This is a wonderful Staten Island nonprofit organization. I’ve attended a few of their events, and they have always been interesting and fun! The below information is from their website, which is at: www.statenislandoutloud.org

What is Staten Island OutLOUD?
Staten Island OutLOUD is a grass-roots dialogue and performance project. Several times a month, we present free gatherings in community settings throughout Staten Island. We gather to read aloud to one another from a variety of world classics and other compelling literature. There’s nothing to buy, nothing to prepare. Just come with an open mind; we’ll lend you copies of the featured literature. Anyone who wants to read aloud is welcome to do so; those who’d prefer not to, can just sit back and enjoy being read to. We draw a diverse, intergenerational audience. In fact, we bring together many people who might otherwise never have a chance to meet. We share ideas about what we’re just read, and enjoy hearing a variety of viewpoints. Most of our events are intimate, participatory readings, but several times a year we present large staged events with music. All our events are free.

What are some of the events you’ve presented?
Since September 2001, we’ve presented over 200 free events, in 20 languages. Some highlights: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (presented in 2005, on the 100th anniversary of the Theory of Relativity); Brown v. Board of Education (on the 50th anniversary of the school desegregation decision); Cervantes’ Don Quixote (in English and in Spanish); Hiroshima-Nagasaki Reflections (featuring survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during their historic visit to NYC); A House Divided (poetry, historic texts and music of the Civil War); Korean poetry; Filipino creation narratives; The Narrative of Sojourner Truth; Liberian literature and historic texts; The Confessions of St. Augustine; the Teachings of the Buddha; an interfaith dialogue on Genesis and Freud; the Bhagavad Gita; readings from the Qur’an; short stories by Isabel Aliened and Mark Twain; poetry by Rita Dove, Tagore, Borges, Rumi… to name just a few of over 200 OutLOUD events.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Bloomsday OutLOUD! Our annual celebration of James Joyce’s comic epic, Ulysses. Monday June 16, 7:30PM. ETG Book Café, 208 Bay St (between Victory Blvd & Hannah St, just three blocks from the Ferry).

A Victorian Summer Afternoon. Saturday June 21, 2 PM. Historic Lake Cemetery (corner of Forest Ave & Willowbrook Road, 2 blocks off the Expressway) Declaration of Independence, our annual reading – South Shore. Saturday July 5, 2PM, at the historic Conference House, 7455 Hylan Blvd, SINY 10307.

Declaration of Independence, our annual reading - North Shore. Sunday July 6, 2PM, at historic Ft. Wadsworth (enter through the guard stateion at the end of Bay St at School Rd). Meet on the scenic Harbor Overlook, which gives a panoramic view of New York Harbor and the great Atlantic.

Moby Dick - OutLOUD’s annual celebration of Herman Melville’s haunting classic. Saturday July 26, 6:30PM, at historic Ft. Wadsworth (enter through the guard stateion at the end of Bay St at School Rd). Maritime music by the Staten Island Philharmonic Orchestra.