Cheap Wine and Poetry

“Cheap Wine and Poetry” Closes Out 2009

2009-10-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

“Cheap Wine and Poetry” closes out 2009 on Thursday, November 5, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House. Series curator Brian McGuigan takes the stage with poets John Burgess and Kate Lebo and essayist Elissa Washuta. Charla Grenz hosts, and, as always, wine is $1 per cup.

Admission is FREE, though donations are encouraged to help keep the beer or wine cheap and the prose or poetry free. Open mic sign-up is at the door. Books from authors and “Cheap Wine and Poetry” merchandise are for sale.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" is co-sponsored by Richard Hugo House.

For more info: www.cheapwineandpoetry.com.

ABOUT THE READERS
Seattle Poet John Burgess has two books from Ravenna Press, “Punk Poems” (2005) and “A History of Guns in the Family” (2008). He was a 2006 Jack Straw writer; co-founder of the Burning Word Festival; and the 2008 Words' Worth curator for the Seattle City Council. He's currently editor for the online lit journal Snow Monkey.

Kate Lebo was raised in southwest Washington by two Iowans and a bunch of vigilant daycare employees. She graduated from Western Washington University in 2005. Now she lives in Seattle, where she works for Richard Hugo House, a literary arts center. You can find her poems in Crab Creek Review, Smartish Pace, Filter and Knock magazines. She’s (still) working on her first chapbook manuscript. To read more about Kate (and her tasty homemade pies), visit her blog at goodeggseattle.blogspot.com.

Born and raised in Queens, NY, Brian McGuigan is a poet, performer, arts administrator and raconteur currently residing in Seattle. He works in marketing and programs at Richard Hugo House and is the co-founder and curator of “Cheap Wine and Poetry,” Seattle's coolest reading series. His chapbook, “More Than I Left Behind,” was published by Spankstra Press in 2006. Currently, Brian is at work on a full-length manuscript of poems and a novel. For more Brian: brianwithani.com.

Elissa Washuta is a Seattle-based, Jersey-raised writer. In 2009 she completed an M.F.A. at the University of Washington, and she received her B.A. from the University of Maryland in 2007. She is the host of Richard Hugo House’s monthly open mic. When not working on putting the finishing touches on her memoir, “The Kindling Effect,” Elissa can be found knitting, singing karaoke or talking about the fact that she used to fence before she injured her knees.

“Cheap Beer and Prose” Cracks a Fresh One for Seattle’s Prose Writers

2009-09-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

“Cheap Wine and Poetry” presents a new spin on Seattle’s coolest and most popular poetry reading series, “Cheap Beer and Prose,” on Thursday, September 10, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House. Featured writers include Ryan Boudinot, Cienna Madrid, Mary Purdy and David Schmader, all reading from long works while putting back a few cold ones. Charla Grenz hosts, and, in the spirit of “Cheap Wine and Poetry,” where wine is served
for a buck per plastic cup, beer is $1 per cup.

Admission is FREE, though donations are encouraged to help keep the beer
or wine cheap and the prose or poetry free. Open mic sign-up is at the
door. Books from authors and "Cheap Wine and Poetry" merchandise is for sale.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" is co-sponsored by Richard Hugo House.

For more info: www.cheapwineandpoetry.com.

ABOUT THE READERS
Ryan Boudinot is the author of “The Littlest Hitler” (Counterpoint, 2006),
a Publishers Weekly Book of the Year. His novel “Misconception” is
forthcoming from Grove Atlantic in fall 2009. His work has appeared in
McSweeney's, The Stranger, “The Best American Nonrequired Reading” and
elsewhere. He teaches at Goddard College's M.F.A. program in Port
Townsend.

Cienna Madrid is a local writer and humorist whose articles have appeared
in The Stranger, Arcade Journal, SubTerrain Magazine and the Boise Weekly.
She is a writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House, where she is working
to complete her first novel. In her free time Madrid volunteers at
Heritage House and mentors a teen writer who often exhibits more
discipline and skill than Madrid herself.

Mary Purdy is a transplant from NYC where she was a regular on the comedy
scene. Her solo show “PURDY WOMAN” was produced at several Off-Broadway
venues in NYC as well as featured in the Piccolo Spoleto Fest in
Charleston, SC, and Bumbershoot Festival 2005. Her 2nd solo piece “Judy
Blume Owes Me” was produced in both LA, NYC and Seattle as well as
featured in a variety of comedy festivals. Mary was a regular comedy
contributor to NPR's “The Next Big Thing” for 3 years. Her work has been
seen here in Seattle at On the Boards Live Girls! Theatre, Spin the
Bottle, The Stay Up Late Show, Macha Monkey Cabaret and Hugo House among
other places. She is also co-artistic director and founder of
UnicycleCollective.org dedicated to producing new & original solo
theatrical works.

David Schmader is a writer and performer who's been living and working in
Seattle since 1991. His solo plays include Letter to Axl and Straight,
which he's performed to great acclaim in Seattle and across the U.S. In
his spare time, Schmader is also the world's foremost authority on the
brilliant horribleness of Paul Verhoven's Showgirls, hosting annotated
screenings of the notorious stripper drama at film festivals across the
country and supplying the commentary track for MGM's special-edition
Showgirls DVD in 2002. Since 1999, Schmader's been an editor and staff
writer for the Seattle newsweekly The Stranger, for which he writes the
weekly pop culture-and-politics column "Last Days." He's currently
completing the new live cinema essay Nomi's Inferno: An Abridged and
Annotated Tour of American Cinematic Failure, and a new solo play, Litter.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m.

2009-04-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" celebrates National Poetry Month on Thursday, April 23, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House with poets Christa Bell, Matt Gano, Peter Pereira and Judith Roche.

About the Readers

Christa Bell is an award-winning feminist folk poet, performance artist and cultural activist. She is the author of three collections of poetry, two spoken word CDs and the creatrix of the one-woman phenomenon, “CoochieMagik: A SpokenWord Musical Comedy” directed by Baraka de Soleil.

Matt Gano is a nationally known poet, writer, and performance artist residing in Seattle, Washington. He is a member of the 2008 National Poetry Slam team for Seattle and finished in top position to earn the title, “Seattle Poetry Slam Grand Slam Champion”. He was a member of the National Poetry Slam team for Seattle in 2004, and again in 2005 and remains one of the top performing artists in Seattle’s poetry circuit. His published work includes: chapbooks,"Music Maker",“Welcome Home”,“I Eight the Infinite”, and “Art Barker”, a self-titled poetry LP, and a live recording entitled “A Giant’s Pulse.” More to come soon……

Peter Pereira’s poems have appeared in Poetry, Prairie Schooner, New England Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Journal of the American Medical Association, and have been anthologized in 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Everyday, the 2007 Best American Poetry, and the recent Frye Art Museum anthology Looking Together: Writers on Art. His poems have also been featured online at Verse Daily, Poetry Daily, as well as on National Public Radio’s The Writer’s Almanac. His books include The Lost Twin (Grey Spider 2000), Saying the World (Copper Canyon, 2003) and What’s Written on the Body (Copper Canyon 2007), which was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Peter is a family physician in Seattle, and was a founding editor of Floating Bridge Press. He plans to read tonight from new work supported by a King County 4Culture grant, a poems series entitled “The Expedition of the Vaccine” exploring world health, imperialism, children’s rights, and the fate of 22 Spanish orphan boys used as vaccine carriers in the early 1800’s.

Judith Roche is the author of three collections of poetry, the most recent of which, Wisdom of the Body, won an American Book Award, She has edited a number of poetry anthologies and has worked in collaboration with visual artists on several public art projects which are installed in the Northwest area, including an installation about salmon at the Chittenden Locks. She is Literary Arts Director Emeritus for One Reel, and teaches poetry workshops throughout the country. She was Distinguished Northwest Writer in Residence at Seattle University in 2007 and is a Fellow in the Black Earth Institute.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m.

2009-03-25T06:46:00.001-07:00

After a couple of months off, “Cheap Wine and Poetry” is back on Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House. The featured readers are poets Roberto Ascalon and Nicole Hardy, blogger-turned-novelist Rebecca Agiewich and solo performer/humorist Sean O’Connor.

As always, the spunkified Charla Grenz hosts, and we keep you warm with wine at $1/glass. Open mic follows the featured readers.

We hope to see you there.
The “Cheap Wine and Poetry” Crew

www.cheapwineandpoetry.com

ABOUT THE READERS
Rebecca Agiewich is the author of BreakupBabe: A Novel published by
Ballantine Books in 2006 (and which was a finalist for the 2007 Lulu
Blooker Prize, a literary prize devoted to "blooks."). It was inspired by
her dating blog, also called "Breakup Babe," which earned her a devoted
audience and scared off many potential boyfriends. She is a firm believer
that the interactive nature of blogging is a boon for aspiring writers.

New York-born Roberto Ascalon is a poet, writer, arts educator and
performance artist. He is an instructor at Nova High School in Seattle and
teaches teenagers at Artscorp. Ascalon has participated in Bumberslam at
the Bumbershoot Festival, the Seattle All City Slam Poetry Finals and two
Seattle National Poetry Slams. In 2004, he self-published his book The
Words Are Not Enough. His poems have appeared in the anthologies Poetry on
Buses 2004: Facts and Fictions and From the Page to the Stage: National
Slam Anthology

Nicole Hardy lives in Seattle where she works as a waitress and a teacher.
Her chapbook, Mud Flap Girl's XX Guide to Facial Profiling, was a finalist
in Main Street Rag's 2006 chapbook contest and was published as part of
its Editor's Choice chapbook series. She earned her MFA at the Bennington
College Writing Seminars, and was nominated for a 2007 Pushcart Prize. Her
poems have appeared in many journals and have been rejected from many
more. More about Nicole and her poems can be found at hardygirl.com.

Sean O'Connor has been writing mildly amusing essays for magazine and
radio, and presenting his work on stage since 2004. He is an award-winning
humor writer whose recorded work has been featured on NPR stations
nationally. He performs locally with 60 Seconds Max, A Guide to Visitors,
Unicycle Collective and others.

WHAT: “Cheap Wine and Poetry”

WHEN: Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, Seattle.

ETC: Cash bar.
Wine: $1/glass.
Books and “Cheap Wine and Poetry” merch for sale.

Vote Elizabeth Austen for Seattle Poet Populist!

2008-10-06T07:08:00.001-07:00

By now, you’re probably sick of hearing about politics— the bailout plan, offshore drilling and all that freaking blinking. But what if the election were decided by metaphor? Line breaks? Or knowing the difference between assonance and dissonance?

Seattle Poet Populist is just that, an election of the city’s most populist poet, who, for a year, acts as advocate for poetry in the community. “Cheap Wine and Poetry” has nominated Elizabeth Austen. You can vote for her here. It only takes a few clicks.

Elizabeth has read at “Cheap Wine and Poetry” a few times, most recently at our National Poetry Month reading. She has produced a CD of her work, skin prayers, which you can listen to samples of here. Besides her own writing, Elizabeth is an amazing advocate for poetry, presenting poems by local writers on KUOW and in her role as the Washington “roadshow” poet in 2007. She also works with students as a poet in the schools and teaches at Hugo House and privately.

Your lovely friends at “Cheap Wine and Poetry” have had the pleasure of putting a few back with Elizabeth on occasion, and we adore her. She is a sweet person, a nurturing teacher and a kickass poet. That’s why you should vote for her! Again, you can do that right here— just in case you forgot.

And while we have you, the next “Cheap Wine and Poetry” is Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.— two days after the Poet Populist election and that other one too. Come and celebrate or drown your sorrows with the great work of slam master Daemond Arrindel, funny lady Cienna Madrid and the hip hopping Marya Sea Kaminski with “Cheap Wine and Poetry” curator Brian McGuigan to boot.

www.cheapwineandpoetry.com

VOTE ELIZABETH AUSTEN FOR SEATTLE POET POPULIST!

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" at Bumbershoot and more

2008-08-29T09:13:00.001-07:00

If you're going to Bumbershoot, either today or tomorrow you'll print out the schedule and start making little checkmarks, smiley faces or stars next to all the musicians and performances you'd like to see. The first check, face or star you make should be right next to "Cheap Wine and Poetry," stumbling into the Leo K Theatre Monday, September 1, 7:30 p.m.

Joining us for a very special "Cheap Wine and Poetry" will be an all-star line-up of Seattle's best and brightest writers and performers: Marya Sea Kaminski, Karen Finneyfrock, Bret Fetzer, Rebecca Hoogs and Eben Eldridge. Unlike our usual show at Richard Hugo House, there won’t be any wine(Bumbershoot has all these, like, rules, man.), but that shouldn’t stop you from downing the finest bottle of Chuck in a parking lot along Mercer St. before coming.

And if Bumbershoot just ain’t your thing, “Cheap Wine and Poetry” will be back at Hugo House on Thursday, September 18, 7 p.m. for our very first ladies’ night with essayist Brangien Davis and poets Jennifer Borges Foster, Karen Finneyfrock and Kary Wayson. Of course, the cheap stuff will be flowing too!

Cheap Wine - Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon

2008-07-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Usually I don’t drink red wine in the summer, I prefer beer and vodka tonics, but the past few days have felt more like October than July. So, I picked up a bottle of my favorite cheap wine, Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon.

1) Price?
$6.49 at a grocery store or $8.99 at a convenient store. Or you can do what I did and pick up a magnum for $10.49. In my opinion, it’s the best way to get a buzz when you’re short on cash.

2) Food?
Pizza is your best bet. Any kind of pizza, just as long as it’s marinara based. None of that hippie shit, like pesto or hummus.

In my college days, when I wanted to impress a girl, but was low on funds, which was always, I’d buy a frozen pizza and a bottle of Yellow Tail Cab. I’d invite her over to my studio apartment, we’d eat and drink, then I’d throw on an independent film. I won’t go into details, but it almost always worked.

3) Music?
Now that I no longer try to seduce college girls, and my girlfriend doesn’t drink, I find myself drinking this wine alone a lot. Mainly while writing. So, I would have to say I listen to a lot of the music I listen to while writing, which is Medeski Martin and Wood, Portishead, and DJ Shadow. I’d also have to suggest “Red Red Wine,” but not that poor man’s reggae version by UB40, Neil Diamond’s original.

4) Clothes?
Whatever you were wearing when you bought the bottle. I prefer to enjoy this wine when it’s a little cold outside, so whatever you feel comfortable in. Unless you are trying to seduce a college girl, then I’d say a nice, collared shirt and a few sprays of Drakkar Noir. For some reason college girls love that smell.

5) Read?
Li Po. I have found myself sipping Yellow Tail Cab at 2 am, reading Li Po on many occasions. I find his poems much more relatable when I’m holding on to a nice, red wine high.

6) People?
As stated earlier, I drink this wine alone a lot, but it’s also a good wine to bring to parties. Like, if you’re invited to a dinner party and are told not to bring anything but still feel the need to bring something, I say go with a bottle of Yellow Tail Cab. It won’t break the bank, and everyone will be happy there’s any extra bottle of wine.

7) When?
Like I said before I enjoy this wine most when there’s a nip in the air, but I didn’t specify a time of day. It’s best late at night, like after 10pm. When it’s cold and dark outside, but you’re in your warm apartment or house. After all the day’s task are completed and it’s your time to relax.

Last Glass
I don’t want people to think I’m encouraging drinking alone. That’s what alcoholics do. If you’re a writer and you drink wine while you write you’re never alone, because you’re always surrounded by the characters you create.

Cheap Wine - Barefoot Pinot Grigio

2008-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

When Brian asked me to be the cheap wine blogger for cheapwineandpoetry.com, I thought it would be easy. I drink cheap wine on a regular basis, and I made my pocket money in high school as a stock boy for a high-class wine shop in Connecticut. I’m certainly no expert, but I learned more than just how to sneak a bottle from the basement to my trunk.

It’s not as easy as I expected. Of course I never planned on using words like “oaky,” “bouquet” or “legs,” but I thought I would be able to give a somewhat educated opinion on relatively cheap wine. I’m kind of a wino, but with standards. So to do this I figured I would need some sort of criteria, and as I made my list, I thought, why not keep it simple and ask 7 questions about cheap wine. 7 is a good number, and not to completely limit myself, I’ll keep question 7 open for a who, what, when, where, why or how question, which will alternate with each blog.

The first bottle I will discuss is Barefoot’s Pinot Grigio.

1) Price?
Anywhere between 4.99 and 7.49. A grocery store will always be cheaper than a convenient store.

2) Food?
Grilled chicken and watermelon!
If you’re not much of a cook and want to impress a date, here’s what you do: First have a chilled bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio and look nice. When your date shows up at the door, have a tray full of freshly cut watermelon on the table, and the grill going. Squeeze some lemon on the chicken, add some S&P, throw them on the grill and make your move. Hopefully you’ll have made it to first base by the time the chicken is done. After your date eats the chicken and has a few glasses of wine, you’ll be rounding second.

3) Music?
Sublime. Bob Marley is good too. Beatles, but only Sgt. Peppers or Magical Mystery Tour.

4) Clothes?
Shorts are a must! If it’s too cold for shorts, it’s too cold for this wine. Flip-flops a plus. Muscle t-shirt a bonus.

5) Read?
Great wine for outside reading, especially if you’re in a hammock. You’re going to want something that doesn’t make you think too hard. May I suggest Where the Sidewalk Ends or The Bible?

6) People?
This wine should be shared with friends. A backyard BBQ or a bonfire on the beach are perfect situations. Next time you’re invited over to your buddy’s house for a BBQ, show up with a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio. Everyone else will have Coors Light, and you’ll look cool with the chilled wine.

7) How?
Don’t be afraid to hold your glass by the top. I’m sure someone will tell you to always hold your chilled wine by the steam of the glass so it doesn’t get warm, but if you drink your glass fast enough, that won’t be a problem, so hold it however you want. It’s hard to look cool while holding a wine glass at the steam.

Last glass
I’m not an expert, just a cheap wine enthusiast. I don’t have a trained palate, but if you’re like me in the sense that you find most white wines too dry, Barefoot Pinot Grigio is a pleasant surprise.

Celebrate the Three-Year Anniversary of "Cheap Wine and Poetry" Thursday May 29, 7 p.m.

2008-05-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Where would we all be without the Three Little Pigs? Pascal’s Triangle? And what about getting to third base?

Great things always come in threes— even “Cheap Wine and Poetry,” celebrating our three-year anniversary on Thursday, May 29, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House. To commemorate, we’ve invited back four (Sorry threes!) of our favorite featured readers of the past: writer and “The Stranger” columnist David Schmader, solo performer Jennifer Jasper, and poets John Burgess and Jourdan Keith.

Charla Grenz— sans Dorothy Parker get-up— hosts; the wine’s a buck a glass, and we’ll be raffling off books from past readers, “Cheap Wine and Poetry” t-shirts, and other surprises.

So lift a glass with us on May 29 and celebrate Seattle’s coolest reading series. Here’s to threes (until next year, when we celebrate our fourth anniversary)!

WHAT: “Cheap Wine and Poetry.” Celebrating the three-year anniversary of Seattle’s coolest reading series. Features John Burgess, Jennifer Jasper, Jourdan Keith, and David Schmader.

WHEN: Thursday, May 29, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle.

ETC: Wine $1/glass.
Open mic.
Merch sales.
FREE.

www.cheapwineandpoetry.com

Co-sponsored by Richard Hugo House

About the Performers
Seattle poet John Burgess just had his second book— “A History of Guns in the Family”— published by Ravenna Press. He’s a 2006 Jack Straw writer, co-founder of the Burning Word Poetry Festival, and the 2008 curator for Words' Worth, the poetry program for the Seattle City Council. He is currently working to put the lit journal Snow Monkey online. His first collection is “Punk Poems.”

Jennifer Jasper has been performing and directing in Seattle for almost 20 years. She was a co-founder of Kings’ Elephant Theatre (10 years) and co-founder of Pulp Vixens (10 years). She has been performing her own work in various forms including stand up comedy, monologues and is now developing a one-woman show for 2009/2010. Most recently she can be seen hosting for the Von Foxies Burlesque as the scotch-swilling “Maggie.”

Jourdan Keith, Seattle’s 2007 Poet Populist and storyteller, is a Jack Straw writer and Hedgebrook alum. A 2004 grant recipient from the Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs for the choreopoem, “The Uterine Files: Episode I, Voices Spitting Out Rainbows,” her publication credits include ColorsNW, Seattle Woman, KUOW, the video “Silence...Broken” and the anthology, “Ma-Ka, Diasporic Juks.” She is the founder of Urban Wilderness Project, which provides storytelling, restoration and adventure programs.

David Schmader is a writer and performer who’s been living and working in Seattle since 1991. His solo plays include Letter to Axl and Straight, which he’s performed to great acclaim in Seattle and across the U.S. In his spare time, Schmader is also the world’s foremost authority on the brilliant horribleness of Paul Verhoven’s Showgirls, hosting annotated screenings of the notorious stripper drama at film festivals across the country and supplying the commentary track for MGM’s special-edition Showgirls DVD in 2002. Since 1999, Schmader’s been an editor and staff writer for the Seattle newsweekly The Stranger, for which he writes the weekly pop culture-and-politics column “Last Days.” He’s currently completing the new live cinema essay Nomi’s Inferno: An Abridged and Annotated Tour of American Cinematic Failure, and a new solo play, Litter.

Word Nerds: Get your persona on this Thursday

2008-04-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

The most pressing dilemma in modern literary circles is the shocking absence of...costumes. Not to mention the overuse of...ellipses.

Writers really enjoy pretending to be someone else. They love to say, "It's not about me. It's fiction." They love creating personas. They develop historical crushes on long-dead scribblers.

So, here's your chance to fulfill all your fantasies at once. Impersonate a writer you wish you were, a writer you love to mock (come on, I know you secretly admire Danielle Steele), or a writer you wish were alive so you could have sex with or converse with them. Hey, Emily, what's with the birds? Walt! Write a new book! Oh, oh, oh, Irving!

Listen up. Dress up this Thursday for Cheap Wine & Poetry. Chat up the Sylvia Plaths; give the Kerouacs the stink eye. Whatever makes you happy. But dress up.

You know you want to.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" Celebrates National Poetry Month

2008-04-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

There is nothing “Cheap Wine and Poetry” loves more than cheap wine and poetry, especially during April, National Poetry Month.

To celebrate our sleepless nights thinking about line breaks and our hot and bothered days longing for clever metaphors, "Cheap Wine and Poetry" presents a special poetry-only evening on Thursday April 24, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House with features Roberto Ascalon, Elizabeth Austen, Rebecca Loudon, and Cody Walker.

Besides serving up a smorgasbord of poetry (and the cheap stuff for a buck, of course.), we invite you to dress up as your favorite writer, or your least favorite writer, any kind of writer. Just dress up!

Why? Because it’ll be fun, and we’ll be feeling all starry-eyed and ass-slap happy (Host Charla Grenz, first and foremost.) for poetry anyway. And maybe even hand out a prize or two for the coolest literary get-up. Wink, wink.

WHAT: “Cheap Wine and Poetry.” Celebrating National Poetry Month with a special poetry-only reading. Features Roberto Ascalon, Elizabeth Austen, Rebecca Loudon, and Cody Walker.

WHEN: Thursday, April 24, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle.

ETC: Wine $1/glass.
Open mic.
Merch sales.

www.cheapwineandpoetry.com
Co-sponsored by Richard Hugo House

About the Poets
New York-born ROBERTO ASCALON is a poet, writer, arts educator and performance artist. He is an instructor at Nova High School in Seattle and teaches teenagers at Artscorp. Ascalon has participated in Bumberslam at the Bumbershoot Festival, the Seattle All City Slam Poetry Finals and two Seattle National Poetry Slams. In 2004, he self-published his book The Words Are Not Enough. His poems have appeared in the anthologies Poetry on Buses 2004: Facts and Fictions and From the Page to the Stage: National Slam Anthology. Ascalon graduated from Evergreen College in Olympia, Wash., with a degree in Advanced Intercultural Communication. He makes his home in Seattle.

ELIZABETH AUSTEN spent her teens and twenties working as an actor and director in cities as diverse as London, England and Holland, Michigan. After six months of solo rambling in the Andes region of South America she recognized her true nature as an introvert, left the theatre and began writing poetry. For the past 10+ years, she’s been writing meditations – sometimes lyrical, sometimes humorous – on the nature and inter-relatedness of power, sexuality and mortality. Elizabeth served as the Washington “roadshow” poet for 2007, giving readings and workshops in rural areas around the state. She provides weekly commentary on Pacific Northwest poetry readings on KUOW, 94.9, public radio. She is the recipient of a grant from 4Culture, and is an alumna of Hedgebrook, the Jack Straw Writers Program, and Antioch University-Los Angeles. Her audio CD, skin prayers, is available at elizabethausten.org.

REBECCA LOUDON lives and writes in Seattle. She is the author of Tarantella and Radish King from Ravenna Press, and Navigate, Amelia Earhart's Letters Home from No Tell Books. Her third collection of poetry, Cadaver Dogs, is forthcoming from No Tell Books this summer. She teaches violin to children.

CODY WALKER teaches English at the University of Washington and poetry through Seattle Arts and Lectures' Writers in the Schools program. He also serves as a writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House. His work appears in Best American Poetry, Parnassus, Slate, Shenandoah, and Subtropics. In 2007 he was elected Seattle Poet Populist. His first book, Shuffle and Breakdown, will be published by Waywiser Press in the fall of 2008.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" Kicks Ass!

2007-11-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday for the final "Cheap Wine and Poetry" of 2007.

It was by far one of our best readings yet. The crowd was raucously welcoming, and all the performers, Rajnii Eddins, Chris Leasure, Brian McGuigan, and Ryan Boudinot, brought their A-games.

Also, thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets from our raffle hustler (and one of our featured readers in January 2008) Kate Lebo. Through the raffle, we raised more than $120, enough to pay for our web hosting through 2008. Many thanks to all the poets and writers who contributed books, CDs, etc. to the raffle. You all kick ass too!

See you in January.

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" Awarded Co-sponsorship by Richard Hugo House

2007-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

Richard Hugo House has awarded "Cheap Wine and Poetry" co-sponsorship through the Hugo Writers Fund in 2008, meaning we'll be back in the Victorian dorm room-like confines of the cabaret space for another year.

In addition to the space, "Cheap Wine and Poetry" was also awarded a small honorarium to be used towards improving our marketing and media efforts. So, next time you pop by Hugo House, let 'em know they kick ass for bringing "Cheap Wine and Poetry" back.

In 2008, the series will expand from the usual 4 readings a year to 6, giving you even more poetry and, inevitably, more cheap wine.

Here are the 2008 dates (All Thursdays, of course!):

January 24
March 13
April 24
May 29
September 18
November 6

Mark your calendars now, and we'll see you next year.

It's Alive! It's Alive!

2007-10-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

Finally!! The brand new Cheap Wine and Poetry website is up! Check us out at www.cheapwineandpoetry.com.

You Don't Wanna Miss It!

2007-10-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

After a summer hiatus of barbecues, bocce ball, and a special Pioneer Square reading, “Cheap Wine and Poetry” returns to our usual digs, Richard Hugo House, for our last reading of the year, Thursday November 8th, 7 p.m.

Joining series curator Brian McGuigan on the stage will be poet and performer Rajnii Eddins, fiction writer Chris Leasure, and Ryan Boudinot, author of “The Littlest Hitler.” As always, the ever-effervescent Charla Grenz will host, and the wine is $1/glass. The sub-prime lending crisis hasn’t affected the cheap wine market yet. Open mic sign-up is at the door, but reading slots are limited, so come early to sign-up before the winos build their liquid courage and take all of them.

Since this is our last “Cheap Wine and Poetry” of the year, we have a few holiday surprises under our tree, menorah, kinara, or aluminum pole, for you Festivus celebrators; it is for the rest of us, after all. If you wear your “Cheap Wine and Poetry” t-shirt to the reading, you’ll get a free glass on us. We know how to spread that good, old holiday cheer. Speaking of tees, we’ll be running a holiday special: two “Cheap Wine and Poetry” t-shirts for $25. Get one for you and yours and ensure you’ll look cool and sexy despite the inevitable cheap wine hangover. We also have a raffle in the works (Prizes to be announced.) and perhaps a few other surprises; you’ll have to come for those though.

Hope we’ll see you there.

ABOUT THE READERS

Ryan Boudinot’s work has appeared in McSweeney’s, BlackBook, and The Best American Non-Required Reading 2003 and 2005. His collection of short stories, “The Littlest Hitler,” was named one of the best 100 books of 2006 by Publisher’s Weekly.

Rajnii Eddins is a poet, singer/songwriter, performance artist and teacher. He is the co-founder of an organization called the Poetry Experience, which he initiated with his mother, Randee Eddins, in August of 1998. Rajnii has performed at more than 300 venues including: festivals, theatres, poetry slams, colleges and universities, cafes, bookstores, and a wide variety of schools. Rajnii, as a teacher, works with many at-risk youth from primary grades through high school creating and implementing curriculums that teach non-violence through poetry and spoken word that serve to deconstruct media stereotypes reaffirm self-identity and improve self-esteem.

Chris Leasure publishes fiction under her porn star name, Leslie Anne Leasure, in such fabulous publications as Blood Sisters: Lesbian Vampire Tales, Blithe House Quarterly, and Best Lesbian Love Stories. She has an MFA from some university in the midwest and an excerpt of her experimental novel-in-progress, Solanaceae Gardens, can be found in the current issue of Del Sol Review. Chris works at Hugo House and mocks Brian's cubicle daily.

Brian McGuigan, curator of “Cheap Wine and Poetry,” works at Richard Hugo House and was selected as curator of the Seattle City Council’s Words’ Worth Poetry Series in 2007. Spankstra Press published his chapbook, “More Than I Left Behind” in 2006. Currently, McGuigan is working on a follow-up to his chapbook, a few short stories, and has hopes for developing a one-man show. You can read more about Brian and his work at www.brianwithani.com.

Cheap Wine and Poetry.com

2007-10-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

I like cheap wine, but I LOVE Cheap Wine and Poetry.