Ocelopotamus

It’s springtime, so naturally Chicago’s fancy is turning toward divorce and debauchery. Oops, I meant to say, fabulous fringe performance, music, and poetry readings!

• This week the Poetry Center of Chicago is presenting a reading by legendary beat poet Diane di Prima, author of 35 books of poetry and prose, including Pieces of a Song, Loba, Memoirs of a Beatnik and her autobiographical memoir, Recollections of My Life as a Woman. The reading is Wednesday May 9 at 6:30pm, in the ballroom at the School of the Art Institute. 312-899-1229, $10, $8 students.
• The Neo-Futurists want you to surrender your banana to them. Seriously. You can get half price tickets to see Poker Night at the White House by bringing a banana to any performance of the show before May 18 — Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm. They say, and I quote: “Banana must be surrendered for discount to apply … Bananas will be used to feed Neo-Futurists and the Poker Night Gorilla.”
• Scott Free’s annual Alt Q festival of queer music happens this Saturday, May 12, at the Old Town School of Folk Music. This is the 7th annual edition of this showcase and I can’t believe what an institution it’s become — I was privileged to perform in it as a spoken word guest a few years back when it was still called the Queer Is Folk Festival (and that night Bitch & Animal and Ferron put on one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen). Anyway, this year’s festival features Zrazy (love them!), Chris Garneau, Natalia Zukerman, Tom Yore and Actor Slash Model. And the whole thing is a benefit for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. 7pm, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. More details at the official site.
• Poet Richard Fox will be performing with members of BoyGirlBoyGirl (Susan Karp, Stephanie Shaw, and Edward Thomas-Herrera), as well as the BGBG Ladies Auxiliary (Rachel Claff and Diana Slickman), at the Hyde Park Art Center, on Thursday, May 10, from 7:00 to 8:00pm. After the performance you can also check out Richard’s etchings, I mean video work, projected on the outside of the Hyde Park Art Center building. More details here.
• Don’t forget that Neo-Futurist Bilal Dardai’s world premiere play Vox Pandora is running at New Leaf Theatre through May 26. I’m hoping to get there this weekend if I can.