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8 AUGUST 2022 — monday
- The San Francisco Public Library presents poet and editor Victoria Chang, discussing her recent works, Obit, Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence and Grief, and The Trees Witness Everything, three books released in three years that explore longing, grief, and memory, in conversation with novelist Kristin Keane, Luminaries, online, free, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2022/08/08/author-victoria-chang-and-kristin-keane-exploring-grief)
9 AUGUST 2022 — tuesday
- Join poet and radio host Jack Foley, with longtime activist and poet Nina Serrano, for a weekly celebration of poetry and prose, this week celebrating Jack Foley's eighty-second birthday with comments from the presentation ceremony honoring his K.M. Anthru Literature Prize, from the transnational magazine LITTERATEUR RW (Redefining World), listen on 94.1 KPFA, 2:00-2:30 pm PDT (Listen here: kpfa.org/program/cover-to-cover)
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet Farnaz Fatemi, Sister Tongue, winner of the 2021 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, with open mic to follow, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
- The Bay Area Book Festival presents Literary Pub Trivia Night, a literary-themed trivia with drinks, emceed by Amy Schneider, forty-time Jeopardy! champion, the most successful woman to ever compete on the show and the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for Jeopardy's "Tournament of Champions," come for a fun evening of trivia, drinks, and prizes, in person, The Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Avenue, Albany, $25, proceeds benefit the Bay Area Book Festival, 7:00-10:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/89-literary-pub-trivia-prizes-special-guest-star-tickets-384151205597)
- On the Page, Off the Page presents an open mic poetry reading and musical performance, poets and musicians welcome, come to read or to listen, online via Zoom, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Zoom link here: us02web.zoom.us/j/81712189887?pwd=QkpNdXVKb0VSNHpyN0hXQSsrOFhLdz09, passcode is 948848)
- Coastside Poetry presents a poetry reading featuring Rebecca Foust, Only, forthcoming from Four Way Books, online, free, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (More information here: coastsidepoetry.org/current-features)
10 AUGUST 2022 — wednesday
- City Lights Books presents award-winning essayist and educator Kristen Ghodsee, Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence, discussing her new book, Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women, an exploration of the history of socialist feminism in Eastern Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
- Mrs. Dalloway's presents poet and nonfiction writer Toni Mirosevich, Pink Harvest, winner of the First Series Award for Creative Nonfiction, reading and discussing her new book, Spell Heaven and Other Stories, a linked story collection about a gay couple drawn to a group of outsiders after their move to a new coastal town, in conversation with Janine Kovac, former professional ballet dancer and author of Spinning: Choreography for Coming Home, winner of the National Indie Excellence Awards, in person, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7:00-8:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.mrsdalloways.com/events)
11 AUGUST 2022 — thursday
- San Francisco Writing Institute presents "Poetry Revision Workshop," led by poet Hollie Hardy, How to Take a Bullet, and Other Survival Poems, winner of the annual Poetry Center Book Award in 2016; the workshop will focus on deep revision of existing poems, attendees are welcome to write new poems to workshop, but it is not required, class time will be spent workshopping poems in small groups, this workshop can be taken on its own or as a follow-up to Hardy's previous workshop, "Generative Poetry," runs six-weeks, August 11-September 15, $425, 5:30-7:30 pm PDT (Sign up here: sfwriting.institute/events/poetry-revision-workshop)
12 AUGUST 2022 — friday
- BAMPFA presents the twenty-fifth anniversary reunion showcase of Sister Spit, a long-running feminist performance co-created by filmmaker Sini Anderson, The Punk Singer, and award-winning author Michelle Tea, Knocking Myself Up: A Memoir of My In/Fertility, joining Anderson and Tea are novelist Lynn Breedlove, Godspeed, writer Nicole J. Georges, Calling Dr. Laura, writer and actor Beth Lisick, Edie on the Green Screen, editor Denne Michele Norris, writer and performance artist Brontez Purnell, 100 Boyfriends, writer and editor Kamala Puligandla, Zigzags, and artist Vivek Shraya, I'm Afraid of Men, come for an evening of queer and literary talent in this cabaret-style event, Berkeley Art Museum, 2155 Center Street, Berkeley, event included with admission, $14, 6:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: bampfa.org/event/sister-spit-twenty-fifth-anniversary-reunion-showcase)
- Copperfield's Books presents storyteller and author Shugri Said Sahl, reading from and discussing her new book, The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert, winner of the 2022 Gold Nautilus Award, Multicultural & Indigenous Category, the discussion will be followed by a Q&A and book signing, in person, Copperfield's Books, 140 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.copperfieldsbooks.com/event/shugri-said-salh)
13 AUGUST 2022 — saturday
- Beyond Baroque presents a reading featuring poets Mathieu Cailler, Heaven and Other Zip Codes, winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Book Festival, Zara Lisbon, Baby's First Apocalypse, Kevin Ridgeway, Too Young to Know, and Jose Hernandez Diaz, The Fire Eater, all reading from new work, in person, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, 8:00-10:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)
- Sixteen Rivers Press celebrates the launch of two bilingual collections, Plagios/Plagiarisms, Volume Two and Beyond the Time of Words/Más allá del tiempo de las palabras, featuring readings from the translators, Terry Ehret, Nancy Morales, and Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman, joined by Marjorie Agosín, author of Beyond the Time of Words, in person, Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, free, 1:00 pm PDT (415/927-0960, www.bookpassage.com/)
- Writers with Drinks presents a reading with novelist Vanessa Hua, Forbidden City, poet and artist Juba Kalamka, Son of Byford, poet Shelley Wong, As She Appears, singer and writer Adele Bertei, Why Labelle Matters, and novelist Naseem Jamnia, The Bruising of Qilwa, emceed by writer and commentator Charlie Jane Anders, all proceeds benefit a local nonprofit, The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco, $5-$20, no one turned away for lack of funds, 7:30-9:30 pm PDT, doors open 7:00 pm (More information here: www.writerswithdrinks.com/)
- "Sangam and Angora: A Forum of Poets, Philosophers, Scholars, and Autodidacts," featuring Dr. Anjali Monteiro and Dr. K.P. Jayasankar, award-winning documentary filmmakers and authors, with former San Francisco Poet Laureate Kim Shuck, Exile Heart, singer-songwriter Paul Lodge, poet Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, and writer Vinay Lal, online via Zoom, free, 10:00 am PDT (Register to attend: ucla.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqf-ugrzMsE9YH7keCwabqaxexLQQ1R1xr)
14 AUGUST 2022 — sunday
- Sixteen Rivers Press celebrates the launch of two bilingual collections, Plagios/Plagiarisms, Volume Two and Beyond the Time of Words/Más allá del tiempo de las palabras, featuring readings from the translators, Terry Ehret, Nancy Morales, and Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman, joined by Marjorie Agosín, author of Beyond the Time of Words, in person, Nicholson Ranch Winery, 4200 Napa Road, Sonoma, free, 2:00-5:00 pm PDT
- The Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium presents a poetry reading by Ayaz Pirani, How Beautiful People Are, and Leonore Wilson, Western Solstice, online via Zoom, freee, 2:00 pm PDT (To receive Zoom link, email: jfellguth@sbcglobal.net)
- Second Sunday presents a reading with poets Stephen Thomas Roberts, David Baker, Whale Fall, and Rebecca Foust, The Unexploded Ordinance Bin, winner of the 2018 Swan Scythe Chapbook Award, online, free, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: secondsundayreadings.com)
- Book Passage presents poet Doreen Stock and journalist Marcelo Holot, celebrating A Noise in the Garden by Doreen Stock and Amparo Casasbellas Alconada's Excelentísimo albedrío / Your excellency free will, translated by both Stock and Marcelo Holot, online, free, 4:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.bookpassage.com/event/doreen-stock-and-marcelo-holot-noise-garden-your-excellency-free-will-online-event)
15 AUGUST 2022 — monday
16 AUGUST 2022 — tuesday
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet and editor Rick Christiansen, with open mic to follow, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
- Skylight Books presents novelist Elaine Castillo, America is Not the Heart, finalist for the Elle Big Book Award, discussing her new book, How to Read Now, a dynamic collection of essays that examines why reading matters today, in person, Skylight Books, 1818 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-elaine-castillo-presents-how-read-now)
17 AUGUST 2022 — wednesday
- Sixteen Rivers Press celebrates the launch of two bilingual collections, Plagios/Plagiarisms, Volume Two and Beyond the Time of Words/Más allá del tiempo de las palabras, featuring readings from the translators, Terry Ehret, Nancy Morales, and Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman, joined by Marjorie Agosín, author of Beyond the Time of Words, in person, Heal the Bay Aquarium, Santa Monica Pier, 1600 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica, free, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT
- City Lights Books presents best-selling novelist Elif Batuman, The Idiot, finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, discussing her new book, Either/Or, a continuation of beloved protagonist Selin and her quest for self-knowledge, online via Zoom, free, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
18 AUGUST 2022 — thursday
- Ventura County Poetry Project presents a reading featuring poet and essayist Crystal AC Salas, Grief Logic, and poet Nic Reiner, Levitations, co-winner of the inaugural Alta California Chapbook Prize, followed by an open mic, in-person, E.P. Foster Library, 651 East Main Street, Ventura, free, 6:30-10:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.vencolibrary.org/library-events/thursday-night-poetry-0818221830)
19 AUGUST 2022 — friday
20 AUGUST 2022 — saturday
- CalPoets presents the 2022 Poetry Symposium, an exciting day-long event including poetry readings, workshops, and presentations, teens and up welcome, featuring Luis J. Rodriguez, poet and founding editor of Tia Chucha Press, winner of the California Arts Council Legacy Fellowship and the Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award, and author of Borrowed Bones, online via Zoom, free, donations welcome, 9:00 am-9:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.californiapoets.org/events/calpoets-2022-virtual-poetry-symposium)
- Medicine for Nightmares presents Diaspora Jewels, a SWANA poetry reading, featuring writers from the SWANA (South West Asian, North African) community, spoken word artist Justin Ebrahemi and poet Sabina Khan-Ibarra, hosted by poet and artist Antony Fangary, Haram, in-person, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
- Art City presents a performance of poetry and music featuring Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emma Trelles, Tropicalia, winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, with her musician husband Mark Zolezzo, Art City Studios, 197 Dubbers Street, Ventura, free, 4:00 pm PDT
- The Sims Library of Poetry presents an open mic reading, with special guest poets Jimmy Vega, Iván Salinas, and more, come to read or to listen, in person, Sims Library of Poetry, 2702 W. Florence Avenue, Los Angeles, $6 advance/$10 at the door, no one turned away for lack of funds, 6:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.simslibraryofpoetry.org/event-details/pages-on-stages-open-mic-by-cli)
21 AUGUST 2022 — sunday
- Beatnik Café presents a reading with poets Lisbeth Coiman, Uprising / Alzamiento, and Gustavo Hernandez, Flower Grand First, followed by an open mic, three-minutes per reader, arrive ten minutes early to sign up to read, hosted by Hanna Pachman, free, at the tea café, Hey Hey, 1555 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 4:00 pm PDT
- Marin Poetry Center presents the 2022 Traveling Show, a multi-reading summer poetry event where members perform their own work, Part 5 features poets Lee Rossi, Wheelchair Samurai, Robin Lee, Gail Entrekin, The Art of Healing, Ella Eytan, Gabriel Rilleau, and Laurel Feigenbaum, Matrimony, with co-ambassadors Jackson Bramlette and Tashi Manchip, in person, Mill Valley Library, 375 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, free, 3:00-4:00 pm PDT (More information here: marinpoetrycenter.org/events)
- Second Sunday Readings presents a special reading from when there are nine, a collection of poems celebrating the life and work of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, contributors include Faylita Hicks, Brian Turner, Chelsea Dingman, and Siân Killingsworth, curator of Second Sunday Readings; the collection has a foreword by award-winning poet Patricia Smith, online via Zoom, free, 5:00 pm PDT (Zoom link here: bit.ly/3A7GLg9; for more information about the book and authors, go to whentherearenine.com)
22 AUGUST 2022 — monday
- City Lights Books celebrates the launch of Second Stutter Volume Five, an annual San Francisco literary journal focused on contemporary English language poetry and translation, with readings by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Immigrants in Our Own Land, Jaime Chavez, Tureeda Mikell, Synchronicity: The Oracle of Sun Medicine, Norma Cole, Natural Light, Adrian Lurssen, Neowise, Ivan Argüelles, Ars Poetica, and Eleni Stecopoulos, Armies of Compassion, hosted by poet Solomon Rino, online, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
23 AUGUST 2022 — tuesday
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet and artist Angélique Jamail, The Sharp Edges of Water, with open mic to follow, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
- The San Francisco Public Library presents novelist Beverly Jenkins, recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, discussing her new book, Wild Rain, the story of a Black female rancher in Wyoming after the Civil War, in conversation with librarian Rachel Fiege, online, free, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2022/08/23/author-beverly-jenkins-and-rachel-fiege-conversation)
24 AUGUST 2022 — wednesday
25 AUGUST 2022 — thursday
- Writers Read Ukiah presents a reading featuring Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie Guardado, The Length of Trauma Covets, followed by an open mic, six minutes per reader, Grace Hudson Museum, 431 South Main Street, Ukiah, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.gracehudsonmuseum.org/new-events)
- Ventura County Poetry Project presents a reading featuring Diana Raab, An Imaginary Affair: Poems Whispered to Neruda, followed by an open mic, in-person, E.P. Foster Library, 651 East Main Street, Ventura, free, 6:30-10:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.vencolibrary.org/library-events/thursday-night-poetry-0818221830)
- Grand Piano TV presents a series of live readings and performances, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the final volume of The Grand Piano: An Experiment in Collective Autobiography/San Francisco 1975-1980, a series of autobiographical writings centered on ten Bay Area poets, this week features Barrett Watten, founder of the Grand Piano reading series in 1976 and author of The Constructivist Movement: From Material Text to Cultural Poetics, winner of the 2004 René Wellek Prize, online via Zoom, free, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsceyrrDwrEtHr06pb8qItOsP9H6jP2mvq)
26 AUGUST 2022 — friday
- The Friday Collapse Virtual Series presents a reading featuring spoken word artist and activist The Propaganda Poet, Terraform, and spoken word artist Aideed Medina, hosted by Paul Corman Roberts and E. Lynn Alexander, followed by an open mic, streaming on Zoom and Facebook Live, free, 6:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: us02web.zoom.us/j/84117144354)
- Poetry at Bell Arts presents a reading featuring Dian Sousa, The Marvels Recorded in My Private Closet, and Patty Seyburn, Threshold Delivery, followed by an open mic, hosted by Jeanette Clough, in-person, Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Avenue, Ventura, as well as on Zoom, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Zoom link here: us02web.zoom.us/j/9607501600)
27 AUGUST 2022 — saturday
- Medicine for Nightmares presents "Borrowed Tongues, New Writings from Filipinx and Latinx Poets," a reading featuring Josiah Luis Alderete, curator of the reading series Speaking Axolotl and author of Baby Axolotls y Old Pochos, Aileen Cassinetto, The Pink House of Purple Yam Preserves and Other Poems, Alice De Parres, Keana Aguilar Labra, Virga, and Kevin Madrigal Galindo, Hell/a Mexican, sponsored by the Filipino American Center at the San Francisco Public Library, in-person, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore and Gallery, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
- Blue Light at the Gallery presents a reading featuring poet George Wallace, first Poet Laureate of Suffolk County, New York and author of numerous collections including I Feed the Flames and the Flames Feed Me, joining Wallace are poets Francine Witte, Helga Kidder, KB Ballentine, Chris Wood, Etain Scott, E.D. Watson, Nancy Lee Melmon, Jennifer Lagier, Claudia Reder, Melanie Gendron, MJ Moore, Melissa Hobbs, Karen Marker, Susan Murray, Paula Nichols, marilyn dykstra, Judy Bebelaar, Elinor Gale, and Diane Frank, from Wallace's Blue Light Press Improv Poetry Workshop, a one-day workshop where poets brainstorm their own prompts and focus on imagination-based poetry, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (RSVP to bluelightpress@aol.com for the Zoom link)
- Poets in Conversation presents translators and founders of Dutch Poet Press, Joel Katz, Erase / Endure, and Robert Perry, hosted by poet Phyllis Klein, The Full Moon Herald, online via Zoom, free, 4:00-5:30 pm PDT (More information here: phyllispoetry.com)
- "Poetry for Haiti," an afternoon of poetry and music to benefit the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, featuring readings and performances by poet devorah major, califia's daughter, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Heaven Is All Goodbyes, award-winning poet and musician Avotcja, singer-songwriter Francisco Herrera, and poet Shanga Labossiere, followed by an open mic, co-sponsored by Haiti Action Committee, Ecumenical Peace Institute/CALC, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and St. John's Presbyterian Church Mission and Justice Commission, online via Zoom, suggested donation $10-$50, 3:00-5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-for-haiti-a-benefit-for-haiti-emergency-relief-fund-registration-394847057177)
- Fourth Saturdays presents a poetry reading featuring Cati Porter, Novel, The Body at a Loss, and Jonathan Maule, This Side of Fire, winner of the 2020 Hillary Gravendyk Regional Poetry Prize, in-person, Claremont Helen Renwick Library, 208 N. Harvard Avenue, Claremont, free, 2:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/FriendsoftheClaremontLibrary)
28 AUGUST 2022 — sunday
- Women's National Book Association returns with their signature Literary Teas, a brunch-time event with readings and conversations with authors, this month featuring novelists Elise Bryant, Happily Ever Afters, nominated for the NAACP Image Award, and Nicola Harrison, The Show Girl; there will be an online component for those not yet comfortable with in-person events at this hybrid event; each in-person ticket comes with $10 store credit to be used at Bel Canto Books, event will be held at Bel Canto Books, 2122 E. 4th Street, Long Beach 11:00 am PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/wnba-la-literary-tea-tickets-391917294177)
- Bird & Beckett presents Story Makers, a reading featuring three fiction writers, Andrena Zawinski, Plumes & other flights of fancy, Judy Juanita, The High Price of Freeways, and Joan Gelfand, Extreme, followed by an open mic, emceed by fiction writer and poet Claire Ortalda, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco, free, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (More information here: birdbeckett.com/fiction-8-28-22)
29 AUGUST 2022 — monday
- Napa Valley College offers a sixteen-week hybrid poetry class, taught by poet and biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle, West: Fire Archive, students will read poems, write from inspiring prompts, workshop poems together, and produce their own end-of-semester chapbook of poems, hybrid in person and online, 6:00-7:50 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.napavalley.edu/studentaffairs/AR/Pages/HowtoApply.aspx)
- Skylight Books presents acclaimed poet J. Hope Stein, reading from her new book, little astronaut, joined by her husband, comedian Mike Birbiglia, come for a night of poetry and jokes, in-person, Skylight Books, 1818 N Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-jokes-and-poems-j-hope-stein-and-mike-birbiglia)
30 AUGUST 2022 — tuesday
- Diesel, A Bookstore presents journalist and fiction writer Alexis Deutsch-Adler, reading from her new book, I've Been Thinking, a collection of ten vivid pieces complemented by her own artwork, followed by a book signing, in-person, Diesel, A Bookstore, 225 26th Street, Santa Monica, free, 6:30 pm PDT (More information here: www.dieselbookstore.com/event/Alexis-Deutsch-Adler-Author-signing)
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet and artist essa may ranapiri, author of the forthcoming book Echidna, with open mic to follow, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
31 AUGUST 2022 — wednesday
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