The Poetry Brothel: Mardi Gras

February 23rd
8pm-1am

102 Norfolk Street, Manhattan
$25 admission; $65 VIP admission

NEW YORK, NY – February 23– The Poetry Society of New York is pleased to announce the second event of The Poetry Brothel’s Winter/Spring season at the historic Back Room Bar located at 102 Norfolk Street, nr. Delancy Street, New York, NY 10002. Complementary St. George gin, absinthe and whiskey will be served between 8-9pm. The Brothel is open from 8pm-1am.

The Poetry Brothel is an interactive poetry experience set up as a fin de siècle brothel in New Orleans/Paris. The evening also consists of live music, burlesque performances, vaudeville, fortune tellers and other related acts. This month’s theme is Mardi Gras! Considerable time and effort has been expended to replicate the glamorous decor of an upscale seraglio on Fat Tuesday. The purple, green and gold sequined back room is for the exclusive enjoyment of Poetry Brothel johns that request private readings. Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler!

The featured musical guest on 2/23 is Jason Prover and The Sneak Thievery Orchestra (www.jasonprovermusic.com), this popular ensemble specializes in modern and traditional forms of Jazz from the roaring 20s. The featured entertainments are two of New York’s most lascivious burlesque dancers, Foxx Von Tempt and Rosabelle Salavy.

The Madame and Tennessee Pink are also delighted to welcome their distinguished guest for the evening poet/author Jennifer Michael Hecht. Jennifer is the author of the bestseller Doubt: A History, a history of religious and philosophical doubt all over the world, throughout history. Her new book is Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It, out from Yale University Press. Hecht’s The End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism, and Anthropology won Phi Beta Kappa’s 2004 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award “For scholarly studies that contributes significantly to interpretations of the intellectual and cultural condition of humanity.” Her The Happiness Myth brings a historical eye to modern wisdom about how to lead a good life.

Publisher’s Weekly called her poetry book, Funny, “One of the most original and entertaining books of the year.” Her first book of poetry, The Next Ancient World, won three national awards, including the Poetry Society of America’s First Book award for 2001. Her new poetry book entitled Who Said, was recently published by Copper Canyon in November 2013. Hecht has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The New Yorker. She holds a Ph.D. in the history of science/European cultural history from Columbia University (1995) and now teaches a course called “Poets and Philosophy” in the MFA program at the New School in New York City, along with courses at NYU and Columbia University.

She has also published in many peer-reviewed journals, including; The Journal of the History of Ideas, Isis: Journal of the History of Science Society, French Historical Studies, The Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, and has delivered lectures at Harvard, Yale, MIT, Cal Tech, Columbia University as well as The Zen Mountain Monastery (Mt. Tremper), Temple Israel (Omaha), Saint Bart’s Episcopal Church (Park Avenue, NYC) and other institutions of learning and introspection. Hecht has been featured on many radio programs, including Speaking of Faith, Talk of the Nation, Leonard Lopate Show, BBC, and Brian Lehrer. In 2010 Hecht served as one of the five nonfiction judges for the National Book Award. She is a member of the New York Institute for the Humanities. She has appeared on television on several occasions, and in December of 2013 Hecht was featured on Hardball on MSNBC. In January 2014 she gave a lecture on Stay in Washington D.C. at the Center For Inquiry.

For more information or to purchase tickets online, please visit: http://www.thepoetrybrothel.com/events.html