Time Warner Cable’s NYC Region & Ovation Partner to Sponsor 92nd Street Y’s Poetry Center Schools Project

Rosanne Cash Kicks Off 92Y Schools Project on Thursday, October 7th

Other Writers to Appear in 92Y’s Literary Series Include Jonathan Franzen,
Salman Rushdie & Maxine Hong Kingston


New York – September 28, 2010:   Time Warner Cable’s New York City Region and Ovation, the only channel devoted to art and contemporary culture, have partnered with New York’s celebrated 92nd Street Y to sponsor 92Y’s Poetry Center Schools Project (PCSP), an educational outreach program that reaches 1500 public high-school students annually.  The new season will kick off October 7 with singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash and a reception at 92Y hosted by Ovation and Time Warner Cable prior to the evening’s program.

This season, the Poetry Center Schools Project celebrates 22 years of bringing the literary resources of 92Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center to 1,500 public high school students in 15 schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.  The program combines classroom sessions that explore the work of leading contemporary writers with an opportunity for students to meet with the writers and then watch them read from their work on the stage of 92Y’s 900-seat concert hall.  In addition to encouraging teenagers to be readers of literature, the program includes weekly creative writing workshops at 92Y.  There, students are empowered to use their own lives and experiences as inspiration for essays, fiction and poetry.  All components of the program, including transportation to and from 92Y, are free for both the schools and students.
 
“92nd Street Y is committed to providing outstanding cultural experiences to children and adults who might not otherwise encounter the joys of literature, music, art and dance in their daily lives,” said Sol Adler, 92Y Executive Director. “The generous support of Time Warner Cable and Ovation makes it possible for us to continue 92Y’s Poetry Center Schools Project into its third decade, and the upcoming season features a stellar roster of authors who are sure to inspire young readers.”

In addition to Ms. Cash, the Project’s visiting writers this season will include:
Paul Muldoon, Don Paterson                                                        October 14
Nicole Krauss, Cynthia Ozick                                                        November 8
Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore                                                  November 15
Salman Rushdie                                                                             November 22
Galway Kinnell                                                                                 December 9
Ian Frazier, John McPhee                                                              December 13
Maxine Hong Kingston, Leslie Marmon Silko                           January 31
Celebration of Tennessee Williams with Tony Kushner        February 7
C.K. Williams, C.D. Wright                                                            March 3
Victor LaValle, Gary Shteyngart                                                    March 7
Rosanna Warren, Bei Dao                                                           March 31

“92nd Street Y is an iconic cultural and educational institution in New York City.  Time Warner Cable’s partnership with Ovation helps us continue one of 92Y’s longest-running programs designed to bring a unique learning experience to young adults in the local community,” said Harriet Novet, Regional Vice President, Public Affairs, Time Warner Cable’s NYC Region. “In addition to supporting the Schools Project, this partnership will provide our viewers with a chance to see this wonderful program in action, through short documentary videos that will be made available to Time Warner Cable customers on Channel 1111 using our free On Demand platform.”  

“The 92Y Poetry Center program helps thousands of at-risk high-school kids connect with inspiring teachers and talent that will ultimately help them excel and hone vital skills for their future,” said Debra Balamos, VP of Marketing, Ovation. “This sponsorship provides Ovation and Time Warner Cable with the opportunity to support this exceptional program.”

About 92Y:
92nd Street Y’s unique fusion of community and culture makes it the only place of its kind in the world. 92Y is a community center, performance stage and lecture hall; a literary salon and home for artists; a school, outreach organization and summer camp; a gym, a residence and more. 92nd Street Y, a proudly Jewish institution since its inception in 1874, has become a community of communities, welcoming people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds. Now serving more than 300,000 people each year in its New York facilities, 92Y also reaches millions of “virtual” guests around the world through its website, satellite broadcasts and other electronic media.  Committed to making its programs available to everyone, 92nd Street Y awards nearly $1 million in scholarships annually and reaches about 7500 public school children through subsidized arts and science education programs.  For more information, please visit www.92Y.org.

About Time Warner Cable’s New York City Region:
Time Warner Cable’s New York City Region serves over 1.4 million customers in four NYC boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and western Brooklyn), Mt. Vernon and Hudson Valley (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster counties and parts of Dutchess, Greene and Delaware counties), New York, and Bergen and Hudson Counties, New Jersey.  For more information, visit www.timewarnercable.com/nynj.

Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S., with technologically advanced, well-clustered systems located in five geographic areas — New York State (including New York City), the Carolinas, Ohio, southern California (including Los Angeles) and Texas.  Time Warner Cable serves more than 14 million customers who subscribe to one or more of its video, high-speed data and voice services.  Time Warner Cable Business Class offers a suite of phone, Internet, Ethernet and cable television services to businesses of all sizes. Time Warner Cable Media Sales, the advertising arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions that are targeted and affordable.  More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.timewarnercable.com, www.twcbc.com and www.twcmediasales.com.

About Ovation:  
Ovation is the only multi-platform network devoted to art contemporary culture. The network creates and curates one-of-a-kind programming about all the art people enjoy most, from the popular to the avant-garde and everything in between. The channel reaches a national audience of 42 million households through carriage on cable systems, DirecTV (channel 274), Dish Network (channel 157) and telco systems nationally.  Ovation’s programming is also available on video on demand (in both standard and high definition) in the US. Ovation’s popular website (http:// www.OvationTV.com) is a dynamic experience, featuring information about local and national happenings in the art world, as well as a vibrant community of artists who have uploaded over 120,000 pieces of original art.
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CONTACTS:

Beverly Greenfield, 92nd Street Y
212-415-5452, bgreenfield@92Y.org
Images and more information available at http://www.OvationTV.com/media

Suzanne Giuliani, Time Warner Cable
212-598-7391, suzanne.giuliani@twcable.com

Patricia Frith
Patricia Frith Marketing (for Ovation)
818 876-0480, pfmarketing@roadrunner.com