Poetry Night at ESPE's

My Name is New Orleans: 40 Years of Poetry and Other Jazz
by Arthur Pfister aka Professor Arturo.
The professor finally has collected his wide range of performance pieces and poems in one grand volume! Six sections present his humor and authentic New Orleans roots: Impressions -- Mens & Wimmins -- Ascension (Extreme Unction) -- The Great Miscellaneous Mischief -- War & Peace -- Whipped!!!

Professor ARTURO

Professor ARTURO (Arthur Pfister), a poet and fiction writer from New Orleans, is a Spoken Word artist, educator, performer, editor and speechwriter who received a Master of Arts degree in Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. degree in English/Journalism from the State University of New York-College at New Paltz. Pfister, one of the original Broadside Press poets of the 1960s, has collaborated on a medley of projects with a mélange of artists including painters, musicians, photographers, dancers, singers, fire eaters, waiters, cab drivers, and other members of the Great Miscellaneous. He has performed his poetry, fiction, toasts and “jazz poems” on a solo basis or with musical accompaniment at Ebony Square, Vincent’s City Club, the Contemporary Arts Center, the Louisiana Folklife Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Urban League’s Annual Golden Gala, Ashe Cultural Arts Center, Tulane University’s Amistad Research Center’s Achievement Award Banquet, True Brew Coffeehouse, the Gold Mine Saloon, ESPE’s, the Maple Leaf Bar, the Jazz Foundation of America (NYC), the Telephone Bar (NYC), the Bowery Poetry Club (NYC), Cornelia Street Café (NYC), Small’s Jazz Club (NYC) and an array of public/parochial schools, colleges, and churches nationwide. His work has been accompanied by musical legends such as Benjamin “Kidd” Lambert, Michael Beauchamp, Eluard Burte, Henry Butler, Willie Cole, Davell Crawford, Vinny Golia, Leroy Jones, the Magic Band, Porgy Jones, Kidd Jordan, Kid Millenberg and Earl Turbinton. He has also served as Featured Performance Poet at Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club and co-founded the performance series “ARTURO and Joe’s Old Skool Jazz & Poetry Open Mic Night” at New Orleans’ legendary Edgelake Bar (featured in Elvis Presley’s “King Creole”).

Pfister, who lists Amiri Baraka, Arthur Prysock, Gozo Yoshimasu and Guy de Maupassant among his influences, has had his work published in an array of diverse publications such as the NEW YORK Quarterly, FAHARI, the American Poetry Review, the Shooting Star Review, the Minnesota Review, NOLA.Tv, the Gallery Mirror, EBONY, From a Bend in the River, Mesechabe, Word Up, the Chicory Review, the New Laurel Review, the New Orleans Tribune, We Speak As Liberators, Black Spirits, A Broadside Treasury, and Swapping Stories: Folktales From Louisiana.

He has taught at educational institutions ranging from Northeastern University (Visiting Poet for the Africana Studies Center) to Texas Southern University (Writer In Residence). He has served as Academic Instructor for the New Orleans Urban League’s Computer Operations Training Center and as Poet In Residence at the Neighborhood Gallery. Prior to Katrina, he was employed by the New Orleans Job Corps as Academic/Pre-GED Instructor. He is presently teaching at a college in Connecticut.

Inquiries about the author’s availability for workshops, readings, collaborative projects, seminars, residencies, and publications should be directed to:
(504) 975-6676
arthurpfister@yahoo.com
www.professorarturo.com

International poet John Sinclair says of this book:
“Professor Arturo Pfister is one of the unsung heroes of contemporary poetry… The appearance of his collected work...will rescue his brilliant works from poetry oblivion and put them in our hands (and ears) where they belong. He captures in words the spirit, history and culture of New Orleans like no one else… This is the book his readers have been waiting for, and a terrific, unexpected treat for anyone who’s never heard Professor Arturo before.”

About Professor Arturo:
Spoken word artist, educator, performer, editor and speech writer, he is a poet and fiction writer of his native New Orleans . He has performed his poetry, fiction, toasts and “jazz poems” solo or with musical accompaniment at dozens of New Orleans venues and clubs, including the Contemporary Arts Center , Arts Center , the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and a performance series at the Edgelake Bar.
Since evacuating for Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the professor relocated to Stamford , CT where he teaches college English, performs in local clubs and also in poetry and jazz clubs in New York City . His work has appeared in periodicals as diverse as the NEW YORK Quarterly, the American Poetry Review, Ebony, and the New Orleans Tribune.