Friday, December 23, 2011

Happy Holidays from Three Rooms Press


Happy Holidays 
and may all your dreams come true in 2012!

Best wishes,
The Editors
Three Rooms Press


Enjoy the holidays and get ready for 2012. Three Rooms Press has big plans for 2012, including the release of On and Off Bass, a photo-memoir by premier punk rock bassist Mike Watt, and new poetry books by Kat Georges, Hala Alyan, Robert Gibbons and the fifth edition of Maintenant, a journal of contemporary dada literature and art. Plus we’ll be releasing our first of many e-books, and developing a whole new genre of digital publications. So stay tuned and enjoy!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Poets Stephen Caratzas & Henrikje Stanze shine at Son of a Pony Friday 12/16

Three Rooms Press 
and Cornelia Street Cafe
present
SON OF A PONY 
Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2011, 6 pm
Featured poet: Stephen Caratzas
Spotlight poet: Henrikje Stanze
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
Hosted by Kat Georges

STEPHEN CARATZAS is a writer, visual artist and musician living in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. His poetry has appeared in Terra Incognita, the tiny, Maintenant 5 and many other print and online journals. His band, Gert Fröbe, is currently working on an album tentatively entitled "I Will." He has worked as a legal proofreader, financial journalist and dot.com content strategist and spent 15 years playing guitar in a dozen or so New York-based rock bands. His poetry is inspired by the work of William S. Burroughs, Lou Reed, Bukowski and David Lynch. 

HENRIKJE STANZE is a poet and performer based in Hanover, Germany. She is also an assistant professor of nursing science, and a leading figure for the Alzheimers Poetry Project in Germany. She is working on a thesis to prove that poetry can improve the quality of life for Alzheimers patients and reduce their need for medication. Her poetry is sharp and incisive, with a strong emotional current. This reading marks her U.S. debut.

The featured reading follows the renowned Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe, hosted and curated by Kat Georges. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.  

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Call for Submissions: Maintenant 6 Dada Poetry + Art + Film Journal

Be a part of the 5th annual Three Rooms Press New York DaDa Poetry Salon, by submitting your DaDa-inspired poetry, art or video to Maintenant6, A Journal of Contemporary Dada Poetry & Art. 

Our concept is inspired by DaDa instigator and Three Rooms Press spiritual advisor Arthur Cravan —who created the very first ‘zine in the world with his publication Maintenant and we’re proud to carry on the tradition.

We’re excited about this year’s new perfect bound format, and we’re looking for the best Neo-Dada work ever to publish.

In the past four annual issues, we received increasingly bolder work from Neo-Dadaists worldwide. We are now honored to be included in the Museum of Modern Art Archives.

DECLARE ART ON WAR!!!

Please submit short pieces—full of the intensity and madness
that reflect the age we live in. Poems should be no longer
than 20 lines.

As for art: We LOVE Dada-inspired poetic word art, collage and photography. All art must be submitted in jpeg format, high resolution (300 dpi, 4×5 in). Black & White only.

Also, This Year (for the first time) —We're looking for short
(1-5 minute max) Dada inspired videos which will be posted
on the upcoming Three Rooms Press Maintenant series website.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: JANUARY 31, 2012

Maintenant6 will be distributed at the Three Rooms Press
DaDa Poetry Salon on Friday, March 16th, 2012.

Send your submissions to editor@threeroomspress.com

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Gary Indiana and Jeffrey Cyphers Wright at Son of a Pony NYC 12/2

Three Rooms Press and
Cornelia Street Cafe
present
SON OF A PONY 
Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011
6 pm
Featured poet: Gary Indiana
Spotlight poet: Jeffrey Cyphers Wright
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
Hosted by Kat Georges

GARY INDIANA is the author of several poetry books, plays and novels, the most recent of which is The Shanghai Gesture. His collaboration with Louise Bourgeois, To Whom It May Concern, was published in 2011 by Robert Violette Editions.

JEFFREY CYPHERS WRIGHT is best known as a poet and author of 11 books of verse. He is also the former publisher of Cover and is currently the editor of Live Mag! His artwork has been in numerous shows, most recently at Tribes Gallery. He writes criticism for Artnexus and The Brooklyn Railwww.livemagnyc.com

The featured reading follows the renowned Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe, hosted and curated by Kat Georges. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.  

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Monday, November 7, 2011

Hail To Fulfill

Thank You, Br Lyon
Brant
Took it all the Way
Beyond
what else allows


No  less than most

Ms Hala Alyan
who handled
speaking
spoken
words


then
Ms Jane Ormerod
reality the game
the thought
one step behind
her words

and
Kat Georges
breathing
fire
Past
the uninspired
no one
ever less
the wiser

Perfect

bonded
worth
transmitting
only

tomorrow
leaves us
lonely

what a night
absolving loss


You Are White Inside
oh My

Three Rooms Press

Saturday, November 5, 2011

B.R. Lyon Book Launch at Bowery Poetry Club Sunday, 11/6 8pm

Three Rooms Press presents 
Occupy Book Launch
A Passionate Book Launch 
for "You Are White Inside" 
by B.R. Lyon


reading and signing 
by B.R. Lyon 
plus preview readings by 
Three Rooms Press authors
Hala Alyan  |  Peter Carlaftes  
Kat Georges  |  Jane Ormerod
with musical guests 
The JDs featuring Bob Musial

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 8 PM 
BOWERY POETRY CLUB

Three Rooms Press launches its latest release with a thrilling book launch full of powerful multimedia readings and music on Sunday, November 6, 8 p.m. at the world-famous Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, New York, NY, (212) 614-0505).

You Are White Inside by B.R. Lyon (Three Rooms Press, ISBN 978-0-9835813-2-1) is a fierce new poetry collection by a fine and fearless New York-based poet, featuring work largely inspired by his real-life, ongoing, intimate relationship with a Muslim man in Cairo, Egypt. Daring and innovative, Lyon seeks fresh angles and inspiring language with equal touches of awe, shock, and tenderness.

In addition, Hala Alyan, Peter Carlaftes, Kat Georges and Jane Ormerod will present phenomenal multimedia previews of their upcoming books. 

PLUS: the event will feature a rare performance by downtown's great rockin' r&b band The J.D.s, headed by soulful crooner Bob Musial.

Doors open at 7:45. Show starts promptly at 8:00. Tickets $8 at the door. For details, including author interviews, review copies and media kits, email info@threeroomspress.com.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

UK Poet Valerie Laws Lights Up Cornelia Street Cafe Friday, Nov. 4

Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Cafe present
SON OF A PONY Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2011, 6 pm
Featured poet: Valerie Laws
PLUS NYC's Electrifying Open POETRY Mike
Hosted by Kat Georges

Valerie Laws (www.valerielaws.co.uk)  is a UK poet and sci-art specialist. Her new book All That Lives arises from Residencies at a London Pathology Museum, and at Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Health, working with scientists to write poetry about the brain, its bizarre beauty and life cycle. Her ten books include poetry collections, crime fiction, and drama.  She has written 12 commissioned plays for stage and BBC radio. Many prizes, including Wellcome Trust Arts Award, twice prize winner in National Poetry competition. Invents new forms of poetry and devises science-themed poetry installations and commissions including the infamous Quantum Sheep, an Arts Council funded project spray-painting random haiku onto live sheep.  She featured in BBC2 TV's Why Poetry Matters, with Griff Rhys Jones. Poetry AV installations have featured in public exhibitions in London and Newcastle. Many residencies, including in Egypt.

The featured reading follows the renowned Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe, hosted and curated by the smashing Kat Georges. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.  

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Links:
Quantum Sheep
http://www.valerielaws.co.uk/science/sheep.html

Balls
http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/10005286-quantum-sheep-and-a-load-of-balls/

Friday, October 14, 2011

Poets James Richardson & Kelli Stevens Kane Light Up Son of a Pony

Three Rooms Press 
and Cornelia Street Cafe
present
SON OF A PONY Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2011, 6 pm
Featured poet: James Richardson
Spotlight poet: Kelli Stevens Kane
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
Hosted by Kat Georges

JAMES RICHARDSON is the recipient of the 2011 Jackson Poetry Prize.   His most recent books are By the Numbers:  Poems and Aphorisms, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, Interglacial:  New and Selected Poems and Aphorisms, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Vectors:  Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays.  He teaches at Princeton University and his is regularly published in New Yorker.

KELLI STEVENS KANE's first poetry manuscript, Hallelujah Science, was selected as a finalist for the 2011 Four Way Books Levis Poetry Prize. She's a Cave Canem Fellow; a Flight School Fellow; and an alum of the Callaloo, VONA, and Hurston/Wright poetry workshops. She's also the recipient of a merit based scholarship to a playwrighting workshop at the Norman Mailer Center, and the author of an oral history manuscript about Pittsburgh's Hill District. 

The featured reading follows the renowned Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe, hosted and curated by Kat Georges. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.  

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Obsidian & Hobobob Deliver at Son of a Pony 10/7

Three Rooms Press and Cornelia Street Cafe
present
SON OF A PONY Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011, 6 pm
Featured poet: "Obsidian!!!"
Spotlight poet: Hobobob
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
Hosted by Kat Georges

 "OBSIDIAN!!!" is a mystical beat poet, who's been spreading hismystical vibrations for the past 21 years. . "OBSIDIAN!!!'" has been published in several journals, such as "Diner with the Muse", "The Brownstone Poets Anthology", "Nomads Choir", "Stained Sheets", and "Eroto", to name a few, and he has a poetry blogsite: "OBSIDIAN"!!! The Mystic PoetTakes New York".

HOBOBOB is from Brooklyn and has lived in the streets, and now a flophouse on Broadway. He writes homeless and unrequited love poems and is a published poet on several online sites and journals, such as OctoberBabies, Stained Sheets, the Nomad’s Choir, and Brownstone Poets. He has featured in many New York City poetry venues the likes of the Saturn Series, Deacon Blue, and STARK at the Payan Theater. He does readings at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and was the Co-

Together, "OBSIDEAN" and HOBOBOB cohosted  the famous 'Time Square Shout Out!', in Time Square, and the 'SHOUT OUT AT OTTOS!'-at Ottos Shrunken Head, in the lower East Side. They were also featured on the NPR radio show, This American Life.

The featured reading follows the wondrous Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe. Poet & amiable mistress of ceremonies Kat Georges curates and hosts. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.  

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Review: Lucky Tubb & The Modern Day Troubadours @ Hill Country NYC

Damn the luck! A show which should have been packed to the gills with pure music purists seeking absolution was darn near empty and a sorry showing for NYC's golden wings of support when the living legend known as Lucky Tubb and the Modern Day Troubadours strutted into a stellar two-set show at Hill Country on W. 26th St.

Rolling into the big city with a 4-piece, no-percussion ensemble, the Luckster blew the lid off the BBQ-joint with hits from his neo-roots-country album "Damn the Luck" along with a spattering of old style country covers and soon-to-be classic tracks off the new CD "Del Gaucho".

The style is stripped down honky-tonk early Haggard-esque purity. Hank Williams rides again. Lucky's got a country voice to die for, inherited from his great uncle Ernest Tubb. That such a raw, rare talent should be playing for a BBQ-chomping crowd of born yesterdays is a tough road to hoe. When the kitchen closed, the tables emptied. But the 30-odd folks who stuck around got a real treat.

Lucky Tubb is the real deal as his 2 long sets proved repeatedly. As a punk rock enthusiast, we believe in purity, and LT provided such solid purity it was difficult to do anything but dance, dance, dance and give birth to the two-step in us all.

Lucky Tubb is well worth  checking out on his new CD "Del Gaucho." Maybe if you give it a listen, you'll be with us dancing your ass off at the next NYC gig. We'll let you know when and where. Meanwhile check out the solid sounds at my personal fave, Bakersfield (and a song he did live at the Hill Country gig, singing the female part himself, per request, bless him.

Opening for Lucky Tubb was Ronnie Hymes, whose plaintive voice and singular guitar playing set the perfect honky tonk tone for night.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Poet George Spencer Launches new book at Cornelia Street Cafe 9/23 6pm

Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Cafe
present
SON OF A PONY Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011, 6 pm
Featured poet: George Spencer (book launch for "Unpious Pilgrim")
Spotlight poet: Nicca Ray
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
Hosted by Kat Georges

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF UNPIOUS PILGRIM
GO TO SAVING TRIBES & STEVE CANNON’S HOME

George Spencer's brand new poetry collection, Unpious Pilgrim (Fly By Night Press, 2011), makes its debut at this Son of a Pony reading. According to Michael Graves, "Its movement from a lighthearted satire of Language Poetry and the School of Ashbery to a passionate concern for sexual honesty and political and social justice and freedom entails the exposure and ridicule of hypocrisy and is memorable." Spencer has two previous books: Screw the Muses and The Obscene Richness Of Our Times. He is the director of two cable shows, one about poetry and the other about multimedia artists. He is the founding editor of faroutfurthertoutoutofsight, an Internet and hard copy multimedia literary magazine. He is also a painter, sculptor and videographer. He lives in New York City and Quito, Ecuador. He has just returned from Prague where he read his work at PEN International
and at the National Gallery.

Opening for George is special guest poet, fiction writer, actor, producer/director and playwright Nicca Ray.

The featured reading follows the fabulous Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe. Poet & insightful mistress of ceremonies Kat Georges curates and hosts. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Poets Amber Atiya & Ngoma Electrify You 9/2 at Cornelia St. Cafe

Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Cafe
present
SON OF A PONY Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
Featured poets: Amber Atiya and Ngoma
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
Hosted & curated by Kat Georges

AMBER ATIYA is an electrifying presence in the New York poetry scene, with an intense body of work that slices fresh emotional grooves on stage and page. Her poetry has been published in Word Riot, Cartier Street Review, Drunken Poet and Tribes Magazine and she is co-founder of a weekly women's writing group, currently celebrating its nine-year anniversary.

NGOMA is a performance poet, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and paradigm shifter, who for over 40 years has used culture as a tool to raise sociopolitical and spiritual consciousness through work that encourages critical thought. A former member of the Spirit House Movers and Players with Amiri Baraka and the Contemporary Freedom Song Duo, Serious Bizness, Ngoma weaves poetry and song that raises contradictions and searches for a solution for a just and peaceful world. He has been published in African Voices Magazine, Long Shot Anthology, The Underwood Review, Signifyin' Harlem Review, Bum Rush the Page/Def Poetry Jam Anthology, and more. His new CD -- Ngoma/Poetry from a Smartphone — was recently released and will be available at the show, on PoetCD.com and iTunes.

The featured reading follows the fabulous Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe. Poet & insightful mistress of ceremonies Kat Georges curates and hosts. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.

Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com


Monday, August 15, 2011

Poets Bernard Block & Erik Richmond Blast Off this Friday at Cornelia St. Cafe, NYC


Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Cafe

present

SON OF A PONY Poetry Reading Series


FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011

Featured poet: Bernard Block

Spotlight poet: Erik Richmond

PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike

Hosted by Kat Georges


BERNARD BLOCK was born and raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where he began writing poetry as a teenager. After college, he hitch-hiked to the West Coast in the mid-60s in support of the anti-Vietnam War movement, then wound up in the heart of Haight-Ashbury during the 1967 Summer of Love, before returning to NYC in the late 60s. His poetry poetry is published in numerous university presses, as well as in several chapbooks including The Quest, Prometheus Returns, Portraits, and To Music. His artistic vision is inspired by jazz and the melting pot of cultures that make up the New York City poetry scene. He currently hosts monthly poetry readings at his Park Slope apartment, with musicians and poets combining to make new creations.


Chicago native ERIK RICHMOND is a writer and poet who currently lives in Queens. He has been reading his work in public since the early Nineties, and has performed at numerous open mikes in Chicago and New York, including the original Pink Pony series. He recently finished writing his first novel, and is starting work on a second.

The featured reading follows the fabulous Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe. Poet & delightful mistress of ceremonies Kat Georges hosts. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; the open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.


Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319. www.corneliastreetcafe.com


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Kat Georges & Jane Ormerod fire up poetry at Guns of August DDAY show on 8/10 at Bowery Poetry Club


DDAY PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS GUNS OF AUGUST!
POETRY & PERFORMANCE!
Hosted by the one and only BIG MIKE, produced by BIG MIKE, PUMA PERL, and FAUX MAUX!

For our first show at the Bowery, we honor women who have held the doors open for other poets through the creation of venues, publications, small presses, and wild dancing! Our featured performers:

JANE ORMEROD - Jane is the author of the full-length poetry collection, Recreational Vehicles on Fire (Three Rooms Press, 2009), the chapbook 11 Films (Modern Metrics, 2008), and the spoken word CD Nashville Invades Manhattan. Look carefully and you may spot her in the ‘80’s cult horror movie classic Screamtime. Find out more at www.janeormerod.com.

KAT GEORGES - Kat's poetry collections include "Punk Rock Journal," and "Slow Dance at 120 Beats a Minute" (Three Rooms Press) and her first full-length collection, "Hunger Sinner" (due out in late 2011). She curates and hosts Son of a Pony, a bi-weekly poetry series at Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village, and is poetry editor of A Gathering of the Tribes magazine and Maintenant (annual contemporary dada poetry and art journal) and is also the founder & publisher of Three Rooms Press.

VIVIANA GRELL - She's the host of the Stark Reality Open Mic at Nola Studios in NYC is a writer/performer/dancer specializing in waking up the dead!! a wake up genie..through song, poetry and dance...published in numerous magazines and anthologies she has hosted Stark Reality since 2006 ....and continues to grow wings helping the young, the old, the numb, the mad ones in heaven and the angelic in hell...write write write!!!

And let us entertain you some more:

PUMA PERL – Poet/Writer/Performance Artist/Producer/Curator and co-creator of DDAY Productions and this event - author of the recently released book "knuckle tattoos," the award winning chapbook "Belinda and Her Friends," widely published in journals and anthologies, internationally!
http://pumaperl.blogspot.c​om/

FAUX MAUX - Lifetime performance artist/actress/ playwright and writer, she took her one-woman play, Lil' Red and few burlesque acts to Holland and Scotland. Now, she does the occasional stand-up and continues to create plays, perform outragous acts of art, and creative havoc here in New York City.

BIG MIKE - author of 2 books, 81 Pounds and Sibling Rivalry and appears in the anthology One Millimeter, all published by Pretty Pollution Press. Big Mike is known for his performance art and was awarded Best Neptune in the 2004 Mermaid Parade in Coney Island.

Join us at the historic Bowery Poetry Club!

OPEN MIC SIGN-UP 7:45!
$3 Admission, and for that price you can afford a drink!

http://www.bowerypoetry.co​m/

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Check Out the Thrill that is Hans Condor!

Nashville's own Hans Condor tore it up tonight at NYC's Mercury Lounge, with a blistering set that screamed intensity from start to finish. The trio, fronted by phenom guitar/vocalist Charles Kaster, kicked into high gear during the soundcheck and it was take no prisoners from then on. Bassist Erik and drummer Roger (The Brothers Holcombe) built the rock n' roll of Gilbralter from which Kaster plunged--literally--into a mad set of full throttle MC5/Husker Du-esque fury, with a touch of melodics via The Sweet.

They're opening for fellow Nashvillians The Ettes for at 27-city U.S. tour. Catch them 8/3 at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn; 8/4 at the Escape to New York Festival in Southampton (w/Patti Smith, Best Coast, Chairlift, The Postelles and more) and for our West Coast fans--be sure to check them out at The Echo in Echo Park on 8/23.

Write it down, and see 'em now. Hans Condor. Oh, yeah.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Son of a Pony & Three Rooms Press rock the NY Poetry Festival This Saturday


Join Son of a Pony and Three Rooms Press as poets take over Governor's Island for the FREE New York Poetry Festival Saturday & Sunday, July 30-31 from noon-5 each day.


The Son of a Pony Posse will read on SATURDAY, JULY 30 at 4:30 PM on the BRIGADIER stage. Featured poets include Hala Alyan, Peter Carlaftes, Kat Georges, Brant Lyon, and Jane Ormerod. During the reading, we'll have free giveaways including books, cds & more!


Meanwhile, Three Rooms Press will be there both days with a table showing our latest offerings for you to check out!


With over 30 reading series, 100 poets and tons of vendors on board, the festival connects disparate poetry communities by bringing poetry out of the dark bars and universities, to a place amongst elms, plein trees & sycamores on an island in the sun. Bring a picnic, blanket, sunscreen, and lots of water!


There will be a Pre-Fest Party and Fundraiser at the Bowery Poetry Club on Thursday, July 21st, 8pm-2am. Tickets are $10 and support this free festival. Hear curators of the series to be presented at NYPF read their work, and dance to live jazz from Shawn Randall and tracks from DJ Eliel Lucero, among others.


NYPF's sponsors include City Winery, Sixpoint Brewery, and Bowery Poetry Club.


Details available here: http://tpsny.org/

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Amy Winehouse is Dead -- A Memorial Poem

by Kat Georges



Amy Winehouse is dead.


She joined the 27 club with fellow members

Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison & Cobain.


I didn't think the young rebel stars

still died these days. That way.


It's a game these days.

You watch them self-destruct online

then they are cured and their careers

go down the drain.


But not this time.

Amy Winehouse is dead.


Her jazzy throaty swirl bent the rules

and brought her fame. It was her

who bent my ears and made me

pay attention, sway. Those words,

so today, swimming in a stream of

olden beats and minor riffs.


She sang about rehab and vodka and love

and cheating and heartache and pills and

scoring and pubs and baths and bed and

sex and life and lust and hurt and fear

and yes it was pop but it was so deep

and heavy and light at the same time

and you got the feeling that she knew


she knew


she knew something about the core

the center the invisible needles that

sew us up in modern society. The things

that make us rot and make us thrive and

are more real that fluff that is the stuff

we now believe in. She was under skin

and twisted the fake smiles that became

the norm when everyone got their own

camera phone. And she is dead, she's

gone, she ain't coming back.


She's not going to Rehab. She's not going

anywhere. Amy Winehouse is dead and all

those gossip pages are going to have to

find someone new to tear to pieces.


She should have known better Mick and Keith

said. We made the mistakes so she wouldn't

have to. Talking like fathers about their errant

daughter. Daughters don't listen. The ones like

Amy Winehouse have to strip it down, they have

to burn the finish, they got to get to the core and

build fresh. These days it takes a lot of work

to undo the layers of who you are supposed to be.


Amy Winehouse is dead. She stripped it to the core.

She made me burn hearing words and a voice that

slipped in and out of the unreal she made real.


And she is dead. She is gone. She is finished.

She is done. Amy Winehouse is dead and every

Twitter feed and Facebook status update broadcasts

the fact that it was -- after all -- just a matter of time.

Omitting that fact that it's just a matter of time for us all.


Some burn slow. Some bright. Some dim.

And some burn with such intensity they glimmer

in their sleep. A glow. Amy Winehouse is dead.


They all say we told you so.

and then they say

Who's next?




Saturday, July 23, 2011

Poets Aimee Herman and Eric Alter Rock the Mic at Son of a Pony 8/5

Three Rooms Press
presents
Son of a Pony Poetry Reading Series

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011
Featured poet: Aimee Herman
Spotlight poet: Eric Alter
PLUS NYC's Sensational Open POETRY Mike
With Special Guest Host Jane Ormerod

AIMEE HERMAN is a queer performative poet who has been featured at various NYC reading series and venues including: In the Flesh Erotic salon, Hyper Gender, Red Umbrella Diaries, and Sideshow: Queer Lit Carnival. Her poetry can be read in Cliterature Journal, InStereo Press, Audio Zine, Pregnant Moon Review and anthologies such as Best Women's Erotica 2010 (Cleis Press), Nice Girls, Naughty Sex (Seal), and hell strung and crooked (Uphook Press).

ERIC ALTER is an electric, thrilling Staten Island-based poet, writer and photographer.

The featured reading follows the fabulous Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe. For this reading we have a special guest hostess, the impressive poet & publisher Jane Ormerod. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; the open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink.

Son of a Pony is on the 1st & 3rd Fridays of the month, and is curated by Kat Georges. Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, between W. 4th Street & Bleecker, just around the corner from the W. 4th Street subway station. Phone: 212-989-9319.
www.corneliastreetcafe.com