1/3/2014: 7th Annual NYC Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading

Celebrate the start of the new year with the 7th annual Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading, Jan. 3, 2014, 6pm at Cornelia St. Cafe (29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th and Bleecker in NYC).

Charles Bukowski was truly one of the few and far between: a champion of the outsider, the lost and lonely, the outcasts from society. His work resonates like none other, revealing the core of what it is to be human—sans electronics—counting on nothing, but ready to win, be it with horses, women or writing. 

The event, held on the first Friday of the new year since 2008, will feature performances of Bukowski poems and tales by a unique cast of hardcore fans including controversial monologist/actor Mike Daisey, playwrights Richard Vetere and Michael Puzzo, poets Angelo Verga and Puma Perl, plus Three Rooms Press co-directors Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges.

Readers will explore Bukowski’s works with respect to its place in contemporary culture. What would Buk think of ObamaCare? iPhones? Smart drugs? So much seems to have changed since his time—has it really? 

Rare videos of Bukowski, plus giveaways of Buk books, CDs, DVDs and other prizes will highlight the event. Doors open at 5:45. Admission is $12 which includes (naturally) a free drink! Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village, between W. 4th Street at Bleecker (http://corneliastreecafe.com/). 

Info and reservations: info@threeroomspress.com 

This year's reading will also toast the one year anniversary of THE MONTHLY at Cornelia Street Cafe, hosted by Three Rooms Press, which brings together writers, artists, philosophers and scientists to discuss a monthly theme. Past themes have included women in love, conspiracy theories (on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination), and illegal Leaves of Grass, an exploration of grass-related ideas from Walt Whitman to the War on Drugs.

Information on key performers:

Mike Daisey is an American monologist, author, actor and raconteur best known for his extemporaneous monologues about Nikola Tesla, L. Ron Hubbard, Steve Jobs and Apple's supply chain in China, the Department of Homeland Security, the history of the New York transit system, 9/11, the inventor of the neutron bomb, Wal-Mart and a variety of other topics. He has recently been touring nationally with his new monologue, THE SECRET WAR about America's relationship with guns. 

Richard Vetere is an American playwright and screenwriter whose work has received international critical acclaim. His most recent work includes the play Last Day, and a novel, Baroque, about Caravaggio and the people he painted in Rome. His authored a recent poetry collection, The Other Colors in a Snow Storm. Movies include The Third Miracle, How to Go Out on a Date in Queens, and the cult classic, Vigilante. His highly-praised new novel, THE WRITERS AFTERLIFE, is due out in March 2014 on Three Rooms Press. 

Michael Puzzo is an American playwright and actor associated with the Labyrinth Theater Company. His new play, Spirits of Exit Eleven, set in a New Jersey strip club/pizza parlor on Halloween had its NYC premiere in 2013 and received high critical praise. He loves Bukowski! 

Peter Carlaftes is a New York-based screenwriter, playwright, actor, poet, and editor. He is the author of 12 plays, including a noir treatment of Knut Hamsun’s Hunger, and the celebrity rehab center spoof, Spin-Dry. He has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including his comic solo performance piece, Lenny Bruce: Dead & Well, as well as Barefoot in the Park and Stephen Adly Guirgis' Den of Thieves. As an author, Carlaftes has penned three books: A Year on Facebook (humor), Drunkyard Dog and I Fold With The Hand I Was Dealt (poetry) and Triumph for Rent (3 plays). He is a co-director of Three Rooms Press, and has served as editor for the annual Dada journal, Maintenant, the annual short story anthology, Have a NYC, and the recent photography and poetry book by punk rock bassist Mike Watt, On and Off Bass. 

Angelo Verga is a former postal worker, like Bukowski, and curator of the literary events at Cornelia Street Cafe, as well as a teacher, editor and poet. His work has been published in hundreds of journals, and his books include "A Hurricane Is," 3 Poets 4 Peace (Against The Tide, 2003), 33 New York City Poems (Booklyn, 2005) and Praise for What Remains (Three Rooms, 2009). 

Puma Perl is a poet, performance artist and curator, founder of DDAY Productions and author of several poetry collections including: Ruby True, Kunckle Tattoos and Belinda and Her Friends. She notes, "with Bukowski, you can open any book randomly and find a poem to read." 

Kat Georges is a New York-based poet, playwright, performer and designer. In New York since 2003, she has curated poetry readings, performed widely, and written and directed numerous Off-Broadway plays (including Jack Kerouac: Catholic by Larry Myers, and The Old In-and-Out, by Madeline Artenberg and Karen Hildebrand, as well as her own work SCUM: The Valerie Solanas Story, and Art Was Here, a play inspired by Dada predecessor Arthur Cravan). She is co-director of Three Rooms Press. Books include Slow Dance and 120 Beats a Minute, Punk Rock Journal and Our Lady of the Hunger.