A new reading series has bullied its way into town. We have decided  to give a home to the gritty blue-collar literature of Portland. This is the kind of literature that looks great with a black eye, that knows the sting of drywall in winter-cracked knuckles, the difference between the smell of a freshly sanitized stripper pole and the smell of black tar heroin. This is the home for the terrifying and obscene. Join us every last Friday for Them's Fightin' Words. I promise to bring you the grittiest and most down home writing Portland has ever written or read. Our inaugural installment will be featuring an open mic followed by two local writers. Josh Lubin has an ex-wife, a string of angry girlfriends, and creditors clamoring to put his head on a stick. His parents no longer accept his collect calls, do not lend him money or look him directly in the eyes. He is often abrasive and misunderstood. Hailing originally from New York, Lubin moved to Portland in the 90's, to quickly make his way into the Portland literary scene, as well as the Multnomah County Jail. The more deviant side of him is often the reputation that precedes him, but Lubin has also made quite an impact in the Spoken Word scene as well. While active in the early incarnations of the Portland Poetry Slam, circa 1999 to 2003, Lubin was also founded the Spoken Word/Trip Hop project called Bossa Novella. He was also the curator of the Jazz Language Reading Series, and has performed on KBOO and KPSU a number of times. In the last year or so, Lubin has taken to writing with a vengeance. He has begun to relay tales of a world gone wrong. The current voice of his poetry wanders the unseen midnight streets, stalking it's prey like a junkie who helps you search for your wallet which they stole, too convincing to be real. Lubin takes you from the stripper pole to murder scenes; from the old man swigging whiskey on his fire escape to singing praises to the working class. For some people Lubin's writing is biographical, for others it is a horror movie. However nobody comes away from Lubin's poetry unscathed and unchanged. I dare you to try. Sterling Clark is a poet, performance artist and creator. She hails from Los Angeles, CA where she began writing at the age of seven, but Portland has been her home for almost 9 years. Her poetry has been described as raw, erotic, and honest. She flays her heart open, exposes her vulnerability and presents it for all to hear through written word. She does queer, polyamoury and sex worker rights advocacy and activism, and is a student of sexology. Her intent as a writer is to inspire honesty in a world so inhabited by fear. Series host Johnny No Bueno describes himself as a street thug turned academic, a Spoken Word artist, poetry editor of Criminal Class Press, and Web Administrator for Portland Poetry Slam.  Says Johnny, 'A life in and out of jail, on the streets, ingesting copious amounts of illicit narcotics and booze, can turn even the best of men to the insidious life of poetry.'