Join mystic poet and performer Janaka Stucky for an immersive, multidisciplinary performance of his book ASCEND ASCEND at The Vilna Shul, Boston's Center for Jewish Culture.

In 2017, Janaka Stucky wrote ASCEND ASCEND over the course of twenty days, coming in and out of trance states while secluded in the tower of a 100-year-old church. Rooted in the Jewish mystical tradition of Hekhalot literature, this book-length poem makes us both passenger and witness as we participate in the ecstatic destruction of the self through its union with the divine.

In celebration of Neurot Recordings’ release of a new vinyl double LP of Janaka reciting ASCEND ASCEND during a 2019 performance at Seattle’s All Saints Church with legendary local cellist Lori Goldston (Nirvana, Cat Power, Earth), Janaka will be performing the piece in full for the first time since the recording was captured in a curated 4-city tour produced by Atlas Obscura. Join us for this very special hometown performance.

The Vilna Shul offers validated parking from the underground garage at the Charles River Plaza/Cambridge Street Garage at 175 Cambridge Street. Entrance to the underground garage is between Flour Bakery and AT&T, near the intersection of Blossom Street and Cambridge Street. The Vilna Shul is a two block walk from the garage.