Poetry, music and conversation celebrating Bordentown’s cultural and Revolutionary War-era legacy will highlight the Old City Hall Restoration Committee’s winter and spring calendar of events, beginning Feb. 1 at the historic Old City Hall on Crosswicks Street.
The series opens with the annual Fanny Parnell Poetry Reading, spotlighting the Irish political poet’s ties to Bordentown. Parnell, who died in 1882 at her family’s Bordentown estate, was the sister of Irish Home Rule leader Charles Stewart Parnell and the granddaughter of naval commander Charles Stewart, known as “Old Ironsides.”
The program begins at 2 p.m. on Feb. 1, coinciding with the Irish holidays of Imbolc and St. Brigid’s Day. Bordentown resident Dan Aubrey, a New Jersey writer, Old City Hall Restoration Committee member and Irish citizen, will read works by Parnell and other Irish and Bordentown poets. He will be followed by readings from New Jersey poets Lois Harrod and Dan Zibman.
Harrod, a Hopewell-based author of 16 poetry collections and an educator, will read from her newly published book “The Bed the Size of a Small Country,” which examines love and grief following the death of her husband.
Zibman, a West Windsor poet, former semiprofessional soccer player and U.S. Army veteran, will also explore the loss of a spouse through poetry and music.
The event concludes with a staged reading of a one-act adaptation of James Joyce’s short story “Ivy Day in the Committee Room,” from his 1914 collection “Dubliners.” The adaptation was written by Aubrey and reflects the historical significance of the Parnell name in Irish politics.
The cultural series continues with three monthly Sunday Soirees at 4 p.m., bringing together artists, cultural leaders and community members for informal discussions.
On Feb. 8, Tom Moran, former coordinator of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Public Art Program and former chief curator at Grounds For Sculpture, will lead a discussion on public art.
On March 1, multimedia artist and musician Bill Nobes will present “From Mysticism to Espionage: The Soviet Electronic Music Revolution and the Bizarre Story of Leon Theremin.”
On April 5, an independent musician, songwriter, community activist and Bordentown resident will discuss music-making and the central New Jersey arts scene.
The series concludes April 25 with Francis Hopkinson Day, part of the nationwide America 250 commemoration. The program honors Bordentown’s signer of the Declaration of Independence, recognized as the nation’s first composer, as well as a poet and early American flag designer.
The event will feature music by Hopkinson performed by Colonial-era musician and scholar John Burkhalter, along with readings of poetry by Hopkinson and his contemporaries, including Annis Stockton, Thomas Paine and Philip Freneau. The day will also include “The Revolution Continues” presentations featuring new music and poetry by New Jersey artists.
The winter and spring series is presented by the Old City Hall Restoration Committee, a volunteer group dedicated to raising awareness and funds to restore the historic downtown Bordentown landmark.
Old City Hall is located at 13 Crosswicks St. For more information, visit facebook.com/OldCityHallRestoration.
Tom Moran.,
Lois Harrod of Hopewell.
