Noah C. Lekas

Noah C. Lekas, worker-writer and musician from Racine, WI, has released two works with Blind Owl Records - his acclaimed debut paperback book Saturday Night Sage, and Sounds from the Shadow Factory, an audio collaboration which accompanies his poetry collection. Partnering with psych-rockers Howlin' Rain and label-mates Mrs. Henry, among others, the EP earned praise fromRolling Stone editor David Fricke, who featured the title track on his Writer's Block radio show, calling it “Poetry and psychedelia, as if Tom Waits had hitched a ride on the Jefferson Airplane’s version of Wooden Ships.” Several short films were made using the tracks, most notably,Out of the Storm Drains (dir. Scott D. Rosenbaum), was named Please Kill Me’s Video of the Week, also winning a Bowery Awards Silver Medal, andWe Got a Problem with Groundwater (dir. Shelby Baldock), screened at multiple festivals, winning a Bowery Awards Gold Medal.“

Lekas tells of the struggles of working-class laborers through poems equally acerbic and transcendental.“ (Third Coast Review) Rightfully, his writing has appeared in over 50 publications, as varied asAquarium Drunkard and the Industrial Worker. In 2026, Lekas sophomore effort will be released by Blind Owl.