Jack Kerouac Night at the Flamingo Bar

A birthday celebration of this great writer’s life, times and art at the bar where he had his last drink.   Music and beat poetry, all in the spirit of Kerouac.  Special guests include national author Tim Dorsey, reading from his newest book, just released, Coconut Cowboy, and the renowned Brad Morewood St. Pete Beat Poets reading their passages backed by a highly-skilled improvisational jazz band led by jazzy guitarist Kelly Green.

Scattered among the poetry will appear some of Tampa Bay’s best folk musicians, all with a Kerouac tinge to their music, including Ronny Elliott, Geri X, Eric Andersen, Phil Lee, Tom Scudiero, the Florida Boys, James Hawkins, Ray Villadonga, Ben Jarrell & The Wildwood Weeds, Goody Haines, Big Jim Allen and others.

A full night of music, intimate and informal – as Jack would have enjoyed it – on the front deck of the bar, next to the large window-sized photo of the author staring out at nearby Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N.


Pat Barmore - (727) 423-0724, patrick.barmore@verizon.net

Saturday, March 12
7 - 11:30 p.m.
Flamingo Sports Bar
1230 9th St. N., St. Petersburg
Free with cash bar

Jack Kerouac's Florida: At The End Of The Road

Work-in-process documentary film premiere.

When Jack Kerouac first arrived in Florida in September of 1957, he was an unknown writer. He would spend the next twelve years as a Florida snowbird, traveling between Florida and New York. 

Two months after his arrival here, “On The Road” was published and he was catapulted into fame as the Avatar and Bard of the Beat Generation. A soft-spoken poet, he came to abhor the notoriety. His politics would become increasingly right-wing, and he would eventually die at age 47 from liver cirrhosis in 1969 in St. Petersburg.

Through interviews with journalists, neighbors, colleagues, and bartenders, the film provides a glimpse into Kerouac's evolving personality, as well as his experiences in the then-small towns of Tampa and St. Petersburg. Kristy Andersen’s 30-minute work-in-progress is a premiere of the film, with funding from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. 

The event is a fundraiser to complete the film. Tickets $5 and are available at the door. For more information, please contact Kristy Anderson at baybottomnews@gmail.com

Sunday, March 13

2 - 5 p.m.

The Studio@620

620 1st Ave S, Saint Petersburg

Ticketed Event:  Admission at the door $5

Contact:  Kristy Anderson - 813-390-3582, baybottomnews@gmail.com

SunLit Crawl - A Pub Crawl with Literature

Four dead writers. Seven living writers. Love. Hate. Life. Death. Hilarious laughter. Here’s where literature meets the street. It’s a moveable feast and a traveling circus complete with Rawlings, Hurston, Kerouac, Hemingway, and seven local writers sharing their pursuit of happiness, self-expression, and mad adventure at an avant garde coffee shop, an authentic Cuban restaurant, and a favorite local micro brewery.  SunLit Crawl drink specials at each venue.

Foreword: It all begins at a sophisticated uptown wine bar with literary vintages.
Epilogue: It all ends in a Key West bar with Beat poetry and jazz. What a tale to tell.

Produced by Keep St. Pete Lit and Venue Theatre Collective and Actors Studio. Sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

Wednesday, March 11
6 p.m.


WINE MADONNA
111 2nd Avenue NE

Foreword Before Party — 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Sip poetic wines and get in the mood for literary revelry


GENERO COFFEE COMPANY
1047 Central Avenue

Chapter 1 — 7 p.m.
Matthew Jackson: Ode to the art of the proper pub crawl.

Chapter 2 — 7:30 p.m.
Jack Kerouac: The road ended in St. Petersburg but the Beat king’s legacy lives on. Portrayed by Robert Gilligan

Chapter 3 — 8 p.m.
Patrick J.F.X. Smith: Aventura Loco, a mad Mexican adventure in the manner of Kerouac but very, very different.

Chapter 4 — 8:30 p.m.
Zora Neale Hurston: The toast of the Harlem Renaissance still tells the tales of her Florida home. Portrayed by Nyela Hope


BODEGA
1120 Central Avenue

Chapter 1 — 7 p.m.
Maureen McDole: Poetic musing about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Chapter 2 — 7:30 p.m.
Ernest Hemingway: The old bard of Key West and Havana at his poignant and macho best. Portrayed by John M. Lowe

Chapter 3 — 8 p.m.
Cathy Salustri, Jon Kile, and Shelly Wilson: "Three Bars"  — Three Authors. Three Chapters. Many bad decisions.

Chapter 4 — 8:30 p.m.
Jack Kerouac: The road ended in St. Petersburg but the Beat king’s legacy lives on. Portrayed by Robert Gilligan


GREEN BENCH BREWERY
1133 Baum Avenue North

Chapter 1 — 7 p.m.
Cathy Salustri, Jon Kile, and Shelly Wilson: "Three Bars"  — Three Authors. Three Chapters. Many bad decisions.

Chapter 2 — 7:30 p.m.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings: The hard-drinking, Pulitzer-winning scribe of the Big Scrub has a soft side, too. Portrayed by Deanna Scott.

Chapter 3 — 8 p.m.
Gloria Muñoz: Internal and external spaces. Endangerment of culture and expression

Chapter 4 — 8:30 p.m.
Ernest Hemingway: The old bard of Key West and Havana at his poignant and macho best. Portrayed by John M. Lowe


OLD KEY WEST BAR & GRILL
2451 Central Avenue

Epilogue After Party — 9 p.m.
Beat era poetry and jazz into the night.

Free Admission
More information

The Books that Changed Our Lives: The Secrets of Formative Reading

Renowned writing coach Roy Peter Clark will lead “The Secrets of Formative Reading,” an event that invites students, teachers, readers of all ages to come and think about and write about the books that changed their lives.  The date, March 12, is also the Kerouac birthday celebration, so don't be surprised if someone brings a copy of On the Road. Roy Peter Clark spent more than 20 years re-constituting his formative library, from nursery rhymes through novels he first read in college.  He will share his experiences revisiting these classics, and lead participants in a fun and creative writing exercise designed to bring our "old friends" back to life. Bring your own precious books to the session and show them off to others.

Thursday March 12
4 p.m.
The Poynter Institute, 801 Third Street South, St. Petersburg
Free Admission

Jack Kerouac Night at the Flamingo Bar

A celebration of this great man’s life, times and art at the bar where he had his last drink.   Music and beat poetry, all in the spirit of Kerouac. The Brad Morewood beat poets are usually there and they read their work backed by a highly-skilled improvisational jazz band led by Russian symphony conductor JohnTeryl Plumeri and jazzy guitarist Kelly Green.  Between the poets are some of the best musicians anywhere, including Ronny Elliott, Eric Andersen, Phil Lee, Tom Scudiero, the Florida Boys and many more.  A full night of music, intimate and informal – as Jack would have enjoyed it – on the front deck of the bar, next to the large window-sized photo of the author staring out at nearby Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N.

Saturday, March 14
7:30 -11 p.m.
The Flamingo Bar, 1230 9th St North
Free Admission
More information