Dead Letter No. 9 isn’t just for dance-floor revelations we’re opening the doors for something quieter, deeper, and just as electric.

This gathering marks the final PMS event at Dead Letter No. 9 before the venue closes its doors on October 31, making this one an especially meaningful send-off.

PMS: Philosophical Musing Sessions is a talk series devoted to the parts of us that don’t behave: the feral, the messy, the “too much.”

Curated and hosted by Ilana Gilovich-Stossel, the series dares to trust the wild feminine as intelligent and worthy of a voice by—you guessed it—convening during Ilana’s luteal phase each month. Buckle up, kids.

In this raw state, Ilana invites guests into unscripted conversations about life’s biggest questions namely, what are we doing here and how do we stay close to what is most luminous, exalted, and alive in us?

This month's special guests: Eleanor Johnson and Ingrid Kapteyn.

Professor Johnson specializes in late medieval literature, medieval theology, the history of environmental thought, horror, film, and feminism. She has published three books on the Middle Ages: Practicing Literary Theory in the Late Middle Ages: Ethics and the Mixed Form in Chaucer, Gower, Usk, and Hoccleve (Chicago 2013); Dramatizing Contemplation: Participatory Theology in Middle English Prose, Verse, and Drama (Chicago 2018); and Waste and the Wasters: Poetry and Ecosystemic Thought in Medieval England (Chicago 2023). Scream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (Atria 2025) analyzes the relationship between horror films and feminism in the 1970s and 2020s. Monstrous Bitch: A History of Terrifying Women (Princeton 2026) analyzes the 4000 year history of the demonization of women by western patriarchy. Her forthcoming book Mother of Frankenstein (Atria 2027) looks at the shaping influence of Mary Shelley's novel on 21st-century cinematic feminism.

Ingrid Kapteyn is a performer, choreographer, director, and Juilliard-trained dancer whose work moves between dance, theater, and immersive performance. She has performed with Punchdrunk, the Metropolitan Opera, and MacArthur Fellow Martha Clarke, and served as Resident Director of Sleep No More NYC. Through her creative partnership Welcome to Campfire, she has developed and produced original dance-theater works across New York, London, Chicago, and Shanghai.

PMS arose as a gentle rebellion against the algorithmic onslaught and the impetuous pace of technological development. What happens when we slow down, gather, and ask ourselves what matters most?

There’s only one way to find out. Come as you are… bleeding heart and all.

Doors: 6:00PM | Talk 7:00PM-8:00PM

Stick around for Live music in CARGO 8:30PM-10:30PM

Ticket holders are guaranteed a seat.
Come early, grab a cocktail, and let the musings begin.