March 2010 Archives

Breakfast. Whether you're recovering from your first AWP hangover or just packing in for a long day and/or night of literary shenanigans, you might need a giant stack of pancakes or a serious deal of bacon. These are the spots to set in your sights.

 

Snooze: An A.M. Eatery. This is one of the newer establishments, originally opened as a refuge for those who need a little grease after Last Call, but it's now the reigning king of breakfast in Denver, and with such specialties as Sweet Potato Pancakes (with pecan butter!) it's easy to understand why. 2262 Larimer Street. Mon - Fri: 6:30a til 2:30p Sat & Sun: 7a til 2:30p. Long waits are common after 9am on Saturday and Sunday.

Dixon's (1610 16th Street) is a staple of LoDo (Lower Downtown). Locally owned, they do much of their business for lunch and supper, but breakfast is solid, though their sister restaurant Racine's (650 Sherman) is better known for early vittles. Easily accessible via 16th Street Mall Shuttle.

The Delectable Egg has two locations in striking distance of the conference. One is at 1625 Court Place and the other is at 1642 Market.

You could get breakfast elsewhere, by why would you want to?

A new addition to downtown, H Burger slings excellent burgers in the form of ground angus, Colorado lamb, tuna, and others. They don't slouch on the fries, either--regular, parmesan truffle, and sweet potato have all tickled our fancies. The milkshakes are obscenely thick, and the dining room is commodious and sleekly-styled. And are you really going to turn down the $5 gravy fries during their 3-6pm happy hour? We didn't think so. On the corner of 16th & Blake--take the free 16th Street shuttle to Blake.

The Copper Nickel crew has put in some serious time at Wazee.--it's our go-to place for a post-reading nosh. Between the delicious pizza, the top-drawer selection of beers on tap, and the old school ambiance (we're suckers for the black and white linoleum tile), we couldn't be more grateful for this LoDo (lower downtown) mainstay. They're open until 2 am from Monday to Saturday (Sundays they take it easy & close at midnight). Take the free 16th Street shuttle to Wazee and walk one block south.

Over 75 beers on tap? Check--their motto is "No Crap on Tap," and they mean it. Over 130 bottled? Double-check. Falling Rock is a noisy, unpretentious place to meet with friends and celebrate the beverage that Homer Simpson astutely referred to as "the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." While you're there, please make sure you check out some of Colorado's own fine brews, such as Odell, Great Divide, and Oskar Blues, Falling Rock Tap House is at 1919 Blake--take the free 16th Street shuttle to Blake and walk 3 ½ blocks north.

 

Missed us? Or maybe just want to remember the great time you had?

We've uploaded some pix from the Doublestruck event on Flickr. Click here to see them all...

And if you want to hear our contributors reading, you might join them at one of these offsite readings...

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

• Farrah Field in the Slash Pine Press Poetry Marathon -- 4-8:30pm at the Rackhouse Pub, 208 S. Kalamath Street
• Noah Eli Gordon and Bin Ramke -- 7-10pm at the Ahsahta/Omnidawn Reading in the Magnolia Hotel Ballroom, 17th & Stout
• Deborah Poe -- 7pm at the Dusie Pussipo Stonecoast Femiganza at the Packinghouse Center for the Arts, 835 E 50th Ave
• Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Tarfia Faizullah, Karyna McGlynn, Allison Titus, Nate Slawson, G. C. Waldrep, and Joshua Poteat -- 7:30pm at the Diode/Makeout Creek Reading, Jones Theater, DCPA, 1101 13th Street
• John Pursley -- 7:30pm at Common Grounds Coffee House, 1550 Wazee

 

Thursday, April 8, 2010

• Eleni Sikelianos, Noah Eli Gordon, Julie Carr, and Sara Veglahn -- 5:30pm as part of Colorado Writers Reading at the Mercury Café, 2199 California Street
• Dan Albergotti, Jericho Brown, Stacey Lynn Brown, Michael Dumanis, Farrah Field, J. Michael Martinez, Alison Stine and Allison Benis White -- 6pm as part of Copper Nickel Presents 8 Debut Poets at the Tivoli Turnhalle, 900 Auraria Parkway/900 Larimer
• Julia Cohen--6:30pm as part of "Historic Falcon" at the Mercury Café, 2199 California Street
• Maria Melendez and Joshua Poteat -- 7pm as part of "Between Water and Song" Release Event, Wynkoop Brewery, 18th & Wynkoop
• Nate Pritts and Sandra Simonds -- 7pm as part of "Small Press Party with Bloof Books, Cooper Dillon and Noemi Press at Green Spaces Colorado, 1368 26th Street
• Sandy Florian -- 7:30pm as part of "Action Books, Litmus Press, and Nightboat Books reading" at The Thin Man, 2015 E 17th Avenue
• F Daniel Rzicznek -- 8pm as part of the Free Verse Editions Reading, Tivoli Turnhalle 900 Auraria Parkway/900 Larimer
• G. C. Waldrep -- 8:30pm as part of "13 Younger Contemporary Poets" at the Dikeou Collection, 1615 California Street

 

Friday, April 9, 2010

• Julie Carr -- 3pm as part of Denver Quarterly Reading and Publication Celebration at the Dikeou Collection, 1615 California Street Suite 515
• Maria Melendez -- 3:30pm as part of Pilgrimage Magazine Release Party and Reading at the Tattered Cover LoDo, 1628 16th Street
• John Gallaher -- 5pm, Black Warrior Review/Blue Hour Press Reading at Mario's Double Daugher's Salotto, 1632 Market
• Allison Benis White, John Gallaher, Mathias Svalina and Allison Titus -- 6:30pm as part of the CSU Poetry Center/Univeristy of Akron Press Poetry Reading at Paris on the Platte.
• Aaron A. Abeyta, John Chavez, Sheryl Luna, and J. Michael Martinez -- 6:30pm at the Dikeou Collection, 1615 California Street, as part of "One Poem Festival"
• Sandy Florian -- 7pm as part of the Astrophil Press Off Site Party at the Hi-Dive, 7 South Broadway
• Chris Ransick -- 7pm as part of Lighthouse Writer's Workshop event at The Jet Hotel, 1612 Wazee Street
• Steven Schroeder -- 7pm as part of the Meadowlark Poetry Marathon, 2701 Larimer Street
• George Kalamaras and Matthew Cooperman -- 8pm as part of Colorado State University's MFA Program 25th Year Celebration, Wynkoop Brewery, 18th and Wynkoop
• Roxanne Banks Malia and Jenifer Park -- 9pm as part of WILLA Goes Live at The Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm

Saturday, April 10, 2010

• Matthew Cooperman, Matthias Svalina, and Jake Adam York -- 5:30pm as part of Colorado Writers Read at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm
• Joshua Marie Wilkinson, John Gallaher, and Michael Dumanis -- 6pm in the book party for Starting Today anthology, at Paris on the Platte, 1553 Platte Street
• Zachary Schomburg and Julie Doxsee -- 7pm at Plus Gallery (2501 Larimer Street) in the Apostrophe/Action/Black Ocean/Slope/Tarpaulin Sky Press Pary
• Eleni Sikelianos and Sarah Veglahn -- 7pm at the Mercury Café, 2199 California Street as part of the Naropa/Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics Reading
• Harada Bar-Nadav, Alyson Hagy, James Hoch, Aurelie Sheehan and others -- 7:30pm at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm for Copper Nickel, an audible edition

What better way to remedy that old AWP Saturday night feeling of being overschmoozed and over-reading-ed than with a healthy dose of tasseled pasties? For all of you night owls who like to plan ahead, think about making a reservation for Fannie Spankings' "Off the Clock" late night burlesque show at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret, Denver's #1 venue for all things bump and grind. The stylish and lewdly good-humored show features burlesque entertainers ranging from amateur to professional, but every single one is guaranteed to be a gifted ecdysiast. The venue is at 16th and Arapahoe, just a short stroll--or stagger--from the conference hotels.

NB (from Jake Adam York): the clocktower is a significant structure, once the corner element in a large department store—the Daniels & Fisher, which would join with May to become a large local dry-goods store. Those conference-goers who are staying in the Sheraton are staying in what would be May D&F's last office tower, designed by I.M. Pei...

Admit it--your wardrobe is seriously lacking pearly snap buttons, spurs, and hats that measure in gallons. Fear not! Rockmount Ranch Wear, Denver's premier (locally-owned, locally-founded) emporium for cowboy duds, has got you covered.--they've been outfitting both celebrities and the general public for over half a century. To quote from the catalog, dearly departed founder "Papa Jack" Weil is "to western wear what Henry Ford is to the car." Take the 16th Street free shuttle to Wazee and walk barely a half a block north to browse their eye-popping embroidered duds and shit-kicking accessories.

From 4-6pm, Jax Fish House boasts a generous happy hour menu of luscious $1 oysters, $5 bowls of gumbo, and a host of other tasty seafood treats. The amiable charm of bar manager Tim Harris--widely recognized as one of Denver's best boozesmiths--makes the place feel like home.

1539 17th Street--Take the free 16th Street Shuttle to Wazee and walk a block north.

Wonder who we're publishing? What we're after?

If you're here for AWP 2010 in Denver, see our contributors on the following panels. For more information, visit the conference website here.

 

THURSDAY April 8

9am

• Pam Houston (R102) "Writing the West"
• Gary L. McDowell (R103) "Inside the Box"
• Jericho Brown (R105) "The PhD in Creative Writing"
• Rebecca Morgan Frank (R111) "Teaching Working Adult Writers"
• Peggy Shumaker (R112) "The Pets Guide to the Birds"
• Andrena Zawinski (R119) "Not a Muse"
• Mathias Svalina (R122) "The Networked Poetry Classroom"

10:30am

• Nicky Beer and Dan Albergotti (R125) "The 25th Poem"
• Alyson Hagy, Marilyn Krysl, and Lee Ann Roripaugh (R133) "Women Writing the West"

12NOON

• Michael Henry (R158) "Creative a Thriving Literary Community"
• Snezana Zabic (R165) "Shifting Grounds of Copyright"

1:30pm

1:30pm
• Carolyn Kuebler (R172) "CLMP Panel--Lit Mags in the Classroom"
• Jake Adam York (R181) "A Tribute to Craig Arnold"
• Rebecca Morgan Frank (R184) "How to Start Your Own Online Literary Magazine"
• Elizabeth Robinson (R188) "And the Beat Goes On"

3pm

• Karyna McGlunn (R193) "Performing Poetry"
• Nicole Walker (R201) "Goodbye to All That"
• Sheila Black (R211) "Beauty is a Verb"

4:30pm

• Peggy Shumaker (R217) "Red Hen Press: Women of the West"
• Jericho Brown (R222) "Queering Desire"

 

FRIDAY April 9

9am

• Melissa Pritchard (F102) "Mommy, I'm Having an Existential Crisis"
• Marilyn Krysl (F108) "To West or Not to West"
• Aurelia Sheehan (F122) "University of Arizona MFA Alumni Reading"
• Pattiann Rogers (F114) "Writing the Mind's Wild Geography"
• Adrian Matejka (F118) "One Never Know, Do One?"

10:30am

• Lee Ann Roripaugh (F125) "The Western Identity Revisited"
• Emma Bolden (F129) "The MFA in Academia"
• Matthew Cooperman (F143) "Ed Dorn and a Western American Poetics"

12NOON

• Blake Butler (F150) "Indie Mags"
• J. Michael Martinez (F153) "Living Words: Folklore and Creative Writing Programs"
• Alyson Hagy (F157) "Graywolf Press Reading"

1:30pm

• Jennifer S. Davis and Brian Barker (F172) "Let's Get This Program Started"
• Deirdre McNamer (F173) "University of Montana Fiction/Nonfiction Faculty Reading"
• Soham Patel and Juan J. Morales (F179) "Ecopoetics on Colorado's Front Range"
• Charles Jensen (F186) "Declarations of Independence"

3pm

• Gregory Fraser and Chad Davidson (F193) "Responding to Personal Trauma in Creative Writing Classrooms"
• Adrian Matejka (F194) "From the Fishouse reading"
• Brian Barker (F205) "Writing on the Walls: Promoting Writing and Museum Relationships within the Community"
• Veronica Patterson (F206) Northern Colorado Poets Reading"

4:30

• John Chavez (F216) "If It Takes More Than Two Minutes to Introduce a Reader Then You Are Probably Not Doing It Right"
• Julie Carr, Noah Eli Gordon, Eleni Sikelianos, and Matthew Cooperman (F226) "Colorado's Innovative Writers Past and Present"
• Carolyn Kuebler (F229) "Navigating Chaotic Changes in Literary Magazine Publishing"

 

SATURDAY April 10

10:30

• Pattiann Rogers (S140) "Bearing the Mystery: Twenty Years of Images Journal 12NOON
• Keith Ekiss, Jennifer Grotz (S148) "Banned Goods: Smuggling Translation into the Poetry Writing Workshop
• Julie Carr (S161) "The Evolution of the MFA: The 21st Century Student"
• Dan Albergotti (S163) "Evolution of the New Media: Online Literary Journals and Websites in 2010"

1:30

• Holly Goddard Jones (S172) "Weirding It Up: How and Why to Deploy Unusual Points of View"
• Eleni Sikelianos and Bin Ramke (S185) "Poets Past and Present at the University of Denver"

3pm

• Amy Fleury (S194) "Demystifying the Hiring Process"
• Deborah Poe and Jake Adam York (S198) "A Chorus Of Hauntings: Giving Breath to Ghosts"
• Alison Stine (S201) "Thirty Years of Mid-American Review"

4:30

• Michael J. Henry (S217) "Through the Years: Teaching Writing to Age Groups"
• Patrick Lawler (S219) "How to Sustain a National Literary Journal of Diverse Voices and Small Press..."

NB: This is part of our series of articles comprising "Copper Nickel's Guide to Denver" for the AWP Conference held here April 7-10, 2010

On Facebook people are asking "How do I get into Denver from the airport?" And it's a good question.

DIA is almost 30 miles from the center of town, and in a cab, that can add up, especially if you're riding solo.

In my travels, the average cab fare from DIA to downtown Denver is around $60 (with tip). If you can split that with two or three other people, it's a bit more reasonable, and you're close to the single fare for the primary alternative, Super Shuttle, which charges around $20 a head for the ride. The cab's a little faster, but Super Shuttle is cheaper for the single traveler.

If you're traveling with a group, y'all might consider reserving a town car or limo, which runs almost the same as a cab, in terms of cost, but can seat a few more people, oftentimes.

But if you really want the cheap way into town, there's the Skyride, the public transit system's link from DIA to downtown Denver. You'll want the AF Skyride, which will take you from the airport to the Market Street Station for only $10 cash. From the Market Street Station, a free shuttle bus will ferry you down 16th Street toward the hotels. The Skyride leaves DIA every half-hour. You can check the schedule by following the link or stopping by the RTD information booth on level 5 of the airport.

To call this place "Copper Nickel-tested, Copper Nickel-approved" would be a serious understatement. We lunch here, we hold meetings here, and Copper Nickel staffer Anisetta keeps the place on the literary up-and-up by posting poems at her register. Here you can get a cup of Boulder's own Allegro coffee, along with a murderer's row of obscene pastries. They serve a wide range of deli fare, as well as beer and wine, and the ample seating area can easily accommodate you and the half-dozen people you promised to have lunch with.

Located at Denver's historic Larimer Square, on Larimer between 14th and 15th. Take the free 16th Street Mall shuttle to Larimer, hop off, and take a short walk south.

Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs

At this award winning food-cart, in addition to the more traditional beef dogs, you'll also find dogs made from wild boar, elk, buffalo, and even rattlesnake/pheasant now and then. Get yours topped with mouth-watering caramelized onions, and have a bag of Boulder chips (aka, "The Best Damn Chips Ever") as a side. If you're nice, they'll inject your dog with a caulking gun full of cream cheese. Go on--try to have just one.

Location: 16th and Arapahoe, a short stroll from all conference-related stuff.

We have updated our contest guidelines here: http://www.copper-nickel.org/contest/.

We are ready to begin accepting entries and will continue to do so through May 15, 2010.

Holly Goddard Jones, author of Girl Trouble will be with us Monday, March 8th. She'll be reading at 4pm in Tivoli 440. The reading is free and open to the public.

Copper Nickel is teaming up with Win Wear to present an evening of writing from Copper Nickel 13 translated into music, art, and food on Thursday, March 18th, beginning at 7pm at Orange Cat Studios, 2625 Larimer Street in Denver.

A $10 cover gets you in, gets you fed, and puts a copy of Copper Nickel 13 in your hands. Another $1 will get you a "bottomless cup of beer" to be filled with goodness from our friends at Great Divide Brewing.

Translating musicians include Roger Green, Conrad Kehn, David Mead and more. In addition to the music, Mark Shusterman, current pastry chef at Beatrice and Woodsley, will be preparing inspired food for the event paired with the GREAT DIVIDE beer.

The fun doesn't stop there; a reception follows with NOVO Coffee, home made pastries, and record spinning going well into the night.

Please join us for an evening of transmogrification and hot artist-on-artist action.

As part of the AWP Conference, Copper Nickel will present eight debut poets on Thursday night, April 8th, from 6-8pm in the Tivoli Turnhalle (900 Auraria Parkway). After readings from Dan Albergotti, Jericho Brown, Stacey Lynn Brown, Michael Dumanis, Farrah Field, J. Michael Martinez, Alison Stine and Allison Benis White, join us for a reception where books will be on sale. This event is free and open to all comers.