Listen, Laugh, Sing, Repeat

Comments (0) By Keith Bowers Wednesday, Apr 6 2011

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“The great thing about doing these literary shows is I get to do comedy after a fuckin’ sad junkie story.” Thus spake Nato Green at a recent Rumpus event. While it’s not all you need to know about tonight’s “A Friendly Gathering,” it’s a good start. This is not just a literary show by any means, and it’s not just a Rumpus event. Literary journal Zyzzyva is also behind it. And fuckin’ sad stories (sometimes about junkies) precede weird-ass comedy (tonight by Green). Like the tellers of the sad stories,he takes on serious issues too: the oncoming battle for civilization, watching Aryan Nation videos on YouTube before bed (“like you do!”), people who are training themselves to live on a diet of nothing but ants. Tonight’s featured readers are David Goodwillie, Erika Recordon, Aryn Kyle, and Matthew Dickman. (We don’t know whether any of them are junkies, but we don’t think so). Music is provided by the Yellow Dress. The host is Mr. Rumpus himself, Stephen Elliott, who has been around the block and is always good for a story about that journey. There’s also a porn raffle. We’re not sure what the prize is (A book? A DVD? A chance to launch your, um, acting career?) but it’s another good counterweight to those sad-ass junkie stories. You know. Everything in moderation. Or not.
Mon., April 11, 7 p.m., 2011