herman 

Hosted by Peter Carlaftes, Co-Director, Three Rooms Press

Friday, February 6, 2015, 6 pm | Cornelia St. Cafe

Three Rooms Press presents a 101 Year celebration of Beat icon and postmodern trailblazer William S. Burroughs on Friday, February 6, at Cornelia Street Cafe.

The event will be highlighted by tribute readings and discussions by Burroughs associates and fans including internationally-acclaimed poet Anne Waldman; performance artist and playwright Penny Arcade; jazz poet and collagist Steve Dalachinsky; publisher, blogger and Burroughs historian Jan Herman; and poet Aimee Herman. 

Also on tap will be an audience group reading of an excerpt from Burroughs’ iconic masterpiece NAKED LUNCH. Three Rooms Press co-director Peter Carlaftes hosts. 

Doors open at 5:45. Admission is $12 which includes a free drink! Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village, between W. 4th Street at Bleecker (http://corneliastreetcafe.com/). Additional details: info@threeroomspress.com.

Information on key performers: 

Anne Waldman is an internationally recognized and acclaimed poet, active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community, and writer, editor, teacher, performer, magpie scholar, infra-structure curator, and cultural/political activist. Her poetry is recognized in the lineage of Whitman and Ginsberg, and in the Beat, New York School, and Black Mountain trajectories of the New American Poetry. She is the author of more than 40 books, including the mini-classic Fast Speaking Woman, a collection of essays entitled Vow to Poetry and several selected poems editions including Helping the Dreamer, Kill or Cure and In the Room of Never Grieve. 

Penny Arcade is a performance artist, actress and playwright, best known for her show Bitch!Dyke!Faghag!Whore!  She has worked with numerous underground film and theater artists including John Vaccaro’s Playhouse of the Ridiculous, Jack Smith, Charles Ludlam, Quentin Crisp and Andy Warhol. She is a co-founder of the Lower East Side Biography Project, an oral history of New York’s Bohemian culture from the 50s to the present. 

Jan Herman is a blogger, historian, publisher, and author of numerous books including of A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, a biography of William Wyler; and Nelson Algren: Ticket to New Jersey. His blog, www.artsjournal.com covers arts, media and culture. He often writes articles discussing William Burroughs and Beat history. 

Steve Dalachinsky is a New York downtown poet and author of the PEN Award-winning book The Final Nite & Other Poems (2006). Dalachinsky's main influences are the Beats, Blake, The Odyssey, obsession, socio-political angst, human disappointment, music (especially Jazz), and visual art with leanings toward abstraction. His work, for the most part is spontaneous and leans towards transforming the image rather than merely describing it, in what he now refers to as transformative description/descriptive transformation. 

Aimee Herman is a poet and performance artist based in Brooklyn, NY looking to disembowel the architecture of gender and what it means to queer the body. Her work has been published in The Outrider Review, nin journal, Wild Gender, and more. She is the author of the full-length poetry collection, meant to wake up feeling (great weather for MEDIA). 

About the Monthly: 
THE MONTHLY at Cornelia Street Cafe, hosted by Three Rooms Press, brings together writers, artists, philosophers and scientists to discuss a monthly theme. Past events have featured Code Poetry, Conspiracy Theories (on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination), and illegal Leaves of Grass, an exploration of grass-related ideas from Walt Whitman to the War on Drugs. 

About Three Rooms Press: 
 Three Rooms Press is a fierce New York-based independent publisher powered by dada, punk and passion. Since its inception, it has served as a leading independent publisher of creative content, including poetry translations, drama and art sourced from the burgeoning international spoken word, music and underground art scenes.Its publishing line to include cutting edge work in fiction, creative historical nonfiction, memoir, photography, poetry, and art. http://threeroomspress.com

Friday 1/2/15: Start the New Year with a Bang at the 8th Annual Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading!

Celebrate the start of the new year with the 8th annual Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading, Jan. 2, 2015, 6pm at Cornelia St. Cafe. Charles Bukowski was truly one of the few and far between: a champion of the outsider, the lost and lonely, the outcasts from society. His work resonates like none other, revealing the core of what it is to be human—sans electronics—counting on nothing, but ready to win, be it with horses, women or writing. 

The event, held on the first Friday of the new year since 2008, will feature performances of Bukowski poems and tales by a unique cast of hardcore fans including controversial writer Kim Addonizio (author of Bukowski in a Sundress), playwrights Richard Vetere and Michael Puzzo, poets Thomas Fucaloro, George Wallace and Puma Perl, plus Three Rooms Press co-directors Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges. 

 Readers will explore Bukowski’s works with respect to its place in contemporary culture. What would Buk think of police brutality? ebola? global warming? online privacy? So much seems to have changed since his time, but has it really? 

 Everyone in attendance will have a chance to win a prize: Buk books, CDs, DVDs and other prizes. Plus bring your own favorite Bukowski poem to read — we’ll have a limited open mic for you to share your top choice. 

Doors open at 5:45 (for best seating—arrive early!). Admission is $12 which includes (naturally) a free drink! Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village, between W. 4th Street at Bleecker (http://corneliastreecafe.com/). Info and reservations: info@threeroomspress.com. 

 Information on key performers: 

Kim Addonizio has been called “one of our nation’s most provocative and edgy poets.” Her latest books are Lucifer at the Starlite, a finalist for the Poets Prize and the Northern CA Book Award; and Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within, both from W.W. Norton.  Her novel-in-verse, Jimmy & Rita, was recently reissued by Stephen F. Austin State University Press. Kalima Press  published her Selected Poems in Arabic. Addonizio’s honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, two NEA Fellowships, and Pushcart Prizes for both poetry and the essay. Her collection Tell Me was a National Book Award Finalist. Other books include two novels from Simon & Schuster, Little Beauties and My Dreams Out in the Street. Her new story collection, The Palace of Illusions, materialized courtesy of Counterpoint/Soft Skull in September 2014. Addonizio offers private poetry workshops in Oakland, NYC, and online, and often incorporates her love of blues harmonica into her readings.  www.kimaddonizio.com. 

Richard Vetere is an American playwright and screenwriter whose work has received international critical acclaim. His is the author of the play Last Day, and a novel, Baroque, about Caravaggio and the people he painted in Rome. His authored a recent poetry collection, The Other Colors in a Snow Storm. Movies include The Third Miracle (produced by Francis Ford Coppola), How to Go Out on a Date in Queens, and the cult classic, Vigilante. His most recent work includes his highly-praised new novel, THE WRITERS AFTERLIFE (2014, Three Rooms Press) and the forthcoming novel CHAMPAGNE AND COCAINE, due out in Fall 2015. 

Michael Puzzo is a writer and actor living in NYC. He has been a LAByrinth Theater Company member since 1997. His critically-acclaimed plays include Spirits of Exit Eleven, The Dirty Talk (nominated for an Innovative Theater Award for best script), Lyric Is Waiting (Irish Repertory Theater), The Horse Shoe King of Jersey City (Aspen Comedy Festival), She Talks To Rainbows (LAByrinth’s Barn Series Reading Festival @ The Public) and #309 (Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, India). He loves Bukowski! 

Puma Perl is a poet, performance artist and curator, founder of DDAY Productions and author of several poetry collections including the recent Retrograde (2014, Great Weather for Media) Ruby True, Knunckle Tattoos and Belinda and Her Friends. She notes, "with Bukowski, you can open any book randomly and find a poem to read." 

Thomas Fucaloro is the author of two full-length poetry collections, including It Starts From the Belly and Blooms and Inheriting Craziness (both Three Rooms Press). He is a founding editor for Great Weather for Media and editor for staten island's new literary magazine NYSAI. He teaches poetry workshops at the NEON Bronx Probation Center, Writopia Lab, The Acorn Youth Treatment Center and the Staten Island LGBTQ Community Center. He just received his MFA in creative writing from the New School. He has a new chapbook coming out soon through Tired Hearts Press called Mistakes Disguised as Stars.

George Wallace is Writer in Residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace (2011-present), first poet laureate of Suffolk County NY, author of 28 chapbooks of poetry, and the full-length poetry collections, Poppin’ Johnny and EOS: Abductor of Men (bilingual; Greek and English) (both Three Rooms Press). An adjunct professor of English at Pace University in Manhattan, he is editor of Poetrybay, Poetryvlog, Walt‘s Corner, and co-editor of Great Weather For Media and Long Island Quarterly. 

Peter Carlaftes is a New York-based screenwriter, playwright, actor, poet, and editor. He is the author of 12 plays, including a noir treatment of Knut Hamsun’s Hunger, and the celebrity rehab center spoof, Spin-Dry. He has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including his comic solo performance piece, Lenny Bruce: Dead & Well, as well as Barefoot in the Park and Stephen Adly Guirgis' Den of Thieves. As an author, Carlaftes has penned three books: A Year on Facebook (humor), Drunkyard Dog and I Fold With The Hand I Was Dealt (poetry) and the play collections and the forthcoming Teatrophy (3 More Plays). He is a co-director of Three Rooms Press. 

Kat Georges is a New York-based poet, playwright, performer and designer. In New York since 2003, she has curated poetry readings, performed widely, and written and directed numerous Off-Broadway plays (including Jack Kerouac: Catholic by Larry Myers, and The Old In-and-Out, by Madeline Artenberg and Karen Hildebrand, as well as her own work SCUM: The Valerie Solanas Story, and Art Was Here, a play inspired by Dada predecessor Arthur Cravan). Books include Slow Dance at 120 Beats a Minute, Punk Rock Journal and Our Lady of the Hunger. She is co-director of Three Rooms Press.

12/05/14 2nd Annual Prose! Poetry! Party! at Cornelia St. Cafe

Three Rooms Press presents The Monthly at Cornelia Street Cafe

Prose! Poetry! Party! 2!

Featuring Stories and Poems by
Meagan Brothers, Thomas Fucaloro, Jane LeCroy
Robert Gibbons, Karen Hildebrand, Ron Kolm
John S. Paul, Janet Hamill, Richard Vetere
David Lawton, Puma Perl, Peter Carlaftes, Kat Georges

Friday, December 5, 6 pm
Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street (between Bleecker & W. 4th St.)
Admission: $8 (includes a drink) 
Additional information, e-mail: info@threeroomspress.com

Three Rooms Press presents the Second Annual Prose! Poetry! Party! featuring award-winning authors (and kick-ass performers!) including novelist/poet Meagan Brothers, Pushcart-nominated poet Thomas Fucaloro, singer/poet Jane LeCroy, poet/activist Robert Gibbons, poet/playwright Karen Hildebrand, publisher/poet Ron Kolm, painter/poet John S. Paul, writer/poet Janet Hamill, playwright/novelist Richard Vetere, poet/actor David Lawton, poet/performance artist Puma Perl and Three Rooms Press co-directors Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges. The event is sure to be fun and warm and thrilling and hilarious—sometimes all at the same time! And it is only $8 to get in — which includes a FREE DRINK! Holey-moley!! Be there and enjoy!

ABOUT THREE ROOMS PRESS
Three Rooms Press is a fierce New York-based independent publisher inspired by dada, punk and passion. Founded in 1993, it serves as a leading independent publisher of cut-the-edge creative, including fiction, memoir, poetry translations, drama and art. In addition, Three Rooms Press produces and promotes a variety of literary and cultural events in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and more, including readings, plays, workshops and concerts. Three Rooms Press books are distributed in the U.S. and internationally by PGW/Perseus.