Behind the Curtain: Mixer Reading Series

Rebecca Keith (left) and Melissa Febos (right). Photo by The Amazin' Agaton Strom

Literature, booze and rock 'n' roll--these are a few of my favorite things. That's why I love the Mixer reading series, a monthly event that takes place at the coffee shop/record store/music venue Cakeshop (152 Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side).

The last time I went, I saw Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon jam out with his band Rackett. So inspired was I by his poetic guitar wailing that I just had to know who organized this orgy of spilled beer and self-deprecating poets.

Those people would be Melissa Febos and Rebecca Keith, two stylish and down-to-earth Brooklynites who met during a stint at Sarah Lawrence. They started the series a little over a year ago, and it continues strong on June 18 with the author of “Then We Came to the End” Joshua Ferris.

We met at Beauty Bar, where Rebecca told me about her awesome ‘90s-flavored band the New York Times and Melissa said of Muldoon, “He was the warmest reader ever … He was like ‘This (Mixer’s basement setting) is like Berlin in the old days!’”

I learned that Rebecca grew up in Soho, which is pretty much the coolest answer you can have for the “Where are you from?” question unless you were raised in Montparnasse or an artists’ colony in Brazil.

Melissa told me about shopping around a dominatrix memoir as well as her new apartment's troubles. Needless to say, they are both very interesting people. What they have created is a reading unlike any other. It’s always full of energy and packed with fun people, and the readers are excellent.

Stop by Cakeshop (almost) every third Wednesday of the month at 7pm, and if you happen to know Margaret Atwood, George Saunders or Sherman Alexie, tell them about this great reading series in the Lower East Side.

Comments

[Curtains Lady]

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