Y: Yoga

While Kyle prefers doing yoga from the comfort of his own apartment, I sometimes like to venture out to a studio. Something about the energy of others and the roaming teacher inspires me to work harder. Like most urban areas these days, Brooklyn has more than it’s fair share of places to practice.

Technically my favorite New York yoga studio is in Manhattan. I love the sunny atmosphere, the free lemon sandwich cookies, and the cheaper, 1 hour classes at Laughing Lotus. However, sometimes commuting all the way to 19th Street is just too much effort. What’s the point of yoga if the stressful, crowded subway ride back home cancels out that warm relaxed feeling?

X: Xtra-Special Literary Festival

OK, so this is a bit (a lot) of a stretch for the “X” entry, but Kyle and I wanted to be sure to plug the annual Fort Greene Literary Festival in time for you to attend. The event is intimate and community oriented–last year many of the writers were from the neighborhood, and I later ran into some of them on the streets.  Think booths from places like the library and independent publishers , lots of families sprawled out on picnic blankets, and musical interludes.  Really, what could be better than a sunny day in the park complete with books and readings?

The festival will be held on the hill in the park this Saturday, August 18th at 4:30pm. Authors attending include Gloria Naylor, Jennifer Egan, Chris Abani, Staceyann Chin, and Roger Bonair-Agard. Students from a neighborhood summer workshop and the P.L.A.Y.E.R.S. Club Steppers will also perform.

This promises to be the kind of event that makes you very glad to live in Brooklyn. And (no small feat) it even tops the Halloween dog costume parade as my favorite Fort Greene Park gathering.

W: Walking Brooklyn

When I attended Book Expo America this past spring with Michelle, I picked up an advance copy of Adrienne Onofri’s Walking Brooklyn (Wilderness Press, 2007) with the intention of making it the “W” of my Brooklyn alphabet. I was not disappointed. The small book (perfect for carrying in your bag) details 30 different Brooklyn neighborhood walks. Kyle and I often take off on our own circuitous routes through Bed-Stuy or Prospect Heights, but with this book, you actually have a friendly tour guide by your side. Each walk includes maps and bullet points of historical, cultural, and architectural information. For example, Onofri explains what’s up with Farrell’s, the old-time bar near my Windsor Terrace apartment that my roommates and I always wonder about:

“Farrell’s is said to be one of the first bars opened in Brooklyn after Prohibition was repealed. Cops, firefighters, and neighborhood loyalists love Farrell’s, which was featured in a scene with Helen Hunt and Shirley Knight in the Oscar-winning flick As Good As It Gets” (92).