Sex and Religion Night is December 17th

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND RELIGION NIGHT
December 17th at 8:00 PM (doors at 7)
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com

Sex and religion are the theme of the final In The Flesh of 2009. Featuring Mo Beasley (Urban Erotika), joined by singers DeAngela Napier and Jeff Jeudy, Johanna Gohmann (Bust), Gary Morgenstein (Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman), Cristy C. Road (Bad Habits) and Susan Wright (Confessions of a Demon), plus belly dancing by Sherri Eldin. Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2010, Peep Show, Bottoms Up). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the country's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. The series was named Best Reading Series by New York Press in 2009. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Mike Daisey, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

Performance Poet, Producer, and Writer, Mo Beasley, dubbed The Head Coach of Erotika, leads New York City’s longest running monthly erotic performance series. He also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts/Acting from Howard University. Since 1997, Beasley has also cemented himself on the spoken word scene. The award-winning poet has performed or been featured at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café, Joe’s Pub, American Museum of Natural History (with Sonia Sanchez) and The Kennedy Center, among other known stages. Beasley is also a member of the Spoken Word Committee of the NY Chapter of The GRAMMY’s.

When not at the mic, Beasley teaches poetry, as well as Family Life and Sexuality Education classes, to students and adults throughout New York City. His current and past clients include Children’s Aid Society, NYC Board of Education, Planned Parenthood, and Kaiser Permanente, among others. He also lectures regularly at institutions on topics ranging from fatherhood (Beasley became a father at 17 and a grandfather at 36) to new perspectives about human sexuality for the 21st century.

Mo Beasley is also the co-author No Good Nigga Bluez - a collection of “anti-nigga creative writings.” He is also editing UrbanErotika: The Anthology, as well as contributing to an anthology on fatherhood. The relevance of Mo’s work has not escaped the attention of the media. He has been interviewed by Rev. Al Sharpton, hip hop legend Chuck D, and has been quoted, profiled, or featured in New York Newsday, Amsterdam News, rolling out UrbanStyle Weekly, NRG, KISS FM (NYC), XM Satellite Radio, New York 1 News and several other local and national media.



Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author, editor, blogger and reading series host. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a former sex columnist for The Village Voice. She’s edited numerous anthologies, two of which (Up All Night and Glamour Girls) have been Lambda Literary Award finalists, most recently The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Best Sex Writing 2009, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and Spanked. Her writing been published in publications such as Clean Sheets, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Newsday, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Tango, The Village Voice, and Time Out New York, and in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Hilary McHone

Sherri Eldin is a frequent performer all over the city with her unique and alternative form of belly dancing. This summer she danced in her first music video with Brooklyn band ZO2, stars of IFC's "Z Rock." In addition to dancing, Sherri is an actress, singer/songwriter, storyteller, and writer.



Johanna Gohmann has written essays, articles, and reviews for Bust, Elle, Red, Publishers Weekly, YourTango.com, Babble.com, Parade.com, the Irish Independent and others. Her article for Bust entitled "The Vagina Dialogues" was selected for Best Sex Writing 2010, and her essay "Design a Vagina" will appear in the Best Women's Travel Writing 2010. A native of Indiana, she lived in New York City for just shy of a decade. She currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. She doesn't always write about vaginas. But she likes to.



Novelist/playwright Gary Morgenstein is the author of four novels. In addition to Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman, a romantic triangle about a divorced man who falls in love with a beautiful woman rabbi -- while still not over his ex-wife -- his novels include Jesse’s Girl, a thriller about a widowed father’s search for his adopted teenage son, the political baseball novel Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the baseball book Rocky The Man Who Wanted to Play Center Field for the New York Yankees. His prophetic play Ponzi Man performed to sell-out crowds at a recent New York Fringe Festival. His other full-length work, You Can’t Grow Tomatoes in the Bronx, is in development.



DeAngela Napier began singing jazz and standards in Manhattan cabaret clubs when she moved to New York in the late 80s. Jeff Jeudy has been infused with music since he was a child and taught himself guitar riffs from KISS albums. Together this acoustic based duo formed a band and performed in and around New York city from 2002 - 2006. They built a following of diverse music lovers that identify with their songs of Life, Love, Loss, and Redemption. Although no longer a band, they occasionally perform and write together. DeAngela Napier is now a photographer who can be reached through her website at www.dnapierphoto.com and Jeff Jeudy is a member of the band I Love Monsters and is a Graphic Designer who can be reached at www.jeffjeudy.com





Cristy C. Road is a 26-year-old Cuban-American illustrator and writer. Blending social principles, sexual deviance, mental inadequacies, and social justice- she thrives to testify the beauty of the imperfect. Her career began in 1996, when publishing Green’Zine- a fanzine entirely devoted to Green Day. Eventually she began including blurbs on other punk rock bands, gender identity, masturbation, sexuality, aimless travel, and anarchist organizing. Green’Zine ran for ten years. Today, Road has published two illustrated novels, Indestructible and Bad Habits; and a postcard collection, Distance Makes the Heart Grow Sick. Aside from publishing, Road has been contributing art to punk rock, literature, radical organizing, and much more for the last ten years. Road currently is working on paintings, short stories, and her punk rock band The Homewreckers. She lives in Brooklyn with a short attention span and a killer gas problem.
www.croadcore.org



Susan Wright is an activist and author. Her latest novel is an urban fantasy called Confessions of a Demon that will be published in December 2009. Other novels include the Slave Trade sf trilogy, and the fantasy duology To Serve and Submit and A Pound of Flesh, as well as 9 Star Trek novels. Susan is the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and has lectured extensively on sexual freedom around the country. She received her masters from New York University, and lives in New York City with her husband Kelly Beaton.
www.susanwright.info



You will hear from the following books:


Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman: Sex and Romance in God's House by Gary Morgenstein


Confessions of a Demon by Susan Wright