Go hear Andrei Codrescu at the Bowery Poetry Club

Andrei Codrescu, the poet-author and longtime contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered," is releasing his new book, "Too Late for Nightmares," tomorrow (Sept. 13).

And tomorrow night, he'll give a reading alongside several of his colleagues at the Bowery Poetry Club. Time: 7-9 p.m. at the Club, 308 Bowery near First Street... there isn't an entry fee ... or required advance registration.

New sign in the works at Bowery Poetry

Duane Park opened in the former Bowery Poetry Club space last month... Duane Park holds forth Tuesday through Saturday while Bowery Poetry has the space Saturday afternoons, Sunday and Monday.

Meanwhile, yesterday, workers continued to assemble the space's new sign...

For a look at the Duane Park interior and menu, head on over to Eater.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Bowery Poetry announces itself to the Bowery; opening March 8

The former Bowery Poetry Club is set to reopen on March 8. As DNAinfo's Serena Solomon reported last month, the space will be known as Bowery Poetry at 308 Bowery. Tribeca burlesque club Duane Park is merging with Bowery Poetry... 308 Bowery will operate as a burlesque venue Tuesday through Saturday. Founder Bob Holman will operate Bowery Poetry Saturday afternoons, Sunday and Monday.

There was info on all this outside the space yesterday...





My photo of the 308 Bowery menu is stupidly blurry... but you can find it here at the Duane Park website.

Quick sample!

Pan-Roasted Organic Chicken 24.
honey creole mustard roasted brussel sprouts & yukon potatoes; chicken jus

Pan-Roasted Loin of Pork 24.
butternut squash spaetzle, baby turnips & apple-butter

Grilled Beef Tenderloin 28.
cippolini onion, mushroom and smokehouse bacon ragout; fork smashed yukon potatoes

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club; plus, free knowledge!

Report: Bowery Poetry Club planning March return

The revamped Bowery Poetry Club looks to reopen on March 18, Serena Solomon reported yesterday at DNAinfo. According to founder Bob Holman, the space will be known as Bowery Poetry at 308 Bowery.

More from the article:

Along with a shortened name, Bowery Poetry will also refine its focus — starting with its unofficial grand opening event on March 18.

"We will be more poetry centric and project driven," said Holman, who has scheduled a huge concert, poetry slam and dance for March 18 in celebration of two endangered foreign languages — Breton, a Celtic tongue, and Garifuna, from Central America.

As Solomon previously reported, Tribeca burlesque club Duane Park is merging with Bowery Poetry... here's how the two will split up the time — 308 Bowery will operate as a burlesque venue Tuesday through Saturday. Bowery Poetry will operate Saturday afternoons, Sunday and Monday.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club; plus, free knowledge!

Duane Park-Bowery Poetry Club mashup coming together

Several months have passed since since there was any news about a revamped Bowery Poetry Club, which closed on July 17. The BPC website promised a fall return, which seemed optimistic considering nothing has been happening inside the space.

As DNAinfo's Serena Solomon first reported, BPC would merge with Tribeca burlesque club Duane Park. But just how all this would work was a bit of a mystery.

However, Grub Street provided an update yesterday afternoon. At a CB2 meeting Wednesday night, Duane Park co-owner Marisa Ferrarin told Grub Street that "Holman will do poetry readings on Sundays and Mondays, and that Duane Park — with Southern-inspired food and live entertainment like burlesque shows, magicians, and contortionists — runs the space the other nights of the week. The arrangement is flexible, so the duo may do poetry dinners together."

And when should all this happen? It seems a little vague — the new place should open "sometime next year after renovations are complete."

Meanwhile, BPC II will still have to compete with this next door...

[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club; plus, free knowledge!

Plus, it's difficult to compete with cornhole on the new Bowery

[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

From The Wall Street Journal today:

When the Bowery Poetry Club closed its doors last week, it sent a familiar ripple of dismay through the rapidly gentrifying East Village.

Check out the rest of Lana Bortolot's article here, which includes comments from Jeremiah Moss...

"Whether it's a bar or a cafe or bookstore, [the East Village] was a place where people could meet, talk to each other and share ideas. Not only have we lost those people, but those who remain don't have a place to crash into each other and create that kind of friction."

Clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club; plus, free knowledge!

We spotted workers clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club yesterday...

...we picked through the contents...looking for some kind of sign... Oh, nuts!

Free knowledge was also available, though there weren't many takers here...

[Via the EVG Twitter account]

The space is undergoing renovations, with an anticipated fall return as something else that will include part of the Bowery Poetry Club... (The Wall Street Journal has more on the Club's future today.)

Per the BPC website: "Poems Are Sill Being Written!"

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

'One Last Dance' tonight at the Bowery Poetry Club

As we've been noting, the 10-year-old Bowery Poetry Club will be closing for renovations... and tonight is the last night in the Club's current state... "There will be a better mix of food and art," founder Bob Holman said to DNAinfo's Serena Solomon, who first reported the July 17 closing.

The Club is expecting to undergo renovations for several months in advance of a relaunch that will put a stronger emphasis on food. (Here's what Bob Holman told us about the plans on July 6.)

Meanwhile, here is closing-night info via Facebook...

Everything Is Subject To Change — One Last Dance At The Bowery Poetry Club

8 pm
Join us as we gather to kiss the stage at Bowery Poetry Club for the last time before it closes and goes the way of the new Bowery.

Performances by:
Farbeon
Eliel Lucero
Leticia Viloria
A Brief View of the Hudson
Mr Symphonics Shawn Randall
Duv
Grace Kalambay
Sean T. Hanratty and the Mighty Mighty
Rev. Jen Miller
Faceboy
Robert Prichard
Jessica Delfino
Diane O'Debra
Freestyle Pyramid w/ Rabbi Darkside, Hired Gun, and 4th Friday Fam!
Shappy Seasholtz live from Austin, TX!
and many more surprises!!!

Here are a few thoughts on the closing via Deanna Zandt's Extra Helping tumblr (she ran the Club's outreach and administration):

A huge portion of the BPC community is devastated by this news, understandably. Bowery is one of the last safe havens in New York for transgressive artists, poets and musicians to work out and celebrate their creations. It's one of the only places that you can walk into on any given night and run into one of your heroes accidentally.

...

Here's hoping both the Club's rebirth brings along lots of the history of this magical space, and that a new space welcoming the bleeding, racous edge of culture can still be born in the the five boroughs.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

[Archival image via CBS]

Bob Holman, founder of the Bowery Poetry Club, sent us this email last evening about the future of the space....:

The rumors of the death of the Bowery Poetry Club are greatly exaggerated! It is true that ten years into Project Utopia, the hamster-tail chase of booking 30-35 gigs a week to allow the Poetry we know and love to live has produced a fatigued staff, a ragged Board (of Bowery Arts + Science, the nonprofit that books the Club), and a space that's crying out for a dose TLC. But toss in the Po' Towel? No Way, Joe!

By spending the summer renovating and working out a partnership with a restaurant (rumors of Duane Park as our collaborators are sweet and the two entities surely do share a love for the populist arts of the Bowery, but nothing is signed yet folks), we hope to reopen come fall and be SUSTAINABLE with a neighborhood (Loisaida/Earth) focused poetry schedule, utilizing other neighborhood resources as well as the Club. Look for a fuller deployment of the POEMobile around town, state, country, solar system, and a commitment to a global poetics rooted in the Endangered Language Movement.

To the communit-y/-ies who have supported us, and to our staff, deepest thanks! Stay tuned — we love you. Come party with Sean T and Ann and all on Tues July 17. Everything is Subject to Change! — and for our Tenth Anniversary next year, the BPC will look different. To survive and sustain. All the better to serve the world poetry.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Confirmed: Bowery Poetry Club closing for renovations July 17

[June 18 outside the Bowery Poetry Club]

After weeks of speculation about the future of the Bowery Poetry Club ... including our post yesterday from an employee ... DNAinfo's Serena Solomon gets confirmation that the 10-year-old Club will close on July 17 "to renovate its space in advance of a relaunch that will put a stronger emphasis on food."

"There will be a better mix of food and art," said founder Bob Holman, who declined to go into further detail about the new-look Bowery Poetry Club.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

As noted previously ... We've heard a lot of speculation in recent weeks about the future of the Bowery Poetry Club. All sorts of rumors have been flying around, from an imminent closure to a months-long renovation. On June 21, founder Bob Holman assured us the Club was not closing permanently.

A commenter left this on our Jugger-nut post last night... and it falls in line with what we've heard of late about the Club's future:

Around the BPC, it is pretty well known at this point that BPC is 1st closing for months of renovation. (i.e. transformed into an upscale supper club and stripped of it's salt-of-the-earth art aesthetic and events.) After, it is being leased by said fancy supper/cabaret club Duane Park. Many Bowery performers do indeed perform there, but their dinner/show night is $75 and their show content is mostly cabaret jazz and upscale burlesque. Apparently Bob will be booking the club on Sundays on Mondays only? So perhaps a few poetry events of choosing will remain at the BPC.... I will miss the BPC terribly.

Side note: Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance at Duane Park's After Dark party back in 2010. You can look at more of the Tribeca club's jazz and burlesque offerings here.

Here's Jugger-nut at the Bowery Poetry Club

On Saturday night (well, actually early Sunday morning), Jugger-nut performed for the last time at the Bowery Poetry Club. (The band is still going strong; it's the Club's future that is rather uncertain at the moment. Read more about all that here.)

Anyway, band photographer Walter Wlodarczyk shared some photos from the set... a little something to prep you for the Fourth of July...

Find more info about Jugger-nut on the band's Facebook page.

Just added! Video by Maks Suski from the show...

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

[Monday outside the Bowery Poetry Club, where the sign has been removed]

We've heard a lot of speculation in recent weeks about the future of the Bowery Poetry Club. All sorts of rumors have been flying around, from an imminent closure to a months-long renovation.

Given the speculation, we decided to address a few of the rumors here.

In early May, the Club that Bob Holman founded in 2002 launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $50,000 for "a special dining experience that would include a bar, cafe/restaurant and a remodeled performance space," as BoweryBoogie noted.

However, three days later, someone cancelled the campaign.



We've heard that several promoters have taken their shows to other locations over issues with the Club. Meanwhile, there is little, if anything scheduled at the Club toward the latter stages of the summer. One producer with a monthly gig there has scheduled his show at another location for end of July.

One insider told EVG contributor Stacie Joy, "Bob told me there might be some be some changes, which is why there's little on the calendar for August. I'm hoping it's nothing major and trying not to worry."

According to another inside source: "Bob is insistent that this is a change and not the end. The plan is to close for renovations beginning in August. Of course it will have a different feel when they re-open but who knows? It might be even better than it is. At this time, no deal has been finalized, thus little information has been released."

We asked Holman for his take on the Club's future.

"Well, I'd hoped to be able to put rumors to rest by now — but really, there's no news till this New Idea becomes real! (or not!)," he said via email, adding, "Don't mean to be mysterious."

"But — rest assured — the Club is not closing!"

Celebrating the new issue of Sensitive Skin tomorrow night at the Bowery Poetry Club

The new issue of Sensitive Skin is out tomorrow. And the issue includes: "a rare interview of William S. Burroughs, conducted by Allen Ginsberg. Includes previously-unpublished photographs of Burroughs by Ruby Ray, as well as a portfolio of Ruby's famous punk photos (Sid Vicious, X, Flipper, etc)."

Find more info on the issue here.

To celebrate the new issue, Sensitive Skin is having a reading at the Bowery Poetry Club tomorrow night at 8 featuring performances by John S. Hall, Mike Hudson, Chavisa Woods, Todd Colby, Carl Watson and more. There will also be a performance of East of Bowery by Drew Hubner, with projections by Ted Barron and music by Kurt Wolf (Pussy Galore).

Bowery Beef likely pulling out of the Bowery Poetry Club

Bowery Beef opened up in the Bowery Poetry Club back in February ... And, well, we rather liked their $5 roast beef sandwich (so did Sietsema!) and coffee...

Anyway, the place wasn't open the last few times we stopped by.

So we asked one of the owners, Ray LeMoine, a few questions via email ... and turned it into a handy-dandy Q-and-A:

Is Bowery Beef closed for good at its current location?

Not 100 percent sure yet. But it looks like we may move to another location.

What happened?

We were robbed four times in one week. Bowery Beef was located in the entryway of the Poetry Club, and they stay open until 4 am. We closed due to the robbery losses and the lack of security. On top of that, we never hit the dinner rush we needed. Since there's no wall between the cafe and stage, it was essential that Beef was virtually silent during readings, which wasn't suitable for dinner.

How would describe your experience at the Bowery Poetry Club?

They had like seven managers and we never felt cohesion. But we're still working with Bob Holman, the owner of Bowery Poetry Club. Holman has taken over the club's booking and we are placing readings and events in an increased capacity. So our experience is ongoing.

Holman wants to turn the Beef space into a bookstore, and we'd help with that. Our neighbors, The Hole Gallery, have a book shop, carrying mostly art titles. Bowery Poetry Club's shop would be more literary fiction/non-fiction and of course poetry. A mini-book row on Bowery seems like a wonderful thing.

A lot of people really liked your food. Are you planning on reopening in a new location?

Thanks. We have a handful of options on Bowery and want to stay in Noho. We're talking with friends and neighbors about a Bowery Beef hybrid similar to what we did with Poetry, meaning a cultural component.

Longtime operator Greg Brier is our partner and we are scouting for all sorts of projects, not just Beef-related, and not just in Manhattan. One of our ideas is an artisinal whorehouse/casino pop-up, called Area 69, with male hookers dressed as sexy vegan aliens, sustainable poker chips and a green building made of composted human shit. We have a great secret location in Nevada. We'll be open for NYE 2012 baby!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Where's the Bowery Beef?

Bowery Poetry Club to get literary cafe, roast beef

Bookstore-cafe wanted for the Bowery Poetry Club

Bowery Beef back in business with new security

Last week, we noticed that Bowery Beef was closed...

Bowery Beef, which holds down the cafe space at The Bowery Poetry Club, had been robbed several times, as Grub Street reported earlier this month.

Bowery Beef's Ray LeMoine told us that they were now back open after waiting for a security system.

Bold Bowery bums burglarize Bowery Beef

Grub Street has news that Bowery Beef has been robbed several times of late... Here's part of the email to Grub Street from Bowery Beef's Ray LeMoine, who says that since opening, "we've seen some spectacular bum crime."

Most notably, in the last week nights our register has been robbed three times. By the third attempt the take was approximately $6 in coinage--pretty baller. Last night they just took the whole register. This morning, just after opening, another cool junkie snatched aniPod from behind the counter while our barrista used the bathroom. In the last seven days crime has cost us over $1000. Of course, we are a unique operation. Our cafe is the entryway to the Bowery Poetry Club, known for open mic poetry slams, sweet late-night funk fusion concerts and "Ladies in Free B4 11"-style ragers. But they post a security guard in the cafe. So these are some bold junkies.

Where's the Bowery Beef?

As we first reported back in January, a roast beef sandwich shop — the Boston-based Harrison's — is moving into the Bowery Poetry Club. Fork in the Road noted yesterday that the eatery will be called Bowery Beef. And they'll sell books and other printed media too. We asked one of the owners, Ray LeMoine, a few questions via e-mail:

This is your first restaurant venture. What was it about opening a cafe in the Bowery Poetry Club that appealed to you?

It's a space dedicated to literature. As a non-profit stage, Bowery Poetry Club is all-ages. Nice people involved.

How much of your space will be devoted to books/print media? (Newspapers too?)

Probably a shelf of newspapers, magazines and some books. Maybe an iPad app jukebox (Joke! re: iPad!).

Your opinion of the 2011 version of the Bowery as opposed to say, the Bowery from 10 years ago?

Now you can catch a Chinatown bus to anywhere for cheap.

The NY Post declared that the Bowery was "out" for 2011. Any concerns about that?

Yes.

Are you downplaying the Boston angle here?

Maybe. I don't really know. Go Sox!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Bowery Poetry Club to get literary cafe, roast beef

Bookstore-cafe wanted for the Bowery Poetry Club

Fork in the Road had more on the new venture yesterday. Find that article here.

Celebrating David Amram's 80th birthday

There's a special event Sunday at the Bowery Poetry Club: It's the 80th birthday for classical composer/multiinstrumentalist/author David Amran.

Amram first performed at the original Five Spot with the Charles Mingus Quartet in 1956. He began the first poetry readings with musical accompaniment back in the 1950s, performing with Jack Kerouac and other noted poets. He wrote the music for "Pull My Daisy," along with performing in the film. Amran has also worked with Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Langston Hughes and Nina Simone.

From left: Amran, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac circa 1959...

Amran performing at the Five Spot in 1957...

A few friends at a diner...

Amram will be performing with his quartet, who will be joined by his children, Alana, Adira and Adam, along with other guests. Actor John Ventimiglia of "The Sopranos" will be reading Kerouac with Amram's accompaniment. Admission is $10. The show starts at 8. Find more info here.

[Thanks to Cary Abrams, who's presenting the event, for providing the photos here.]

Bowery Poetry Club to get literary cafe, roast beef

The Bowery Poetry Club has a new tenant...



According to a partner in the deal, the plan is for a literary cafe that also will serve a Massachusetts-style roast beef sandwich. The roast beef will be via Harrison's in North Andover, Mass., which gets mostly rave reviews on Yelp. This will be the city's first Harrison's outpost. Tentative opening date: Feb. 1.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Bookstore-cafe wanted for the Bowery Poetry Club