For decades, Jumbo’s Clown Room in East Hollywood has been a fixture in Los Angeles’s literary scene, drawing in notable writers who sought inspiration within its dim red glow. But increasingly, the dancers themselves are taking on the role of author, pushing back against the assumption that their stories should be told by others.
Aspiring screenwriters occasionally approach the bar’s performers, hoping to gather material. Cecilia Fairchild, a longtime dancer at Jumbo’s, often responds to these requests with a variation of, “We are all writing that too.” Fairchild, a playwright, poet, and memoirist, finds the presumption that dancers are voiceless and incapable of producing their own literature particularly frustrating. She notes that she hopes that male authors would instead write from the customer's point of view, perhaps a "sniffer's memoir."
Jumbo’s historically cultivated a mythology as a magnet for celebrated figures like Charles Bukowski in the 1970s and 80s. David Lynch reportedly wrote parts of his classic screenplay “Blue Velvet” at the bar, with local legends claiming the iconic opening shot came from observing a dancer with one ear. Quentin Tarantino is also said to have written there. However, the narrative is shifting from dancers as muses to dancers as artists.
Fairchild's recently completed memoir, “The Poison & Spit,” traces a life of tumultuous love affairs and dancing in New Orleans, characterized by its whimsical and surreal prose. She also hosts the monthly literary salon, the Downpour, at Bar Covell and recently directed a play titled “Fool in the Pool,” which premiered in Silver Lake. Fairchild sees a shared need for exposure in both dancing and writing, describing vulnerability as a compelling aspect of her work.
Other dancers at Jumbo’s are also actively creating. Scarlett Kapella has published a cookbook, “Wine Me, Dine Me, 69 Me.” Danielle Henderson, who writes under the pen name D.M. Faulk, is developing a science-fiction novel called “Meridian.” Her book imagines a dystopian American landscape where pregnant women are closely monitored, a concept inspired by conversations among dancers in Jumbo’s dressing room following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Henderson stated she is "incredibly inspired by the women" she works with.
Claudia Musikul, another dancer at the bar, primarily focuses on screenplays about strippers, aiming for authentic representation of sex work that she believes is often missing in film. Musikul, who counts Paul Verhoeven’s “Showgirls” as a favorite, expressed a hope that dancers will achieve the recognition previously afforded to figures like Bukowski and Lynch.
Poet and dancer Caroline Blaike is working on a poetry collection that explores love, queerness, desire, and personhood, written on her 1951 Olympia typewriter. Blaike notes that years of performing have made her acutely observant of people, a habit that directly informs her writing. She feels that the observation skills honed in dancing help her write from a relatable perspective.
Beyond its performers, Jumbo’s has increasingly become a regular haunt for other authors in the local writing scene. Allie Rowbottom, author of “Lovers XXX,” discovered the bar in 2011 and has returned frequently since, recalling an occasion at a birthday party for writer Elizabeth Hall where she spent more than she could afford. Rowbottom sees Jumbo’s as a venue uniquely dedicated to "intersecting sex and art," which she believes makes it fertile ground for literary inspiration. Other L.A. literati, including Jon Lindsey, Tea Hacic-Vlahovic, Sammy Loren, Morgan Krantz, Tex Gresham, and Nada Alic, have gathered there. Writer Aiden Arata’s upcoming 2025 essay collection, “You Have a New Memory,” also features a charged scene set at the club, describing its dancers as "starlets, athletes, artists."
As the number of writing dancers grows, Jumbo’s Clown Room is becoming a place where the stories of sex work are increasingly told by those at its core, moving beyond its established lore to create a new, dancer-driven literary legacy.
