NAME, M/DD NAME, M/DD NAME, M/DD NAME, M/DD Express %26 Inspire Development %26 Publication
join our mailing list

Get selected timely event updates and news about Poetry Flash in your email inbox.

x

< previous month  |  next month >


1 OCTOBER 2022 — saturday

  • Book Passage presents Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See, discussing his new book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, finalist for the National Book Award, tickets include a copy of the book, in person, Book Passage, 51 Tama Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, $25, 6:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookpassage.com/cloudcuckooland2022)
  • Small Press Traffic celebrates the opening of Uncovering Alice Rahon, a gallery exhibit of rarely seen works by the surrealist artist and poet Alice Paalen Rahon (1904-1987), with a reading of Shapeshifter, Rahon's collection of poems, read by art historian and translator Mary Ann Caws, followed by readings from poets Cole Solinger, Layla Forrest-White, and Yedda Morrison, Crop, Gallery Wendi Norris, 436 Jackson Street, San Francisco, free, 6:30 pm, doors open 6:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.smallpresstraffic.org/upcomingevents/alicerahonreading)
  • Hudson Valley Writers Center presents the craft class, "The Turn: the Swerve into the Unknown," led by poet Ellen Bass, Indigo, Mules of Love, winner of the Lambda Literary Award; students will study poems that make skillful turns into the unknown and explore poetry as a form of discovery into new and unpredictable terrain, online via Zoom, $124, 12:30 pm-2:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.writerscenter.org/calendar/ellenbasscraft/?mc_cid=7ca5cf6540&mc_eid=65eb098795)
  • Your Mood Gallery presents a reading featuring poets Sarah Rosenthal, we could hang a radical panel of light, Dana Teen Lomax, Disclosure, Carrie Hunter, Vibratory Milieu, Mary Burger, Then Go On, and Denise Newman, Future People, Selby Sohn's Your Mood Gallery, in the Dogpatch neighborhood on the ground floor of the Noonan Building, Pier 70, Building 11, San Francisco, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Directions to the reading: www.yourmoodgallery.com/about-directions)
  • Poet and fiction writer Jan Steckel, Like Flesh Covers Bone, winner of the 2019 Rainbow Awards for LGBT Poetry, reads, with an open mic, hosted by Bruce Isaacson, publisher of Zeitgeist Press and former poet laureate of Clark County, online via Zoom and in person at Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, Las Vegas, free, 2:00 pm PDT (Zoom link here: us02web.zoom.us/j/89767457458)
  • Cold River Press presents Poetry in Locke, a reading featuring readers from Voices 2022: Fantasies, Demons & Lovers, with poets D.R. Wagner, dave boles, Sue Daly, Sharon Mahany, Sandra Tanhauser, Patti Santucci, Diana Funston, Roger Funston, Paul Aponte, Beatrice Pizer, Stanley Zumbiel, Ann Wehrman, Joan Goodreau, Olga Browne, Joe Nolan, Tim Kahl, Lelania Fowler, Jeanine Stevens, Lara Gularte, Chris Olander, Ed Balldinger, Jennifer Pickering, Vicki Carroll, and Todd Boyd, come for a day of poetry, music, BBQ, cornhole tournament, and potluck, all proceeds benefit the Locke Foundation, Locke Community Garden, Locke, free, Noon-6:00 pm PDT

2 OCTOBER 2022 — sunday

  • Bazaar Writers Salon presents a reading by poet Kim Addonizio, Now We're Getting Somewhere, short fiction writer Mark Labowskie, poet Tess Taylor, The Misremembered World, and poet Brian Tierney, Rise and Float, winner of the 2021 Jake Adam York Prize, hosted by Peter Kline, Bazaar Café, 5927 California Street, San Francisco, free, 6:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/BazaarWritersSalon)
  • Omnidawn presents "Breaking the Bowl," a new writing course led by poet David Koehn, Scatterplot, focusing on breaking formal traditions in poetry, the course runs four weeks, September 11-October 2, and features a different special guest each week, this week features poet Ruth Ellen Kocher, domina Un/blued, winner of the PEN Open Book Award, sliding scale $750-$1000, online, classes are split into two sections, with section one running 11:00 am-Noon PDT and section two running 1:00-2:00 pm PDT (Enroll here by Thursday, September 8: www.omnidawn.com/breaking-the-bowl-a-new-organic-forms-class-led-by-david-koehn)

3 OCTOBER 2022 — monday

  • Odd Mondays presents a reading from three members of the Bay Area Queer Writers Association, short story writers Michael Alenyikov, Ivan and Misha,
  • Rivertown Poets presents a reading by featured poets Judy Wells, Dear Phebe: The Dickinson Sisters Go West, and Dale Jensen, Some Coffeehouse Poems, followed by an open mic, three-minutes per reader, online via Zoom, free, 6:15 pm PDT (RSVP to attend/sign up for the open mic: www.facebook.com/RivertownPoetsAMuseingMondays)

4 OCTOBER 2022 — tuesday

  • City Lights Books presents poet James Cagney, Black Steel Magnolias in the Hour of Chaos Theory, reading from his new book, Martian: The Saint of Loneliness, published by Nomadic Press and winner of the 2021 Academy of American Poets James Laughlin Award, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
  • Cobalt Poets presents an all-open reading with guest emcee poet and novelist Jon Wesick, Words of Power, Dances of Freedom, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)

5 OCTOBER 2022 — wednesday

  • Bird & Beckett Books and Records presents Avotcja, poet and prose writer, musician, and storyteller, celebrating her new book, With Every Step I Take 2, an expanded edition of her poetry and prose selected works, from Taurean Horn Press, joined by master percussionist Val Serrant, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco, free, donations welcome, 6:30 pm PDT (More information here: birdbeckett.com)

6 OCTOBER 2022 — thursday

  • The Poetry Center presents a reading featuring poet and Mazza Writer in Residence Ari Banias, A Symmetry, winner of the 2021 Publishing Triangle Award for Trans & Gender Variant Literature, joined by poet and artist Demian Dinéyazhi', in conjunction with the exhibition Beyond Binary, Fine Arts Gallery, 238 Fine Arts Building, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, free, 1:00-2:00 pm PDT (More information here: poetry.sfsu.edu/mazza-writer-residence-ari-banias-and-demian-dineyazhi-beyond-binary)
  • Green Apple Books presents short story writer May-Lee Chai, Useful Phrases for Immigrants, winner of the American Book Award, discussing her new collection, Tomorrow in Shanghai, which explores the Chinese diaspora in America and the world, in conversation with short story writer C Pam Zhang, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, winner of the Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Award, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.greenapplebooks.com/event/virtual-event-may-lee-chai-c-pam-zhang)
  • City Lights Books presents fiction writer Jonathan Escoffery, recipient of the 2020 Plimpton Prize for Fiction and the 2020 ASME Award for Fiction, discussing his new book, If I Survive You, a powerful collection of connected, generational stories, in conversation with novelist Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea, winner of the Heartland Fiction Prize, in person, Kerouac Alley, between City Lights and Vesuvio Café, between Columbus and Grant Avenues, San Francisco, free, 6:00 pm PDT (More information here: citylights.com/events)
  • Lunch Poems, a monthly noontime reading series, features poet Jake Sheets, Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers, winner of the National Poetry Series, American Book Award, and Whiting Award, Morrison Library, 101 Library Ct., University of California campus, Berkeley, free, 12:10-12:50 pm PDT (More information here: www.lib.berkeley.edu/visit/lunch-poems)
  • 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 poet and publisher Kit Robinson, Determination, online via Zoom, free, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsceyrrDwrEtHr06pb8qItOsP9H6jP2mvq)
  • Litquake 2022 kicks off with its first ever Literary Night Market, featuring vendors such as the Friends of the SF Public Library bookstore and Groove Merchant, and food and beverages from Marin French Cheese, Semifreddi's, Ghia, Zaddy's, and more, come mingle with authors and others from the lit scene, The Dairy, Old Mason Street, San Francisco, $25 advance, $30 at the door, 6:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • Poetry Night Reading Series presents William O'Daly, poet and translator, four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, author of The Whale in the Web among other collections, and poet and educator Stan Zumbiel, followed by an open mic reading, four-minutes per reader, on the roof of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street, Davis, , free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/events/1497308254043179/?source=6&ref_notif_type=plan_user_invited&action_history=null)

7 OCTOBER 2022 — friday

  • Blue Light at the Gallery presents a reading featuring poets Sarah McKinstry-Brown, This Bright Darkness, Dana Cervine, The World Is God's Language, and writer and dancer Blake More, host of the poetry show Cartwheels on the Sky, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (RSVP to bluelightpress@aol.com for the Zoom link)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with best-selling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents "Tlacuilx: Tongues in Quarantine," a reading by the writers of Poetry Project 1521, featuring Linda Ravenswood, Yago Cura, Adolfo Guzman Lopez, Darren de Leon, and Sara Harris, reading from the contemporary poetry collection Tlacuilx: Tongues of Quarantine, published by HINCHAS Press, 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)

8 OCTOBER 2022 — saturday

  • The Poetry Center presents a reading by poet Ari Banias, Mazza Writer in Residence and author of A Symmetry, winner of the 2021 Publishing Triangle Award for Trans & Gender Variant Literature, and poet Brandon Som, The Tribute Horse, winner of the 2015 Kate Tufts Discovery Award, Medicine for Nightmares Boostore and Gallery, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 3:00-4:30 pm PDT (More information here: poetry.sfsu.edu/mazza-writer-residence-ari-banias-and-brandon-som-medicine-nightmares)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents a reading featuring poets Molly Bendall, Watchful, and Karen Kevorkian, Quivira, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, 8:00-9:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents three Los Angeles-based fiction writers, journalist and novelist Victoria Namkung, These Violent Delights, poet Charles Harper Webb, Sidebend World, and novelist Rodrigo Ribera d'Ebre, The Displaced, in conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Rex Weiner, host of the interview series I Read Your Book And…, followed by a Q&A with the audience and a book signing, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)

9 OCTOBER 2022 — sunday

  • Medicine for Nightmares presents acclaimed poet, musician, and storyteller Avotcja, celebrating her new book of poetry With Every Step I Take 2, joined by her special guest Jorge Molina, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore and Gallery, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 6:00-7:30 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
  • City Lights Books presents Ericka Huggins, activist, former political prisoner, and leader of the Black Panther Party, celebrating her new book, Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party, a collection of powerful stories about the remarkable women who built communities and enacted social justice as part of the Black Panther Parties, joining Huggins is photographer Stephen Shames, whose intimate, behind-the-scenes photographs are featured in the book, in person, Kerouac Alley, between City Lights Books, 291 Columbus Avenue, and Grant Avenue, San Francisco, free, 6:00 pm PDT (More information here: citylights.com/events)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)

10 OCTOBER 2022 — monday

  • Point Reyes Books presents Russian novelist Vladimir Sorokin, discussing his newly translated books, Their Four Hearts, short-listed for the Russian Booker Prize, and Telluria, in conversation with his translator Max Lawton, Dance Palace, 503 B Street, Point Reyes Station, free, donations welcome, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/vladimir-sorokin)

11 OCTOBER 2022 — tuesday

  • Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet Briana Muñoz, Loose Lips, with open mic to follow, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • The San Francisco Public Library presents its monthly poetry and music open mic, On the Page, Off the Page, come to listen or to perform, Park Meeting Room, 1833 Page Street, San Francisco, free, 6:00-7:45 PDT (More information here: sfpl.org/events/2022/10/11/performance-page-page)
  • Medicine for Nightmares presents an evening of poetry featuring Truong Tran, Book of the Other, winner of the American Book Award, Achy Obejas, Boomerang/Bumerán, and Juliana Spahr, That Winter the Wolf Came, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore and Gallery, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)

12 OCTOBER 2022 — wednesday

  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)

13 OCTOBER 2022 — thursday

  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • The Mechanics' Institute presents "Hidden Stories: Illuminating the Marginalized in Historical Fiction," panel discussion; four writers of historical fiction give voice to the long-silent marginalized people of the past and discuss their inspiration and in-depth understanding for their historical fiction, featuring Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte, Betrayal on the Bayou, Diana Giovinazzo, The Woman in Red, Connie Matsumoto, Of White Ashes, and Mary Volmer, Reliance, Illinois, moderated by Gini Grossenbacher, Glimpses, co-presented with the Women's National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, online via Zoom, free, Noon-1:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.milibrary.org/events/hidden-stories-illuminating-marginalized-historical-fiction-oct-13-2022)
  • Poem Jam, a monthly reading series hosted by San Francisco Poet Laureate emerita Kim Shuck, Exile Heart, this month featuring Paul Corman-Roberts, poet and founder of Beast Crawl, and other special guests, in person, Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A, Main Library, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, free, 6:00-7:15 pm PDT (More information here: sfpl.org/events/2022/09/08/performance-kim-shucks-poem-jam-celebrates-body-autonomy-part-2)

14 OCTOBER 2022 — friday

  • Studio Morey presents a homecoming reading and gallery reopening, featuring poets and authors Tongo Eisen-Martin, Heaven Is All Goodbyes, Cassandra Dallett, K.R. Morrison, Jennifer Lewis, Peter Thomas Bullen, Elisa Salasin, Sara Biel, Keith Gaboury, Tomas Moniz, Liz Cahill, Heidi Kasa, Miah Jeffra, Richard Loranger, Lisa Martinovic, Hugh Behm-Steinberg, Melissa Anderson, Garrett Murphy, Tracy Artson, Loria Mendoza, Riley O'Connell, Kimi Sugioka, and Matthew Zapruder, followed by an open mic reading, with musical performances by Punk Funk Mob, hosted by poet Hollie Hardy and Donald Morey, artist and owner of Studio Morey, $5-20 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds, Studio Morey, 5500 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, 4:00-9:30 pm PDT (More information here: www.holliehardy.com/events/homecoming-10-14-22)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)

15 OCTOBER 2022 — saturday

  • Book launch for Born Under the Influence by Andrena Zawinski, her fourth full length poetry collection, with musical performance by guitarist Julia Carrasquero, an open mic reading will precede Zawinski's presentation, Clarion Performing Arts Center, 2 Waverly Place, San Francisco, free, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.theclarionsf.org/events/andrena-zawinskis-poetry-book-launch)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents award-winning poet Peter J. Harris, Bless the Ashes, winner of the 2015 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, celebrating the launch of his new collection, SongAgain, reading alongside Harris are poets S. Pearl Sharp and Gloria Alvarez, with musical performances by Nailah Porter and Curtis Robertson Jr., Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)
  • Join essayist Isidra Mencos as she celebrates her debut book, Promenade of Desire, a rich memoir about the author's life growing up in 1960s Spain, her activism, sexual awakening, and her search for intimacy in the aftermath of a repressive dictatorship, in person, Orinda Books, 276 Village Square, Orinda, free, 2:00 pm PDT
  • Red Light Lit presents a reading celebrating writer and editor Jennifer Lewis' debut short story collection, The New Low, published by Nomadic Press, joining Lewis are writers Peter Bullen, Hollie Hardy, Miah Jeffra, Kar Johnson, Loria Mendoza, Monique Mero, Christine No, and Sarah Bethe Nelson, with musical score by Nick Jaina and musical guest Zero Charisma, The Make-out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/events/1437662290046871/?source=6&ref_notif_type=plan_user_invited&action_history=null)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • The San Francisco Public Library presents the 6th Filipino American International Book Festival, featuring a talk by Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, and keynotes by Gina Apostol, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Meredith Talusan, come for readings, book signings, and workshops with over forty Filipino writers, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, free, 1:00 pm PDT (More information here: filbookfestival.org)
  • Strawberry Creek Walk, led by Nevada County Poet Laureate emerita Chris Olander, poetry and nature talk, on an easy walk along beautiful Strawberry Creek, meet at
  • Celebrate Writers, Nature & Community at the 27th annual Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, in-person poetry and music alongside the Berkeley Farmers' Market, speakers to be announced, to sign up for the We Are Nature Open Mic, email with WATERSHED OPEN MIC in the subject heading, to exhibit, email for arrangements, Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley, free, Noon-4:30 pm PDT (510/525-5476; To sign up for open mic or to exhibit, email: info@poetryflash.org; for more information: Poetryflash.org)

16 OCTOBER 2022 — sunday

  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • The San Francisco Public Library presents the 6th Filipino American International Book Festival, featuring a talk by Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, and keynotes by Gina Apostol, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Merdeith Talusan, come for readings, book signings, and workshops with over forty Filipino writers, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, free, 1:00 pm PDT (More information here: filbookfestival.org)

17 OCTOBER 2022 — monday

18 OCTOBER 2022 — tuesday

  • City Lights Books presents a reading and discussion with short story writer Amina Cain and writer and photographer Giada Scodellaro, with their new books, A Horse at Night and Some of Them Will Carry Me, respectively, both published by the Dorothy Project, an award-winning feminist press, the evening will be moderated by writer and artist Renee Gladman, Event Factory, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
  • Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet C.C. Arshagra, The Open Mike Poems, with open mic to follow, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
  • The Center for Literary Arts of San Jose presents a reading by Jacqueline Woodson, writer of books for adults and children, winner of the 2022 Steinbeck Award and the National Book Award for her memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, Student Union Theatre, 149-157 S. 9th Street, San Jose, free, 7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.clasanjose.org/jacqueline-woodson)
  • Fabulosa Books presents children's book author and editor Cheryl Klein, The Magic Words, discussing her new memoir, Crybaby: Infertility, Illness, and Other Things That Were Not the End of the World, in conversation with fiction writer Miah Jeffra, The Violence Almanac, Fabulosa Books, 489 Castro Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.fabulosabooks.com/eventsart.html)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • Bookshop Santa Cruz presents best-selling novelist Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere, celebrating her new book, Our Missing Hearts, a suspenseful story of the unshakeable love between a mother and child, in conversation with poet Ellen Bass, Indigo, Cowell Ranch Historic Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, $33, tickets include a copy of the book, 7:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/celeste-ng)
  • "Principled Unity Tour 2022," a conversation between two author-activists, Hy Thurman, co-founder of the Young Patriots Organization and author of Revolutionary Hillbilly: Notes From the Struggle at the Edge of the Rainbow, and Kwame Shakur, My Search for Answers, Truth and Meaning, introduced by author and organizer James Tracy, The Green Arcade, 1680 Market Street, San Francisco, free, 6:30 pm PDT (More information here: thegreenarcade.com)

19 OCTOBER 2022 — wednesday

  • Lyrics & Dirges presents an evening of horror-inspired readings and discussion, featuring poets Kevin Dublin, Nazelah Jamison, Evolutionary Heart, and Keith Donnell Jr., The Move, hosted by poets M.K. Chavez and Sharon Coleman, online, free, 7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.facebook.com/lyricsdirges)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • Aunt Lute Books presents a special 40th anniversary reading, featuring authors Julián Delgado Lopera, Fiebre Tropical, winner of the 2021 Ferro Grumley Award, Ginny Z. Berson, Olivia on the Record, Foreword INDIES 2020 Silver Award Winner in LGBTQ+ Nonfiction, ire'ne lara silva, furia, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Opening to Darkness, and Verónica Sandoval, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/aunt-lutes-40th-anniversary-reading-tickets-419983250207)
  • Bookshop Santa Cruz presents best-selling author Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, discussing her new book, Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions, Cowell Ranch Historic Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, $34, tickets include a copy of the book, 7:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/temple-grandin)

20 OCTOBER 2022 — thursday

  • Grand Piano TV presents a series of live readings and performances, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the final publication 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 poet and playwright Carla Harryman, Adorno's Noise, online via Zoom, free, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsceyrrDwrEtHr06pb8qItOsP9H6jP2mvq)
  • Bookshop West Portal presents fiction writer Naseem Jamnia, reading from and discussing their debut novel, The Bruising of Qilwa, a fantasy introducing a queernormative Persian-inspired world, in conversation with science fiction writer and essayist Charlie Jane Anders, Never Say You Can't Survive, Bookshop West Portal, 80 W Portal Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.bookshopwestportal.com/event/naseem-jamnia-bruising-qilwa-conversation-charlie-jane-anders)
  • Award-winning author Joan Frank, Where You're All Going: Four Novellas, winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction, reads from and discusses two new books, Late Work, a literary autobiography in essays, and Juniper Street, a novel, winner of the C&R Press 2021 Fiction Award, audience Q&A and book signing will follow, Copperfield's Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.copperfieldsbooks.com/event/joan-frank-1)
  • The Green Arcade presents a reading from the novel My Blue Coiling Snake, My Empty Room, by writer and artist Lynn Crawford (d. 2017), posthumously published by her longtime partner Ellen Leonard through Clover Heights Publishing, Leonard will be joined by some of Lynn Crawford's friends for a reading in celebration of her life and work, McRoskey Mattress Co., Third Floor, 1687 Market Street, San Francisco, free, 6:30 pm PDT (More information here: thegreenarcade.com)
  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)
  • Fabulosa Books presents novelist K.M. Soehnlein, The World of Normal Boys, winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Fiction, discussing his new book, Army of Lovers, in conversation with author Jesse Ataide, Queer Modernisms, offsite at Strut, 470 Castro Street, San Francisco, free/suggested donation $5-$10, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.fabulosabooks.com/eventsart.html)
  • Poets & Writers presents the Third Thursday Poetry and Jazz Reading Series, featuring improv jazz by the Original Ensemble, a small jazz combo made up of a guitar, bass, and drums, plus visiting musicians, followed by a featured reading by a visiting poet TBA, and an open mic, Arena Market & Café, 185 Main Street, Point Arena, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.bmoreyou.net/event/third-thursday-poetry-jazz-8)

21 OCTOBER 2022 — friday

  • Litquake continues with a multitude of readings, panel discussions, and literary performances, on an array of topics such as poetry, short fiction, fantasy and science fiction, comedy, literary translation, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers, films, and publishing, with bestselling authors including Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ericka Huggins, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Diana Kapp, Greg Sarris, Charlie Jane Anders, Avotcja, Jacqueline Woodson, Vanessa Hua, and many more, in various venues around San Francisco, both free and ticketed events (More information here: www.litquake.org)

22 OCTOBER 2022 — saturday

  • The Ina Coolbrith Circle presents a reading celebrating Yearning to Breathe Free: A Community Journal of 2020, featuring poet and human rights advocate Mary Susan Gast, editor of the newspaper column "Going the Distance," and poet and critic Mary Eichbauer, Poetry's Self-Portrait: The Visual Arts as Mirror and Muse in René Char and John Ashbery, followed by an open mic, hosted by Deborah Schmidt, online via Zoom, free, 2:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.coolpoetry.org/meetings.html)
  • Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center presents poet Cynthia Guardado, Endeavor, reading and discussing her new collection, Cenizas, joining Guardado are poets Andrés Sanchez, This Body, and Xochitl-Julissa Bermejo, Posada: Offerings of Witness and Refuge, with music by Lillyflor del Valle, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, 7:00-10:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)
  • Fourth Saturdays Reading Series presents poets Ron Koertge, The Ogre's Wife, Olympusville, and Katrinka Moore, Diminuendo, Claremont Helen Renwick Library, 208 N. Harvard Avenue, Claremont, free, 2:00 pm PDT
  • Litquake 2022 concludes with Lit Crawl SF, the world's largest literary pub crawl, in an array of venues throughout San Francisco's Mission District; Highlights of Phase 1: 5:00 pm PDT, The Chapel, 777 Valencia Street: "Poets Crawleate: Bay Area Poet Laureates Represent!," celebrates Bay Area poet laureates Tongo Eisen-Martin (San Francisco), Tshaka Menelik Imhotep Campbell (Santa Clara County), Aileen Cassinetto (San Mateo County), Jen Siraganian (Los Gatos), and former laureate Maw Shein Win (El Cerrito); Highlights of Phase 2: 6:30 pm PDT, Stage Werx, 446 Valencia Street: "Manic D Press Reunion," featuring a dozen literary stars from one of San Francisco's legendary underground publishers; 6:30 pm PDT, Dog Eared Books, 900 Valencia Street: Reading hosted by ZYZZYVA, A San Francisco Journal of Arts & Letters, winner of the 2022 NCBR Recognition Award, featuring past contributors Dana Johnson, Lucy Corin, Vanessa Hua, Michael Jaime-Becerra, and Dean Radar; Highlights of Phase 3: 8:00 pm PDT, Medicine For Nightmares, 3036 24th Street: AGNI celebrates its 50th year in print, featuring Marilyn Abildskov, Abby Caplin, David Goguen, and Shruti Swamy; all Lit Crawl events free, 5:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.litquake.org)

23 OCTOBER 2022 — sunday

  • Join California Poets in the Schools for a community open mic reading, open to anyone age fourteen or over, three-minutes per reader, open mic slots are first come, first serve, with readings by featured poets TBA, come to read or to listen, online via Zoom, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (Register/sign up for the open mic: www.californiapoets.org/events/virtual-open-mic-6)
  • Small Press Traffic presents a conversation with Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro, writer and translator, editor of Dream of Europe: selected seminars and interviews: 1984-1992 and recipient of the Anne Waldman Fellowship in 2019; Castro will respond to ideas about the personal equation, poetry, appearance, and perspective, online, free, 11:00 am PDT (RSVP to attend: www.smallpresstraffic.org/upcomingevents/mayra-rodriguez-castro)
  • Beatnik Café presents a night of poetry featuring Bill Ratner, Fear of Fish, and Marc Olmsted, What Use Am I a Hungry Ghost?, followed by an open mic reading, three-minutes per reader, hosted by Hanna Pachman, in person at the tea café Hey Hey, 1555 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/events/1640666163020121)

24 OCTOBER 2022 — monday

  • Bird & Beckett Books and Records presents biographer and novelist Hilary Holladay, discussing her new book, The Power of Adrienne Rich, about the life and writings of influential poet and feminist Adrienne Rich (1929-2012), in conversation with researcher and editor Tate Swindell, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: birdbeckett.com)
  • Skylight Books presents poet and short story writer Bojan Louis, Currents, winner of the American Book Award, discussing his new collection of stories, Sinking Bell, in conversation with writer and musician J.J. Anselmi, Out Here on Our Own, Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-bojan-louis-presents-sinking-bell-jj-anselmi)

25 OCTOBER 2022 — tuesday

26 OCTOBER 2022 — wednesday

27 OCTOBER 2022 — thursday

  • Writers Read Ukiah presents a reading featuring poet Armand Brint, first Poet Laureate of Ukiah, recipient of a Jane Reichhold International Haiku Prize, and author of In the Name of Wonder, Brint's reading will be 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)
  • Book Passage presents award-winning author Joan Frank, Where You're All Going: Four Novellas, winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction, reading from and discussing two new books, Late Work, a literary autobiography in essays, and Juniper Street, a novel, winner of the C&R Press 2021 Fiction Award, Book Passage, 51 Tama Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, free, 6:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.bookpassage.com/event/joan-frank-late-work-juniper-street-corte-madera-store)
  • Left Margin Lit presents the workshop "When Life Gives You Lemons: Embracing Cliché," led by poet Shara Lessley, The Explosive Expert's Wife, winner of the Sheila Margaret Motton Book Prize, attendees of the workshop will examine cliché as a generative resource and inspiration, as well as how to reevaluate language and make what is old new again, two Thursdays, October 27 and November 3, online via Zoom, $195, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.leftmarginlit.org/when-life-gives-you-lemons-lessley)
  • City Lights Books presents poet J. Estanislao Lopez, discussing his new collection, We Borrowed Gentleness, in conversation with poet and editor Kaveh Akbar, Pilgrim Bell, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
  • Beyond Baroque presents a reading by two Los Angeles-based indie presses, SunFlower Station and Not A Cult, featuring poets Sheila J. Sadr, Alexandra Jade, Tori Gesualdo, Edwin Bodney, A Study of Hands, and Paasha Motamedi, with a DJ set by DJ Ghosthouse, in-person and livestreamed on YouTube, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)

28 OCTOBER 2022 — friday

  • Westside Sparkling presents "A Flight of Poets," an evening of poetry paired with sparkling wines, featuring poet and translator Brenda Hillman, In A Few Minutes Before Later, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, Time and Materals, winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and poet Iris Jamahl Dunkle, West: Fire: Archive, Westside Sparkling, 14210 Bacchus Landing Way, Healdsburg, $55, each ticket includes the wine tasting, a charcuterie box, and a choice of a signed copy of Hillman, Hass, or Dunkle's book, 5:30-7:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.exploretock.com/bacchuslanding/event/364494/a-flight-of-poets-featuring-brenda-hillman-robert-hass-iris-jamahl-dunkle-and-westside-sparklingc)
  • Join poet Ellen Bass, Indigo for the fifth series of Living Room Craft Talks, a series of talks exploring the craft of poetry with a different guest poet each week, with guest appearances from Ada Limón, recently named U.S. Poet Laureate and author of The Hurting Kind, Chris Abani, Smoking the Bible, Diane Seuss, Frank: Sonnets, Donika Kelly, The Renunciations, Naomi Shihab Nye, The Tiny Journalist, and Jane Hirshfield, Ledger, each week focuses on a different subject of poetry and teaches practical techniques that students can integrate into their own writing, online, runs six weeks, October 28-December 9, with a break on November 25, $300, full and partial scholarships available for BIPOC writers and those with financial needs, 9:00-11:15 am PDT (Register to attend: www.ellenbass.com/events/living-room-craft-talks-the-fifth-series/?mc_cid=7ca5cf6540&mc_eid=65eb098795)

29 OCTOBER 2022 — saturday

  • Point Reyes Books presents award-winning poets Brenda Hillman, Practical Water, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Poetry, and Robert Hass, Time and Materials, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, reading and discussing Hillman's new collection, In a Few Minutes Before Later, in person, Dance Palace, 503 B Street, Point Reyes Station, free, 4:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/brenda-hillman-and-robert-hass)
  • Join essayist Isidra Mencos as she celebrates her debut book, Promenade of Desire, a rich memoir about the author's life growing up in 1960s Spain, and her activism, sexual awakening, and search for intimacy in the aftermath of a repressive dictatorship, with a reading and Q&A with Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, followed by a salsa lesson with Felipe EldelaClave and party with DJ Luis Medina, in person, The Beat Dance Studio, 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 119, Berkeley, free, 7:30-10:30 pm PDT

30 OCTOBER 2022 — sunday

31 OCTOBER 2022 — monday


< previous month  |  next month >

© 1972-2021 Poetry Flash. All rights reserved.  |