Charles Bukowski Memorial Poetry Reading This Friday at Cornelia St. Cafe, NYC!

Three Rooms Press presents The 6th Annual NYC 
Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading
Friday, January 4, 2012, 6 pm
Featuring readings by
Mike Daisey | Richard Vetere | Michael Puzzo 
Peter Carlaftes | Nicca Ray | Angelo Verga | Puma Perl 
George Wallace | Thomas Fucaloro
hosted by Kat Georges
Plus Poetry | Rare Videos | Prizes
Cornelia St Cafe, NYC
29 Cornelia Street | between W. 4th and Bleecker 
212-989-9313
Celebrate the start of the new year with the 6th annual Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading, held on the first Friday of the new year since 2008 and start nursing that new year hangover.
The event will feature performance of Bukowski poems by a unique cast of hardcore fans including monologist/actor Mike Daisey, playwright Richard Vetere, actor/playwright Michael Puzzo, and Three Rooms Press founders Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges, along with poets Nicca Ray, Angelo Verga, Puma Perl, Thomas Fucaloro and George Wallace.
This year's reading will also launch THE MONTHLY at Cornelia Street Cafe, a new monthly reading series hosted by Three Rooms Press
Poet Charles Bukowski was truly one of the few and far between: a champion of the outsider, the lost and lonely, the outcasts from society. During this ongoing period of economic uncertainty and working class adversity, his work resonates like none other, stripping the human soul bare with humor, style and a bottle of beer. 
What would Bukowski think about the fiscal cliff? How would he feel about the demise of the US Post Office? Would Buk have a Twitter account? At this tribute reading, we’ll show videos of Bukowski, plus giving away Buk books, CDs, DVDs and other prizes.
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/).
Event website: http://threeroomspress.com/2012/12/6th-annual-bukowski-memorial-reading/
Info and reservations: info@threeroomspress.com

Three Rooms Press Announce 2014 Pushcart Prize Nominees

Three Rooms Press is thrilled to announce six stunning poems as nominees for the 2014 Pushcart Prize – Best of the Small Presses series. Nominees include:

Hala Alyan, for the poem, "Maktoub," included in her Three Rooms Press book Atrium.

Jane Ormerod, for the poem, "Within This Progression, Warmth," included in her Three Rooms Press book Welcome to the Museum of Cattle.

Kat Georges, for the poem, "Text Me If You Can," included in her Three Rooms Press book Our Lady of the Hunger

Patrizia Gattaceca, for the poem, "My Island Dream," included in original Corsican and translated to English in her Three Rooms Press book Isula d'Anima/Soul Island.

Peter Carlaftes, for the poem, "The Next to Last Wave," included in his Three Rooms Press book I Fold With The Hand I Was Dealt.

Robert Gibbons, for the poem, "kingdom of land, sea, and sky," included in his Three Rooms Press book Close to the Tree.

Congratulations to all nominees and best of luck!

David Lawton, Edaurdo Jones & Iris Berry Surge at Cornelia St. Cafe 11/02/12

Three Rooms Press and Cornelia Street Café 

present 

Son of a Pony 

Poetry Reading Series

Friday, November 2, 2012

Featured Poet: DAVID LAWTON 

Spotlight Poet: EDAURDO JONES

Special Guest Poet: IRIS BERRY

PLUS NYC's Lovliest Open POETRY Mike Hosted by Kat Georges

The infamous Son of a Pony Poetry Reading series at Cornelia Street Cafe celebrates the written and spoken word with a November 2 reading featuring East and West Coast poets extraordinaire, including featured poet David Lawton, spotlight poet Eduardo Jones and special guest poet Iris Berry. Plus the sumptous open reading featuring . . . YOU!

DAVID LAWTON is a native of Woburn MA, and a graduate of Boston University School of Theatre. He was a background vocalist for ten years with the legendary NYC underground band Leisure Class, and through them rubbed shoulders with beat luminaries Herbert Huncke and Marty Matz. He currently has work in the great weather for MEDIA anthology It's Animal but Merciful, and forthcoming in Spiny Babbler, and he performs in such poetry series as the HOWL Festival, Hyrdogen Jukebox, Son of a Pony and the Jujomokti Reading Series (which he founded). He was also recently seen on stage in the Wombat Theatre production of David Auburn's play Proof.

EDAURDO JONES resides in Brooklyn, where he drinks whiskey and butchers the english language. He is the author of the books Gutterfish, and The Thorozine Hotel. His latest novel The Red Hook Giraffe is due to be released in early 2013 from Punk Hostage Press.

IRIS BERRY is a musician, writer, poet, Los Angeles pop culture historian and actress. One of the true and original progenitors of the L.A. punk scene. A native Angelino, her lifetime spent in the City of Angels has resulted in over two decades worth of astonishing literary contributions. Berry’s writing has been widely anthologized. In The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry she appears along side the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and…

Plus--the spine-tingling Son of a Pony open reading, hosted by the ebullient Kat Georges. YOU are invited to read your poetry! Sign up at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $8, which includes a free drink.  Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village of New York City (between W. 4th Street and Bleecker). 212-989-9319

Launch Pad 2: New Books by Kat Georges and George Wallace, 10/22 at LPR

Three Roms Press presents
The Launch Pad @ LPR
A New Series Celebrating 
New Books on Three Rooms Press
Session 2: Monday, October 22, 2012 
Doors open 6:30pm | Showtime 7pm
EOS: Abductor of Men, by George Wallace
Our Lady of the Hunger, by Kat Georges

Following a packed opening night, The Launch Pad series continues at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday October 22 with the launch of books by two award-winning, cutting edge NY poets: George Wallace and Kat Georges. The Launch Pad series was created by Three Rooms Press in partnership with Le Poisson Rouge, and brings newly published work of established and emerging poets from around the world to the New York spotlight.

EOS: Abductor of Men, by George Wallace is a bilingual collection (Greek-English) dedicated to the contemporary struggles of the Greek people. Wallace rivets readers with his thoroughly original, modern day beat flow, elevating bakeries to the temples of gods and love to a powerful river. "Like no other poet you've read before...Wallace doesn't want to simply remake the conventions of the contemporary free verse poems as we understand them; he seems to want to remake the reader herself, to alter her aesthetically and psychologically," says Terri Brown-Davidson, Pedestal Magazine. With stunning translations to Greek by Lina Sipitanou, this book is like no other you've read before. George Wallace (AB, MPH, MFA) is an award winning poet and journalist from New York who has performed his work across America and in Europe. Author of Poppin’ Johnny (Three Rooms Press, 2009) and twenty-five chapbooks of poetry, he has served as editor of Poetrybay (www.poetrybay.com), Long Island Quarterly, Walt’s Corner, Great Weather for Media, and other electronic and hard copy literary publications. In 2011 he was named Writer in Residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace.

Our Lady of the Hunger, is the first full-length collection of poems by Kat Georges, whose work has been heard and published internationally for three decades. Often hilarious, always insightful, Kat Georges writes inspired narrative poems inspired by punk rock, pop culture, food and the driving need to create, all the while exploring what it is to be a woman in the modern world. Georges is an internationally-recognized NYC-based poet, playwright, performer, editor and designer. In addition to writing poetry, she has directed numerous Off-Broadway plays, curated poetry readings (including the bi-monthly Son of a Pony poetry reading series at Cornelia Street Cafe), and performed widely. She is co-founder and editor of Three Rooms Press; their most recent books include Maintenant 6: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art; Have a NYC: New York Short Stories; and Mike Watt: On and Off Bass, a collection of photos and distilled tour diaries from the great punk rock bass player. Her poetry is included in The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunders Mouth Press), The Verdict is In (manic d press; also co-editor); Mas Tequila (Mas Tequila Press); and The Unbearables Big Book of Sex (Autonomedia), among countless other journals and literary magazines.

Session 2 of The Launch Pad @ LPR is Monday, October 22. Doors open 6:30 pm; showtime: 7 p.m. Admission is free; reservations are highly recommended. Le Poisson Rouge is at 158 Bleecker Street (at Thompson). Additional information: info@threeroomspress.com.

Calling All Surrealists: Surreal Poetry Party This Saturday 10/20/12

Three Rooms Press and the Seligmann Center for Surrealism present a SURREAL POETRY PARTY, Saturday, October 20, 7 pm. Featured poet/performers include three of NYC's most cutting edge dada/surrealists Kat Georges, Peter Carlaftes & Jane Ormerod (all published by Three Rooms Press). The event will be hosted by Janet Hamill. 

PETER CARLAFTES is a New York-based screenwriter, playwright, actor, poet, and director. 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 (poetry) and Triumph for Rent (3 plays). He is a co-founder and co-editor of Three Rooms Press.

KAT GEORGES is an NYC poet, playwright, performer and designer. In New York since 2003, she has directed numerous Off-Broadway plays, curated poetry readings (including the bi-monthly Son of a Pony poetry reading series at Cornelia Street Cafe), and performed widely. She is co-founder and co-editor of Three Rooms Press; their most recent books include Maintenant 6: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art; Have a NYC: New York Short Stories; and Mike Watt: On and Off Bass, a collection of photos and distilled tour diaries from the great punk rock bass player. Her most recent book is a full-length poetry collection, Our Lady of the Hunger.

JANE ORMEROD 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. Born in England, she now lives in New York City and performs extensively across the United States and beyond—San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Britain, Canada, Ireland, and The Netherlands to name just a few places. She is a founding editor at great weather for MEDIA.

Seligmann Center for Surrealism is at 23 White Oak Drive, Sugar Loaf, NY 10981. Tel: 845-469-9459. http://kurttseligmann.org

Joel Allegretti and John J. Trause Strike Up the Poets at Son of a Pony this Friday 10/19

Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Café  present Son of a Pony Poetry Reading Series

Friday, October 19, 2012: Featured Poets: JOEL ALLEGRETTI and JOHN J. TRAUSE; PLUS NYC's Most Lovely Open POETRY Mike; Hosted by Kat Georges

The infamous Son of a Pony Poetry Reading series at Cornelia Street Cafe continues its fall classic with an October 19 reading featuring two of the most unique voices on the East Coast: Joel Allegretti and John J. Trause are featured, plus you are invited to join the stupendous open reading.

JOHN J. TRAUSE, said to be the secret love child of Henri Langlois and Mary Meerson (or is it Marie Menken and Willard Maas?), is the author most recently of Inside Out, Upside Down, and Round and Round (Nirala Publications), as well as Seriously Serial (Poets Wear Prada), and Latter-Day Litany, the latter staged Off-Off Broadway.  He has shared the stage with Steven Van Zandt, Anne Waldman, Karen Finley, and Jerome Rothenberg and the page with William Carlos Williams, Richard Kostelanetz, Lita Hornick, Woody Allen, Ted Kooser, and Pope John Paul II.  Aside from his literary work, his artwork has been exhibited in The MoMA Staff Show and elsewhere, and is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Menstruation.  At various times in his life he has been mistaken for being a priest, a policeman, a pimp, and a pornographer.  One does not know what is more impressive, his book collection or his array of turtlenecks. 

Joel Allegretti is the author of four collections of poetry: Europa/ Nippon/ New York: Poems/ Not-Poems (Poets Wear Prada, 2012); Thrum (Poets Wear Prada, 2010); Father Silicon (The Poet’s Press, 2006), selected by The Kansas City Star as one of 100 Noteworthy Books of 2006, a list that included novels by Cormac McCarthy and Thomas Pynchon; and The Plague Psalms (The Poet’s Press, 2000). Allegretti’s poems have appeared in Smartish Pace, PANK, The New York Quarterly, Maintenant: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing & Art, MARGIE, Fulcrum and many other national journals, as well as in The Best American Poetry blog.

Plus--the exciting Son of a Pony open reading, hosted by the indefatigable Kat Georges. YOU are invited to read your poetry! Sign up at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $8, which includes a free drink.  Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village of New York City (between W. 4th Street and Bleecker). 212-989-9319

Jane Ormerod & Hala Alyan Dual Book Launch at Le Poisson Rouge Oct. 3rd!!!

Two of NYC’s premier female poets—Hala Alyan and Jane Ormerod—share the stage at the first installment of The Launch Pad @ LPR, a new series, created by Three Rooms Press in partnership with Le Poisson Rouge, which brings newly published work of established and emerging poets from around the world to the New York spotlight.

Palestinian-American poet Hala Alyan writes with “stunning angularity,”
says Greywolf Press poet Fred Marchant. “Start to finish, these poems convey
a singular vision and represent an important new voice in the international poetry arena.” In her new Three Rooms Press book Atrium, Alyan traces lines of global issues in personal spaces with fervently original imagery. Reviewer Alex Rowell, in Now Lebanon notes, “Atrium is, in fact, a formidable volume: irreverent, clever, hyper-erudite and laugh-out-loud funny, with moments of arresting darkness and disturbing intensity to boot. Whether it’s Greek mythology, nightclub culture, obscene sex acts or Beirut, there is scarcely one subject in these 88 pages to which Alyan doesn’t bring fierce originality, feeling and flair.”

NYC-based visual poet Jane Ormerod has captivated audiences internationally with her
impactful delivery of her work. On the page, her work is even more astonishing. In her new Three Rooms Press book, Welcome to the Museum of Cattle, she is absolutely fearless, in both subject matter and style, as she explores films, life and innocence with a totally original and exciting language. Says Daniel Yaryan, producer of San Francisco’s “Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts series, “Her signature style is beyond belief—moving lightspeed with an astoundingly unique beat and the ability to communicate with complete command of language.” London-based artist Daniel Sturgis adds that her poems and performance, “sublimely acknowledge the entwined traditions of Dada and early modernist poetry, the gendered and transgressive literary punk of Kathy Acker and Patti Smith, and low-fi dub rant."

Session 1 of The Launch Pad @ LPR is Wednesday, October 3. Doors open 6:30 pm; showtime: 7 p.m. Admission is free; reservations are highly recommended. Le Poisson Rouge is at 158 Bleecker Street (at Thompson). 

Additional information: info@threeroomspress.com.

Coming soon to The Launch Pad

Monday, October 22, 7 pm

George Wallace (his new book EOS: Abductor of Men)

Kat Georges (her new book Our Lady of the Hunger)

Wednesday, November 7, 7pm

Robert Gibbons (his new book Close to the Tree)

Peter Carlaftes (his new book I Fold With the Hand I Was Dealt)

New Book by Jane Ormerod! PREORDER Special offer

We are so excited about the upcoming release of "Welcome to the Museum of Cattle" by Jane Ormerod that we are offering a limited edition Preorder Special Package. Check it out here:

http://bit.ly/Ni02PG

Order between now and October 2 and you will receive a SIGNED copy of "Welcome to the Museum of Cattle" plus a SIGNED CD recording of Jane's unique aural interpretation of poems from the book. 

Poet Jane Ormerod follows up her critically-acclaimed collection "Recreational Vehicles on Fire" (Three Rooms Press, 2009) with the powerful and visionary work, "Welcome to the Museum of Cattle," in which her unique style firmly establishes her as a master of a unique visual/language poetry stream. Ormerod, a former visual artist, writes poetry that thrusts images into thought, juxtaposing the familiar with the peculiar, imposing emotion on a plastic world. Her poems offer startling new observations of the world, filled with both humor and deep insight. Reading Jane Ormerod is like experiencing your favorite music in a way you've never heard it before. "Beyond the coast-to-coast culture of pay-as-you-go, Welcome to the Museum of Cattle exhibits an insistent voice; a palette of paradox and poetry  - spoken, broken, blunt." —Richard Kirwan (artist, London). "These poems explode off the page; translate language into ecstasy, energy and intimacy. They purr, growl, bite. Confess, question, rant and whisper. These keen, bright, big-hearted poems bounce bravely, fluidly on linguistic trampolines. They fly so high—become one with sun, moon and stars." —Rich Ferguson (L.A. poet/spoken word artist)

Order your preorder package today:

http://bit.ly/Ni02PG

Welcome to the Museum of Cattle

new poems 

by Jane Ormerod

Release date: October 3, 2012

Three Rooms Press;  978-0-9835813-9-0 (TRP-019)

6" x 9" Trade Perfect Bound; color cover with b/w interior; 76 pages

Poet Meagan Brothers Rocks Cornelia St. Fri. 8/17 with Blair Reeve

Three Rooms Press
& Cornelia St. Cafe
present
Son of a Pony
Poetry Series

Featured Poet: Meagan Brothers; Spotlight Poet: Blair Reeve

PLUS NYC's Consummate Open POETRY Mike; Hosted by Kat Georges

Meagan Brothers is the author of Debbie Harry Sings in French, which was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and won a GLBT Roundtable ALA Award. Its prequel, Supergirl Mixtapes, was released by Henry Holt in April of this year. Meagan is a native Carolinian, and her poetry has appeared most recently in The Night Bomb Review, on poetz.com, and in the forthcoming Spiny Babbler anthology edited by Brant Lyon and Liza Wolsky.

Blair Reeve is a New Zealand poet who has been living in Asia for the past twelve years. His performance work has been variously described as "Dr Seuss for adults" and "machine gun poetry" by friends and fellow poets scrambling for ways to contain what cannot be circumscribed within a pithy epithet. His rhythmic poetry takes linguistic mimesis to new heights with comic effect. 

Plus--the comprehensive Son of a Pony open reading, hosted by the essential Kat Georges. YOU are invited to read your poetry! Sign up and have a ball! Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $8, which includes a free drink.  Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village of New York City (between W. 4th Street and Bleecker). 212-989-9319

LA Review of Books posts great review of Mike Watt: On and Off Bass

The LA Review of Books' Craig Hubert offers a keen and insightful review of Mike Watt: On and Off Bass in this week's edition (http://bit.ly/QDVe9s). Hubert notes, "[Watt] has a keen eye for capturing unexpected disruptions within seemingly normal, even mundane situations. . . Loss is prevalent throughout On and Off Bass, but it is undercut with hope; there is always the sustaining reservoir of inspiration -- from Boon, from music, from San Pedro itself -- to dip back into. It's the same reservoir that John Coltrane described in a 1966 interview with Nat Hentoff: 'There is never any end. There are always new sounds to imagine, new feelings to get at.'" Check out the book for yourself at threeroomspress.com

Poets Madeline Artenberg & Mireya Perez Light Up the Mic Friday, Aug. 3rd at Son of a Pony at Cornelia Street Cafe, Greenwich Village, NYC

Three Rooms Press &

Cornelia Street Café  

present 

Son of a Pony 

Poetry Reading Series

Friday, August 3, 2012

Featured Poet: Madeline Artenberg

Spotlight Poet: Mireya Perez

PLUS NYC's Terrific Open POETRY Mike

Hosted by Kat Georges

Madeline Artenberg’s work appears in many print and online publications, such as The Absinthe Literary Review, Margie, Rattle and Dirty Girls Come Clean.  She has garnered awards for poetry, including for performance. She collaborated with Karen Hildebrand on the poetic play, The Old In and Out (Three Rooms Press, 2010), and is co-author (with Iris Schwartz) of Awakened (Rouge Scholar Press)

Mireya Perez's poems leap nimbly from English to Spanish and back again, invoking a powerful array of spirits. Her poetry appears in Caribbean Review, Revista del Hada, IRP Voices, Anthology of Colombian Women Poets, NYU Poetry Review, among others.

Plus--the invigorating Son of a Pony open reading, hosted by the extraordinary Kat Georges. YOU are invited to read your poetry! Go For It! Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $8, which includes a free drink.  Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village of New York City (between W. 4th Street and Bleecker). 212-989-9319

Poets Peter Murphy & Maxine Patroni Read at NYC's Cornelia Street Cafe July 20th

Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Café 

present Son of a Pony Poetry Reading Series

Friday, July 20, 2012

Featured Poet: Peter E. Murphy

Spotlight Poet: Maxine Patroni

PLUS NYC's Terrific Open POETRY Mike; with special guest host Karen Hildebrand

Peter E. Murphy was born in Wales and grew up in New York City where he operated heavy equipment, managed a night club, and drove a cab. He is the author of a book of poems, Stubborn Child, and a chapbook, Thorough & Efficient. His unique poetry writing assignments have recently been collected in Challenges for the Delusional. Recipient of six Poetry Fellowships from the NJ State Council on the Arts, he teaches poetry writing at Richard Stockton College and directs the annual Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway and other programs for writers and teachers. www.MurphyWriting.com

Maxine Patroni recently graduated from New York University with her MFA in Poetry. While there, she worked as a Writer in the Public Schools Fellow, volunteered for NYU's Goldwater Hospital Program, and was an intern at The Cornelia Street Cafe. Her work has appeared in The Literary Review.

Plus--the invigorating Son of a Pony open reading, hosted by the rapturous special guest host Karen Hildebrand. YOU are invited to read your poetry! Go For It! Doors open at 5:45 p.m.;  open reading begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $8, which includes a free drink.  Cornelia Street Cafe is at 29 Cornelia Street, in the West Village of New York City (between W. 4th Street and Bleecker). 212-989-9319

Three Rooms Press 

& Cornelia Street Café 

present 

Son of a Pony 

Poetry Reading Series

Friday, June 15

TRIBUTE TO JUNE POETS!

Frank O'Hara | Allen Ginsberg

Gwendolyn Brooks | Angelo Verga

William Butler Yeats | Peter Carlaftes 

Anne Carson | David Lehman 

& More!

PLUS NYC's Intoxicating Open POETRY Mike; 

Hosted by Kat Georges

Three Rooms Press presents Son of a Pony, on Friday, June 15, with a special tribute to poets born in the month of June!

There may be lots of June brides, but -- did you know? -- June is also the month in which a whole slew of truly great poets were born! So join Son of a Pony in a tribute to the poets of June! We'll have special featured readings of work by such notable poets as Frank O'Hara, Allen Ginsberg, Gwendolyn Brooks, Angelo Verga (poet extraordinaire and curator of Cornelia Street Cafe literary events), William Butler Yeats, Peter Carlaftes, Anne Carson and David Lehman.

Plus--a very special Son of a Pony open reading in which you can bring your favorite poem written by or inspired by a poet with a June birthday--maybe even . . . You! The open reading at the cafe, hosted and curated by the buoyant 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, in the West Village of New York City (between W. 4th Street and Bleecker). 212-989-9319

Poets Puma Perl & Allegra Mira Set to Sparkle Friday 6/1 at Son of a Pony!

Three Rooms Press & Cornelia Street Café present 

Son of a Pony Poetry Reading Series

Featured poet: PUMA PERL, Spotlight Poet: ALLEGRA MIRA

PLUS NYC's Consummate Open POETRY Mike; Hosted by Kat Georges

Friday, June 1, 6 pm

Three Rooms Press presents Son of a Pony, on Friday, June 1, with featured poet PUMA PERL, and spotlight ALLEGRA MIRA, preceded by NYC's vivacious open poetry reading, hosted by Kat Georges. 

PUMA PERLl is a performance artist and a widely published poet and writer. She is the author of the award-winning chapbook "Belinda and Her Friends" and the full-length collection "knuckle tattoos," and as well as a new chapbook, "Ruby True." She is the co-creator, co-producer, and main curator of DDAY Productions, which currently puts on shows at 3 venues, including a monthly all-female production at the Bowery Poetry Club..

ALLEGRA MIRA is a writer and poet. In 2003, she worked with Stanley Kunitz and Genine Lentine on Kunitz’s final book, “The Wild Braid.”  Her poems and writings have been published in The Berkshire Review, Naugatuck River Review, Drive-By Poets series, Many Hands Magazine, Local Buzz Magazine, Home Magazine, and Worcester Magazine. A proud member of the Italian-American writing community in New York, Allegra has read for the Italian-American Writers Association and the Bluestockings, Sonic Poetry, the recent Yippie Cafe Manic Monday series. Her poems are subtly rhythmic, erotic, and preoccupied with the conversions of intimate love.

The featured reading follows the essential Son of a Pony open reading at the cafe, hosted and curated by the buoyant 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 & Bleecker, NYC. Phone: 212-989-9319

Have a NYC Book Launch Tonight at Cornelia Street Cafe in NYC!

THREE ROOMS PRESS PRESENTS "HAVE A NYC" LAUNCH A book release celebration for "Have A NYC: New York Short Stories" Featuring Kat Georges, Larissa Shmailo, David R. Lincoln, Kofi Fosu Forson, Pedro Ponce, Ronald H. Bass, Jane Ormerod, Peter D. Marra, Puma Perl, Lisa Ferber, Janet Hamill & Peter Carlaftes Day or night. Rain, heat or snow. The city streets are full of people seeking the path to a better life. Everybody learns the hard way. Some not soon enough. And even dreams must pay their dues. That’s just the nature of The City. That’s New York. Welcome to "Have a NYC" (Three Rooms Press, 2012), the first of a new New York short stories series, edited by Peter Carlaftes and Kat Georges. In honor of "Have A NYC," Three Rooms Press is throwing a launch party featuring 12 readers from the book. All stories are based in New York, and all have a mood and edge that reveals the still writhing underbelly and energy that refuses to bow down even as technology slowly grips the throngs of people walking the streets here. Admission is $7, which includes a free drink. "HAVE A NYC" LAUNCH Tuesday, May 29, 6 p.m. Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street, NYC 212-989-9319

ATRIUM by Hala Alyan: Limited Edition Preorder Special-Exclusive!

ATRIUM by HALA ALYAN: LIMITED EDITION PREORDER SPECIAL!! We are thrilled by the upcoming release of ATRIM, the first full-length book by the incredible poet Hala Alyan!! (ISBN 9780983581383, 6" x 8", 2012, Three Rooms Press, $15). Order before June 15 and you will receive a special Preorder Package, including: 1) signed copy of ATRIUM and 2) Special mini poster of a poem not included in the book (signed and suitable for framing). Preorder Packages will ship in mid-June.

ATRIUM, by Hala Alyan, is a phenomenal collection of poems by a truly inspired and original emerging poetic voice. Alyan, a Palestinian-American, writes relentlessly, with a deep passion and intense intimacy, tracing lines of global issues into personal spaces. Established, award-winning poets are unanimous in their praise.

Naomi Shihab Nye raves, "Don't miss the dazzling Hala Alyan. Wow. When she says "the poetry like a spear," she isn't kidding."

Chitra Divakaruni notes, "Hala Alyan's poems startle us with their beautiful, enigmatic images and capture us with their passionate engagement with the world. A powerful debut."

And Graywolf Press poet Fred Marchant points out, "For all the stunning angularity in this vision, we do not doubt that what we are seeing and sensing here is a surprising, sharp-edged sense of the real, of a world that had been there all along, just waiting for this poet and these poems to reveal. Start to finish, these poems convey a singular vision and represent an important new voice in the international poetry arena."

Be a part of the launch of a new poetic voice. Order your preorder package today.

Today at 2! Great poetry reading at Bowery Poetry Club: "News from the 99%: Anti-Tea Coffeehouse Poetry Collective" with Hala HN Alyan, Amber Atiya, Peter Carlaftes, Kat Georges, Robert Gibbons, Larissa Shmailo and Bernard Block. Join us for subversive, counter-culture poems that challenge conventional wisdom, assumptions & opinions!!

Poets Leanne Averbach and Yuyutsu R.D. Sharma at Son of a Pony 5/14

Three Rooms Press presents Son of a Pony, on Friday, May 18, with featured poet LEANNE AVERBACH, and special visiting poet YUYUTSU RD SHARMA, preceded by NYC's inventive open poetry reading, hosted by Kat Georges. 

LEANNE AVERBACH is a Canadian poet and experimental filmmaker who has published and performed her work with musicians across Canada, New York City and Italy. Her first book Fever (Mansfield Press, Toronto) was short-listed for the national Canadian Gerald Lampert Memorial prize, 2005.  Her companion CD Fever is a fusion of her  spoken words and blues/jazz accompaniment with her band, Indigo and they are currently cutting a second CD. Averbach’s short films have garnered numerous awards, including Best International Short at the New York Independent International Film & Video Festival, 2008 for Teacups & Mink. She is currently writing her first feature length film. Leanne will be reading tonight from her second volume of poetry Come Closer (Tightrope Books, Toronto) available for purchase at the back table with her CD, Fever.

YUYUTSU RD SHARMA is the author of nine poetry collections, including Milarepa's Bones (Nirala, 2102), Space Cake, Amsterdam & Other Poems from Europe and America (Howling Dog Press, 2009) and more. He has received fellowships and grants from The Rockefeller Foundation, Ireland Literature Exchange, Trubar Foundation, Slovenia and more. A widely traveled author, his work has been heard in London, Belfast, Amsterdam, Chicago, Canada, Italy, New York and his home town of Kathmandu. This year, he is a visiting poet at New York University, and in June, he will be a guest poet at the Poetry Parnassus Festival organized to celebrate the London Olympics of 2012.

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

RIP Brant Lyon: Poet, Pianist, Philosopher, Producer and a Beautiful Human Being

Our heart is heavy with the loss of our good friend and Three Rooms Press poet Brant Lyon, who passed away this morning after a brief illness. Brant was the author of “You Are White Inside,”a collection of his poems that was released in late 2011 on Three Rooms Press. He also produced and curated the popular monthly series “Hydrogen Jukebox,” which featured poets reading to live improvised music by the band The Ne’erDoWells. He recently recorded produced the cd “Brain Ampin’” which featured tracks by 12 of the regular readers at the series, including TRP founders Kat Georges and Peter Carlaftes. Funeral arrangements are pending. A memorial will be held in June.


The Monday, May 14 world premiere performance of Kat Georges' "Symphony in C Minor on the Four Classic Elements" at Cornelia Street Cafe will be in honor of Brant Lyon.

A night of Neo-Classical Jazz Punk by TRP founder Kat Georges 5/14 at Cornelia Street

Three Rooms Press presents

"Cornelia Suite"

An evening of Cut-the-Edge Neo-Classical Jazz Punk

for Flute, iPad, Vocals & Piano performed by

Kayo Hiraki and Kat Georges

Monday, May 14, 8:30 pm

Cornelia Street Cafe, New York City

Classical and contemporary jazz collide as pianist Kayo Hiraki and flautist/poet/composer Kat Georges cut-the-edge with "Cornelia Suite," an anthology of cut-the-edge neo-classical punk and jazz for piano, flute, iPad and vocals. The event will include the world premiere of Ms. Georges'  hard-bit "Punk Symphony for Four Classical Elements in C Minor (for Flute, iPad and Vocals)" and will be held at Cornelia Street Cafe in the West Village. Doors open at 8:30. Tickets are $20 (includes a drink). 

New York based pianist and Steinway piano artist, Kayo Hiraki appears in Cornelia Street Cafe for the first time. Steinway Artist Kayo Hiraki was born in Japan, the daughter of a classical pianist. A child prodigy, she started playing the piano when she was three years old. She has been performing five nights a week for seventeen years as the house pianist at the famous jazz spot, Arturo's in Greenwich Village. She has played at the Blue Note NYC with her Kayo Hiraki Piano Trio, including the legendary bassist Ron Carter, who notes: “Rarely have I heard a musician as gifted as Ms. Hiraki. To hear her play is to experience the joy of her creative ability and the depth of her experience as a talented performer.” She tours regularly in Europe and Japan and was recently featured in Japan Airline in-flight magazine. She will perform a series of jazz tunes inspired by classical compositions. 

Kayo will be joined onstage by New York-based poet/composer/flautist Kat Georges. Kat will present the World Premiere of her hard-bit neo-classical, "Punk Symphony for Four Classical Elements in C Minor (for Flute, iPad and Vocals)." Kat Georges is a musician, poet, playwright, performer and designer. Her full-length poetry collection, "Our Lady of the Hunger," will be released soon on Three Rooms Press, which published two previous collections, "Punk Rock Journal" and "Slow Dance at 120 Beats a Minute." In New York since 2003, she has directed numerous Off-Broadway plays, curated poetry readings, and performed widely. She is co-founder and editor of Three Rooms Press; its most recent books include "Maintenant 6: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art" and "Mike Watt: On and Off Bass," a collection of photos and distilled tour diaries from the legendary punk rock bass player.

The Cornelia Street Cafe is located at 29 Cornelia Street, New York, NY 10014. Advance reservations highly recommended: phone 212-989-9319. 

May 2 at Le Poisson Rouge: NYC Launch for Mike Watt: On and Off Bass with Hellride East (Mike Watt, J Mascis & Murph), Appomattox, Dead Trend & Special Guests

It's almost here! The rockin' NYC launch for Three Rooms Press' new book "Mike Watt: On and Off Bass" by punk bass legend Mike Watt.

On Wednesday, May 2nd, 7 p.m., Three Rooms Press presents the NYC book launch for “Mike Watt: On and Off Bass” at Le Poisson Rouge. The event will feature live performances by HELLRIDE EAST feat. Mike Watt + J Mascis + Murph (of Dinosaur Jr.), with opening acts Appomattox and Dead Trend, plus additional very special guests. The new book will be available for purchase at the event. Tickets are going fast. Be sure to get yours in advance.

Le Poisson Rouge: 158 Bleecker Street | NYC | 212-505-FISH | lepoissonrouge.com 

Folks are already raving about the book. The New Yorker calls it "beautiful and unusual." LA Weekly says "the photos are strikingly inventive, revealing yet another side of this modern-day Renaissance man."

Mike Watt got his musical start thumping the bass with legendary San Pedro punk trio, The Minutemen in 1980 and he has been at it ever since. Over the years, he’s toured with Dos, fIREHOSE, his own The Black Gang, The Secondmen, The Missingmen, and others, and he has worked bass as a sideman for Porno for Pyros, J Mascis and the Fog, as well as punk godfathers The Stooges. Off the road, at his beloved San Pedro, CA home base, Watt developed a deep interest in photography. In Spring 2010, Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica, CA hosted an exhibit of his photos: “Mike Watt: Eye-Gifts from Pedro.” In “Mike Watt: On and Off Bass,” photographs that appeared in the exhibit are punctuated by Watt's poetry and snippets selected from 10 years of his diaries. Watt’s writing is insightful, funny, intimate and honest, as he explores topics like John Coltrane, long hauls and overcoming performance fears.

 “Mike Watt’s photos are the poetry of San Pedro...every time he goes out on that kayak he comes back with gold. These gorgeous images paired with the raw reflections of 3 decades on the road are sure to blow the minds of all who love punk rock and our beloved vision questing troubadour.” - Jack Black

“When you mix pirate, Pedro pix, music, d. boon forever, hard work, weird sincerity, good will, curiosity, love, and an adult moustache, what do you have? Poetry is the answer. Poetry poetry poetry. Watt Watt Watt!” - Richard Hell