Join Three Rooms Press as we celebrate the 104th birthday of legendary poet Charles Bukowski during the 19th Annual Charles Bukowski Memorial Reading at NYC’s iconic Bitter End (147 Bleecker Street) on Friday, August 14, 2026, 6 pm.

The highly-anticipated annual event is hosted by Three Rooms Press co-directors Kat Georges and Peter Carlaftes and features poetry, oral history, rare videos, and live performance. This year’s event will feature Bukowski poems and tales performed by renowned performance artist Penny Arcade, musician-storyteller Jennifer Blowdryer, poet Puma Perl, playwright Michael Puzzo, poet Danny Shot, playwright/author Richard Vetere, poet George Wallace, plus special guests. Advance tickets: $10 available at https://bitterend.com/#/events/147662.

Charles Bukowski’s poetry and prose highlights the outsiders and outcasts of society: from drunks at the bar, to the denizens off the racetrack; from post office workers to lonely people living in crumbling apartments. Bukowski’s work retains its relevance today because of his focus on the core or what it is to be human, and modern society’s multiple ways of masking ourselves from our self.

What would Bukowski have to say about contemporary issues, such as:

• the world’s first trillionaire

• the rise of artificial intelligence

• the decline of alcohol consumption

• the demise of the USPS

At the annual memorial reading, performers will consider all this and more while channeling the spirit of Bukowski through his poems and personal stories.

In addition to readings and discussion, all attendees have a chance to win Bukowski books, recordings, and other prizes.

Doors open at 5:45pm. Advance tickets ($10) and more information via Bitter End https://bitterend.com/#/events/147662

For press passes or media inquiries please email mailto:[email protected]