This galère gathering isn’t simply about the poems, but also the poet’s muse, how the verse came to be. So, if writers write to expose themselves and actors act to hide themselves . . . poets pose as spiritual coroners—examining both the living and the dead—via self-evisceration. A psychic operation that allows the assemblage to decide if the work’s DNA is that of an archangel . . . or Frankenstein.

Our December readers are John Kearns, Julie Metz and Lucy Sante

John Kearns is the author of the short-story collection Dreams and Dull Realities and the novel The World and playwright of dramas including Sons of Molly Maguire and In the Wilderness. His drama, Boann and the Well of Wisdom, won Best Play in Origin Theatre’s 1st Irish Festival and had a successful tour of Ireland in 2024. His latest novel, Worlds depicts four generations of the Logan family from Ireland in 1870 to New York City in 1998. John was the Treasurer/Salon Producer for Irish American Writers and Artists for eight years and is the Arts and Culture Committee Chair for the Irish Business Organization of New York and the president of the Morningside Theater Company.

Julie Metz is the author of The New York Times bestselling memoir Perfection and Eva and Eve: A Search for My Mother’s Lost Childhood and What a War Left Behind. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Glamour, Salon, Dame, Tablet,Next Tribe, and the Substacks Oldster and Memoirland, created, curated, and edited by Sari Botton. She is a fellow of The Yaddo Corporation, The MacDowell Colony, and the Vermont Center for the Creative Arts and has led workshops at The Chautauqua Institution and other venues. Julie is also the winner of a Literary Death Match, the international competitive reading series founded by Adrian Zuniga (she brought a sword). Born and raised in New York City, Julie lives in New York’s Hudson River Valley.

Lucy Sante’s books include Low Life, Kill All Your Darlings, The Other Paris, Maybe the People Would Be the Times, Nineteen Reservoirs, and I Heard Her Call My Name, a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize and named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Washington Post, and Slate

“Reading this book is a joy . . . much to say about the trans journey and will undoubtedly become a standard for those in need of guidance.” —The Washington Post

“Sante’s bold devotion to complexity and clarity makes this an exemplary memoir. It is a clarion call to live one’s most authentic life.” —The Boston Globe

“Not to be missed, I Heard Her Call My Name is a powerful example of self-reflection and a vibrant exploration of the modern dynamics of gender and identity.” —Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2024

Literary Night: A Galère of Poetic Autopsies

Literary Night: A Galère of Poetic Autopsies