3.27.2008

Let's Play "Name the Barrelhouse Reading Series"

Hey Smart People --

Barrelhouse is starting a reading series. In typical Barrelhouse fashion, that doesn't mean, you know, hey, you better get down to X place at X time or you'll miss X reading at the Barrelhouse Reading Series. That means we had a few too many Brooklyn Browns, we started kicking around ideas, we found out that a few of us had harbored a harebrained scheme to launch a reading series, we talked about it, then we kind of forgot about it for a few months.

That's where you come in, Blog People.

So what we know is this: this reading series will occur primarily in the Washington, DC area. At the same place every month. A bar. We don't know quite which one yet, but we're working on it. Each month, we'll invite a new literary magazine or school program or organization or anthology or whatever to be the featured group (at least two times a year, we'll hog the spotlight ourselves and get all Barrelhousey on your asses). So to recap what we know: DC, once a month, in a bar, with a special guest somethingorother each time.

What we don't know: the name, the schtick.

We need a good name for this thing. Something snappy. Something not stupid or academic or boring. Snappy, people!

Schtick: a lot of these reading series have a schtick -- you know, something else happening that says, "hey there, normal dude, this is a little more fun than the usual thing." For instance, DC's kickass poetry reading, Lolita and Gilda's Burlesque Poetry Hour. The questions: do we need a schtick? What should it be?

The one good idea we have is some kind of pub quiz kinda thing. Kind of makes sense, since a quiz lends itself to the pop culture thing.

Any other ideas out there?

1 comment:

jill alexander essbaum said...

You could call it "Bottom of the Barrel" and the schtick could be things that the author is quite sure that for this reason or that will never get published-- or, that has been rejected for publication at least... say, 10 times, and they have to show proof of rejection before they are allowed to read it.