Three Rooms Press & Flanders House NY present:

A New Flavor of Belgian Chocolate:
An Evening of Contemporary Flemish Visual and Sound Poetry

Celebrating the US release of This Is Belgian Chocolate: Manifestations of Poetry with live reading and performance by author Philip Meersman

Monday, November 17, 2014 (doors open 6:30pm; program 7pm)

Flanders House New York
The New York Times Building
620 Eighth Avenue, 44th Floor
New York, NY 10018

FREE ADMISSION
Reservations required. RSVP by November 14 to rsvp4@flandershouse.org
Reception follows with complimentary Belgian treats: Beer / Snacks / Chocolate

Noted Brussels-based visual and sound poet Philip Meersman makes his New York debut with an evening of provocative performance and reading at Flanders House NYC, Monday, November 17 at 7pm. The event will celebrate the release of his first American book, THIS IS BELGIAN CHOCOLATE: MANIFESTATIONS OF POETRY (978-1-941110-01-0, Nov 2014, Three Rooms Press). Complimentary Belgian treats, including beer, snacks and chocolate will be served. The new book will also be available for purchase and signing at the event. A percentage of the profits will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. Admission is free.

THIS IS BELGIAN CHOCOLATE is vivid collage of both verse and concrete, visual poetry that takes no prisoners in its Kamikaze bombardment of anti-war initiatives and environmental issues, in which single words explode across the page or join at beautiful intersections to create a thoroughly experiential read.

Even before its release, the book has generated intense international interest, with rave reviews from America and Europe, including:

“Philip Meersman exemplifies the best of the new poetry and the new visual poetry. Endlessly inventive, creatively confrontational, eager to transgress—these qualities keep the reader perpetually off balance, which is to say perpetually alive.”
—Willard Bohn, professor emeritus, Illinois State University; author of Reading Visual Poetry

“Just as Dada broadened our understanding of art, Meersman’s work broadens our under­standing of Dada. Visual poetry, sound poetry, multi-language puns, lots of humor and social concerns converge in This Is Belgian Chocolate to prove, once again, that the revolution of the word and the revolution of the world cannot but come together.”
—Mercedes Roffé, poet and translator; author of Carcaj: Vislumbres

“The book should only get a warning note: “reading this book may forever change your view on poetry”. . . Lightning language, wild wordplay and interesting intertextuality.”
—Yves Juris, Tzum literair

Philip Meersman

PHILIP MEERSMAN is a multilingual poet and performer who pushes boundaries of poetry in both written and spoken form, drawing on current affairs, sociopolitical and environmental issues. His poems range from narrative and traditional form, to directives for performance pieces, to concrete studies of sound, individual words and even letters themselves. His work has been performed in more than 11 countries and translated into 13 languages. He is a cofounder of DAstrugistenDA, artiestencollectief JA!, BruSlam, and the president of BAAZ (Belgische Afdeling van de (Internationale) Academia Zaum). Meersman studied archeology and art history and lives in Jette, Belgium.

FLANDERS HOUSE NEW YORK is located on the 44th floor of The New York Times Building and aims to be the gateway to Flanders (Belgium) and the United States.
Its mission is to promote a better understanding of the region of Flanders, including its culture, history, government, research, education, and innovation.

Flanders House can easily be reached by public transport: it is housed on the 44th floor of The New York Times Building, right across from Port Authority (buses from New York & New Jersey) and is also easily accessed via Subway Station Port Authority – 42nd Street – Times Square (lines N, R, Q, W, A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, S).

For additional information about the author, including photos, interview requests and details about THIS IS BELGIAN CHOCOLATE, please contact Kat Georges, co-director of Three Rooms Press, at kat.georges@threeroomspress.com.

Reservations required. To RSVP for the event, email rsvp4@flandershouse.org by November 14th.