There are a great many reasons why one should completely ignore “hype”. First of all, it is this writer’s opinion, that Hype holds a gentle hand with Hysteria (ok, let’s be fair, it’s usually squeezing fingers into purple oblivion). Hysterics rarely lead anywhere rosy, even if the healthy pump of fight or flight possessed well-intentioned roots. So. While the multitudes shake off a Hunger Games hangover this weekend, save your sanity for Monday. Why Monday? Because Monday night is your monthly dose of Penguin Poetry Pandemonium. Save your cash, don your fancy pants and come see poets Martha Rhodes and Sarah Gorham this Monday, March 26th at Sarabande’s 21c Reading Series.
Blending the saucy modern digs of 21c Museum Hotel with the gurus of contemporary poetry, Sarabande Books’ 21c Reading Series features both nationally-acclaimed and locally-loved poets in a free reading on the last Monday of every month – excepting a swift hibernation in the months of November and December. Following the tuneful stylings of musical guest, Rita Burkholder, Poetry Mamas Rhodes and Gorham will share their wordsmith workings starting at 7:30pm.
A founding editor and the current director of Four Way Books in New York City, Martha Rhodes is the author of three collections of poetry, including her most recent release, Mother Quiet, as well as At the Gate and the acclaimed Perfect Disappearance – winner of the 2000 Green Rose Prize from New Issues Press. Rhodes presently imparts her poetic savvy at both Sarah Lawrence College and with the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
And does our very own Chief Sarabandista need an introduction? Probably not, but let’s embarrass her anyway! A co-founder and acting editor-in-chief of Sarabande Books, Sarah Gorham and her poetry have proven themselves as powerful stand-alones outside of Louisville’s independent publishing circle. With her most recent poetry collection, Bad Daughter published just this last fall, Gorham's poetry repertoire also includes Don’t Go Back to Sleep, The Cure (not to be confused with The Cure) and the lauded The Tension Zone, which received the 1994 Four Way Books Award in Poetry, judged by Heather McHugh.
Ready! Set! Poet!
21c Museum Hotel is located at 700 West Main Street.
Photos: Courtesy of Sarabande Books’ website www.sarabandebooks.org
