Legendary New York City poet Finnegan and prolific street photographer Efrain Gonzalez present an evening of poetry and photography hosted by Johnny Art. Soak yourself in electric verse, ripped straight from the womb of your worst nightmares (or your darkest fantasies!) and coughed up on your mother’s dining room table. Enjoy an evening of radical queer poetry and candid behind-the-scenes photography from the heyday of Finnegan’s poetry troupe, Dark Star Crew. The evening will include interviews with Finnegan and Efrain talking about their adventures with Dark Star at CBGBs, the Knitting Factory and other infamous NYC venues.

This event will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011.

Registration is not required. Seating is first come, first served.

Also live-streaming on the Bureau’s YouTube channel

Suggested donation $10 to benefit the Bureau’s work.

All are welcome to attend, with or without donation.

We will pass a bag for donations at the start of the event, but we can also take credit card donations at the register.

Books of poetry by Finnegan will be available for purchase at the event.

Safety protocol

In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

If you have any symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the days leading up to the event, we ask you to please stay home.

Please note that masks are required at all times inside The LGBT Community Center, where the Bureau is located.

Finnegan has been performing his poetry in New York City and beyond for more than thirty years. He has performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Knitting Factory, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and CBGB’s and has been featured in the Village Voice, New York Times, Seven Days magazine and Vanity Fair.

New York City photographer Efrain John Gonzalez says he’s “not a professional photographer, just OCD.” He describes his work as telling “a story of people finding the path to their souls, finding their bliss with piercings, branding, cuttings, tattoos, latex, implants, leather, and a whole lot of radical sex and sexuality.”

John “JohnnyArt” Pavlou is a visual artist and songwriter based in Yonkers, New York. His sculptures have been in numerous shows and he has created several sculptural installations. He has also created a Youtube series in which he uploaded a spoken word piece every day for a year.