Press release
This year, Poetry Downtown will celebrate the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe in four major cities: Boston on September 27, New York and Philadelphia on September 28, and Baltimore on September 29. Boston will have this year the worldpremiere of the radio play A Voyage To The Moon.
WORLDPREMIERE: A Voyage To The Moon
On September 27 from 3 till 4 pm, Dutch artist Erik van Loon will go with Radio Play Producer Lau Lapides and their audience on a solotrip to the moon. Erik and Lau wrote together for this occassion a modern adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Unparalleled Adventure Of One Hans Pfaall. With this adaptation, they aim to stay true to the original story by Edgar Allan Poe about the Rotterdammer Hans Pfaall who travels to the moon, while making it more accessible and engaging for a modern audience.
Audience
In this radio play, the audience will play an active role too, portraying different people on Earth and in the last scene even Lunarians on the moon. At this radio play, the audience need to read the cue board’s on which we show their lines. It will defintely get crazy but we are sure that the audience will keep going as we all want to succeed.
Erik van Loon and Lau Lapides
Erik van Loon is a Dutch artist, living in the Netherlands and he founded in 2021 Poetry Downtown as a birthday gift for his 50th birthday to America. With this festival he aims to bring once a year on his birthday poets and poetry enthusiasts from around the world together. Lau Lapides is a professional actress, director and teacher who has dedicated her life to a career in media and the performing arts. She holds an MFA from the University of California, has won numerous accolades and awards and lives alternately in Boston, Los Angeles and New York.
Boston Public Library
The radio play and the openingslecture Literacy Through Poetry will be held in the Commonwealth Room of the Boston Public Library. The library played a very important role in making this production possible and the whole festival possible.
All events in Boston
8.00-11.30 am Tour: Poetry Cycle Boston
A literary cycle of 5 miles in which we follow Edgar Allan Poe from his birthplace, via Edgar Allan Poe Square to Fort Independence where he was stationed.
1.00-2.00 pm Lecture: Literacy Through Poetry
Prof. Geraldine Cannon Becker, poet and professor at the University of Maine at Fort Kent will open the festival with a lecture about how poetry can help fight illiteracy.
3.00-4.00 pm Radio Play : A Voyage To The Moon
See above
8.00-10.00 pm Reading: Poetry Downtown Reading Boston
Max 13 selected poets read their work.
10.00-11.00 pm PATCH Boston
At PATCH (Poetry And Tales Cocktail Hour) poets and audience can meet, talk, drink and dance with eachother.
10.00-11.00 pm Ultimate Typewriter Showdown
At PATCH we will have each night also the Ultimate Typewriter Showdown: where speed, accuracy and skill determin the ultimate typewriter champion.
* all events are free
Celebrating 175 Years of Edgar Allan Poe
Each year, Poetry Downtown honors a distinguished poet for their lifetime achievement. In 2021, the festival celebrated Kenneth Patchen with “Get Ready To Die”; in 2022, Charles Bukowski with “Some People Never Go Crazy”; and in 2023, Sylvia Plath with “I Never Could Talk To You.” This year, the festival pays tribute to Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809, Boston, MA – October 7, 1849, Baltimore, MD) on the 175th anniversary of his death with the theme “The Raven.” Poets are invited to submit their work by September 1st.
Crowdfunding
Support Erik’s American Dream and help bring America together through poetry. Visit https://poetrydowntown.com/crowdfunding for more information on how to become a sponsor.
More info:
Poetry Downtown Festival
Erik van Loon
+316 E VAN LOON / +316 3 826 5666
www.poetrydowntown.com
Poetrydowntownfestival@gmail.com
