Missmetro_2
Miss Metrolink, Liz Kramer
This year it could be that I'm more excited for November 1, the Day of the Dead, than Halloween proper. Maybe it's because I have a wicked sweet tooth, or that my mom was a seamstress and could churn out fantastic costumes on the sewing machine for me when I was a kid, but I associate nothing but good things with October 31. Tomorrow I hop on a plane and go home to Utah for something rather interesting, though that's too long a story to print here. Though I go home by choice, I am sad to be missing the following happenings here in St. Louis:
1. The MetroLink Prom. This reminds me of Jeannette's kick-ass story about riding the Metrolink, as well as the photo we ran earlier this year of Miss Metrolink (above). My buddy Claire, who is a ninja when it comes to riding public transportation, is one of the organizers. She writes on her blog, Curious Feet:
"Save the date: MetroLink Prom will take place on the evening of Saturday, November 1st.
You heard me…. Metro. Link. Prom.
We’re still hammering out the last details, but I assure you: There will be finery and rejoicing aboard the MetroLink on November first, and you’re invited."
The full details, including an awesome graphic, are here. Or, if you are feeling lazy:
"Come out and celebrate public transit with us! Put on your finery, get to the eastbound Delmar Platform by 7:15 PM on November 1st and join us for 2 hours of rejoicing and socializing aboard our favorite local light rail system. MetroLink Prom will include performances, dancing like you wish you had in high school, prom pictures and a parade through Laclede’s landing. For those who wish to keep rejoicing after the prom has come to a complete stop, we’ll re-assemble for an after-party with karaoke and beverages at Tom’s, 20 S Euclid, starting at 11pm.Costumes and finery strongly encouraged. Now’s the time to have fun on the train, and maybe do a little rallying for our favorite transit supporting ballot initiative, Proposition M for more MetroLink!"
2. Day of the Deadbeats. This is an event organized by another pal of mine, Brett Underwood, but it sweeps together an enormous cross-section of people from the arts community. Basically, it began after Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs died in 1997; it's exactly as the name implies, a group of people reading the work of late Beat writers on the Day of the Dead. Brett's going to hang up his spurs for a few years after this, so if you've been meaning to go in year's past - for God's sake, go this year! Especially because it's at The Way Out Club on Jefferson. I can't think of a better venue for DotDB: Not only is there a stage and plenty of Warsteiner beer, but a rock & roll club decorated with old beer signage and thrift store paintings'll provide the perfect atomsphere to channel the Dionysian spirit of the Beats. And because it's on a Saturday, you can tap into that Dionysian spirit and recover by sleeping in on Sunday morning. Here's the lineup:
Kenneth Brown reading William S. Burroughs Michael Franklin reading Reading Gregory Corso’s “Bomb” Greg Hazleton reading Lawrence Ferlinghetti Ann Haubrich does Jack Kerouac Brock Walker reading Gary Snyder K. Curtis Lyle reads Bob Kaufmann Bob Wilcox reads Allen Ginsberg. Bob Putnam reading Herbert Huncke. Phil Gounis reading Jack Micheline Chris King reads Kenneth Rexroth Agnes Wilcox- reading Diane DiPrima Brett Underwood reading Charles Bukowski Erin Wiles reading Anne Waldman Joe Wetteroth reading Kenneth Patchen Michael Castro reading from Philip Lamantia
Pertinent details:
8 p.m. to Midnight at the Way Out Club
2525 S Jefferson Ave
St Louis, MO 63104
(314) 664-7638
$3 cover charge
3. Devin Johnston on the Radio. Okay, I'm not going to miss this one, because the radio broadcast is tonight at 7pm (though I will probably be packing my suitcase as I listen). Devin, who I mentioned earlier this week, is a SLU prof, the co-editor of Flood Editions and a very fine poet whose work has been published in the Boston Review and New American Writing. Tonight, he will be reading from his newest book, Sources, on KDHX's Literature for the Halibut. Though I fill in once a month on the show, I won't be there tonight; Jane Ibur and Ann Haburich, who created the show and have been running it for almost 20 years, are hosting.
And because I'll be donning my slip-off shankless shoes and emptying every pocket of spare change tomorrow as I prepare to pass through that Dantean hell known as "airport security," no posts here, at least from me, till Monday. Have an excellent Halloween, filled with many candy apples and party crackers, and I'll see you on the other side of All Saints' Day. —Stefene Russell
