Book Markers 07.21.11

Poems in the Salty Air

    Long-lived and as widely published as he is prolific, the poet Simon Perchik will read from his work on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Amagansett. The occasion is the free Poetry Marathon, organized as ever by Sylvia Chavkin and Bebe Antell, the site is the Marine Museum on Bluff Road, and the event is free and followed by a reception at which those in attendance can chat with the poets and help themselves to light refreshments.

    Yes, that was “poets,” and making it plural will be Lucas Hunt, who, like Mr. Perchik, is an East Hamptoner, though one born roughly 30 years after the latter wrapped up his service as a pilot in World War II. Mr. Hunt is the author of “Lives,” published by Vagabond Press, and a new collection, “Light on the Concrete,” from the North Sea Poetry Scene Press.

    The following week brings Carol Stone and Monica Enders.

Launching the New Review

    Let’s begin with an embarrassment of riches, the nearly blinding lineup of literary lights reading tomorrow at a celebration for the latest issue of The Southampton Review: Roger Rosenblatt, Meg Wolitzer, Melissa Bank, David Rakoff, Helen Simonson, and Matthew Klam. Poets, too: Billy Collins, Mark Doty, and Julie Sheehan.

    You get the idea, reader; can we leave off every last award and thumbnail bio and get to the meat? The choice words will start flowing at 7:30 p.m. in the Avram Theater on the Stony Brook Southampton campus as part of this year’s writers conference. The brainchild of Robert Reeves, the director of the college’s M.F.A. program in writing and literature, the journal is published twice a year. Its editor in chief, Lou Ann Walker, said in a release that the goal is to strike a balance — between “established and emerging writers” and by emphasizing East End writers in “an international publication open to all.”

    The Southampton Review has also featured the work of South Fork artists ranging from Roy Lichtenstein to Eric Fischl to Frederick Childe Hassam, as well as cartoons, most notably by Jules Feiffer.

    Tickets cost $10 at the door. Reservations can be made by calling the college or visiting stonybrook.edu/avram.