40th Anniversary Celebration of the Poet’s Garden in Monroe, NY

Received in my email today—

In 1972 a poet¹s garden was completed at Arrow Park. It includes massive busts of Alexander Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, Yanka Kupala, and Walt Whitman. Pushkin, Shevchenko, and Kupala were gifts from their respective countries (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), and the Whitman statue was commissioned by the Park and sculpted by Bruno Luchessi. These poets were chosen because they were committed to the fundamental humanitarian issues of: peace on earth, freedom from slavery and oppression, and the brotherhood of all people's everywhere.

This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the garden, and we are planning a celebration on Sunday, May 27th starting at 2 p.m. Bruno Luchessi will be honored. Karen Karbiener, a Whitman Scholar from NYU, and Julian Henry Lowenfeld, a Pushkin expert and translator, will give short lectures on these poets and read their work, emphasizing the theme of brotherhood. We are going to have readings and songs from all of the poets read in English and their native languages, followed by a polka concert from Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra at 4 p.m. in the pavilion.

The park lodge was built in 1909 at the height of the arts and crafts movement in America—built with amazing attention to detail using local materials and situated above a 52-acre lake. Arrow Park was established in 1948 as a place of rest and recreation for Slavic families from the inner cities who had no green space.

The Arrow Park lake and lodge are at 1061 Orange Turnpike in Monroe. The park opens at 11 a.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. For more information, contact Julia Kole at 845-545-0520.