Unspoken Words

Adam Perry used to feel doomed by a speech impediment that left him unable to talk on the phone or even in person — until he discovered writing as a way to communicate. That might be why his poetry is so “unabashedly experiential,” says the 28-year-old Naropa University student and Westword contributing music writer. “What the reader sees is basically me, naked on the page,” Perry says — hence the name of his book, Fotographs of Bones: Three Seasons of Poetry. That title is also a nod to Northwestern poet Charles Potts, “who has always saluted Lewis and Clark with his alternate spellings of everything” and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Show Your Bones” album.

Tonight, you can hear Perry and seven other Boulder writers read from his book during a release party at Saxy’s Cafe. The book is being published by Nate Jordon’s independent Monkey Puzzle Press, and Perry says the event is a unique opportunity to check out Boulder’s exciting literary scene, made possible by Jordon, who also puts out Monkey Puzzle magazine. The party goes from 7 to 10 p.m. at 2018 10th Street, Boulder; it includes music from Perry and his partner, Irene Joyce, as well as Fabio Fina and Nate Cook of Ego vs Id. Once a rock drummer in San Francisco, Perry is now into singing and playing “weird alt-folk” music on the guitar. For more, go to monkeypuzzleonline.com.
Sat., April 25, 7-10 p.m., 2009