Living Free NYC Big City, Small Pockets, No Problem! 
Time:8:30 PM
Where:Elmo
156 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 337-8000
Cost:Free
“There exists, for everyone, a sentence–a series of words–that has the power to destroy you. Another sentence exists, another series of words, that could heal you. If you’re lucky you will get the second, but you can be certain of getting the first.” –Philip K. Dick
acceleration [ak-sel-uh-rey-shuhn] -noun
1. the act of accelerating; increase of speed or velocity. [movement]2. a change in velocity. [fear]3. Mechanics. the time rate of change of velocity with respect to magnitude or direction; the derivative of velocity with respect to time. [progress]
Who says poetry is boring? Nuclear Poetry aims to challenge this.
Join us for a special night of Nuclear Poetry as we get ready for the big anniversary show in September with ‘ACCELERATION’ – a special night of the series with a different feel. The basement of Elmo Restaurant will again transform into a ‘literary bomb shelter’ for a night of spoken word & performance art in eerie green glows. Creative writers of all sorts will read original works by candlelight, drinks will be served & a special soundtrack featuring Julian Plenti, Slumdog Millionaire & the King of Pop will kickstart the night.
For the first time, the show will start with a hint of cinema – leading into an interactive free-writing experiment, the pages of which will join the wired ‘infrastructure’ above the audience. Visual artists will deck out the room with paintings and the night will be recorded in full for podcast on iTunes (thanks to Gary Van Voorhis). Oh, and another first: budding poet Keith Edwards will co-host the event. Cool!
I suggest getting there early – the last show was packed and we had to add extra chairs. Amazing. Thanks to the people at Elmo there is NO COVER for the event, so just buy a drink if you’re thirsty.
The night will end with an open mic so if you have poems burning a hole in your notebook, don’t be shy, bring them along – especially if you’ve never read in front of an audience before. All birds have to take that first jump to fly, right?
Our readers for the night:
CHRISTOPHER GASKINS, confessional poet by night/high school English teacher by day
ALYSSA GOLDSTEIN, sultry opera singer with a penchance for poetry & breaking hearts
MORGAN LOUIS GRAHAM, dapper new yorker; newly published poet. From Kansas.
JAMES MERENDA, Slam poet; founding member and coach of SUNY Geneseo’s The Different Now Poets.
INGAMAR DION RAMIREZ, driven writer and spoken word artist who literally stole the show during the 5.26 open mic.
AARON WIMMER, poet/performance artist interested new poetic forms & exploring the unknown through words
+ KEITH EDWARDS, poet, songwriter and performance artist whose work captures the music of language
Nuclear Poetry was formed as an experiment to get New School poetry students together to share their work for a night. People seemed to like it so I decided to start the series. An amazing thing happened during the last year: people started coming and a strong community began to grow, and with it came a real sense of spirit filling the room during the shows. Every show is different, often taking inspiration from current headlines and events. Readers for the night include writers of all ages and levels…professors, published writers, students and beginners. Some quiet, some loud, some traditional, some experimental. It’s everyone’s night.
Please join us. Bring your creativity & love for writing and let’s make some magic.
Aaron Wimmer
-Creator/Host