Dashing threats of storms, poets from NWU’s New York Chapter performed during a prime slot at this year’s New York Poetry Festival, an annual outdoor event on Governors Island organized by The Poetry Society of New York. Member Elissa Matthews served as our MC on Saturday, July 13. Our set on The White Horse Stage […]
New York Chapter Report to the 2021 Delegate Assembly
Current Number of Members: 358 Local Labor Movement Observations Although one can see that people are exhausted due to the pandemic, economic uncertainties and constant feelings of insecurity about their futures, whoever spoke during our recent membership meetings gave very concrete examples for action. The George Floyd protests electrified working class people to act for […]
NWU’s Lorraine Currelley Named Bronx Beat Poet Laureate
On May 20, the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc. named Lorraine Currelley the 2020-2022 Bronx Beat Poet Laureate. The foundation selects international poet laureates, recognizing them for their public role in continuing the movement begun by the Beat Generation authors of the 1940s and ’50s. Currelley’s activism in her historic home borough continues year round as she organizes free […]
NWU Open Mic Ends 2019 with KA-BOOM!
The NWU Open Mic at the Manhattan-based Muhlenberg New York Public Library ended 2019 with a resounding KA-BOOM! Over 30 writers, poets, rappers, singers, and instrumentalists enjoyed hot coffee, creamy pastries, and warm camaraderie. The NWU has continuously run this monthly open mic at the NYPL since 2013. As NY Steering Committee member and national trustee, I currently […]
Help Us Design New NWU Swag
The NWU delegates are coming to New York in August, but how will the throngs of writers know who these important people are without NWU T-shirts or caps or buttons? The same is true for all of our NWU members. How would you like to show your NWU pride? We’re looking for input about what items […]
Hitting the Streets at the Harlem Book Fair
New Yorkers attending this year’s Harlem Book Fair, one of the largest writers’ events in the city, reflected the diversity of the NWU’s members. On Saturday, July 16, 10 members displayed their recent works along with information about the union, including our new membership brochures, buttons, and “Workers of the WORD, Unite” T-shirts, some of […]
World Press Freedom Day at the UN
The National Writers Union (NWU), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Communications Coordination Committee for the United Nations (CCCUN) and Metro NY Labor Communications Council (MNYLCC) organized a panel discussion May 3 for World Press Freedom Day. Held at the United Nations in New York City, the event explored the media’s role in supporting human rights […]
TAKE AUTHORS SURVEY, BOOST NWU
What is the easiest way to support your union? Completing an Authors Coalition survey. Each response can generate the same income for the NWU as gaining one new member. In 2015, your participation helped us accrue nearly $160,000 in non-title specific royalty payments. This amount is directly linked to the number of completed surveys. However, […]
Louis Reyes Rivera Tribute Event Honors Four Emerging Talents
Every year, the National Writers Union’s New York Chapter features four emerging poets who are personally selected by close associates of Louis Reyes Rivera. These four artists are given the extraordinary opportunity to read their original works to the accompaniment of professional jazz musicians in a prominent venue. This year on May 16, a standing-room-only […]
NWU Co-Sponsors World Press Freedom Event at the United Nations
“Finding Security in Unsafe Passages” was a half-day event for journalists that the National Writers Union co-sponsored at the United Nations in New York on May 7 to mark World Press Freedom Day and raise awareness of the International Federation of Journalist’s End Impunity campaign. According to IFJ, more than 700 journalists have been killed […]