As part of its ongoing celebration of National Poetry Month, on Tuesday, April 12th, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the Academy of American Poets will host a poetry and cocktail "slam" at Back Forty in the East Village. Mixologists from Back Forty, Clover Club, Marlow & Sons, Mayahuel, Savoy, Terroir, Vandaag, and Ward III will serve original cocktails inspired by their favorite poems while renowned downtown poet Bob Holman will recite each poem, cocktail in hand.

Attendees can expect to hear renditions of, and taste tipples inspired by, such poems as: John Ashbery's "The Improvement," Charles Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart," Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons, Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky," and E.E. Cummings's "O Sweet Spontaneous," among others.

To complement the cocktails, Back Forty Chef Shanna Pacifico will prepare a dozen different passed hors d'oeuvres, including her version of Ham on Rye (in honor of Bukowski's novel of the same name), Asparagus Fries with Ramp Aioli, Fava Bean Fritters, and Hot Doughnuts with Bourbon Bacon Glaze. Admission is $55 per person and includes all the cocktails and food but excludes tax and gratuity.

Date: Tuesday, April 12th
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Back Forty, 190 Avenue B (at 12th Street)
Cost: $55 per person (includes food and cocktails, but excludes tax and gratuity)
Reservations: Call 212-388-1990

For press inquiries, please contact Benjamin Schmerler
(ben@firstpresspr.com; 212-867-5599) at First Press Public Relations