I don’t talk much about the Poetry Brothel here, for some reason that, in retrospect, I can’t discern. I think when I started writing about porn, I was eager to keep my “respectable” life separate from it and see where it took me as Miss Lagsalot. The Poetry Brothel, despite the somewhat scandalous name, is a high-class poetry reading series with its HQ here in New York, and I guess the classy element made me want to keep my porn life and my poetry life separate for a while. But you know what? The Poetry Brothel is definitely one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of, and I think it’s high time I start talking about it here. I won’t go into detail about what exactly the Brothel entails–there’s a whole website where you can read about it (and my character, Fanny Firewater)–but I will tell you this: if you are ever in NYC on a night when there is a Poetry Brothel happening, you should drop whatever other plans you have and bring all your friends. Private poetry readings in intimate settings with some of New York’s most talented poets (oh yes, that includes moi), burlesque, sleight of hand, live music, public readings, and booze… all in a speakeasy on the Lower East Side. You’ll never do anything cooler, I promise.
But the reason I bring it up here and now, in a rather haphazard fashion, is that my world when it comes to porn and the Poetry Brothel is continually shrinking on me. Several of my poetry co-whore-ts went to Barcelona last summer and acted (non-sex roles) in Erika Lust’s latest erotic film, Cabaret Desire, which was inspired by Ms. Lust’s visit to the Barcelona branch of the Brothel. I wasn’t able to go, sadly, but I reviewed the crap out of the film. And next Monday night, April 23, Erika Lust will be in New York for a screening of Cabaret Desire at The Museum of Sex! Before the film gets underway, myself and several of the other poetry whores will be hawking our wares and setting an intimate atmosphere for the evening, in our varied lingerie. I promise you, it will be a decadent and delicious evening. We won’t be painted black and white like we were last weekend (that’s me up at the top before I got all my body makeup done), but we will be hot as hell and sumptuously spouting panty-wetting verses.
For a taste of Cabaret Desire, check out the trailer below. To RSVP to the screening, visit the Museum of Sex’s website. And for another shot at myself and the curator of the Museum of Sex, Sarah Forbes (quite a lovely lady herself), come to my discussion panel at apexart two days later, on April 25. Sarah will be talking with Cindy Gallop, Madison Young, Dan Reilly, and myself.