Heart is what will bring Queens author Atiba Rogers to lower Manhattan this Saturday to a place ironically named the Heart of Little Italy Daylight Studio.
Rogers will be hosting a signing of her self-published book, “Colossal Heart,” with all proceeds going toward a scholarship fund for journalism students that she is creating.
During the signing, Rogers will read excerpts from the book, which has eight new poems. Paperback copies and lapel pins will be sold at the signing with all the money raised from sales going toward still-in-the-works fund to underrepresented, low-income graduate students in journalism programs which are notoriously lacking in diversity.
A native of Trinidad, Rogers moved to Queens as a child and grew up in Jamaica but eventually moved to Far Rockaway.
The author said in an interview last year with QNS that the majority of “Colossal Heart” was written on the train during her commutes to class at Stone Brook University. The young author’s debut book of poems and prose is a collection of emotionally raw work all stemming from her personal experiences with love, lust, loss and growth. It is broken into four sections: bemoan, expressionist, exhibitionist and lion with each part giving voice to the memories of different areas of Rogers’ life.
A good poem is a contribution to reality, as Dylan Thomas once said, and Rogers’ work helps readers learn about themselves and others.
The book signing will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last until 8:30 p.m. at 385 Broome St., Suite #2. For more information, visit www.colossal-heart.com.
