Memphis, Nashville and Louisville. Photo courtesy of Rick Lupert
Poetry Night at Café 27, presented by Loose Lips Poetry Series and sponsored by the Messenger Mountain News, debuts on October 27, from 4-6 p.m., at Café 27 in Topanga.
The event features LA poet Rick Lupert, followed by an Open Mic session.
Lupert has been involved with poetry in Los Angeles since 1990. He has authored 23 collections of poetry, his latest being Hunka Hunka Howdee! Poems written in Memphis, Nashville and Louisville, a travelogue written on the go in Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville. Two music cities, the birthplace of rock and Roll, Martin Luther King’s final steps, and barrels full of bourbon are no escape from Lupert’s keen poetic eye and wit.
Among his other collections are God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion (Rothco Press), I’m a Jew, Are You (Jewish themed poems), and Feeding Holy Cats (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip). He has also edited the anthologies A Poet’s Siddur, Ekphrastia Gone Wild, A Poet’s Haggadah, and the noir anthology, The Night Goes on All Night.
“The best of these poems come close enough to being both seductive satire and genuinely sentimental encounters that you will want to linger with their wit…,” writes Bill Mohr, author of The Headwaters of Nirvana, and HOLDOUTS: The Los Angeles Poetry Renaissance 1948-1992. “Lupert’s deftly sketched poems will help you keep ‘one foot each on and off / the beaten path’ of skeptical wonder at the world’s ongoing peculiarities.”
Lupert also created the Poetry Super Highway (an online publication and resource for poets), hosted the Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years, draws (with Brendan Constantine) the daily web comic, Cat and Banana (catandbanana.com), and writes the poetry column, From the Lupertverse, for JewishJournal.com. He has been lucky enough to read his poetry all over the world. Find him at: facebook.com/rickpoet.
Lupert’s books will be available for purchase.
An open mic follows (no epics please) and light refreshments, coffee, tea and water will be available during the event. Those who wish to stay after 6 p.m. are welcome to order from the Café 27 dinner menu.
Many thanks to Café 27 owner, Amir Rofougaran for providing the space and, we hope, some of his own poetry.
Cafe 27 is located at 1861 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290. (310) 752-6241.
