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9 AUGUST 2023 — wednesday

  • Point Reyes Books presents poet and translator David Hinton, Hunger Mountain, discussing his latest translation, The Way of Ch'an: Essential Texts of the Original Translation, a collection of translations about the development of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism, in conversation with Jon Joseph, practice leader of San Mateo Zen, co-presented with the Pacific Zen Institute, online via Zoom, free, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/david-hinton-jon-joseph)

10 AUGUST 2023 — thursday

  • Green Apple Books presents novelist Alexandra Chang, Days of Distraction, named a best book of the year by NPR and , The Washington Post,, reading from her new short story collection, Tomb Sweeping, in conversation with short story writer Shruti Swamy, A House Is a Body, finalist for the PEN/Bingham Prize, Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 9th Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.greenapplebooks.com/event/9th-ave-alexandra-chang-shruti-swamy)
  • City Lights Books celebrates the publication of Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems, by surrealist poet Joyce Mansour (1928-1986), featuring Emilie Moorhouse, translator of the book, in conversation with Garrett Caples, poet and publisher at City Lights Books, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
  • The Mechanics' Institute presents poet, activist, and child Holocaust survivor Irena Klepfisz, celebrating her latest collection Her Birth and Later Years: New and Collected Poems, 1971-2021, finalist for the Jewish Book Award and winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry, and the inspiration for the play Between Worlds, in conversation with scriptwriter and actor Naomi Newman and director Bruce Bierman, in a discussion about how poetry is translated to the stage, hosted by Laura Sheppard, Director of Events at the Mechanics' Institute, online via Zoom, free, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.milibrary.org/events/between-worlds-page-stage-aug-10-2023)
  • The San Francisco Public Library presents Poem Jam, a monthly reading hosted by Kim Shuck, San Francisco Poet Laureate emerita and author of What Unseen Thing Blows Wishes Across My Surface?, this month featuring writers from the Older Writers Laboratory (OWLS), Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A, Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, free, 6:00 pm-7:15 pm PDT (More information here: sfpl.org/events/2023/08/10/performance-kim-shucks-poem-jam)

11 AUGUST 2023 — friday

  • Sacramento Poetry Center presents Poetry in the Park, featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Andru Defeye, hosted by poet Diamond Key, co-sponsored by the First Church of Poetry, Fremont Park, 16th and Q, Sacramento, free, 6:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/sacpoetrycenter)

12 AUGUST 2023 — saturday

  • Small Press Traffic presents Gallery Sessions, an informal talk in conjunction with What are words worth?, McEvoy Arts' exhibition that explores the written and spoken word, featuring novelist, poet, and essayist Dodie Bellamy, Bee Reaved, The Letters of Mina Harker, in conversation with Amanda Nudelman, McEvoy Arts exhibitions and public programs curator, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, 1150 25th Street, Building B, San Francisco, free, 3:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.smallpresstraffic.org)
  • Sacramento Poetry Alliance presents readers from the anthology Old Age & Young Hearts, featuring Judie Rae, Howling Down the Moon, Donna Meares, Susan Solinsky, Susan Warden, and Ellen Reynard, Double Stream, Sacramento Poetry Alliance, 1169 Perkins Way, Sacramento, free, 4:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/sacramentopoetryalliance)
  • Fiction writer and poet Terry Tierney reads from his new novel, The Bridge on Beer River, Orinda Books, 276 Village Square, Orinda, free, 2:00 pm PDT (Registration required: www.eventbrite.com/e/terry-tierney-author-of-the-bridge-on-beer-river-tickets-682468540777?aff=erelpanelorg)

13 AUGUST 2023 — sunday

  • Second Sunday Readings presents poets Lisa Turner, Joanna Fuhrman, Francesca Bell, What Small Sound, hosted by curator Siân Killingsworth, online via Zoom, registration is free and required for attendance, 3:00 pm PDT (More information here: secondsundayreadings.com)

14 AUGUST 2023 — monday

15 AUGUST 2023 — tuesday

  • Cobalt Poets presents a reading with poet, actor, and translator Hélène Cardona, Life in Suspension, winner of the 2020 Independent Press Award and finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award and Julie Suk Award, followed by an open mic, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
  • Mrs. Dalloway's presents novelist Richard Kluger, Ashes to Ashes, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, reading and discussing his new novel, Hamlet's Children, in conversation with Steve Wasserman, publisher of Heyday, a Berkeley-based nonprofit independent press, book signing will follow the reading, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7:00-8:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.mrsdalloways.com/events/richard-kluger-his-new-novel-hamlets-children)
  • City Lights Books presents novelist Micheline Aharonian Marcom, The New American, and artist Fowzia Karimi, Above Us the Milky Way, celebrating the publication of small pieces, a collaboration between the two, featuring side-by-side text and image, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)

16 AUGUST 2023 — wednesday

  • Yiddish Theatre Ensemble presents Between Worlds, a play based on the life and poetry of Irena Klepfisz, a Jewish lesbian poet and activist, author of A Few Words in the Mother Tongue: Poems Selected and New, among others, the play is written by Naomi Newman, directed and choreographed by Bruce Bierman, and features actors Diana Bukowska, Aviya Hernstadt, Ariel Luckey, and Naomi Newman, with musicians Barbara Borden and Susanne DiVincenzo, Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, general admission $30, students $20, 8:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2948)
  • Sixteen Rivers Press presents a reading with poet Matthew M. Monte, All Tomorrow's Train Rides, hosted by Sacred Grounds, online, free, 6:45 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.facebook.com/groups/203539673028715)

17 AUGUST 2023 — thursday

  • Yiddish Theatre Ensemble presents Between Worlds, a play based on the life and poetry of Irena Klepfisz, a Jewish lesbian poet and activist, author of A Few Words in the Mother Tongue: Poems Selected and New, among others, the play is written by Naomi Newman, directed and choreographed by Bruce Bierman, and features actors Diana Bukowska, Aviya Hernstadt, Ariel Luckey, and Naomi Newman, with musicians Barbara Borden and Susanne DiVincenzo, Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, general admission $30, students $20, 8:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2948)
  • Poetry Night Reading Series features award-winning biographer and poet Iris Jamahl Dunkle, former Poet Laureate of Sonoma County and author of Geographies and Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer, and other books, hosted by Davis Poet Laureate Dr. Andy Jones, John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st Street, Davis, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.natsoulas.com/poetry-night)
  • Medicine for Nightmares presents Speaking Axolotl, a monthly Latinx/Chicanx reading series every third Thursday of the month, featuring poet and spoken word artist José Jiménez, hosted by poet Josiah Luis Alderete, Baby Axolotls & Old Pochos, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
  • Farah Karim-Cooper, author of The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking about Race, in conversation with Dr. Phillippa Kelly, resident dramaturg for Cal Shakes; this event is a hybrid event, in the store and on Zoom, a portion of sales benefit Cal Shakes, Orinda Books, 276 Village Square, Orinda, free, 5:30 pm PDT (Registration required: www.eventbrite.com/e/farah-karim-cooper-author-of-the-great-white-bard-and-phillippa-kelly-tickets-674009028147?aff=erelpanelorg)

18 AUGUST 2023 — friday

19 AUGUST 2023 — saturday

  • Poetry in Chinatown series presents a reading featuring Tony Aldarondo, Big Heart Poet, and Karen Poppy, Diving at the Lip of the Water, open mic reading before and after the featured poets, Clarion Performing Arts Center, 2 Waverly Place, San Francisco, free, 1:00-3:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.theclarionsf.org/events/3rd-saturday-poetry-in-chinatown-7)
  • Yiddish Theatre Ensemble presents Between Worlds, a play based on the life and poetry of Irena Klepfisz, a Jewish lesbian poet and activist, author of A Few Words in the Mother Tongue: Poems Selected and New, among others, the play is written by Naomi Newman, directed and choreographed by Bruce Bierman, and features actors Diana Bukowska, Aviya Hernstadt, Ariel Luckey, and Naomi Newman, with musicians Barbara Borden and Susanne DiVincenzo, Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, general admission $30, student tickets $20, 8:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2948)
  • Marin Poetry Center presents the Summer Traveling Show, with readings by Lonner Holden, Maxine Flasher-Düzgüneş, Jan Seagrave, Gabrielle Rilleau, Elizabeth Underwood, Gail Entrekin, and Laurel Feigenbaum, hosted by Mark Meierding, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, 616 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, free, 2:30-3:45 pm PDT (More information here: marinpoetrycenter.org/events)
  • Marin Poetry Center presents their Summer Traveling Show 2023, featuring poets

20 AUGUST 2023 — sunday

  • Yiddish Theatre Ensemble presents Between Worlds, a play based on the life and poetry of Irena Klepfisz, a Jewish lesbian poet and activist, author of A Few Words in the Mother Tongue: Poems Selected and New, among others, the play is written by Naomi Newman, directed and choreographed by Bruce Bierman, and features actors Diana Bukowska, Aviya Hernstadt, Ariel Luckey, and Naomi Newman, with musicians Barbara Borden and Susanne DiVincenzo, Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, general admission $30, students $20, 2:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2948)
  • City Lights Books presents the 70th Anniversary Poetry Reading, celebrating seventy years of this landmark bookstore, featuring some of the Bay Area's best poets, including Micah Ballard, Chris Carosi, Garrett Caples, Neeli Cherkovski, Norma Cole, Gillian Conoley, Tiff Dressen, Nadia Elbgal, Agneta Falk Hirschman, erica lewis, Randall Mann, Alexandra Mattraw, Alejandro Murguía, Achy Obeyas, Julien Poirier, Sam Sax, Janaka Stucky, Tate Swindell, Sunnylyn Thibodeaux, Preeti Vangani, Michael Warr, and Chun Yu, emceed by Peter Maravelis, with musical accompaniment by Sheldon Brown, Kerouac Alley, between Grant and Columbus Avenues, San Francisco, free, 1:00 pm PDT (More information here: citylights.com/events)
  • Clarion Performing Arts Center presents the Open Mic Music and Talent Showcase, an open mic performance featuring music and poetry, bring a song or a poem to perform and share your talents, or come to listen and appreciate, Clarion Performing Arts Center, 2 Waverly Place, San Francisco, pay what you can, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.theclarionsf.org/events/open-mic-music-talent-showcase-14)
  • Medicine for Nightmares presents poet Dani Gabriel, celebrating the release of their new book, In the Middle of All This Living, from Pochino Press, joined by poets Ananda Esteva and David Flores, Poet Laureate of Richmond, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 2:00-3:30 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
  • Rumi's Caravan, an improvised poetic conversation with music, featuring Doug Von Koss, Larry Robinson, Kay Crista, Rebecca Evert, Maya Spector, Barry Spector, quoting from the works of Rumi, Hafiz, Mary Oliver, Kabir, Wendell Berry, Pablo Neruda, Nikki Giovanni, Robert Bly, W.B. Yeats, Naomi Shehab Nye, William Stafford, Maya Angelou, Leonard Cohen, Seamus Heaney, Denise Levertov, Antonio Machado, Rainier Maria Rilke, May Sarton, and others, with musicians Don Fontavitz and Jason Parmar, all proceeds from tonight's performance will support the work of the Middle East Children's Alliance (www.mecaforpeace.org); The Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, advance tickets $25, tickets at the door $25 plus fees, 7:30 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: secure.thefreight.org/12750/rumis-caravan; For more information: www.rumiscaravan.com)

21 AUGUST 2023 — monday

  • Sacramento Poetry Center presents a reading featuring Daniel Kemper, So Strange: Loving and Un-loving, and Silas Wanje, Addicted to Strangers, followed by an open mic, Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th Street, Sacramento, free, 7:30 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/sacpoetrycenter)

22 AUGUST 2023 — tuesday

23 AUGUST 2023 — wednesday

  • The Benicia Public Library presents local author and artist Nikki Basch Davis, discussing her new memoir, The Second Scar, a powerful account of her family in Latvia as their lives were upended by Nazi invaders and Soviet occupation, as they, along with millions of other Jewish families, fled the Baltic states, Doña Benicia Room, Benicia Public Library, 150 East L Street, Benicia, free, 7:00 pm PDT
  • Skylight Books presents short story writer Kate Doyle, celebrating her debut collection, I Meant It Once, in conversation with novelist Tess Gunty, The Rabbit Hutch, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction 2022, Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-kate-doyle-presents-i-meant-it-once-w-tess-gunty)
  • Sixteen Rivers Press presents a reading by poets Patrick Cahill, The Machinery of Sleep, Gerald Fleming, The Bastard and the Bishop, Carolyn Miller, Light, Moving, and Eliot Schain, The Distant Sound, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 653 Chenery Street, San Francisco, free, 7:30 pm PDT (More information here: birdbeckett.com)

24 AUGUST 2023 — thursday

  • Writers Read Ukiah presents a reading with featured poets Joe Smith, Sappho's Island, Tia Ballantine, When Mountains Walk, Larry Felson, Dawn Out of Order, and Mike Edwards, followed by an open mic, six-minutes per reader, Grace Hudson Museum, 431 South Main Street, Ukiah, $5 suggested donation, 7:00 pm PDT (Email: innisfreeriedell@gmail.com for more information)
  • SOLD OUT: Concerts in the Redwood Grove presents Leaning Towards the Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them, poetry anthology book launch featuring editor and poet Tess Taylor, musicians Steven Emerson & Son, and more, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, Berkeley, 5:30 PDT (More information here: botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/summer-concerts)

25 AUGUST 2023 — friday

  • Skylight Books presents award-winning novelist and short story writer Christine Sneed, Please Be Advised: A Novel in Memos, reading from her new collection, Direct Sunlight, in conversation with novelist and art critic Yxta Maya Murray, The World Doesn't Work That Way, but It Could, Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, reserve a seat by preordering the book for $20, free seating is available first come, first serve without a reserved seat, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-christine-sneed-presents-direct-sunlight-w-yxta-maya-murray)

26 AUGUST 2023 — saturday

  • Marin Poetry Center presents the Summer Traveling Show, with readings by Mark Meierding, Tobey Kaplan, Kathleen McClung, Elise Kazanjian, Lisa H. Turner, Jodi Hottel, and MPC Youth Ambassador Naomi Ko, hosted by Simona Carini, Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, free, 2:00-3:00 pm PDT (More information here: marinpoetrycenter.org/events)
  • Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Kluger, author of Hamlet's Children, a novel set in Denmark during the Nazi occupation, in conversation with novelist and poet Mary Mackey, Orinda Books, 276 Village Square, Orinda, free, 3:00 pm-4:30 pm PDT (Registration required: www.eventbrite.com/e/richard-kluger-author-of-hamlets-children-tickets-677091026487?aff=oddtdtcreator)
  • Fourth Saturdays Reading Series presents Rick Lupert, creator of Poetry Super Highway and host of the Cobalt Café weekly reading series, author of The Low Country Shvitz, and poet Douglas Manuel, Testify and Trouble Funk books will be available for purchase at the event, Claremont Library, 208 N. Harvard Avenue, Claremont, free, 2:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/fourthsaturdayspoetry)
  • Medicine for Nightmares presents a poetry reading featuring León Salvatierra, Al norte/To the North, and Manuel Paul López, The Yearning Feed, winner of the Ernest Sandeen Poetry Prize, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00-8:30 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
  • Small Press Traffic presents Gallery Sessions, an informal talk in conjunction with What are words worth?, McEvoy Arts' exhibition that explores the written and spoken word, featuring artist and writer Connie Zheng, in conversation with Amanda Nudelman, McEvoy Arts exhibitions and public programs curator, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, 1150 25th Street, Building B, San Francisco, free, 3:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.smallpresstraffic.org)

27 AUGUST 2023 — sunday

  • Village Poets presents a reading with poets A. Jay Adler, Waiting for Word, and Beverly M. Collins, one of three winners of the Wilda Morris June 2021 Poetry Challenge, followed by an open mic, three-minutes per reader, Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Avenue, Tujunga, Los Angeles, free/$5 donation recommended, 4:30 pm PDT (More information: villagepoets.blogspot.com)
  • Poetry of the Sierra Foothills, with featuring artist and poet D.R. Wagner, The Order of Events, Remembering Eternity, open mic follows, at a boutique winery, Chateau Davell, 3020 Vista Tierra Drive, right off Highway 50, four miles from Placerville, in Camino, free, 2:00 pm-4:00 pm PDT
  • Poetry at Bell Arts presents a reading by Friday Gretchen, Unkindnesses, and Holaday Mason, The Weaver's Body, followed by an open mic, hosted by Jeanette Clough, Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave, Ventura, free, 4:00 pm PDT
  • Join acclaimed poet Sally Love Saunders, Sally's Casserole, in an online reading, bring a poem of your own to read or come to listen to others, hosted by John Rowe, Bay Area Poets Coalition, online via Zoom, free, 11:00 am PDT (Email: rowepoet@yahoo.com for Zoom information; more information here: www.sallylovesaunders.org)
  • Odd Verse presents a poetry reading featuring Yalda-Melody Mohammadi, also known as Passionate Persian, with musical performance by Tryn, vocalist, and mayx, guitar, for R&B and alternative sounds, followed by an open mic, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 5:30-8:00 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
  • Paradise and International Black Writers & Artists present the Bay Area Black Book Fair, honoring Dr. Ellen Foster-Randle and Rudi Mwongozi with Lifetime Achievement Awards, live music, poetry, spoken word, theater, art exhibit, featuring 10 Kweens & a Mic, piano performance by Paradise, Eastside Arts, 2277 International Blvd., Oakland, free, 1:00 pm-5:00 pm PDT (More information here: tinyurl.com/BlackBookFair)

28 AUGUST 2023 — monday

  • Sacramento Poetry Center presents Dr. V.S. Chochezi and Staajabu, a mother/daughter poetry duo celebrating their new collection, Spirals, Spirits and Spells, followed by an open mic, Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th Street, Sacramento, free, 7:30 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/sacpoetrycenter)
  • Green Apple Books presents poet Sally Wen Mao, Oculus, finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, celebrating her new collection, The Kingdom of Surfaces, from Graywolf Press, Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 9th Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.greenapplebooks.com/event/9th-ave-sally-wen-mao)

29 AUGUST 2023 — tuesday

30 AUGUST 2023 — wednesday

31 AUGUST 2023 — thursday

  • Medicine for Nightmares presents poet Walter Ancarrow, reading from his debut collection, Etymologies, winner of the 2021 Omnidawn Open, joined by drag performer and poet Robert Andrew Perez, the field, Northern California Book Award finalist 2017, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore, 3036 24th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: medicinefornightmares.com/events)
  • Community of Writers presents "An American Original: A Short Course on the Poetry of C.D. Wright (1949-2016)," on the prolific poet, author of One With Others, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and National Book Award-finalist, led by poets Forrest Gander, Be With, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and Brenda Hillman, In a Few Minutes Before Later, and is designed for those familiar with Wright's work as well as those reading her poetry for the first time, $300, $270 early bird discount by August 17, runs five-weeks, August 31-September 28, online, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: communityofwriters.org/a-short-course-cd-wright)
  • Mechanics' Institute presents novelist Lydia Kiesling, The Golden State, finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, discussing her new book, Mobility, in conversation with Heather Bourbeau, online, $5-$10 public sliding scale, members free, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.milibrary.org/events/events-activities)
  • Green Apple Books presents poet and editor Brennan DeFrisco, A Heart with No Scars, celebrating his new book, Honeysuckle & Nightshade, joined by poets Allie Marini, This Apiary, winner of the 2019 Glass Poetry Chapbook Contest, Lauren Parker, We Are Now the Thing in the Woods, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, I Miss You, Delicate, and Katie Aliféris, foolishly optimistic, Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 9th Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.greenapplebooks.com/event/9th-ave-brennan-defrisco-allie-marini-lauren-parker-and-baruch-porras-hernandez)

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