MEETUP: A NATTERING OF NAOMIS

At any given moment, there may well be a number of people named Naomi scattered across Prospect Park’s five hundred-odd acres.

- —Jane Bua

But, on a recent cloudy Saturday afternoon, the population peaked ona patch of grass labelled “Barbecue Area.” Sitting in a duck-duck-goose circle, on top of colorful blankets, were citizens tall and short, young and slightly older—all with one common denominator.

“I’ve never met another Naomi!” one said, looking around the group.

“I'm really bad with names, so this is such a relief,” another said.

“Should we do introductions?”

“I’m Naomi. I work in software.”

“I’m Naomi. I’m a student at Barnard.”

“I’m Naomi. I work in employee relations, but I’m going to law school in the fall!” Congratulations rippled around the circle.

“I sell wine for an importer.”

“I’m a writer.”

Also a writer? The Naomi who inspired this council: the author and activist Naomi Klein. In her book “Doppelganger,” Klein talks about being frequently mistaken for Naomi Wolf, the third-wave feminist turned anti-vax conspiracy theorist. “I read the back cover and I thought, This would be really fun to talk about with other Naomis,” Naomi Becker, the meetup’s organizer, said.

Back in March, Becker, a thirty-oneyear-old data manager at an immigration-advocacy organization, started putting up flyers that read “Is Your Name Naomi?,” inviting Naomis (and Nomis and Noemis and Naomys) to discuss the book and the name that inspired it. The flyer included a map with an arrow pointing to a vague spot.