Top 5 Lit Reading

You haven’t been to a literary event this good before. Or maybe you have, but you definitely haven’t been to five events better.

Please join Jiordan Castle, Warren Longmire, Michael B. Tager and Pantea Tofangchi and listen to them read the heck out of their writing. Poets, prose and mixed-genre, they’re all available at this event. And they all have new or new-ish books!

 

MONDAY, APRIL 15TH
7-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN
RSVP: EVENTBRITE

 

Jiordan Castle is the author of Disappearing Act, a memoir in verse. Her work has appeared in HuffPostThe New YorkerThe RumpusTaco Bell Quarterly, and elsewhere. She is a contributor to the LA-based food and culture magazine Compound Butter. Originally from New York, she has an MFA in Poetry from Hunter College and lives in Philadelphia.

Warren is a writer, technologist, educator and uncle from the bad part of Philadelphia. He is the host of House Poet: A Spoken Word Dance Party and founder of _mixlit. Warren’s words have been published in journals including Cartridge Lit, The Cleveland Review of Books, Eleven Eleven and The American Poetry Review. He was featured in the Best American Poetry 2021, edited by Patricia Smith. His latest book, Bird/Diz [an erased history of bebop] was released in Nov. 2022 through BUNNY Presse.

Michael B. Tager is the Managing Editor of Mason Jar Press and an occasional writer of poetry and prose. He’s the author of Pop Culture Poetry: The Definitive Edition (Akinoga Press, ’24). He prefers not to end his sentences on an infinitive, but only because it’s a challenge, not because he thinks it’s a good rule (it isn’t).

Pantea A. Tofangchi is an Iranian-American poet, writer and graphic designer. She is the Art Director and graphic designer for Advertising Media Plus and The Business Monthly. She writes poems (in English), essays, stories and plays (mostly in Persian.) Her work has been published in PloughsharesLittle Patuxent ReviewWelter Atlanta Review–in which she won the International Merit Award–and other journals. She was selected as a finalist for The National Poetry Series’ 2016 and Georgia Poetry Prize 2018.

 

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What’s Up at TMoms:

Mondays, 4-11pm | Prepare yourselves—Meatless Monday is back at Tattooed Mom (with a twist)!!!!!!!!! Every two months we’ll be highlighting a different vegan menu item every Monday. See what’s on special this month!

Mondays, Upstairs 6-11pm | We see free 🎱 in your future! Introducing Free Pool Mondays upstairs at TMoms!

Daily Happy Hour | All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

Daily Menu | Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

• Accessibility at TMoms | Due to the construction of our historical building, Tattooed Mom is only partially accessible. Our event space is on the second floor, which is only accessible via a flight of stairs (20 steps, 3 feet wide, railing on the left side only). For more information, please visit our Accessibility page.

No Spare People: Book Party & Poetry Showcase

Card-carrying Philiterati, fellow poets and poetesses, bookish types, and imaginative people who like fun, come through Tattooed Moms for a night of readings to celebrate No Spare People, the new poetry collection by Erin Hoover.

 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
7-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN
RSVP: FB EVENT

 

As part of a special Black Lawrence Press poetry showcase, Hoover will read from No Spare People alongside her press mates local and near to Philly: Claudia Cortese (Wasp Queen), Nancy Reddy (Acadiana), and Raena Shirali (summonings). 

No Spare People’s poems explore the agency and autonomy of queer motherhood while documenting life on the margins in the South. About the book, Jessica Jacobs wrote, “[These] poems do not give up, continually questioning the constraints of an American South in which “some days, I’m the pioneer wife, / keeper of the homestead, but others / I’m absurdly educated for a uterus.” 

Hoover is native to Pennsylvania but visiting now from Tennessee, where she lives.

Friend-of-the-press Keith Kopka will host, and the night will feature a specially created custom cocktail, the Black Lawrence Manhattan. Feed your heads, hearts, and tummies at a Philadelphia institution.

 

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What’s Up at TMoms:

Tuesdays, 4-11pm | The triumphant return of Taco Tuesday is finally here! Y’all better zoom down for $1.50 beef or bean tacos every Tuesday!! And wash it all down with $3 Tecate!

Daily Happy Hour | All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

Daily Menu | Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Mind Under Matter: An Evening of Readings at Tattooed Mom

“When you’re sad you need to hear your sorrow structured into sound”

Susanna Kaysen- Girl, Interrupted

Join local writers Leah Mele-Bazaz (Laila:Held for a Moment), Jaime Grookett (The Invisible Ones, forthcoming spring 2024), Adam Zahn and Jeannine A.Cook for a multigenre reading of prose, poetry, and hybrid forms exploring the barriers imposed by the struggling mind and the stigma attached. When forced to live through our greatest fears, how do we move through the intersection of loss and life? Where do we go from there? Will anyone recognize us on the other side?

The event is free and will include book signings, pop up flash readings, and more!

 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

Lineup:

Jaime Grookett
Adam Zahn
Jeannine A. Cook
Leah Mele Bazaz

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What’s Up at TMoms:

Thursdays, 4-11pm | All hail Pierogi Thursday! Munch and crunch on 75¢ pierogi (vegan, obvi) plus $3 cans of Tecate every Thursday!! And don’t forget ur toppings

Daily Happy Hour | All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

Daily Menu | Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Scribes on South // September 2023

SCRIBES ON SOUTH is a poetry reading and open mic. The reading begins with a 20-minute featured reader and then moves through the open mic list for the rest of the night. Open mic readers have 5 minutes. There will be a space for poets to sell books.

SCRIBES ON SOUTH seeks to create community through poetry. Show out, share, and meet some new friends by sharing your work!

There is no theme; the only theme is poems. Good poems, bad poems, boring poems, fiery poems.

The reading is hosted by Noah David Roberts.
This reading’s featured readers are China Rain and Shannon Frost Greenstein.

Read poems. Kick ass.

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

Follow @scribesonsouth on Instagram.

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What’s Up at TMoms:

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Scribes on South // August 2023

SCRIBES ON SOUTH is a poetry reading and open mic. The reading begins with a 20-minute featured reader and then moves through the open mic list for the rest of the night. Open mic readers have 5 minutes. There will be a space for poets to sell books.

SCRIBES ON SOUTH seeks to create community through poetry. Show out, share, and meet some new friends by sharing your work!

There is no theme; the only theme is poems. Good poems, bad poems, boring poems, fiery poems.

The reading is hosted by Noah David Roberts.
This reading’s featured reader is Audrey Lee.

Read poems. Kick ass.

 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27TH
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

ABOUT THE FEATURES:
Audrey Lee is the author of the poetry collections “Disjecta Membra” (Bottlecap Press, 2022) and “Probably, Angels” (Maverick Duck Press, 2020). She holds a double B.A. in creative writing and American studies from Franklin & Marshall College. She is the winner of the 2020 Jerome Irving Bank Short Story Prize, received a Best of the Net nomination from Drunk Monkeys, has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s “The Poetry Detective” show, and is a former writing resident at Sundress Academy for the Arts. Her work has been featured in or is forthcoming from Wax Nine, Necessary Fiction, Back Patio Press, and she writes her newsletter “Very Normal Girl” on Substack. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

ABOUT THE HOST:
Noah David Roberts is a non-binary poet and artist based in Philadelphia. They are the author of 4 books of poetry—Us V. Them, Strips, Slime Thing [and other poems], and Final Girl Mythos. In 2022, Roberts won the Judith Stark poetry writing contest. Their 5th book What I Do In The Dark was released in 2023, and the book launch was celebrated at the April Scribes on South event.

 

Follow @scribesonsouth on Instagram.

***

What’s Up at TMoms:

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Scribes on South // July 2023

SCRIBES ON SOUTH is a poetry reading and open mic. The reading begins with a 20-minute featured reader and then moves through the open mic list for the rest of the night. Open mic readers have 5 minutes. There will be a space for poets to sell books.

SCRIBES ON SOUTH seeks to create community through poetry. Show out, share, and meet some new friends by sharing your work!

There is no theme; the only theme is poems. Good poems, bad poems, boring poems, fiery poems.

The reading is hosted by Noah David Roberts.
This reading’s featured reader are Warren Longmire & Thalia Geiger.

Read poems. Kick ass.

 

SUNDAY, JULY 30TH
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

ABOUT THE FEATURES:
Warren C. Longmire is an uncle, writer, performer and educator from the bad part of Philadelphia. He is the host of House Poet: A Spoken Word Dance Party and mix_lit. Warren’s words have been published in journals including Cartridge Lit, The Cleveland Review of Books, The American Poetry Review. He was featured in the Best American Poetry 2021 selected by Tracey K. Smith. His latest book, Bird/Diz [an erased history of bebop] was released in Nov. 2022 through BUNNY Presse.

Thalia Geiger is a poet, fiction writer, and editor born and raised in Philadelphia where she works from home as an agent for Publishizer, as well as a poetry editor for West Trade Review. Her varying pieces have been published in journals such as Pamplemousse, Toho Publishing’s The Best Short Stories of Philadelphia Anthology, Allegory Ridge, Santa Ana River Review, New York Quarterly, and more. You can catch up with her on her website, thaliageiger.com.

 

ABOUT THE HOST:
Noah David Roberts is a non-binary poet and artist based in Philadelphia. They are the author of 4 books of poetry—Us V. Them, Strips, Slime Thing [and other poems], and Final Girl Mythos. In 2022, Roberts won the Judith Stark poetry writing contest. Their 5th book What I Do In The Dark was released in 2023, and the book launch was celebrated at the April Scribes on South event.

 

***

What’s Up at TMoms:

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our new happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Scribes on South // June 2023

SCRIBES ON SOUTH is a poetry reading and open mic. The reading begins with a 20-minute featured reader and then moves through the open mic list for the rest of the night. Open mic readers have 5 minutes. There will be a space for poets to sell books.

SCRIBES ON SOUTH seeks to create community through poetry. Show out, share, and meet some new friends by sharing your work!

There is no theme; the only theme is poems. Good poems, bad poems, boring poems, fiery poems.

The reading is hosted by Noah David Roberts.
This reading’s featured reader is Amy Jannotti.

Read poems. Kick ass.

 

SUNDAY, JUNE 25TH
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

ABOUT THE FEATURE:
Amy Jannotti (she/her) is a pile of dust in a trenchcoat rotting & writing in Philadelphia. She is the author of the chapbooks AN ANGEL IS A KIND OF GHOST (2022, Bullshit Lit), VULGARSWEET (2023, GutSlut Press), and the one we are gathering to celebrate, ANGELS & INSECTS ARE CREATURE WITH WINGS (2023, Kith Books). Her poems can be found in Olney Magazine, Black Stone / White Stone, Non.Plus Lit, & elsewhere. She tweets @cursetheground.

ABOUT THE HOST:
Noah David Roberts is a non-binary poet and artist based in Philadelphia. They are the author of 4 books of poetry—Us V. Them, Strips, Slime Thing [and other poems], and Final Girl Mythos. In 2022, Roberts won the Judith Stark poetry writing contest. Their 5th book What I Do In The Dark was released in 2023, and the book launch was celebrated at the April Scribes on South event.

 

***

What’s Up at TMoms:

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our new happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Lauren Hilger’s Morality Play: A Poetry Reading

“Lauren Hilger’s Morality Play is a dance lesson in duality, when duality is multiplied, of what was, what is, real and imagined. A disquieting reassuring look at how we see who we were, Hilger’s visions feel like past and future encouragement. An all-knowing theatre performance. I found myself unable to shake one of the opening lines, “I know how to live my life now.” Because by the end of the book, I feel I do too.” —Shauna Barbosa

 

SUNDAY, JUNE 4TH
1-4PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

Readers include:

Jiordan Castle is the author of Disappearing Act, a memoir-in-verse, as well as the poetry chapbook All His Breakable Things. Her work has appeared in HuffPost, The New Yorker, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She is a contributor to the food and culture magazine Compound Butter. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their dog.

Kay Cosgrove is the author of Anybody Home?, forthcoming in August 2023 from Blue Edge Books. She is the recipient of awards from The Academy of American Poets, Inprint Houston, and The Westchester Review and her poetry has appeared in The Southern Review, The Missouri Review, the American Poetry Review Review and elsewhere.

Alex Santiago is a poet, spoken word, rapper currently residing in Philadelphia, PA.

Lauren Hilger is the author of Morality Play (Poetry NW Editions, 2022). Named a Nadya Aisenberg Fellow from MacDowell, her work has appeared in BOMB, Harvard Review, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. She serves as a poetry editor for No Tokens.

 

***

What’s Up at TMoms:

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Scribes on South // May 2023

SCRIBES ON SOUTH is a poetry reading and open mic. The reading begins with a 20-minute featured reader and then moves through the open mic list for the rest of the night. Open mic readers have 5 minutes. There will be a space for poets to sell books.

SCRIBES ON SOUTH seeks to create community through poetry. Show out, share, and meet some new friends by sharing your work!

There is no theme; the only theme is poems. Good poems, bad poems, boring poems, fiery poems.

The reading is hosted by Noah David Roberts.
This reading’s featured reader is Lindsay Hargrave.

Read poems. Kick ass.

 

SUNDAY, MAY 28TH
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

ABOUT THE FEATURE:
Follow Lindsay Hargrave in these places:
ROT // Linktr.ee // Twitter // GV // Poetry Selection #1 // Poetry Selection #2

ABOUT THE HOST:
Noah David Roberts is a non-binary poet and artist based in Philadelphia. They are the author of 4 books of poetry—Us V. Them, Strips, Slime Thing [and other poems], and Final Girl Mythos. In 2022, Roberts won the Judith Stark poetry writing contest. Their 5th book What I Do In The Dark was released in 2023, and the book launch was celebrated at the April Scribes on South event.

***

What’s Up at TMoms:

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our new happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.

Scribes on South // “What I Do In The Dark” Book Launch

SCRIBES ON SOUTH is a poetry reading and open mic. The reading begins with a 20-minute featured reader and then moves through the open mic list for the rest of the night. Open mic readers have 5 minutes. There will be a space for poets to sell books.

SCRIBES ON SOUTH seeks to create community through poetry. Show out, share, and meet some new friends by sharing your work!

There is no theme; the only theme is poems. Good poems, bad poems, boring poems, fiery poems.

This reading is something a little different—this will be the book launch for Noah David Robert‘s newest book, What I Do in the Dark, described as a “lovesick balloon” by Amy Jannotti and a “collection from one of Philadelphia’s best emerging poets” by Lindsay Hargrave. The book is published by Alien Buddha press. Come out for the launch party and open mic!

Roberts will read for a 15 minute featured set and then host an open mic.

Read poems. Kick ass.

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 30TH
6-9PM
NO COVER // FREE FUN

 

ABOUT THE HOST:
Noah David Roberts is a non-binary poet and artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Roberts has
released 4 collections: Us v. Them, 2017, about the nature of sexual trauma and political
violence; Strips, a divagation of the self, an endless ranting masterpiece; Slime Thing [and other
poems], a scream of anti-capitalism and stream of frustrated proletariat consciousness; Final
Girl Mythos, inspired by classic 80s and 90s slasher movies; and What I Do in the Dark,
forthcoming 2023. Since publication of their first book, Roberts has been published in Big
Scream, King’s River Review, Tribes Magazine, Horror Sleaze Trash, and more. In 2022,
Roberts won the Judith Stark poetry contest. Their Instagram handle is @the.apocalypse.poet.

 

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What’s Up at TMoms:

It’s Philly Vegan Restaurant Week! Tutu Mary’s has some very special menu items for us, changing all week long! Come back multiple times so you can eat the whole menu!

Craft Sundays at TMoms? BACK. Googly eyes? BACK. Coloring pages? BACK? Your creative spirit? BACK. Come thru every Sunday for FREE arts & crafts upstairs and downstairs at Tattooed Mom! Sundays, All Day Long.

• Enjoy our new happy hour! All drafts are just $4 every day from 4-6pm!

• Tattooed Mom will also be serving tasty eats and ice cold drinks all evening.

• Upstairs dining, bar access, and event entry is 21+ w/ valid ID.