Last year my wonderful friend, poet K. Curtis Lyle, wrote "The Girl Who Opens Doors," in memory of Sali Grace Eiler (Read more about Sali here). He has expanded that poem into a suite, "Sali's Ark," which he will be performing for the first time on February 28. He will be backed by percussionist David A.N. Jackson, and the reading will be prefaced with a talk by Sali's dad, John Eiler. If you've ever seen Curtis read, you know that it's not what most people associate with "poetry readings" (i.e., dry, boring, a good excuse to get narcolepsy for 45 minutes). Watching Curtis perform poetry is more like going to a concert. I've seen people who don't really like poetry sit at his readings, completely spellbound by the experience. And this reading promises to be deeper and more bottom-of-the-soul than usual.
The reading's being held at Stone Sprial Coffeehouse in Maplewood (2500 Sutton), and starts at 7pm. Curtis tells me that this is a kick-off of sorts for a series of readings at Stone Spiral, curated by local poet and Soulard Culture Squad alum, Phil Gounis. I'll post more info about that as I have it, but it's exciting to hear that there's another poetry series in town, not to mention a coffeehouse that's making good on being a cultural third place as well as a caffiene refueling station. --Stefene Russell
