Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, was brought to Buffalo in 1868 with a vision to design “a city within a park.” His legacy includes the expansive green necklace of parks and parkways running through the city of Buffalo—a place Olmsted would call the best-planned city in America. In celebration of Buffalo State's "Year of the City" initiative, the Rooftop Poetry Club invites you to learn more about the genius of Olmsted and the poetic nature of public spaces. Join us for poetry in the park. Guest speakers will introduce us to the rich history behind the parks, followed by guided workshop activities led by poets Irene Sipos and Lisa Forrest. 

Our fifth workshop in the series will take place on Friday, November 2, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at South Park. Meet at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, located at 2655 South Park Avenue (admission fee: $7 per student; $8 general public). Limited carpooling from Buffalo State will be available. R.S.V.P. to Lisa Forrest.

Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, was brought to Buffalo in 1868 with a vision to design “a city within a park.” His legacy includes the expansive green necklace of parks and parkways running through the city of Buffalo—a place Olmsted would call the best-planned city in America. In celebration of Buffalo State's "Year of the City" initiative, the Rooftop Poetry Club invites you to learn more about the genius of Olmsted and the poetic nature of public spaces. Join us for poetry in the park. Guest speakers will introduce us to the rich history behind the parks, followed by guided workshop activities led by poets Irene Sipos and Lisa Forrest.

Our fourth workshop in the series will take place on Friday, October 19, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. and features author Mark Goldman and violinist Rachel Ostrander. Meet at Delaware Park’s Rose Garden (we will walk to Rumsey Woods). R.S.V.P. to Lisa Forrest.

Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, was brought to Buffalo in 1868 with a vision to design “a city within a park.” His legacy includes the expansive “green necklace” of parks and parkways running through the city of Buffalo—a place Olmsted would call the best-planned city in America. In celebration of Buffalo State's "Year of the City" initiative, the Rooftop Poetry Club invites you to learn more about the genius of Olmsted and the poetic nature of public spaces. Join us for poetry in the park.

Our third workshop in the series, featuring poet Jonathan Skinner, will take place on Friday, October 5, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Please meet on the back steps of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (we will be taking a “poetry walk” to Delaware Park’s pedestrian loop). To attend this free workshop, R.S.V.P. to forresla@buffalostate.edu.

Can we "read" Frederick Law Olmsted as we might read one of the great American poets or artists? Olmsted's art has been overgrown by its successes: many of his closest "readers" do not realize that these parks were made, nor have they even heard of Olmsted. Yet Olmsted clearly saw himself as an artist; he also frequently resorted to musical metaphors when describing the effects of his park designs. Like the poet, the artist, or the composer, the park?maker works with materials, acting on us indirectly. In this poetry walk, through readings, on-site discussion, and writing exercises, we'll consider some of those materials and effects, gain appreciation for how Olmsted's parks are composed, and consider their changing relationships with the urban environment.

Jonathan Skinner founded and edits the journal ecopoetics, which features creative-critical intersections between writing and ecology. His poetry collections include Birds of Tifft (BlazeVOX [books], 2011) and Political Cactus Poems (Palm Press, 2005). Skinner has published critical essays on Charles Olson, Ronald Johnson, Lorine Niedecker, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, and Bernadette Mayer; translations of French poetry and garden theory; essays on bird song from the perspective of ethnopoetics; and essays on horizontal concepts such as the "third landscape" and on documentary poetry. Currently, he is writing a book of investigative poems on the urban landscapes of Frederick Law Olmsted and a critical book on animal transcriptions in contemporary poetry. His blog is available at http://olmstedsparks.wordpress.com/.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer) is a one-night exhibition of free-form projected artworks to be held on Friday, August 31, at dusk. Under the full blue moon, artists from Buffalo and beyond will present a mosaic of moving images on the front of the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Bring blankets and snacks!

BYOB events have taken place around the world—at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, MOCA LA (the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) in Toronto, and now the Burchfield Penney!

For more info on BYOBs worldwide, please visit www.byobworldwide.com.

Participating artists include Alice Alexandrescu, Anthony Antonellis, Dorothea Braemer, Neil Coletta, Tony Conrad, Lisa Jane Davis, Ryan Delmar, Yu Fayefaye, Alba Jaramillo, Siew-wai Kok, Carl Lee, Tammy McGovern, Frank Napolski, Tim Noble, Josh Parkins, Angelica Piedrahita, Scott Ries, Tim Scaffidi, Anna Scime, Shasti O'Leary Soudant, Kyle Toth, and Lisa Van Wambeck.

With music by Reactionary Ensemble. Organized by Liz Flyntz and Anna Scime.

For more information, visit www.burchfieldpenney.org.

Download our free new mobile app for everything you need to know about the upcoming fourth annual conference from the Anne Frank Project, "AFP 2012: Embracing Responsibility," September 12–15 on the Buffalo State campus. Get the complete conference schedule, session descriptions, presenter profiles, photo gallery, important links, documents, and immediate updates—all in the palm of your hand!  

The AFP2012 app is designed for all platforms—iPhone, iPad, Droid, and Blackberry.

Or use the desktop version. Please share with students, faculty, staff, and friends. Download the AFP2012 app and personalize your conference experience today!

Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, was brought to Buffalo in 1868 with a vision to design “a city within a park.” His legacy includes the expansive green necklace of parks and parkways running through the city of Buffalo—a place Olmsted would call the best-planned city in America.

In celebration of Buffalo State’s “Year of the City” initiative, the Rooftop Poetry Club invites you to learn more about the genius of Olmsted and the poetic nature of public spaces. Join us for poetry in the park.

Guest speakers will introduce us to the rich history behind the parks, followed by guided workshop activities led by poets Irene Sipos and Lisa Forrest.

Our second workshop in the series will take place at Bidwell Parkway on Friday, September 28, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Meet at Bidwell Parkway’s Colonial Circle (next to the statue of Daniel Davidson Bidwell astride a horse). The workshop will feature author Carey Anne Miller and poet Andrew Rippeon.

Native Buffalonian Carey Miller has researched the Queen City’s history since childhood; however, upon moving back to Buffalo in 2001, her scope has narrowed to her own street, one of Fredrick Law Olmsted’s beautiful parkway approaches: Richmond Avenue. Miller also uses her knowledge of local history and writing to teach young women as a member of the English department at Buffalo Seminary (also located on an Olmsted parkway). As an early member of the Richmond Avenue History Project, Miller coauthored brochures on researching your home’s history, as well as a walking tour of Richmond Avenue. She is currently working on a forthcoming book on the history of Richmond Avenue.

Andrew Rippeon is a poet and critic exploring the intersections between poetry and technologies of sound. He lives in Buffalo.

To attend this free workshop, R.S.V.P. to Lisa Forrest.

Join the Rooftop Poetry Club for a reading featuring Nelson Tirado III and an open mic on Tuesday, September 11, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in the International Students Reading Area of E. H. Butler Library (third floor SE quadrant).

Tirado writes and performs life poetry and lyrics. Recently, he won the 2012 Buffalo State College Rooftop Poetry Club contest. He can be seen around the library—reading, writing, and listening to many works of literature and music. He strives for perfection through his performances at open mics at Tha Inc Club and other venues. He is passionately pursuing his goal to become a writer for a major newspaper or commercial magazine. He also dreams of becoming a professor, spoken word poet, and music artist.

For more information, please contact Lisa Forrest.

Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, was brought to Buffalo in 1868 with a vision to design “a city within a park.” His legacy includes the expansive “green necklace” of parks and parkways running through the city of Buffalo—a place Olmsted would call the best-planned city in America.

In celebration of Buffalo State’s “Year of the City” initiative, the Rooftop Poetry Club invites you to learn more about the genius of Olmsted and the poetic nature of public spaces. Join us for poetry in the park! Guest speakers will introduce us to the rich history behind the parks, followed by guided workshop activities led by poets Irene Sipos and Lisa Forrest.

Our first workshop will feature author Lynda Schneekloth. Join us on Friday, September 7, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in Delaware Park’s Rose Garden.

Schneekloth has been a professor in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning since 1982 and continues to serve as the director of landscape at the Urban Design Project. Schneekloth’s scholarly research is focused on the idea of placemaking, that is, how people transform the world, including natural processes and built form, from spaces in which they live into places they can love and care for. She has authored, coauthored, or edited five books—Olmsted in Buffalo and Niagara (2011); Reconsidering Concrete Atlantis: Buffalo Grain Elevators, editor (2007); The Power Trail: History of Hydroelectricity at Niagara (2006); Placemaking: The Art and Practice of Building Communities (1995) with R. Shibley; and Ordering Space: Types in Architecture and Design (1994) with K. Franck—as well as many articles and chapters.

R.S.V.P. to forresla@buffalostate.edu.

All Buffalo State students are welcome to attend Karaoke Night, the Newman Center's kickoff to the fall semester, on Friday, September 7, at 7:00 p.m. Join us at the Newman Center, 1219 Elmwood Avenue, for an evening of karaoke and fun! R.S.V.P. to newmancenter@buffalostate.edu.

All Buffalo State students are welcome to join us for a picnic in Delaware Park on Sunday, September 2, at 12:30 p.m. Meet at the Newman Center, 1219 Elmwood Avenue, and head over to the park for a tasty picnic lunch, followed by fun activities and riveting conversation! It's all free, and all are welcome. Please let us know how many will attend by calling us at 882-1080 or by e-mailing newmancenter@buffalostate.edu.