Queen B Vinyl Café will host Pendemonium, a Night of Words, on Thursday, Aug. 7, at 6:30 p.m.
Showcasing the art of poetry, this month’s Pendemonium features a poetry open mic and welcomes guest poet Wyatt Welch. The cover at the door is $5. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first poet speaks at 6:30 p.m.
Created by poets Michelle Barry of Clarkdale and Chris Cipollini of Cottonwood, Pendemonium hosts monthly readings in the record store side of the café. Poets are curated by Barry and Cipollini and perform 15- to 20-minute sets of original poetry. The featured poets are followed by a poetry open mic. Readers sign up in advance and can share their original poetry. There is a four-minute time limit for the open mic. No music or stand-up comedy.
Guest poet Wyatt Welch is a Tucson poet and English teacher. Welch grew up on the interstates after being kidnapped by Welch’s father, a troubled Vietnam War veteran. Welch questions the boundaries of self and the state as a theme, while rediscovering the body, gay and trans experience and the fight for presence and safety. Last year, Welch was a featured poet at the Tucson Poetry Festival. Welch’s recent book of poetry, “Capitalism Calls Poetry Lazy,” was released by FlowerSong Press and favorably reviewed by Alice Notley and CA Conrad.
Welch earned an master’s degree in linguistics from the University of Florida and is currently working on a third book, “The Tarot,” a comprehensive poetry collection based on the 78 tarot cards.
The other featured poets are Matti Amato, Roxy Runyan, Barry and Cipollini.
Amato is a 24-year-old lifelong creative writer and is a multi-instrumentalist front person for the synthpunk band Matteo Amaretto and the drummer of local progressive metal project Wilted Willow. Amato’s mission is to intersect a passion for the beat generation, 80s goth and an interest in philosophy. They hail from Cottonwood.
Runyan came up in the Tucson poetry scene and is now a resident of Cornville. Runyan’s chapbook, “Poems for Crones,” was released in 2018. “Read Roxy Runyan’s lovely, vulnerable poems. She has ears and a heart,” the late poet Alice Notley reviewed. In addition to being a published poet, Runyan is an essayist, editor, book publicist, music reviewer and chef.
Barry is a poet, essayist, novelist, nonfiction writer and vocalist. Originally from New England, Barry began her slam poetry career in Manchester, N.H., where she earned a spot on the Slam Free or Die National Poetry Slam team. She has performed and competed in slams nationwide, including the 2008 National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wis. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book, “You Don’t Know Jack! My Long, Strange Trip Through the World of Public Health.”
Cipollini hails from Ventura, Calif. In November 2022, he won a Sedona Poetry Slam. His third book, “Trifecta-stories sojourns and words of life,” was released in 2017. His performance, “baptism of fire,” was done at the long-running Human Experience poetry and performance venue in Las Vegas. He has performed in New York City, Florence, Italy and the Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France.
Queen B Vinyl Café, a record shop, restaurant, wine and coffee bar and barber shop, which moved from Jerome to 102 E. Pima St. in Old Town Cottonwood, in October. The store hosts live entertainment in its performance space, including international music acts, performance artists and standup comedy.
Visit queenbvinylcafe.com/events for more about the Queen B Vinyl Café’s events in Cottonwood.