Sex sells T-shirts, cars and beer. It lights up our brains and slides into every pocket of our culture. But can it sell poetry?
That’s the hope behind the Poetry Brothel, an immersive night of literary entertainment that’s launching in the River North Art District’s new Mockingbird space on Sunday, Oct. 13. With a Gold Rush theme and interactive format, the latest chapter of the New York-based concept escorts people into a decadent, turn-of-the-century “bordello,” where they hand-pick a woman to follow them to private, candlelit backrooms for customized readings.
If that sounds like a frothy mix, it is. But poetry, often seen as a niche art form, is ripe for the titillating format, said Melinda Cary, a.k.a. Cybele CaryMel, the madam of this particular brothel. Cary performed in the New York chapter of the Poetry Brothel from 2011 to 2013 before moving back to her hometown of Aurora.
“Brothels, since the dawn of time, have been places where you can be sequestered from all of your responsibilities and expectations, and let your freaky nature shine through,” Cary said. “So it’s fun to do this in a format where it’s less about our bodies and more about our spirits.
“There’s a lot of reward, and little risk,” she added.
When people enter the Poetry Brothel they’ll be surrounded by a cabaret format that mixes readings, burlesque, music, vaudeville, circus, performance art, and mysticism, Cary said. That type of lusty, intimate variety was often present at the brothels of old, where piano players, singers and dancing girls would entertain the constant churn of boozy visitors.
Brothels helped drive the culture and growth of mining towns, popping up in every Colorado settlement of a certain size in the 1800s and early 1900s, historians say, and offering male workers a reprieve from the dirty, dangerous work of westward expansion.
“So much of Colorado was built on the energy of brothels,” said Cary, an actor, dancer and producer who canvassed the city for six months looking for poets to join her. She raved about her lineup for the Oct. 13 launch, including Aurora’s poet laureate, Ahja Fox.
“I feel like we’re honoring the powerful, independent, self-driven women who built this city and others,” she said.
Cary chose her poets based on their writing quality as well as their comfort with the overall idea. The cast includes erotic writers, but also a historian and a ghost hunter. Of course, there will still be the sexy and revealing outfits, the pay-to-perform format where people get to pick their poet, the group salon area, and the requisite drinking and carousing.
It’s a concept that’s been proven by chapters running in New York and other cities around the world since 2007. Denver seems primed for it, with a literary scene that has lately felt more fun than the usual bookstore readings, academic gatherings, and paid workshops.
Actor, dancer and producer Melinda Cary is bringing New York’s Poetry Brothel concept to the RiNo Art District. (Provided by Melinda Cary)
The February launch of Reading Den, a drinks-and-authors night at the hip Fort Greene bar in Globeville, was designed to give the city “a sexy literary scene.” It immediately drew dozens of people looking for a creative, thoughtful monthly experience that also happens to double as nightlife (the next one is Oct. 30; see facebook.com/readingdenco).
As Cary noted, not everyone wants to go to a literary festival or reading series at a museum, and most bookstores aren’t exactly known for their drinks and dancing.
“My goal is always to leave an impression that haunts you forever,” said Cary. “Even if you’re not sure what happened. Even if you just have a dirty dream about it.”
Tickets to the Poetry Brothel, $35-$82, are available on eventbrite.com.