Literaoke in NY: Performers Drop the Mic!

It was Literaoke in NY, September 13, 2018! Ed Lin performed “If You’ll Be a Baby to Me” by Hank Williams, Samatha Thornhill performed “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” by En vogue, Sam Chanse performed “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2, Charles Rice-Gonzalez performed “Jenny From the Block” by J Lo, Swati Khurana performed “Lucky Star” by Madonna, and these were just some of the awesomeness at LITERAOKE. With topics ranging from fatherhood and intersectional feminism, expressing the banal and the revolutionary, our LITERAOKE performers contextualize their word crafting with popular music of their choice.

Thank you to AAWW, BKBF, and those who attended and made this event possible! See you at the next LITERAOKE event.

 

I Even Regret Night Readings in NY

The Fall season is Kaya’s New York invasion! After a great time at Literaoke in NY, friends of Kaya organized I Even Regret Night readings at selected New York spots for the literary enthusiasts.

Approximately 60 people attended the reading of I Even Regret Night at Queens Library, NY, on October 27, 2019. Organized by our good friends at South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) the event was also supported by the  Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center, CUNY, in partnership with the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU.

Following readings by Gaiutra Bahadur and Rajiv Mohabir, a number of Indo-Caribbean community members shared their own personal family photographs and stories. A webpage, http://www.saada.org/richmondhill, will soon be launched to archive and present audio and photographs of the stories.

Two days after the successful event at the Queens Library, on October 29, 2019, Mohabir and Bahadur joined a conversation with Grace Aneiza Ali (NYU Department of Art & Public Policy) at King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU. The auditorium was full as there were more than 70 people attended! Speakers and audience shared thoughts, stories, space, as well as delicious food to celebrate the works by Lalbihari Sharma.

Kaya Press extends our gratitude to friends who made this wonderful event possible: the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU, NYU Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, South Asian American Digital Archive, Rajkumari Cultural Center, Jahajee Sisters, and Guyana Modern.com.