The Walt Whitman Birthplace is hosting Crossroads of Verse, a combination of poetry and music, on Friday, July 18, followed by an open mic event for the audience.
Two award-winning artists from Huntington Station — singer-songwriter Linda Sussman and poet Emily-Sue Sloane — will present Crossroads of Verse starting at 7 p.m.
The venue is Whitman’s former homestead, located at 246 Old Walt Whitman Road in Huntington Station.
Sussman, who delivers an Americana mix of folk and blues, explained how Crossroads of Verse got its name.
“I add my music in between Emily-Sue’s poetry so it's like a back and forth. That’s why we call it Crossroads of Verse. We try to keep it interesting for the audience, so you're not going to a full one hour of a poet reading or a full one hour of a musician singing.”
Originally from Queens, Sussman has been a musician for as long as she can recall, trying everything from the accordion to the clarinet before “getting serious” about guitar at age 11.
Today, she’s known for vocals similar to Joan Baez and the versatile stylings of the acoustic guitar she continues to play. Sussman has performed at venues including the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and New York City’s The Bitter End. She has released five albums since 2018, along with a number of singles.
Inspired by the beauty of Long Island’s natural settings, Sloane has published two books of poetry, We Are Beach Glass and Disconnects and Other Broken Threads.
As Sloane explained, “My poetry is free verse so it’s not the rhyming kind, and I write about a broad range of topics. The inspiration could come from a conversation I overhear or a painting I’m enjoying or family and memories…It does open up a lot of opportunities for Linda’s music and my poetry to coincide.” A Glen Cove transplant, Sloane retired from a career in publishing.
The artists hope their show will inspire the community to express their talents during the hour-long open mic event at 8 p.m.
“Long Island is just full of creative people and really good talent so we are happy that our program will precede what hopefully will be a very lively and wonderful open mic event,” Sussman said. “We really credit Walt Whitman the Birthplace and (Director) Caitlyn (Shea) and the folks that work over there for bringing the community of creative folks together, not just for poetry but incorporating some music as well.”
According to the Walt Whitman Birthplace website, the open mic night invites poets, musicians, comedians and others to share their acts. Tickets are $12. Reservations can be made at https://waltwhitman.org.