Literary Luncheon

Join the Friends of CSI for their signature Literary Luncheon featuring alumna Barbara Worton '73 and her book Chatterbox: Stories from a Noisy Life. Enjoy heartfelt stories and support scholarships for generations of CSI students.

The Friends of the College of Staten Island is a volunteer organization comprised of community members who are dedicated to the mission of the College. They hold the distinction of being the longest-serving volunteer group at the College for more than 49 years. The Literary Luncheon is their signature event, raising scholarships to benefit generations of CSI students.

Chatterbox: Stories from a Noisy Life is a vivid, humorous, and deeply human collection of personal essays, memories, and reflections on growing up, growing older, and everything in between. From loud family dinners on Long Island to quiet moments of introspection, Barbara Worton captures what it means to be a lifelong observer in a world full of chaos, charm, and contradiction. With warmth and wit, she invites readers into a life lived with open eyes and an open heart.

Worton writes about everything from pasta sauce and plastic slipcovers to Frank Sinatra, teenage crushes, justice marches, and the memories we carry in our own noisy ways. Whether laugh-out-loud funny or quietly poignant, these stories connect across generations, offering glimpses of childhood joy, adult insight, and cultural snapshots that feel both nostalgic and fresh. Chatterbox reminds us that there is beauty in the mess and meaning in the memories.

Barbara Worton, College of Staten Island Alumna, Class of 1973, is an author, poet, playwright, blogger, songwriter, and storyteller at heart. She co-founded the publishing company Great Little Books and has written everything from children's books to choreopoems, web memoirs, and essays featured in literary journals like The Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Paterson Literary Review, and VIA: Voices in Italian Americana. A proud member of the Italian American Writers Association and an occasional actress and lyricist, Barbara lives in New Jersey with her husband Geoff, and she never stops telling stories. Please visit https://www.barbaraworton.com/ to learn more about Barbara.

Books will be available for purchase at the event.

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