This month, the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council's Arts After Dark event is "Poems of Paradise," a poetry reading.
Free and open to the public, it will take place starting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 21 in a new place that's also an old, familiar space to Arts After Dark attendees — the Upstairs Club of the Epernay Wine & Champagne Bar in Frenchtown.
That's the lounge above Alexander's Cafe where Cafe Lulu owner Patricia LaCorte formerly operated a restaurant — and hosted a couple of Arts After
Dark programs featuring storytelling and a headwear fashion show.
Epernay owner Tom Palisi has just reopened the second-floor area to the public for weekend socializing. The Arts Council is one of the first groups to use it for a special function.
There are three ground rules for those wishing to participate: First, all poets and poetry lovers are welcome to read — but only their own work, or the unpublished poems of others. Second, the time limit is four minutes per person. And third, reading will be in a preassigned order, with advance registration required.
"Arts After Dark poetry readings always prove popular," Arts Council board member Torre Newman says. "This one should be an especially strong draw since the monthly Poetry & Conversation sessions hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands Humanities Division aren't held in the summer."
Admission is free. There will be complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.
To sign up to read and/or to learn more, call 776-4812 or 774-8900, or e-mail to [email protected]