In a wonderful offering of sight and sound, “New York Portraits and Poetry” at the Mark Miller Gallery will feature images of life changing moments behind the news headlines by photojournalist Benjamin Fractenberg. His images will be complemented by a poetry reading that depicts portraits of love and life in the city by award-winning poet Lucas Hunt. Hunt will be reading from his new volume of poems Light on Concrete at 7pm.

Ben Fractenberg’s work focuses on everyday New Yorkers in life-changing situations. His photographs create an intimate connection with people coping with tragedy, finishing extraordinary journeys and facing intolerance with acts of courage. Ben Fractenberg is a photojournalist and reporter covering breaking news and producing multimedia feature pieces in Manhattan. Ben currently works for DNAinfo.com, a start-up that provides local news for Manhattan neighborhoods. His photography has appeared in The New York Times, Daily News, and Haaretz, among other outlets.

In his second volume of poetry, Light on the Concrete, American poet Lucas Hunt captures our hunger for happiness at its most intense. His poems anticipate love and unveil the primal world of our senses. Hunt’s voice is lyrical, abstract, and fearless. Light on the Concrete presents those moments of beauty and unrest that define our lives.

Lucas Hunt’s debut collection of poetry, Lives, was published to critical acclaim in 2006. His poems have appeared in many literary reviews, including The Southampton Review, Slice, Confrontation, and Anderbo. Hunt studied at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop, and in the MFA program at Southampton College. He is the recipient of a John Steinbeck Award for poetry.