The One and Only Steve Cannon – Celebration of Life
Sunday, November 3rd at
St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery
We gather in front of the old Tribes Gallery, 285 E. 3rd, between 1pm and 1:30pm. We have access to Bullet Space squat across the street (292 E. 3rd) for bathroom and backyard hangout. At Steve’s stoop, his favorites, the renowned Rebirth Brass Band from New Orleans, will play. At 2:00, using a bullhorn, David Henderson will intro, poets may speak, Rebirth will be joined by NYC musicians via Arts for Art, spearheaded by William Parker. There will be umbrellas and hankies thanks to the Cannon family and Melanie Goodreaux, and dancers thanks to Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bushwomen and Patricia Parker. Bob Holman will send us on our way at 2:20, following the Rebirth, we go west on 3rd, on the sidewalks unless we have reached critical mass and then the police will escort us on the streets. Between C and B we give respects at the Nuyorican (where Steve used to heckle) and Kenkeleba House (whose director, artist Joe Overstreet, died this past June 10), turn north on Ave B to 7th, west on 7th to midblock . At 3:00 we enter Tompkins Sq Pk (this could alter if police want us in another part of the Park) and have a 30 minute concert/poetry event/ (Papoleto Melendez, Nancy Mercado, maybe others, on the bullhorn), then west across 9th St to 2nd Ave and then up to St. Marks Church, which we enter at 4:00. That’s when the doors to the Sanctuary swing open to indoor music by downtown jazz (Vision Festival, Arts for Art) with snacks and drinks in the Parish Hall till 4:30 (music continues in Sanctuary which will conclude w/ poetry performance by Anne Waldman w/ Melanie Dyer (viola)). At 4:30pm the service begins, with family, speakers, poets, films, Poets Choir, and a short play by Steve. The Church has asked us to limit it to two hours, so 3 minutes per speaker. At 7pm we parade into the Parish Hall for dinner New Orleans style — red beans and rice, collards, jambalaya and gumbo, drinks, chocolate cake.
