“The Caffe Cino began before it actually began. It began part way down the street. Outdoor golden, amber and rose colored lights, not neon, spilled across the sidewalk and made their way towards you, silently, like dancers, as you approached. Everything about the Caffe Cino began before it began. Inside the room all time stopped. There was no time inside except magic time. This is how Magie Dominic describes the Caffe Cino in her book The Queen Of Peace Room. The Caffe Cino, a very small caffe theater on Cornelia Street in New York, opened in 1958, produced plays and theater work until its closing in 1968, and was the home of Off-Off Broadway. Magie Dominic was one of the original performers at the Caffe, and like many, worked in a multiple of capacities. During its 10 year existence, Joe Cino, owner of the Caffe Cino, produced the work of hundreds of new writers, many of whom went on to win a multitude of awards -including Pulitzers, Tonys, Academy Awards and Obies. The Caffe Cino was the incubator. Among the many writers whose work was presented at the Caffe, fifteen women poets and playwrights presented their work there. Although their work spanned 1959-1968, the full existence of the Caffe, their collective contribution to the Caffe Cino’s history has gone basically unnoticed. On Thursday, March 16th at 6pm Magie Dominic will present the very first program to focus on the work of these fifteen women writers. In celebration of Women’s History Month, the evening itself will be history making as it will be the first time that the story of these women writers will be brought together. The Caffe Cino recently received National Historic Landmark Status.