“Major vocal talent… a singer whose range shatters the conventional boundaries…” —The New York Times

21c Museum Hotel Louisville is proud to present acclaimed performing artist Joseph Keckler. Calling on a powerful and versatile voice, Joseph Keckler delivers an evening of his songs and stories: wild miniature operas, haunted ballads, and humorous vignettes from his new essay collection, Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World.

We are happy to announce that Joseph Keckler will be joined by special guest and accompanist Jordan Corbin. Growing up in Austin, in an era where even grocery stores had live bands, Jordan Corbin fell into music. She has performed over 40 leading roles in operas, and composed a three-hour opera, (The Day Boy and The Night Girl), that was produced at New York’s Symphony Space. She lives in Seattle where she teaches, performs, and is working on a collection of art songs.

Free and open to the public. Performance begins at 7:00pm, followed by a book signing and reception with the artist. Guests are invited to arrive early to enjoy a cash bar beginning at 6:30pm. Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World will be available for purchase and signing by the artist during the event.

> Watch videos of performances by Joseph Keckler
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About Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World
“Joseph Keckler is a magician, a vagabond of the outer boroughs with an eye for the unorthodox, irregular, anomalous and uncanny. By turns mordant and melancholy, decadent and delirious, these are stories to cherish, as brilliant and charming as the writer himself.” –Olivia Laing

“Joseph Keckler is a captivating raconteur, with a delicious ability to transform scenes of dread into comedic triumph.” –Wayne Koestenbaum

Reality, embellishment, and fantasy intermingle in twenty mesmerizing tales by the acclaimed performing artist Joseph Keckler, DRAGON AT THE EDGE OF A FLAT WORLD (Turtle Point Press; November 14, 2017; trade paperback original; $17.50; 240 pages; ISBN: 9781885983251).

Ranging between different periods of his life and written over the course of a decade, these episodes confirm Keckler’s storytelling mastery. As we are led through corners of downtown New York and the Midwest, we are introduced to his mentors and muses, odd jobs and odder employers: What is it like to work for a blind man who runs an art gallery? Or for an aging club kid who administers a university classics department? Outré characters turn art into a religion and make a spectacle of daily life. Some strive to be center stage and others struggle to be seen, but all soldier on in the margins. In this world, you may board a familiar bus or train and find yourself in some shady netherworld, or skipping past midnight on New Year’s Eve. There is sex with ghosts. And the incessant GPS voice that mocks the last moments of a longtime love.