Vouched ATL

I've only made it to two readings since moving to Atlanta so far, and they both have been excellent. This past Sunday I attended the VouchedATL reading at Young Blood Gallery, featuring Heather Christle, Bruce Covey, Amy McDaniel, Ben Spivey, and James Tadd Adcox. And everything about the event was fantastic--the space, the turn-out, and especially the readings. It was my first time hearing a number of the readers, a couple of whom whose work I was completely unfamiliar with though I had seen their names around.

James Tadd Adcox kicked things off. I wish I could remember what it was that he read (I should have taken notes or perhaps had less to drink)--I remember there were two pieces, each of which I found engaging and funny. He has a book forthcoming from Tiny Hardcore Press that I am looking forward to based on the quality of his reading and the quality of the press.

Ben Spivey read from his novel Flowing in the Gossamer Fold, which was kind of heartbreaking. (You can read more about his novel here.) He finished his set by reading Dennis Cooper's hilarious piece "Three boys who thought experimental fiction was for pussies," from his collection of stories Ugly Man.

Amy McDaniel read third, and I was glad to get to hear her read before she leaves Atlanta. She read from her sold-out chapbook Selected Adult Lessons along with some newer poems, including a list of items her brother can have since she's moving overseas. I was disappointed to find out she didn't have any chapbooks available, but I'm looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.

Bruce Covey was next, and I always love getting to hear him read because he's such a strong reader of his work. He read a number of poems from Elapsing Speedway Organism and Glass Is Really a Liquid, as well as a poem so new that he read it off his iPad. Overall his poems were playful, whether they created new words from binaries or listed off silly descriptions pulled from Time Magazine's "100 Hottest People" lists.

The final reader of the evening was Heather Christle, who is another poet I was happy to see read before she leaves Atlanta. She began by having everyone stand-up and spin around for ten seconds because she claimed the first poem she was going to read (from The Difficult Farm) was better if everyone was dizzy. For the rest of the reading she read from her new book The Trees The Trees, which has been receiving a lot of well-deserved attention. If you haven't already, I recommend getting a copy.

It was a full night of excellent readings for a standing room only crowd. I hope there will be more VouchedATL events in the future.