One of the best things about New York is that so many different people come together and celebrate each other's culture with great enthusiasm and interest. On this year's St. Patrick's Day, in association with the New York City Council, New York State Assembly, Literature Ireland and El Museo del Barrio, hundreds of books by celebrated Irish, Caribbean and American authors' books, including Irish authors' works translated into Spanish, were given away for free through the
Irish Arts Center Book Day throughout the five boroughs.
I was scheduled to be at 42nd street and Park, but the stand closed early when they ran out of books. That's a good thing! I'm passionate about promoting the arts, literacy and reading, so I hopped on the bus to the west side station. It was fun to direct passers-by to our table, where people like this woman chose kidlit and adult books for her family.
After choosing their books people came back to me to say they were looking forward to reading them, and expressed their thanks over and over again for a wonderful program. Here are a few of the books that were available:
Young adult by Elizabeth O'Hara who writes in English and Irish, fiction by Tom O'Neill that weaves in Irish folklore, and selections from The Stinging Fly, a literary magazine.
The
Irish Arts Center offers a variety of programs and classes on Irish language, music, dance and more.
Young adult by Elizabeth O'Hara who writes in English and Irish, fiction by Tom O'Neill that weaves in Irish folklore, and selections from The Stinging Fly, a literary magazine.
The Irish Arts Center offers a variety of programs and classes on Irish language, music, dance and more.
