No joke, my friend. It really happened.

And Tuesday night, April 30, we’re doing it again – and inviting you to join us.

I’m excited to be giving a double-feature poetry reading with my friend and fellow poet Rikki Santer Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. at The Light of Seven Matchsticks, a subterranean speakeasy below Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza, in Worthington.

Please come, and bring a poem to share at the open mic.

Named after a fictitious novel that features in Wes Anderson’s film Moonrise Kingdom, The Light of Seven Matchsticks blends literary class and sass with a mysterious vibe redolent of the 1920s Prohibition demimonde.

My husband and I are big, HUGE fans of Natalie’s and had heard tell of the speakeasy, so we decided to check it out one evening last summer.

True Prohibition-era speakeasies obviously didn’t have street signs, so we weren’t looking for one for The Light of Seven Matchsticks, either.

But we found the place, descended the charmingly nondescript outdoor staircase, peeked through the peephole in the frosted-glass front door (because you gotta), and stepped into one of the funkiest little places ever.

Inside, we made our way in the low, mysterious lighting to one of the velvet-lined booths, found the menu (that’s part of the fun), and enjoyed some nifty eats and drinks.

I was crunching on yummy duck fat popcorn when I said, “I’d love to do a poetry reading here.”

Fast-forward a few months: I message my friend Rikki, “There’s this great, funky place in Worthington I want to introduce you to.”

Rikki, who loves funkiness at least as much as I do, had heard of The Light of Seven Matchsticks but had never been there. So we met up for drinks and snacks after work.

“I’d love to do a poetry reading here,” I said.

“Let’s do a double feature,” Rikki said.

And here we are.

Please join us Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. at The Light of Seven Matchsticks.