Park Slope's former Pavilion theater turns its marquee over to poets

As the conversion of Prospect Park’s erstwhile Pavilion Theater into Nitehawk Cinema plows on, a new initiative has appeared on site to attract the eyes of passersby. Over the Fourth of July weekend, three haiku poems that draw inspiration from classic films debuted on the theater’s marquee. Their goal? To give neighbors of the site something pleasant to look at.

The three haiku poems draw inspiration from Saturday Night Fever, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and She’s Gotta Have It. (The haikus in full are copied below.) This somewhat random act of poetry is the work of Saint Flashlight, the poetry-driven art installation duo of Molly Gross and Drew Pisarra.

In addition to the pleasant sidewalk poetry, Nitehawk has teamed up with the Prospect Park Alliance to bring film screenings to the park’s long meadow on select Wednesday nights throughout the summer. The movies have a kid-friendly bent, and come with free popcorn, as long as supplies last.

Nitehawk Prospect Park is on track for a winter 2017/2018 opening, a representative for the company confirms. The conversion will bring seven theaters with 650 seats, two bar areas, and an in-theater dining experience to the defunct Pavilion space.

Saturday Night Fever

right down to my blood
fast-footed strut this disco
love these teenage feet

-Diane Mehta

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

seed from a book not
the screen she cracked it open
under the skylight

-Karen Hudes (written for Leonard Library)

She’s Gotta Have It

a woman who loves
Nola Darling likes freedom
at peace with herself

-Molly Gross

• Movie-Inspired Poems at Nitehawk Prospect Park [Nitehawk]
• First peek inside Park Slope’s incoming Nitehawk Cinema [Curbed]