A Busy Summer 2026

A Busy Summer 2026


Greetings!

It feels good to be this busy — carrying Pierre’s work forward, & keeping the promise I made to him: to keep going with my own work.
So this spring/summer is full. Pierre’s Reader is out. the Poets House three-months exhibition of his notebooks opens on July 14 —his 80th birthday. His gravestone has been erected. My exhibition with my dear friend, the indefatigable & inspiring eco-artist Betsy Damon, is around the corner. Ariane Daguin & I keep cooking along on Voilà Voilà!!, our cooking channel. This Saturday I will be reading from Pierre’s work at Stand4 Gallery as part of Jennifer Jo McGregor’s beautiful exhibition, Charting the Narrows & the Harbor . And Rigwreck, titled after Pierre’s poem & for which he wrote the libretto, is now out from The Crossings the four-times Grammy winning choir conducted by Donald Nally.
Below you’ll find all the information, links & dates. Please come in person if you can — and if you are too far away, you can always follow along online.
Thank you for reading.

À bientôt,
Nicole

DAMON / PEYRAFITTE

 

Betsy DamonWATER, the Agent of Life
Nicole PeyrafitteMementos of a Life Practice

OPENING 6PM
with Action Performance Painting 7PM
Ben Chadabe (percussions)
Thursday June 18


COLLECTIVE ACTION CONVERSATION
Saturday, June 20, 4pm
Betsy Damon and Lauren Bon

LIVING PRACTICES
Friday, June 26, 7pm

Short Films & Conversations with Betsy Damon & Nicole Peyrafitte
Moderated by Alex Jones

BIRD-STATE: A PERFORMATIVE READING
Tuesday, June 30, 7pm
Nicole Peyrafitte
Please join Nicole Peyrafitte at the gallery for Bird-State: A Performative Reading, an evening of bird poems, field notes, voice, and embodied attention presented within the exhibition.
She will read from her ongoing Bird-State series, alongside selected bird poems by Pierre Joris.
Rooted in fieldwork, memory, shores, migration, and the other-than-human world, the evening will bring together poetry, observation, and performance as part of Peyrafitte’s living practice of Bird-State.

198 Gallery
198, 24th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232

https://www.flipsnack.com/6877BAF7C6F/damon_peyrafitte_card-_web

THE READER IS OUT!



In Between Keep Moving: A Pierre Joris Reader (2026)
Edited by Ariel Resnikoff & Pierre Joris
Afterword by Charles Bernstein.
In Between, Keep Moving: The Pierre Joris Reader gathers, for the first time, the range of Pierre Joris’ work across poetry, prose, poetics, translation & collaboration. Spanning more than half a century, it includes a previously unpublished memoir section and traces his lifelong movement through languages, thresholds & translingual word-worlds. The volume opens toward the continuing life of his work. 


PIERRE JORIS’ NOTEBOOKS

Poets House

Please save the date:
Pierre Joris’ Notebooks Exhibition
Poets House, New York
July–October 2026
Opening July 14 on Pierre’s 80th birthday
Reading with guests soon TBA

Before Pierre’s notebooks travel to the Centre National de Littérature du Luxembourg to be fully digitized and made available to the world, Poets House will present a three-month exhibition curated by John Vincler & the Poets House team, with events, readings & seminars to be announced soon.


VOILÀ VOILÀ ! 

Are you following Voilà Voilà?
With Ariane Daguin, we created a lively cooking series rooted in friendship, Gascon know-how & the pleasure of cooking with confidence. Find us, follow us, & comment on: InstagramFacebookTikTok or YouTube 
We have now posted to 40 fun, instructive food videos — and counting — and have also been leading joyful hands-on workshops at AOOA Farm, with more coming up. Next workshop: August 9 — Omelettes!  


READING PIERRE’S POEM AT STAND 4 GALLERY

I am delighted — & deeply moved — to have been invited by Jennifer Jo McGregor to read Pierre’s poems as part of her beautiful exhibition, Charting the Narrows & the Harbor. Pierre launched Interglacial Narrows at Stand 4 in 2023 (full reading here). So it was especially meaningful to read his poems to echo Jennifer’s work on the Narrows, the harbor, shoreline weather, maps, memory, land & water.

Was May 23 — 3-4 PM 
414, 78th Street, Brooklyn, NY11209


GREENWOOD: Pierre’s resting place

Pierre’s gravestone has now been erected in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.He is located in Cedar Dell, also known as Druid Circle — one of the cemetery’s most historic areas, with some of its oldest grave markers dating back to the mid-eighteenth century. Pierre & I used to visit this place.Go read him a poem & bring your binoculars too — Green-Wood is a prime birding destination.  
Look for lot 44602 

LAST NOTE!

Pierre was very fond of his several collaborations with The Crossing, and it is wonderful to see Rigwreck — titled after Pierre’s poem, with music by composer Gabriel Jackson and text/libretto by Pierre Joris — now out, performed by the award-winning choir The Crossing under conductor Donald Nally. Streaming links are gathered here, and physical CDs are available through The Crossing’s album page.

Nicole Peyrafitte /  Karstic-Action : Overstory  / Pastels, Pigments, Egg Yolks on Paper / 78”x42”

Pierre’s Book Launch & More News 

Pierre’s Book Launch & More News 

Hello,

I hope this note finds you well, resilient & able to enjoy replenishing moments. 
 On my side, it’s been busy — which is good, because adjusting to life without Pierre is not easy. Grief is a quite a journey, I’m trying to embrace it as best as possible while keeping active, which is, thankfully, my nature.
One major focus has been getting Pierre’s selected poems POASIS II ready. He had finished the manuscript before he passed and had done most of the copyediting. It’s now fresh off the press — and it really looks beautiful.
Please save the date for the upcoming NYC Memorial & POASIS II book launch:

Friday September 12, 2025
Pierre Joris — Poasis: Many Tongues, Many Fires
The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church
131 E 10th St, New York, NY
Reception 7:15PM
Reading: 8PM sharp

The program will feature poetry, music, & tributes reflecting the scope of Pierre’s decades-spanning, boundary-crossing work. — and most of all POASIS II (Wesleyan University Press), selected poems from 2000–2024. Copies will be available at the event, and you can also order the book online if you cannot attend.
Book link: https://www.weslpress.org/9780819501950/poasis-ii/

 On this occasion, we are thrilled to launch the Pierre Joris Fund for Radical Reversal. Pierre cared deeply about this program & had a lasting impact on its founder, poet and Executive Director Randall Horton. While earning his PhD at SUNY Albany after returning to society from the carceral state, Randall found in Pierre a mentor who recognized the urgency of his voice: “I am not Dr. Horton without Pierre.”         
The fund supports arts programs for young people at the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center in Birmingham, Alabama — providing books, art supplies, and teaching artists to foster healing, self-discovery, and a powerful turn toward a brighter future.

Donate
Other Events:

Philadelphia — September 10, 2025
The Kelly Writers House, UPENN
Special Episode of PoemTalk: Pierre Joris & Jerome Rothenberg
6:00 PM in person
Co-sponsored by: The Creative Writing Program
RSVP here to attend in person 

Albany — September 27, 2025
Pierre Joris — Poasis & Beyond: Always the ManyPart 1: Panel — 4:00–5:30 p.m. in UAlbany Campus Center Auditorium,
Sponsored by NYSWI and Department of English.
Part 2: Reading & Performance — 6:30 p.m. in UAlbany Campus Center Multipurpose Room following a 5:30 p.m. reception. Hosted by Department of English with support from NYSWI. More details TBA.
Presented by The English Department, New York State Writers Institute, and University at Albany, as part of NYSWI Book Festival
Turning to My Own Projects:

Bird-State in Iceland!

Next week I leave for a two-week artist residency at Gullkistan, Center for Creativity in Iceland. I’m excited to immerse myself in the landscape, document birds, and work in that extraordinary environment while pursuing my ongoing project Bird-State.If you missed the spring exhibition Bird-State: Amor de Lohn, there is a full documentation of the project here

Voilà! Voilà Kitchen! September Launch

With my great friend Ariane Daguin — co-founder of D’Artagnan, culinary celebrity, & champion of sustainable, high-quality ingredients — we are launching Voilà Voilà! Kitchen, a social media cooking channel.

We’re thrilled to continue a family tradition — our parents collaborated on gastronomy projects starting in the 1960s. Our videos bring that spirit to today’s kitchen: quick, flavorful recipes, a good dose of Gascon humor, and the great joy of cooking together.

And yes! we’re definitely counting on all of you to help make us viral!
So please, tune in soon to “like” & comment!!

You will find us on:
Instagram: @voilavoilakitchen 
Facebook: @voilavoilakitchen 
TikTok: @voilavoilakitchen 
YouTube:@voilavoilakitchen 

Keep in touch!

Pierre Joris — Poasis & Beyond: Always the Many @ NYSW BookFestival Albany,NY

Pierre Joris — Poasis & Beyond: Always the Many @ NYSW BookFestival Albany,NY

Albany — September 27, 2025
Pierre Joris — Poasis & Beyond: Always the Many

Part 1: Panel — 4:00–5:30 p.m. in UAlbany Campus Center Auditorium,
Sponsored by NYSWI and Department of English.
Part 2: Reading & Performance — 6:30 p.m. in UAlbany Campus Center Multipurpose Room following a 5:30 p.m. reception. Hosted by Department of English with support from NYSWI. More details TBA.
Presented by The English Department, New York State Writers Institute, and University at Albany, as part of NYSWI Book Festival

Essential Shore / Permeable Future

Essential Shore / Permeable Future

As most of you know by now, Pierre left us on February 26th. It’s now mid-April, and I can’t say it’s getting any easier. The waves of grief still surge with great intensity—but, as he instructed us:

not to worry:
you had your birth
given you / you
will be
given your death —

in between
keep moving


Pierre Joris (1946-2025)

And so, we move on—back to the work he so fully supported us in doing. A few weeks ago, I wrote this blog reflecting on our Domopoetics—e.i. our shared life & collaboration—& posted photos about his earthing here.
Before he passed, Pierre had completed two books that will be published as follow:

Fall 2025: Poasis II: Selected Poems 2000–2024 (Wesleyan University Press, 2026)
Early 2026: In Between Keep Moving: A Pierre Joris Reader — edited by Ariel Resnikoff & Pierre Joris (Contra Mundum Press, 2026)
Many gatherings, readings, conferences, & celebrations of Pierre’s life and work are currently being scheduled. I’ll continue to share updates as more details come in.

Meanwhile, let me share a personal update that’s very dear to me. It is such an honor to be among the artists selected for:

Essential Shore / Permeable Future
Bay Ridge Public Art & Ecology Biennial

April 19 – June 21, 2025
Curated by Jennifer McGregor

Opening Reception Saturday April 19 , 3:00 – 6:00
the Gallery opens for viewing 12:00

Stand4 Gallery 
414 78th Street
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn New York 11209 US MAP

Participating Artists:
Cynthia AlbertoGraciela CasselBetsy DamonThomas GallagherSunk Shore: Clarina Mac Low and Carolyn HallJan MunAngel Nevarez/Valerie TevereSeema Lisa PandyaNicole PeyrafitteAnna Bessie Ratner (The Other Almanac), Hannah SalyerBrooke Singer.

When I was invited to submit a project for the Essential Shore / Permeable Future exhibition, I knew it had to be compatible with our current domopoetic life—which had come to include serious health challenges. It had to be something rooted in care, resilience, & presence—something that could fold within the unpredictable, fragmented rhythm of our days, & it did.

The title of my piece is Amor de Lohn: Calidris maritima (Love from Afar: Purple Sandpipers). It is part of my ongoing Bird State project, & this iteration focuses on the presence of a colony of High-Arctic breeders that winter along Shore Road & Gravesend Bay, just steps from our home. For years, the Purple sandpipers’ return has been a quiet source of strength for me. Documenting them—through photography, video, writing, and drawing—became a practice I could sustain in brief, nourishing moments, attuned to the tide, the weather, and the shifting rhythm of our days, all while staying close to Pierre.

For years, we observed, counted, & loved “the Purples” together. This year, he couldn’t go see them—but I brought them to him. He watched the videos, saw the painting in progress, read the early text drafts, the photos, & what would become the exhibition poster. He was proud, supportive, encouraging, & wanted me to carry on —I promised I would.

This work is dedicated to Pierre, with all the love that shaped it.

Photo by Betsy Damon

Website for the exhibition & programming is here but here are the events I will be part of:

— May 3rd : I will lead a Bird Tour on NYC Ferry  (details coming soon)
— June 11 : Part of the Film Screening at Alpine Cinema (evening)

I am deeply grateful to Jennifer McGregor (curator) & Jeannine Bardo (gallery director) for their supportive, loving & caring curation through such a challenging time.
I hope to see you at the opening, but if you can’t make it, let me know & we’ll find another day to go together.

 Resist! Persit & Care!
Nicole

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