The Odyssey – According to SETH – Audiobook release!

Denver, CO – Denver performance poet and author SETH, together with members of Art Compost &
the Word Mechanics, will present a live musical performance of the author’s newly released 4-CD
audio book: A Black Odyssey. Event takes place November 16 th , 7-9pm at Denver’s Mercury Cafe
Ballroom, 2199 California Street. Donations appreciated.
This dynamic event celebrates a diverse literary/musical collection two years in the making, made
possible by a grant from Denver Arts & Venues. The collaboration combines diverse talent of 28 local
musicians with the collected poems of SETH’s book A Black Odyssey. The book, originally published
in 2012, is modeled on Homer’s ancient epic, as an allegorical scaffolding for the author’s personal
experience as a black man in contemporary America.
Titled The Odyssey According to SETH, the live audio book launch event is hosted by Ira Liss.
Interviewed by Racine Frank, SETH will share his insights into Homer’s Odyssey and ancient Greek
mythology, traveling musically from one chapter to the next, each chapter offering varied musical
textures to simulate Odysseus’ varied challenges. The author’s language runs the gamut from vernacular
to Elizabethan; everything from pattern poems, free verse, prose poems, and sonnets to parodies of
Mother Goose. Musical styles vary from improvisational jazz, to jazz-rock, to fusion, to classical.
“In a real way, Homer’s Odyssey has been my Bible,” says SETH. “It has served as a roadmap to my
own journey.”
The collaborative celebration includes special guests and a salute to members of Art Compost, an
ensemble that has performed Sunday nights, weekly at Mercury Cafe, for 24 years. This is an all ages
event, open to the public.