April 22nd National Poetry Month Reading with A.D. Winans and Neeli Cherkovski

The event will take place on Friday night, at 7:30 pm, at the Wired Wash Cafe, located at 143 Laurel Street in downtown Santa Cruz. This historic reading is free and open to the public.

While other venues may be immersed in remembrance of the classics that have built the foundation of poetry, the Wired Wash Café will take this opportunity to spot light two contemporary poets who emerged in the 60’s, and, continue to excite poetry audiences throughout the Bay Area and beyond. The reading is scheduled at a time when both authors have released new books of ground breaking poetry at pivotal points in their writing careers.

R.L. Crow Publications recently released Cherkovski's Leaning Against Time, which A.D. Winans has referred to as, "poems that reflect the poet's clear and penetrating perception of the people and places Cherkovski has encountered over time."

After nine books of poetry, and two acclaimed biographies on Charles Bukowski and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and his underground classic book, Whitman's Wild Children (a collection of critical memoirs), it is obvious that Cherkovski has found a unique voice rich with reflective imagery.

Cherkovski is on the faculty of New College of California, and last year gave lectures and poetry readings in Mexico and Greece.

All writers and dreamers devote their aspirations to the day when their words can be interpreted in different cultures around the world. This day has arrived for A. D. Winans, whose latest bilingual book "The Wrong Side of Town" was published last month by Cross Cultural Communications, and translated into Russian by Aleksey Dayen. This new book of poems by Winans is one of over 45 books of poetry and prose that Winans has published, including the highly acclaimed North Beach Poems and The Holy Grail, Charles Bukowski And The Second Coming Revolution. Winans, the former editor and publisher of Second Coming, has seen his poetry, prose, essays, and book reviews published in over a thousand literary magazines and anthologies. His work has been translated into eight languages, and, a song poem of his was performed last year at Tully Hall in NYC.

The Wired Wash Café is not promising to hold an audience suited for Tully Hall, but offers two levels of seating, each with a clear view of the performance from its intimate setting. A wide variety of food and drinks will be available and an Open Mic will follow.

The reading is part of an ongoing weekly Open Mic series, which began in June 2004. It was founded by two local underground publishers, Christopher Robin (Zen Baby) and Brian Morrisey (Poesy Magazine). “There are adequate Open Mics around to showcase music, but we wanted to create a less intimidating place for writers from all levels to share their work,” says Morrrisey who will be hosting this historical event on April 22nd.

For more information on this and upcoming readings at the Wired Wash Café, please visit: http://www.geocities.com/poesyinc or email: info [at] poesy.org