Please come dressed like this. Please.

Don’t forget, Broets in training, tomorrow there’s a Broetry Slam at National Mechanics, sponsored by your friends here at Geekadelphia and Quirk Books. Over 50 folks have RSVP’d on Facebook. You should too.

Much like a Poetry Slam, we’ll be inviting members from the audience onto the microphone at National Mechanics to read their prepared (or spontaneous!) Broems. Manly poetry.

A panel of expert judges will select the winners and award them appropriate, bro-like prizes. Xbox Live Points, tasty beverages and noms, a manly mini library, high fives, Bruce Willis DVDs… we will have a fine array of swag to dish out to the best of the Broets.

Shmitten Kitten will be there as well, judging a contest of her own… for Best Bro. Come with your collars popped and your hair blown out, as we’ll have awards for the best overall costume. If you aren’t in costume and just so happen to win the award… well, we apologize.

The champion of the evening will be awarded the title Broet Laurette of Philadelphia, and we’ll publish your brilliant poem (and a video of the performance!) on here and Quirkbooks.com.

Broetry Slam @ National Mechanics
Friday, July 8th
www.nationalmechanics.com

The Broet Laureate Brian McGackin

“I’m such an ass/ I must admit/ I’d completely forgotten it/ Convenience stores don’t sell booze here/ Now how the hell will we get lit?”

Broetry promised to take me through the adventures of “Broet Laureate” Brian McGackin, from his high school graduation to his quarter-life crisis. And, dude– he went all the way, man. As a 20-something who is the same age as Brian, it was an enlightening and hilarious first-person peep hole look into the lives of my male friends and former flames over the past decade. And according to this collection, they are all quite the broets.

If you want to know what men think about in their 20s, I can summarize it up in, arguably, three words: “processed food” and “sex”– in no particular order. To bros and broettes alike, Broetry eloquently sheds light on those levels (and often hilarious, obvious lack of) and how they serve as the foundations of his experiences.

(more…)

No, that isn’t a typo. I said Broetry Slam.

See, next month, Quirk Books (yes, where I’m employed during the day, Mr. Wants Full Disclosure), is releasing a hilarious book called Broetry, the debut from poet Brian McGackin. Since I started working here I’ve been eager to do some sort of Quirk / Geekadelphia mashup. And now here it is. The first official Broetry Slam, taking place at National Mechanics on Friday, July 8th.

What’s Broetry? It is exactly what it sounds like. Poetry for Dudes. Poems that articulate man’s love of Xbox 360, Mama Celeste’s frozen pizza, Bruce Willis, Star Wars conventions, frat parties, and video game tournaments.

The idea behind the slam is simple. Much like a Poetry Slam, we’ll be inviting members from the audience onto the microphone at National Mechanics to read their prepared (or spontaneous!) Broems.

A panel of expert judges (the author Brian McGackin, the editor Jason Rekulak, Philly’s beloved local comic Doogie Horner) will select the winners and award them appropriate, bro-like prizes. Xbox Live Points from Geekadelphia, tasty beverages and noms from National Mechanics, unicorns and glitter, a manly mini library from Quirk, high fives, Bruce Willis DVDs… we will have a fine array of swag to dish out to the best of the Broets.

Our good friend Anna Goldfarb (of Shmitten Kitten fame) will be there as well, judging a contest of her own… for Best Bro. Come with your collars popped and your hair blown out, as we’ll have awards for the best overall costume. If you aren’t in costume and just so happen to win the award… well, we apologize.

The champion of the evening will be awarded the title Broet Laurette of Philadelphia, and we’ll publish your brilliant poem (and a video of the performance!) on here and Quirkbooks.com.

So that’s basically it. If you’re concerned you don’t quite grasp the concept of Broems, visit the Amazon page for Broetry to look inside the book.

RSVP for the event on Facebook, here. Or just show up, ready to fist pump.

Broetry Slam @ National Mechanics
Friday, July 8th
www.nationalmechanics.com