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PROGRAMS
Brian Komei Dempster and Lee Herrick
Maxima Kahn and Indigo Moor
Desirée Alvarez
Omnidawn: Desirée Alvarez, Anthony Cody, Jennifer Hasegawa, David Koehn, Craig Santos Perez, LM Rivera
13 DECEMBER 2020 — sunday
Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Omnidawn Publishers's Spring 2020 poets, featuring Desirée Alvarez, Raft of Flame, Anthony Cody, Borderland Apocrypha, Jennifer Hasegawa, La Chica's Field Guide to Bazai Living, David Koehn, Scatterplot, Craig Santos Perez, Habitat Threshold, and LM Rivera, Against Heidegger, online via Zoom, free, 3:00 pm PST (Register to attend: please click here; you will receive an email with a link and information on how to join the reading)
MORE ABOUT THE READERS
Please join us for a Poetry Flash virtual event on Sunday, December 13 at 3:00 pm PST! We are excited to bring you a poetry reading by Desirée Alvarez, Anthony Cody, Jennifer Hasegawa, David Koehn, Craig Santos Perez, and LM Rivera via Zoom. To register for this event, see the link in the event listing above. After you register, you will receive an email with a link and information on how to join the reading. These books are available for purchase at www.omnidawn.com/product-category/poetry. Thank you for continuing to support Poetry Flash and our reading series!
Desirée Alvarez is a poet and painter living in New York City. Her new book, Raft of Flame, won Omnidawn's Lake Merritt Poetry Prize. Craig Santos Perez says, "Aboard this multilingual poetic vessel, Desirée Alvarez crosses the thresholds of time and space to enter ancient America and its conquest. On this journey, she examines the violent relations between the colonizer and the colonized, as well as her own entangled Latina, Spanish, and European heritages.…In the end, the Raft of Flame carries us to the place where we can look—entranced—into historical and genealogical depths that cannot be uttered." Her previous book, Devil's Paintbrush, received the 2015 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Award. Her poetry is anthologized in What Nature and Other Musics: New Latina Poetry. Alvarez exhibits her work nationally and internationally, and her paintings were on view at Brooklyn Botanic Garden Conservatory Gallery this fall.
Anthony Cody's new book is Borderland Apocrypha, a finalist for this year's National Book Award in Poetry and winner of the 2018 Omnidawn Open Book Prize, selected by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge. She wrote of it, "Intense feeling, empathy, rage, compassion swerves language, torques the page. History and data inflict. Intelligence composes, sequence wrestles with violence. It must be witnessed, expressed. The love is expression. Witness is form." The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo marked an end to the Mexican-American War, but it sparked a series of lynchings of Mexicans and long-lasting traumas. Borderland Apocrypha centers on the collective histories of these terrors, excavating traumas born of turbulence. Cody is a Canto Mundo fellow from Fresno, California with lineage in both the Bracero Program and Dust Bowl. He is a member of the Hmong American Writers' Circle and co-edited How Do I Begin? A Hmong American Literary Anthology.
Jennifer Hasegawa's new book is La Chica's Field Guide to Banzai Living. Molly Bendall says, "Buckle up for Jennifer Hasegawa's exhilarating ride, whatever sort of displaced being you might be—from immigrant to extraterrestrial—and consult this manual. Follow the poems as they careen through assorted omens and 'ghosts of sovereignty.' Touching down in Hawai'i, California, and other parts of the world, Hasegawa carries her baggage with aplomb. She's all-too-aware of how old family folkways can linger with the 'slow-burrowing hoodoo/of suggestion.' And she's brazen enough to push through to the next realm of possibilities…" The manuscript for La Chica's Field Guide to Banzai Living won the Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award from the San Francisco Foundation.
David Koehn's new book is Scatterplot. Jericho Brown says, "David Koehn's Scatterplot is a book full of names and near-misses best described by its attention to narrative…when it is the narrative we associate with dreams! Or as Koehn himself says, "I was stumbling around the aisles of a dream." This line in particular has everything to do with what I love most about this book. Every poem throws itself headlong into litanies of images reminding us that, even when we are lost or dying or anxious, we are still very much alive." Koehn diagrams connections from media, art, film, music, nature, history, and his family into a web of coordinates that form constellations of beauty and tragedy. In a universe so full of imperfection one can't help but laugh and cry, the poet embraces the present while taking responsibility for his own insufficiencies. David Koehn is the author of several previous books of poetry, including Coil and Twine.
Craig Santos Perez's new book Habitat Threshold has crafted a timely collection of eco-poetry that explores his ancestry as a native Pacific Islander, the ecological plight of his homeland, and his fears for the future. Linda Hogan says, "Craig Santos Perez is a writer I seriously watch. He includes a variety of environmentally important writing, seamlessly combined with history, politics, and the familial." Craig Santos Perez is an indigenous Chamorro from the Pacific Island of Guam. He is the author of four books of poetry, coeditor of five anthologies, and cofounder of Ala Press. He has received the American Book Award, PEN Center USA/Poetry Society of America Literary Prize, Hawaii Literary Arts Council Award, and fellowships from the Lannan Foundation and Ford Foundation.
LM Rivera's new book is Against Heidegger. Brian Evenson says, "This hybrid critical memoir offers up the scraps and bits of language the semi-conscious mind grasps as it strives to resolve those problems which upon awakening, still somehow remain. A sort of philosophical trance state that keeps opening up to subtly reveal the wound of being human." LM Rivera is a writer. He co-edits Called Back Books with Sharon Zetter. The author of a chapbook, The Little Legacies and a previous poetry collection, The Drunkards, he is also a tutor, a filmmaker, and an artist.
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6 MARCH 2021 — saturday
- The Center for Literary Arts of San Jose offers the workshop "Using Invented and Foreign Languages as Tools for World Building: A Fiction Workshop," led by Rita Bullwinkel, short-story writer, editor, and translator, workshop runs six weeks (March 6 to April 10), $250, 10:00 am-Noon PST (Enroll here: www.clasanjose.org/writers-workshop)
- The Green Arcade presents a poetry reading featuring Katharine Harer, Charlie Pendergast, Stan Stone, Garrett Caples, Mary Julia Klimenko, Tamsin Smith, and Jason Morris, part of the The Page Poets Series and The Divers Collection, free, online, 5:00-6:15 pm PST (Register to attend: meet.google.com/vne-woki-ytq; for more information: fmsbwpress.com)
- San Diego Writers, Ink, offers the workshop "Prose and Poetry in Forms," led by Ron Salisbury, inaugural Poet Laureate of San Diego, attendees study different forms of poetry and analyze a book of poetry to present to the class, runs for five weeks (March 6 to April 3), $180 members, $216 nonmembers, online, 2:30-4:45 pm PST (Enroll here: www.sandiegowriters.org/prose-poetry-forms-ron-salisbury)
7 MARCH 2021 — sunday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
8 MARCH 2021 — monday
- PEN Out Loud presents a discussion with Isabel Allende, The Soul of a Woman, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in conversation with New York Times reporter Concepión de León, with a reading by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, novelist and finalist for the PEN/Bingham Prize, $35, online, 8:00-9:00 pm PST (Purchase tickets here: pen.org/event/pen-out-loud-isabel-allende-with-concepcion-de-leon)
- Word Week Noe Valley presents feminist author and journalist Naomi Wolf, discussing her book Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love and the ways the feminist movement has altered over the years and where it stands today, in conversation with Maxine Einhorn, free, online, 7:00-8:30 pm PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3jA6xjx, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
9 MARCH 2021 — tuesday
- Skylight Books presents Sam Cohen discussing his new collection, Sarahland, stories that diverge from traditional narrative by having every story feature a protagonist named Sarah, twisting worlds and personas that challenge the way stories are told, in conversation with writer and artist Nikki Darling, free, online, 6:30 pm PST (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-sam-cohen-discusses-her-collection-stories-sarahland-nikki-darling)
- Coastside Poetry presents a reading featuring Bay Area poet David Cummings, free, online via YouTube Live, 6:00-8:00 pm PST (Livestream link here: coastsidepoetry.org/current-features)
- Word Week Noe Valley presents historian and writer Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz discussing her upcoming book, Not a Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion, examining how the simplistic claim that the United States is a "nation of immigrants" ignores the violent and racist history at its foundation, in conversation with journalist Mary Jo McConahay, free, online, 7:00-8:00 pm PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3tLhnYl, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
- City Lights Books presents a book launch for novelist Joshua Mohr, Model Citizen: A Memoir, in conversation with best-selling novelist Lidia Yuknavitch, free, online, 6:00 pm PST (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3746)
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet Amber Moss, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PST (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
- Marcus Books and KPFA Radio 94.1 FM present musician and writer Sister Souljah discussing her latest book, the much-anticipated sequel to the best-selling novel The Coldest Winter Ever, in conversation with Sabrina Jacobs, radio host of "A Rude Awakening" on KPFA, suggested donation $5-$20, online, 5:30 pm PST (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/sister-souljah-and-sabrina-jacobs-life-after-death-tickets-135779284495)
10 MARCH 2021 — wednesday
- Word Week Noe Valley presents the panel, "Black Literature, Black Lives," featuring readings and discussions with nonfiction writer Julie Lythcott-Haims, poet Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, and novelist Maurice Ruffin, moderated by novelist Gar McVey-Russell, free, online, 7:00-8:30 pm PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3jGdorI, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
11 MARCH 2021 — thursday
- Kim Shuck's Poetry Night at the San Francisco Public Library features readings by poets Elaine Brown aka Poet E Spoken, Fuifuilupe Niumeitolu, Connie Post, and Jacki Rigoni, this reading inspired by the memoir Know My Name by Chanel Miller, the selection for this year's One City One Book event, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PST (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2021/03/11/performance-kim-shucks-poetry-night-one-city-one-book-edition)
- Join translators Jessica Cohen, Allison Charette, and Brian Bergstrom for a discussion of Elemental: Earth Stories, latest book in the Calico Series, a collection of translated fiction from around the world, published by Two Lines Press, presented by Point Reyes Books, in conjunction with the Center for the Art of Translation, free, donations welcome, online, 5:30 pm PST (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/elemental-earth-stories)
- The Community of Writers, in conjunction with the Marin Poetry Center and the Mill Valley Public Library, celebrates the launch of Why to These Rocks: 50 Years of Poetry from the Community of Writers, with a reading and discussion featuring poets Cornelius Eady, Brenda Hillman, Evie Shockley, Forrest Gander, Robert Hass, Sharon Olds, Gregory Pardlo, and many more, hosted by editor Lisa Alvarez, emceed by Meryl Natchez, with music by Cornelius Eady and his CE Trio, free, online, 6:30 pm PST (Register to attend: communityofwriters.org/events/event/book-launch-50th-anniversary-poetry-anthology)
- KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents poet and translator Martín Espada, in conversation with Dennis Bernstein, poet and investigative journalist, with a reading from and discussion of Floaters, Espada's new collection of poetry, suggested donation $1-$20, online, 6:00-8:00 pm PST (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/martin-espada-and-dennis-bernstein-floaters-tickets-130079233489)
- Bookshop Santa Cruz presents novelist Joe Ide, discussing his new book Smoke, the latest in his IQ series, following unlicensed detective Isaiah Quintabe and his sidekick Juanell Dodson, free, online, 7:00 pm PST (Register to attend: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/joe-ide)
- Word Week Noe Valley presents poet Jeffrey Thomas Leong reading from his book Wild Geese Sorrow: The Chinese Wall Inscriptions at Angel Island, translations of poems written in Chinese on walls at Angel Island, with original poems from his latest book, Writ, free, online, 7:00-8:00 pm PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/2ZaCyoC, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
- Copperfield's Books presents investigative reporter Michael Moss discussing his book Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions, free, online, 7:00 pm PST (Register to attend: www.copperfieldsbooks.com/event/michael-moss-online)
- Litquake presents Lysley Tenorio, novelist and short story writer, discussing his latest novel The Son of Good Fortune, part of the Seismic Salon series, an intimate setting with an author and a small audience, $100, limit ten participants, online, 5:00 pm PST (Purchase tickets here: www.litquake.org/seismicsalons.html)
12 MARCH 2021 — friday
- Skylight Books presents Teresa Carmody discussing The Reconception of Marie, her novel that challenges the traditional bildungsroman coming-of-age form, in conversation with photographer Connie Samaras, free, online, 6:30 pm PST (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-teresa-carmody-discusses-her-novel-reconception-marie-connie-samaras)
- Word Week Noe Valley presents San Francisco Chronicle columnists Leah Garchik and Ruthe Stein, discussing their work and their experiences with over forty years at the paper, in conversation with Maxine Einhorn, free, online, 7:00-8:15 pm PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3pe5OFB, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
13 MARCH 2021 — saturday
- Word Week Noe Valley presents "Noir NOT at the Bar," an online version of Word Week's popular event "Noir at the Bar," featuring four mystery novelists: Cara Black, Jasmine Almaq, Naomi Hirahara, and Rachel Howzell Hall, reading from and discussing their newest books, free, online, 7:00-8:30 pm PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3qf3UGa, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
- The Poetry Center presents a reading and conversation with poet Momtaza Mehri and writer and photographer Zoé Samudzi, part of the Tripwire Cross-Cultural Poetics Series, emceed by alex cruse, free, online, Noon PST (Register to attend: poetry.sfsu.edu/events/29187-tripwire-cross-cultural-poetics-series-momtaza-mehri-and-zo%C3%A9-samudzi)
- Word Week Noe Valley presents novelists Colm Toibin (The Magician) and Michelle Gallen (Big Girl, Small Town), and poet Paula Meehan (As If By Magic), reading from new work, free, online, 11:00 am PST (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3rIL8Ya, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
14 MARCH 2021 — sunday
- Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Brian Komei Dempster, Seize, and Lee Herrick, Scar and Flower, online via Zoom, free, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: please click here; you will receive an email with a link to join the reading)
- The Claremont Library presents Fourth Sundays, a special poetry event featuring poets Ariana Reines (A Sand Book, 2019) and Tiana Clark (I Can't Talk About the Trees Without the Blood, 2018), both winners of the 2020 Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Award, reading from their work and answering questions after, free, online via Facebook Live, 2:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.facebook.com/fourthsundayspoetry)
- Word Week Noe Valley presents six Noe Valley poets: San Francisco Laureate emeritus Kim Shuck, Kristen Belshaw, Susann Dambroff, Jeff Doleman, Eveline Kanes, and MaryLee McNeal reading poems about experiences of life during the pandemic, free, online, 7:00-8:30 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: bit.ly/3rSZZ27, or for Zoom information, email: wordweeknoevalley@gmail.com)
15 MARCH 2021 — monday
- Rivertown Poets presents a poetry reading featuring Susana Praver-Perez and Terri Glass, Being Animal, open mic to follow, hosted by Sande Anfang, free, online, 6:15 pm PDT (Sign up for the open mic/Zoom link: aqus.com/rivertownpoets)
16 MARCH 2021 — tuesday
- City Lights Books presents a book launch for Kim Addonizio's Now We're Getting Somewhere: Poems, she will be joined by poets Brittany Perham, Peter Kline, and Tracey Knapp, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3747)
- Point Reyes Books presents a discussion of Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water, a nonfiction work by poet and essayist Kazim Ali, about the Pimicikamak community in Manitoba, Canada, and the environmental damage caused by the Jenpeg dam in the area, in conversation with poet and National Book Award finalist Natalie Diaz, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/kazim-ali-and-natalie-diaz)
- Cobalt Poets presents a poetry reading featuring Mike Hickey, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
17 MARCH 2021 — wednesday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
18 MARCH 2021 — thursday
- City Lights Books presents a book launch for novelist Patricia Engel, Infinite Country, she will be joined by journalists Roberto Lovato and Jean Guerrero, and writer and historian Juliana Delgado Lopera, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3748)
19 MARCH 2021 — friday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
20 MARCH 2021 — saturday
- City Lights Books presents Pola Oloixarac in a reading and discussion of Mona, her new novel, with a conversation with John Freeman, founder of the literary journal Freeman's, free, online, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3749)
21 MARCH 2021 — sunday
- Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Brian Komei Dempster, Seize, and Lee Herrick, Scar and Flower, online via Zoom, free, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: please click here; you will receive an email with a link to join the reading)
- Omnidawn Publishing offers the workshop "Prosody and Revision", led by poet David Koehn, where attendees will focus on revision and workshopping their own poems each week, with a guest poet each week giving a short talk and Q&A, runs for 6 weeks (March 21 – April 25), with two sections, enrollment is first come, first serve, tuition is $1100-1400, some partial scholarships available, email rusty@omnidawn.com for more info, online, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm PST (Enroll here: bit.ly/2MjLRA8)
- Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Maxima Kahn, Fierce Aria, and Indigo Moor, Everybody's Jonesin' for Something , online via Zoom, free, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: please click here; you will receive an email with a link to join the reading)
22 MARCH 2021 — monday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
23 MARCH 2021 — tuesday
- Cobalt Poets presents a poetry reading featuring Linda Singer, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
24 MARCH 2021 — wednesday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
25 MARCH 2021 — thursday
- Copperfield's Books presents journalist Katherine Seligman reading from and discussing her novel At the Edge of the Haight, a story of homeless youth living in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.copperfieldsbooks.com/event/katherine-seligman-online)
26 MARCH 2021 — friday
- Small Press Traffic presents the High Dawn Reading Series, this month featuring readings from poets Bahaar Ashan and Lara Mimosa Montes, introduced by poet Trisha Low, with musical performance by Ryanaustin Dennis, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.smallpresstraffic.org/upcomingevents/bahaar-ahsan-lara-mimosa-montes)
27 MARCH 2021 — saturday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
28 MARCH 2021 — sunday
- VCP SoCal Poets presents a reading featuring poets Brian Sonia Wallace, Linda Ravenswood, and Bryn Wickerd, part of a reading series held on the last Sunday of every month, free, online via Zoom, 3:00-4:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.vcpsocal.org/schedule.html)
29 MARCH 2021 — monday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
30 MARCH 2021 — tuesday
- Bookshop Santa Cruz presents poet and writer Kim Addonizio reading from and discussing her latest poetry collection, Now We're Getting Somewhere, in conversation with Danusha Laméris, Poet Laureate emeritus of Santa Cruz County, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/kim-addonizio)
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading featuring poet Ramón García, The Chronicles, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
- Famed actress and activist Sharon Stone joins Book Passage and the Dominican University's Institute for Leadership Studies to discuss her new memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, an intimate and moving look at her life in films as well as her humanitarian work, $40, ticket includes a complementary copy of the book, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookpassage.com/SharonStone)
31 MARCH 2021 — wednesday
- No events listed for this date. Find out how to submit your event listing.
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