Matthew Freeman to Read on Monday, April 12, at Duff's in the CWE

Matthew Freeman has been a poet since he was a teenager in Dogtown, St. Louis. Since then he has fallen in love, traveled the country, and sung his songs. He now lives and writes in the Loop neighborhood of University City, Missouri. Darkness Never Far is his third collection of poems. Matthew recently received an Albert Montesi Award for his poetry from Saint Louis University.

The debut Chance Operations reading series will be held on Monday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m., at Duff's, 392 North Euclid Avenue, in the Central West End. Admission $3.00.

Born Again, Hard

Gerald Stern, these are your steps.
Here's where Rebecca found me, reading Dostoyevsky.
Here's where I freaked out, here's where I threw up.
Now I'm back to lie in the grass.
Tonight I'm going to smoke with the reggae men
and dance like a fool. I've got a fat check in my wallet
and I plan on drinking until morning.
Tonight I may die, in this place i was born, for all I plan to do I may hang.

Out there-- I pointed to Catullus.
I saw the next Robert Frost, I dropped names!
Enthusiasm!
I'm back, unsheathed, unguarded,
with nothing but history to call on.

--Matthew Freeman

Other readers:

Elly Herget and Erin Wiles, from Bad Shoe, St. Louis' only literary magazine featuring entirely women writers and artists.

Matthew Freeman, author of the recently published Darkness Never Far, his third collection of poems.

Chris Parr, performance poet who has read his work at art spaces, music venues, and poetry events, in his native New Zealand, as well as in Boston, New York and St. Louis.

Lauren Keefer, a veteran of both Get Born and River Styx' Hungry Young Poets series.