A night of Weird Religion at Hotel Utah

Please join me and writers Erik Davis and Sean McLain Brown, as well as Patrick Cress’s Blicker, in celebrating the release of Madonna of the Toast by Buzz Poole at Hotel Utah on Saturday, March 10. Doors at 8:00, readings at 9:00 followed by music; sliding scale suggested donation $5-$15 ($15 gets you a copy of Madonna of the Toast).

What is this wonderfully titled book all about? According to the press release:

Madonna of the Toast documents what happens when religious and secular icons appear on objects such as pancakes, potato chips and cows. From highly publicized examples of these phenomena (Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese) to previously unpublicized instances of these visitations (Jar Jar Binks on a shed door, Jesus on a mandolin), all of the objects featured in the book exemplify the power of visual communication.

Buzz Poole continues to document the phenomenon of icons appearing in banal objects on his Madonna of the Toast blog, which has already gotten mention at Wired News and elsewhere.

I'll be reading from my short story Agatha, Agatha, which was inspired by the tragic tale of martyr St. Agatha, though mostly it's just about tits. According to this unfortunate girl's Wikipedia entry:

having rejected the amorous advances of a Roman prefect, she was persecuted by him for her Christian faith. Among the tortures she underwent was the cutting off of her breasts. She is therefore often depicted iconographically carrying her excised breasts on a platter.

It's especially an honor to read alongside my friend Erik Davis. Erik is the author of TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information and, most recently, Visionary State, edited by my husband Alan Rapp and featuring the stunning photography of Michael Rauner.