Poetry Whores!

Chicago!  You have heard the hushed whisperings of such goings-on at your local public house, or during an afternoon tea party with one of our fine city’s most respectable families,  or perchance in a conversation between traders of commodity at the Union Station, truly a demonstration of your vast powers of auscultation!  But now, wait no longer—come see if what they say is true!

Chicago, meet your Poetry Whores! Let them whisk you away to a world of vice and verse, a world of rhyme and revelry.  Chicago’s Poetry Whores are premiere in the practice of ars poetica:  active in the local community of poets, published in the day’s most respectable journals,  in books and anthologies.  They come in all shapes and sizes, and all sexes; they will, surely satiate your search for a sestina, your voracity for a villanelle, or your lust for a limerick!  Madam Black-eyed Susan is always on-hand to help you find the right Poetry Whore for you!

 

Burlesque Dancers & More!

Between visits to the boudoir of your favorite bard, let our beauties of the burlesque regale you with their timeless art, for your pleasure. All evening, regular exhibitions of magnificent expertise are guaranteed to beguile and bemuse even those patrons of most the discerning (or old-fashioned) sensibilities.

But, there are Musicians, Vaudevillians and More! Our pianist and disc-jockey will delight the ears of our modern Victorian visitors, with the sounds of contemporary 1890s-1930s, and special guest performers, fortune tellers, and soothsayers are always on schedule. So be sure to peruse the program to plan your next visit to the Chicago Poetry Bordello!

 

Whiskey!

Only the finest libations and aperitifs are available for your enjoyment while you lounge and take in the lush environs of the Chicago Poetry Bordello, a high-end Victorian brothel from Chicago’s past. Our “Regulars” are on hand to help ease your passage back in time, and to provide you with the machine-pressed, stylish brothel tokens necessary for the purchase of private poetry readings.  Mingle with or staff, the Madam and the other regulars while you are deciding on the particular poet that suits your tastes the best! 

POSTPONED POSTPONED POSTPONED -- new date still TBA

Ristorante al Teatro, 1227 W 18th St, 8pm to Midnight

Chicago Poetry Bordello Celebrates Double Screw Steamers

(It’s a steamship, silly.)

Come aboard before the ship wrecks
and we’ll suss out the tramps!
8PM to Midnight
Poetry Whores !!! Burlesque Beauties  !!!
& Special Guests: Pinch and Squeal from Cleveland!


Recent shows:

Wednesday, February 29 2012 at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W Division St, 8pm to Midnight
Chicago Poetry Bordello Presents: "A Leap-Year Valentine"  - Spend your Leap-Day with our Poetry Whores!
Musical Guests: Jeffrey Levin on piano, & The White City Rippers!
Burlesque Performers: Pearl Pistol and KC Mendicino!

The Chicago Reader listed this show as one of only SIX off-site events they recommend for the Associated Writers and Writers Program Conference 2012!

Friday, 21 October 2011 at Ristorante al Teatro, 1227 W 18th St, 8pm to Midnight
Libations, comestibles and poetry whores available all night!

6 August  2011 at Ristorante al Teatro, 1227 W 18th St, 8pm to Midnight
Musical Guests: Jeffrey Levin on piano, & The White City Rippers!
Burlesque Performer: Pearl Pistol

Saturday, 30 April 2011 at Ristorante al Teatro in Thalia Hall, 1227 W 18th St.
Writers dressed in Victorian-era costumes reading lovelorn poetry in a bordello-style setting.  A stage show of enough splendor to match the startling grandeur of the Thalia Hall itself — whiskey, vaudeville, dancers, fortune tellers, and of course poetry whores! — 
Musical Guest: Cabaret singer-songwriter Sabrina Chap
Burlesque Performer: Lula Houp-Garou

The Associated Press was there!  Watch their video on YouTube !