Sounds of Summer, November 8, 5 PM, Green Kill Sessions
Performers
Location
About
On Sunday, November 8 at 5 PM, Green Kill Sessions presents SOUNDS OF SUMMER, an hour-long performance based on Michael Ruby’s poetry book SOUNDS OF SUMMER IN THE COUNTRY and musical improvisations by members of the Other Arc Ensemble. Green Kill’s David Schell designed the visuals.
The poems draw on the syllables and pauses in birdcalls, insect and frog sounds, and other country matters, including the decline of multiple tree species in upstate New York. The result is a fusion of nonhuman and human sounds, and a wall of sounds and words that is simultaneously archaic and contemporary, repetitive and anarchic.
The Other Arc Ensemble includes writers and musicians Jed Shahar, Jeffrey Joe Nelson, Jarrod Annis, Edmund Berrigan and Benjamin Miller. The ensemble performs as the house band for the Greetings reading series in Brooklyn, playing extended atmospheric preludes, improvised music sets and accompaniment for poets.
Michael Ruby is a poet, literary editor and journalist, and the author of nine poetry books. His recent books include SOUNDS OF SUMMER IN THE COUNTRY (BlazeVOX [books], 2025) and Close Your Eyes, Visions (Station Hill, 2024). He lives in Brooklyn and worked for many years as an editor of U.S. news and political articles at The Wall Street Journal.
Livestreams are freely available on the YouTube Green Kill Sessions channel and at greenkill.substack.com.
In-person admission is free. Please arrive about 10 minutes before showtime so everyone can get settled before the event begins.