Lyrics Lit & Liquor
By Amanda Miller
An evening of poetry, crime fiction, live music, comedy, and trivia hosted by award-winning theater artist and writer Amanda Miller, who has been running this series since 2012. Featuring Cynthia Manick, Jon Sands, Elissa Bassist, Juliet Fletcher, Gawain & The Green Knight, Gnar Father, and Kenyatta Emmanuel. Original subculture themed trivia by Amy Dupcak (her 47th set!). This event is funded by the City Artist Corps Grant from New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Thu. Oct 14
at 7:00 PM
at 7:00 PM
Readings
CYNTHIA MANICK
Cynthia Manick is the author of No Sweet Without Brine (Amistad-HarperCollins, forthcoming 2023), Blue Hallelujahs (Black Lawrence Press, 2016) and editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry (Blair Publishing, 2021). She is Founder of the reading series Soul Sister Revue and her work has appeared in the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day Series, Callaloo, Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. She currently serves on the board of the International Women’s Writing Guild and the editorial board of Alice James Books. http://www.cynthiamanick.com/
Cynthia Manick is the author of No Sweet Without Brine (Amistad-HarperCollins, forthcoming 2023), Blue Hallelujahs (Black Lawrence Press, 2016) and editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry (Blair Publishing, 2021). She is Founder of the reading series Soul Sister Revue and her work has appeared in the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day Series, Callaloo, Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. She currently serves on the board of the International Women’s Writing Guild and the editorial board of Alice James Books. http://www.cynthiamanick.com/
JON SANDS
Jon Sands is a winner of the 2018 National Poetry Series, selected for his second collection of poems, It’s Not Magic (Beacon Press, 2019). He is a co-host of The Poetry Gods podcast, and a curator for SupaDupaFresh, a monthly poetry series at Ode to Babel in Brooklyn. His work has been featured in The New York Times, as well as anthologized in The Best American Poetry. He has received residencies and fellowships from the Blue Mountain Center, the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and the Jerome Foundation. He facilitates a weekly writing workshop for adults at Baily House, an HIV/AIDS service center in East Harlem, and also facilitates the digital workshop, Emotional Historians, which is open to the public. He tours extensively as a poet, but lives in Brooklyn. Learn more on Instagram @iAmJonSands. https://jonsands.com/
Jon Sands is a winner of the 2018 National Poetry Series, selected for his second collection of poems, It’s Not Magic (Beacon Press, 2019). He is a co-host of The Poetry Gods podcast, and a curator for SupaDupaFresh, a monthly poetry series at Ode to Babel in Brooklyn. His work has been featured in The New York Times, as well as anthologized in The Best American Poetry. He has received residencies and fellowships from the Blue Mountain Center, the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and the Jerome Foundation. He facilitates a weekly writing workshop for adults at Baily House, an HIV/AIDS service center in East Harlem, and also facilitates the digital workshop, Emotional Historians, which is open to the public. He tours extensively as a poet, but lives in Brooklyn. Learn more on Instagram @iAmJonSands. https://jonsands.com/
ELISSA BASSIST
Elissa Bassist edits the Funny Women column on The Rumpus. Her book HYSTERICAL: A Memoir of a Voice Lost and Found will be published by Hachette in fall 2022. She teaches humor writing online and in person at The New School, Catapult, 92Y, and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. http://elissabassist.com/
Elissa Bassist edits the Funny Women column on The Rumpus. Her book HYSTERICAL: A Memoir of a Voice Lost and Found will be published by Hachette in fall 2022. She teaches humor writing online and in person at The New School, Catapult, 92Y, and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. http://elissabassist.com/
JULIET FLETCHER
Juliet Fletcher writes crime and suspense fiction. A transplant from Scotland, she worked as a reporter covering U.S. culture and politics for 13 years, for outlets from the Glasgow Herald to front pages in New Jersey. She sits on the board of the Mystery Writers of America
(New York chapter) where she organizes events for emerging writers, and her work is included in the recent volume, "Words After Dark: A Lyrics, Lit & Liquor Anthology.”
Juliet Fletcher writes crime and suspense fiction. A transplant from Scotland, she worked as a reporter covering U.S. culture and politics for 13 years, for outlets from the Glasgow Herald to front pages in New Jersey. She sits on the board of the Mystery Writers of America
(New York chapter) where she organizes events for emerging writers, and her work is included in the recent volume, "Words After Dark: A Lyrics, Lit & Liquor Anthology.”
Music
GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
Gawain and the Green Knight are a homemade valentine to that cute ghost in your attic. They sound a little like Anaïs Mitchell and a little like The Decemberists, but also a little like the musical equivalent of those old-timey paintings whose eyes follow you around the room. They’re a Brooklyn-based band, which is maybe why they want their songs to give you that same sweet, achy chest feeling they get when walking past a cozy, lit-up apartment window on a chilly New York night. You can find their sweetly haunted EP, "A Sleeping Place," on Spotify, Bandcamp, and anywhere else you consider to be your musical happy place! Follow them on Facebook (@GawainAndTheGreenKnightBand) and Instagram (@GawainAndTheGreenKnight) to see what they're up to next, or check out their website, GawainAndTheGreenKnightBand.com.
Gawain and the Green Knight are a homemade valentine to that cute ghost in your attic. They sound a little like Anaïs Mitchell and a little like The Decemberists, but also a little like the musical equivalent of those old-timey paintings whose eyes follow you around the room. They’re a Brooklyn-based band, which is maybe why they want their songs to give you that same sweet, achy chest feeling they get when walking past a cozy, lit-up apartment window on a chilly New York night. You can find their sweetly haunted EP, "A Sleeping Place," on Spotify, Bandcamp, and anywhere else you consider to be your musical happy place! Follow them on Facebook (@GawainAndTheGreenKnightBand) and Instagram (@GawainAndTheGreenKnight) to see what they're up to next, or check out their website, GawainAndTheGreenKnightBand.com.
GNAR FATHER (MATT VITA)
The GnarFather is one of Matt Vita’s most illustrious psychosis, the lyrical spawn of the late 1990s freestyle phenom Treeson, hardened by reality, matured by experience. Matt Vita is an actor, stand up comedian, writer, director, producer, improviser, musician, surfer, snowboarder, award winning freestyler, overall GNAR shredder, general mischief maker, and purveyor of self-indulgent run of sentences. He can rap better than you, shred trees faster than you, and still holds the door for strangers. Matt is currently in post-production on his first feature length film, Killington- he created the story, executive produced the project with fellow Gnar Boi Mark Dudzinksi, Co-Directed (Dir. Dudzinski/Perz), and starred opposite America’s Next Top Model Winner Sophie Sumner, bringing to life a script written by Grace Day. Matt will be flexing his comedic chops in front of the camera this fall, performing in his second feature film of 2021!
Additionally Matt has written, directed, and performed several one man shows, has produced a bunch of podcast theme songs for some of his raddest peers, and was hired to self produce several digital sketch comedy series (IG:@BigDawgNY1 for some jingles and jangles, www.mattvita.com for some cute pictures).
The GnarFather is one of Matt Vita’s most illustrious psychosis, the lyrical spawn of the late 1990s freestyle phenom Treeson, hardened by reality, matured by experience. Matt Vita is an actor, stand up comedian, writer, director, producer, improviser, musician, surfer, snowboarder, award winning freestyler, overall GNAR shredder, general mischief maker, and purveyor of self-indulgent run of sentences. He can rap better than you, shred trees faster than you, and still holds the door for strangers. Matt is currently in post-production on his first feature length film, Killington- he created the story, executive produced the project with fellow Gnar Boi Mark Dudzinksi, Co-Directed (Dir. Dudzinski/Perz), and starred opposite America’s Next Top Model Winner Sophie Sumner, bringing to life a script written by Grace Day. Matt will be flexing his comedic chops in front of the camera this fall, performing in his second feature film of 2021!
Additionally Matt has written, directed, and performed several one man shows, has produced a bunch of podcast theme songs for some of his raddest peers, and was hired to self produce several digital sketch comedy series (IG:@BigDawgNY1 for some jingles and jangles, www.mattvita.com for some cute pictures).
KENYATTA EMMANUEL
Singer and songwriter Kenyatta Emmanuel is an artist and activist who has shared his music from Sing Sing to Carnegie Hall, offering a full live concert the same day of his release after serving 24½ years in prison. His music and message explore the beauty of life, love, and the human condition, reminding us of all that we hold in common. He is now an Artist in Residence at the Initiative for a Just Society at Columbia University.
Singer and songwriter Kenyatta Emmanuel is an artist and activist who has shared his music from Sing Sing to Carnegie Hall, offering a full live concert the same day of his release after serving 24½ years in prison. His music and message explore the beauty of life, love, and the human condition, reminding us of all that we hold in common. He is now an Artist in Residence at the Initiative for a Just Society at Columbia University.
*Please note all will be required to wear masks and show proof of vaccination to attend this event. Thank you!
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Image Credit:
Amy Dupcak
Amy Dupcak