The Literary Underground Events

UPCOMING

A CELEBRATION OF MIDWEST POETS

Grassroots Organization Brings Poets From Across the Region to Gather and Perform in Celebration of Underground Literature at the Book Release of This Is Poetry Volume II: The Midwest Poets.

A diverse mix of poets will read their work at the upcoming “Poetry Bash” event on November 7, 2015 at 6 PM at The Blue Heron Inn in La Porte. The Literary Underground (LU), a grassroots organization, is pleased to present a poetry reading that is engaging, fun and unique. The program will feature predominantly regional poets and authors, a will include live music. The three-hour long event is open to the public at no charge. Full cash bar and appetizers will be available from T-Bones Pier 11 located in The Blue Heron Inn.

The Poetry Bash is in celebration of the published second volume in the “This Is Poetry” series, which features The Midwest Poets. Those scheduled to perform are Bill Yarrow (Illinois), John Swain (Kentucky), Tim Murray, Michele McDannold, Kayla Greenwell, Joe Gianotti, Julie Demoff-Larson, Marci Whiteman Johnson, and Krista Cox (Indiana). Music will be performed by James Neary & His Guitar.

“This is Poetry” is comprised of an online publication of poems, a print book series and live events. The project will ultimately result in an eight-volume collection of poetry, each volume representing poets from a specific geographic region as well as several special collections. This is Poetry, Volume 2—The Midwest Poets can be purchased through the Literary Underground via SQUARE or through Amazon.

More information about the performers and updates can be found on the facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/746608528785380/

artwork by Kat Spencer. Image by The Legacy

This is Poetry at The Legacy Theatre, 101 E. Lawrence Ave, Springfield IL. August 9, 2014 7-10pm. FREE and OPEN to the public. The Literary Underground, a grassroots organization, is coordinating with several small press publishers to present a poetry reading that doesn’t put you to sleep. A diverse mix of underground/outlaw poets will read their work. Engaging, fun and unique–the program will feature raw, wild and rowdy poets, musicians and performance artists. The three-hour long event is open to the public at no charge thanks to the generous support of Citizens for Decent Literature Press, Punk Hostage Press, Red Fez Publications, Zygote in my Coffee, Blotterature Literary Magazine, Nostrovia Poetry, UndergroundBooks, and Books & Shovels.
Suitable for ages 18+. Cash bar, must be 21+.

VIP Pre-show 6-7pm $15 Tickets available at the door or online here http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/767890 (Volume 1 of This is Poetry book series included with admission to VIP Pre-show). After-party to follow performances.

FEATURED PERFORMERS: Ron Whitehead (Kentucky), Ryder Collins (Wisconsin), Craig Cady (New York), Bill Gainer and A. Razor (California), T.A. Noonan (Tennessee), Brian W. Fugett (Ohio), Ryan Snellman (Washington), Jeremiah Walton (Pennsylvania) and Carleen Tibbetts, Russell Jaffe and Michele McDannold (Illinois).

AND music by the band Flamingo and an after-party in the Legacy Lounge.

and BOOKS AND SHOVELS will be there!

https://www.facebook.com/events/693710787357846/

VIKING POETRY presents
“A Rainy Day in Seattle”
hosted by Viking Poet Ryan Snellman

March 29th 3-6pm Pacific
Market Theater
Pike Place Market
1428 Post Alley
Seattle, WA 98101

On foot, go to the main entrance of the Pike Place Market at 1st and Pike. There, you’ll find Rachel, Pike Place Market’s full size brass piggy bank, beneath the neon sign and clock, right by the famous Pike Place Fish Company. From the pig, go down the stairs and around the corner into Post Alley, where you’ll find the Market Theater, along with the famous Gum Wall!

FEATURED READERS: Bill Gainer, Zarina Zabrisky, Simon Rogghe, Jason Hardung, Alicia Winski, Laura L H Lucas, Lydia Swartz, Leonard Orr, Neil McCrea, Steve Goldberg, and Jack Henry. plus an OPEN MIC!

Errld Apparel presents Tinyamp Records vs The Literary Underground round 2 is here! 12-7-13 in Denver, Colorado at Crash 45 . There’s gonna be 4 bands. 6 poets (all from Colorado…Including the poet laurete of Ft. Collins Jason Hardung and the wonderkid Dustin Holland of Kleft Jaw ) as well as one of the administrators of Teeth Dreams Magazine Mr. Randall Chambers…there’s gonna be the TOTS Truck….JEEZ MO PETES…THIS IS AMAZING!!!! Shout out to Joey Schwebach for his masterful poster skills… Facebook Event/More Info

Do you want to join other poets, musicians, artists, mimes, dancers, photographers, performing artists, around the USA and across the planet in a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change?

September 28th is the global 100 Thousand Poets for Change Day, 2013!

The Literary Underground, Zygote in my Coffee, and Red Fez are hosting an open mic/celebration for 100 Thousand Poets for Change Day at:

Kennekuk County Park
22296-A Henning Road
Danville, IL 61834
ph. 217-442-1691

Hickory Hollow Point (open air shelter)
5-7pm CST

Bring some food/drink to share or just yourself and your poems.
questions? contact Michele McDannold at admin@theliteraryunderground.org

“What kind of CHANGE are we talking about?”

The first order of change is for poets, writers, artists, anybody, to actually get together to create and perform, educate and demonstrate, simultaneously, with other communities around the world. This will change how we see our local community and the global community. We have all become incredibly alienated in recent years. We hardly know our neighbors down the street let alone our creative allies who live and share our concerns in other countries. We need to feel this kind of global solidarity. I think it will be empowering. — http:/www.100TPC.org

The Literary Underground and Zygote in my Coffee present Nothing to Lose Comes to Jacksonville/RAT (Premature) Release Party Saturday, June 22, 2013. Show starts at 7pm CST at Bogarts, 2142 Old State Rd., Jacksonville, IL 62650. After-party to follow. Free and open to the public 18+

Comedian Mike Brant, Brian W. Fugett, Michelle L. Quinn, Tim Murray, Sirenna Blas, Ryder Collins, James Babbs, Wanda Morrow Clevenger, Michele McDannold, Michael D. Grover, Matthew Sradeja, Leo Todd Jarret, FLAMINGO, UTTER CHAOS, Bucky the Clown … and more TBA. Cory James Taylor, co-host of Occupy Underground Radio, will be there repping Occupy Underground and documenting the occasion.

James Babbs was born during the Johnson administration when the average household income was $6,899.00 and a gallon of gas cost just 32¢. He has been writing poetry since the early 1980s. James lives in the same small town where he grew up, earning his living as a rural mail carrier and still dreaming of becoming a rock star. He’d settle for Emperor of Wyoming. Over the last 30 years, he has published hundreds of poems in both print and online journals. He is the author of Dictionary of Chaos (2002), Another Beautiful Night (2010), The Weight of Invisible Things (2012) and Disturbing the Light (2013).

Sirenna Blas has been published in Red Ochre, The Bicycle review, The Montucky Review, Rose and Thorn Journal, Burning Word, and Red Fez. Her prose and poetry have won awards in the Stark-Tinkham Writing Awards. While fiction is her main love, she has an ongoing affair with poetry, and dabbles in painting and freelance writing. She is a tutor and recent graduate from Northwest Indiana.

Mike Brant (aka Bucky the Clown) lives in Jacksonville, Illinois. He is a filmmaker, comedian and a member of the band Utter Chaos.

Wanda Morrow Clevenger lives in a small town in Illinois. She has published widely online and in print. She is the author of The Same Small Town In Each of Us (2011).

Ryder Collins Ryder Collins is the author of a chapbook of poetry Orpheus on Toast and the novel Homegirl!, available here. She has work published in DIAGRAM, >kill author, Fix It Broken, and Juked, among others. Ryder was an editor at Cream City Review. She has been nominated or been a finalist in several literary awards including the Millions Writers Award.

Flamingo is a 5 piece genre-blending rock outfit from the midwest. John Franz, Hayden Woodward, Sarah Shive, Josh Payton, Jesse Reynolds. https://www.facebook.com/flamingofeathers

©Casey Rearick Photo

Brian W. Fugett is a member of the slacker, fast food generation that has been branded with an ‘X’ by that Canadian-born, literary terrorist known as Douglas Coupland. Meanwhile, he sits in his pad all day consuming more oxygen than he’s worth. He’s been doing it for over 40 years now and has become quite efficient at it. Eating and voiding are the only things he really knows how to do. Between meals and trips to the shitter, he covertly milks ‘West Nile Virus’ from the tits of pregnant mosquitoes and uses it to butter the toast of local politicians. He is the editor/publisher of Zygote in my Coffee.

©Casey Rearick Photo

Michael D. Grover is a native Floridian. He is currently a resident artist at the Collingwood Arts Center in Toledo, Ohio. Michael is widely published in the literary underground. He is the current head poetry editor at Red Fez. Citizens for Decent Literature Press published Michael’s chapbook Some People Go Crazy in 2012. He has published several other chapbooks and his first book A Shotgun Does The Trick is on its way from Tainted Coffee Press.

Leo Jarret is an itinerant poet, novelist and short fiction writer. Originally from some place in Detroit’s down river area where flatland and factory smoke are the agony of the industrial age. Currently rootless and homesick, but not for any home he can remember.

©Chandra Alderman Photo

Michele McDannold has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher of Citizens For Decent Literature, a project of The Literary Underground.

©Casey Rearick Photo

Tim Murray is a lifelong resident of Northwest Indiana. He hosted the Red Fez blogtalk radio show from 2010-2012 and now hosts The Tim Murray Variety Show on Project U Radio Network. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by NightBallet Press for his poem “Certified Outlaw”. His e-chap What I Did Monday is available for free download from Ten Pages Press. His chapbook Dinosaur Ditch was published by Citizens for Decent Literature Press.

Michelle L. Quinn is a reporter, editor and researcher with 18 years’ experience with Northwest Indiana’s oldest newspaper. She is known in the Region for being a fair reporter and clean, succinct writer. It is a complete mystery as to why she is hanging around the asshole poets, but they love her for it.

Matthew Sradeja dares you to say his name which is nearly unpronounceable. He works in a loud factory in Toledo, Ohio and performs his poetry regularly at the Black Kite Reading Series.

Cory James Taylor also known as CeeTee was born in a little town called Flint, Mi. He is the founder of Occupy Underground Michigan and is now pursuing his goal to showcase everything that the underground scene has to offer; making the passion of others his own. If you ever run into him make sure to say hello and tell him about what’s going on in your community. And if you happen upon him at a local event take a minute to quietly watch him record audio, take pictures and to observe the smile on his face as he meets new people and shares in their experience.

Utter Chaos is a heavy metal band from Jacksonville, formed in 2004. Mike Brant, Dewey Surratt, Mike Morris, Tiny-drums
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Utter-Chaos/319867541476323

for information, please contact Michele McDannold
Facebook Event Page — Nothing to Lose Comes to Jacksonville/RAT (Premature) Release Party

The Broken Pulpit is a one-off, unique 2 day poetry extravaganza in Cleveland over the weekend of April 20 – 21. It will consist of a stage show Saturday night in Midtown Cleveland and then a poetry crawl on Sunday afternoon in the Tremont neighborhood.

The Literary Underground and Zygote in my Coffee present NOTHING TO LOSE at the LAVA LOUNGE, Session 3 of the poetry crawl (4:00pm-5:00pm) at 1307 Auburn Ave. Come hang out and have some poetry grenades. Scheduled to read are: Michael D. Grover, John Swain, Katie Daley, Brian W. Fugett, Michele McDannold and ???

The weekend kicks off at 7:00pm Saturday April 20 at the renown, but underground hideaway, The Center for Rock Research. If you are already part of the in-crowd, you know where that is. But The Broken Pulpit is an opportunity to join the in-crowd and find out that the Center for Rock Research is at 1761 East 39th Street in Cleveland. New initiates will not have to perform the secret handshake to enter, nor pay any cover. IT IS A FREE EVENT! BYOB, but drinks and munchies will be sold to benefit the Cleveland Food Bank.

The show features poets from across the country and local to northeast Ohio and music from the robust percussion band Primal Rhythms and local rock favorite Morticia’s Chair. Readers include:

Lynn Alexander (Pittsburgh, PA)
Eric Alleman (Youngstown, OH)
Jeff Bowen (Cleveland, OH)
Miles Budimir (Cleveland, OH)
John Burroughs (Cleveland, OH)
Paul Corman Roberts (Oakland, CA)
Katie Daley (Cleveland, OH)
Bill Gainer (Sacramento, CA)
TM Gottl (Cleveland, OH)
Bill Howe (Cincinnati, OH)
Ray McNeice (Cleveland, OH)
Alex Nielsen (Cleveland, OH)
Frank Prpic (Cleveland, OH)
John Swain (Louisville, KY)
William Taylor Jr (San Francisco, CA)
Zarina Zabrisky (San Francisco, CA)
Eris Zion Venia (Cleveland, OH)

Day 2 of The Broken Pulpit is a never before seen in Cleveland event in its own right. 55 poets will read at 11 venues in the historical neighborhood of Tremont, arguably the poetic center of northeast Ohio. In restaurants, bars, and shops sprinkled across the neighborhood, poets will bring their art to one of the hottest and trendiest neighborhood in the city.

The readings are three sessions, 1:00pm around the Professor Ave/Jefferson Ave area, 2:30pm in the W. 11th St/Kenilworth Ave area, and at 4:00pm at the W. 14th St/Auburn Ave area. Three to Four venues will simultaneously have readings. Each venue in each session is strategically located so listeners can pop in and out of each one to hear their favorites or to experience new voices. At 5:00pm, there will be an afterparty at Prosperity Social Club.

The Crawl Schedule is as follows:

Session 1 (1:00pm-2:00pm) Professor Ave/Jefferson Ave
Edison’s Pub- 2373 Professor Ave.
Paul Duda Gallery- 2342 Professor Ave.
Doubting Thomas Gallery- 856 Jefferson Ave.
Flying Monkey Pub- 819 Jefferson Ave.

Session 2 (2:30pm-3:30pm) W. 11th St/Kenilworth Ave
Studio Le Beau Salon- 2360 W. 11th St.
Studio 11 Yoga- 2337 W. 11th St.
Visible Voice Books- 1023 Kenilworth Ave.

Session 3 (4:00pm-5:00pm) W. 14th St/Auburn Ave
Lava Lounge- 1307 Auburn Ave.
Grumpy’s Café- 2621 W. 14th St.
Lincoln Park Pub- 2609 W. 14th St.
Jewel Heart Buddhist Center- 2670 W. 14th St.

Afterparty (5:00pm – close)
Prosperity Social Club- 1109 Starkweather Ave.

Come to all, come to some, but come to this history making Cleveland event. Clevelanders rock the poetry during April, National Poetry Month, and we invited the nation to rock with us and they accepted. Don’t miss it.

The Midwest Underground Poetry Summit
Monday, February 18th. 7:00pm Eastern
Black Kite Coffee & Pies
2499 Collingwood, Toledo, Ohio 43620

Featuring Brian Fugett and Michele McDannold. Hosted by Michael Grover and Tara Armstrong.

Brian Fugett is a member of the slacker, fast food generation that has been branded with an ‘X’ by that Canadian-born, literary terrorist known as Douglas Coupland. Meanwhile, he sits in his pad all day consuming more oxygen than he’s worth. He’s been doing it for over 35 years now and has become quite effecient at it. Eating and voiding are the only things he really knows how to do. Between meals and trips to the shitter, he covertly milks ‘West Nile Virus’ from the tits of pregnant mosquitoes and uses it to butter the toast of local politicians. He is the editor/publisher of Zygote in my Coffee.

Michele McDannold is corn fed and redneck bred. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. A devoted member of the Cult of the Honey Badger, she is also the editor/publisher of Citizens For Decent Literature, a project of The Literary Underground.

Video streaming by Ustream

Tinyamp Records vs The Literary Underground
January 12, 2013 9:00pm MST
@ Rhinoceropolis, 3553 Brighton Blvd, Denver, Colorado

LIVE Music from Tinyamp Records : Mariposa, architecht, King Curta, Hunter-Dragon and the Bi Pedal Approach

Featured Readers: Frankie Metro, Linsdey Thomas, Jason Hardung, William Seward Bonnie, Ryan Snellman, Dustin Holland, John Swain, Michele McDannold

It’s the Denver Pre-show HIGH as %&$# Program. January 11, 2013

Click here to listen to RYAN SNELLMAN at the Pre-reading Reading, Denver, CO. January 11, 2013

Click here to listen to JOHN SWAIN at the Pre-reading Reading, Denver, CO. January 11, 2013

Happy F%$^in’ Endings – The Box Performance Space and Improv Theatre, Albuquerque, NM. November 3, 2012
Photos by SAMMY! IAmSammyDesign.com
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Click here to listen to LINDSEY THOMAS at Happy F%$^in’ Endings – The Box Performance Space and Improv Theatre, Albuquerque, NM. November 3, 2012. Recording by Brian W. Fugett

Click here to listen to RYDER COLLINS at Happy F%$^in’ Endings – The Box Performance Space and Improv Theatre, Albuquerque, NM. November 3, 2012. Recording by Brian W. Fugett

Click here to listen to BUD SMITH at Happy F%$^in’ Endings – The Box Performance Space and Improv Theatre, Albuquerque, NM. November 3, 2012. Recording by Brian W. Fugett

The Literary Underground To Host Weekend of Live Poetry Events in Albuquerque

The Literary Underground teams up with independent literary publications Zygote in my Coffee and The Meth Lab to produce two literary readings on November 3^rd and 4^th.

The Literary Underground is a grassroots organization committed to fostering community in the independent press. In coordination with Zygote in my Coffee, they will be hosting “Happy Fuckin’ Endings” on Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 4-6 pm at The Box Improv & Performance Space on Gold Avenue in downtown Albuquerque. Happy Fuckin’ Endings is to mark the end of the Zyfez reading series (Toledo 2011 and Oakland 2012) with a newly forged alliance between The Literary Underground and Zygote in my Coffee in pledge of supporting underground authors and writing. Zygote in my Coffee is a literary publication that has been publishing online for nearly ten years and in print for five. Many popular, independent authors have had their first works published here.

On Sunday, November 4, 2012, The Literary Underground will partner with The Meth Lab to host “Mothpocalypse”. Mothpocalypse is a gathering of multi-lingual vagabonds, writers and poets communing like it’s early Spring in the middle of Autumn. This event will take place from 5-7 pm at the Harwood Arts Center on 7^th & Mountain in downtown Albuquerque. Local author Frankie Metro serves as an editor for The Meth Lab, as well as working on various projects including the Project U Radio Network at The Literary Underground. The Meth Lab takes a ‘no holds barred’ approach to their publishing efforts and seeks to highlight the talents of unknown or not well known authors—a goal that is shared with The Literary Underground.

Both events are free and open to the public. Between the two events, over thirty poets and authors will perform their works live. Those scheduled to read are traveling from all over the United States. Local authors will also be featured.

More details coming soon!

for information, please contact Michele McDannold
Facebook Event Pages — Happy Fuckin’ Endings — Mothpocalypse