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Poetry Flash Reading Series


Bruce Isaacson

Bruce Isaacson, Jan Steckel, Deborah Fruchey on Rudy Jon Tanner

19 SEPTEMBER 2021 — sunday

Poetry Flash presents a virtual Zeitgeist Press poetry reading by Bruce Isaacson, Leningrad to Las Vegas, and Jan Steckel, Like Flesh Covers Bone; poet and editor Deborah Fruchey presents the late Rudy Jon Tanner's If Thirst is Proof of Water, 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)


Please join us for a Poetry Flash virtual reading on Sunday, September 19 at 3:00 pm PDT! We are excited to bring you this Zeitgeist Press event via Zoom. To register for this reading, please click on the link in the calendar listing above. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Thank you for continuing to support Poetry Flash and our reading series during these unprecedented times.

The featured books are available at www.zeitgeist-press.com.

MORE ABOUT THE READERS
Deborah L. Fruchey's recent Zeitgest poetry collection is Three Kinds of Dark. Connie Post says, "A great new book from the well-known author of books, romances, and poems with emotional punch. The poems in this collection have verve, have a kick, and will leave your senses wanting more.…" Deborah Fruchey is also the author of Armadillo (poetry), two comedy romance novels, one self-help manual for the mentally ill, and Priestess of Secrets, a recent flash fiction collection. Her debut novel was chosen as a "Best Book" by the American Booksellers Association. A part of the Above Paradise and Café Babar scenes, her work appeared in the Babarian anthology, Poets from Hell. She edited If Thirst is Proof of Water, by the late Rudy Jon Tanner, and Our Lady of Telegraph Avenue, a tribute to the late poet Julia Vinograd.

Rudy Jon Tanner passed away in August 2021. If Thirst is Proof of Water, edited by Deborah Fruchey, is his first full-length collection, and was published in 2021 by Zeitgeist Press. Audio of him reading his own poetry will be presented at this event. Previously, he published two chapbooks, Picasso's Monkey, and The Accidental Beacons of Things Worn Away. Tanner studied piano and twentieth century composing at Oklahoma City University, where he also began writing poetry, while he continued to compose. He moved to California in 1980. He attended the Old Spaghetti Factory readings in North Beach, where he became friends with Julia Vinograd, along with her many friends who just happened to have a very natural talent for stunning poetry.

Jan Steckel's most recent book, Like Flesh Covers Bone, published by Zeitgeist Press, won the 2019 Rainbow Awards for LGBT Poetry and Best Bisexual Book. James Cagney says, "These poems have come for blood. Jan Steckel writes often humorous, always electrified poetry of great depth and courage. Take this journey!" Her poetry collection, The Horizontal Poet, won a 2012 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction. Her fiction chapbook, Mixing Tracks, and poetry chapbook The Underwater Hospital have also won awards. She lives in Oakland, California.

Bruce Isaacson's new book of poems is Leningrad to Las Vegas; Jack Hirschman says, "…a brilliantly composed novel in poems…very beautifully evoked…you will learn more about Russia soon after the end of the Soviet Union via Isaacson's terrific perceptions than you'll read anywhere." He is known here in the Bay Area both as a poet and the publisher of Zeitgeist Press, and is often associated with the Café Babar series, part of the SF spoken word revival of the 1980s. A graduate student with Allen Ginsberg at Brooklyn College, he was a finalist in the inaugural season of the Nuyorican Poetry Slam. The first Poet Laureate of Clark County, Nevada whose two million population includes Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip, he is the founder of Poetry Promise, Inc., a non-profit whose mission is the advancement of the knowledge and practice of poetry. Isaacson is the author of several previous collections, including Ghosts Among the Neon and The Last Lie.




Daily Listings

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15 SEPTEMBER 2026 — tuesday

16 SEPTEMBER 2026 — wednesday

17 SEPTEMBER 2026 — thursday

18 SEPTEMBER 2026 — friday

19 SEPTEMBER 2026 — saturday

  • Beyond Baroque presents "What Remains: Erasure as Resistance and Reclamation," a generative writing workshop with Elina Katrin, recipient of scholarships and fellowships from Lambda Literary, the Vermont Studio Center, and Periplus, at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, Los Angeles, $95.49 general admission, $84.99 for members, 11:00 am (Tickets available: www.eventbrite.com/e/what-remains-erasure-as-resistance-and-reclamation-tickets-1996286048309?aff=ebdsoporgprofile)
  • 45th annual NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARDS, honoring the books and authors of Northern California, as well as California translators state-wide; presentation of the Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service, the NCBA Groundbreaker Award, and the NCBA Recognition Award, presentation of awards in Fiction, Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Translation In Poetry and Prose by California translators, and Children's Literature: Younger Readers, Middle Grade, Young Adult; bookselling and a reception open to all in the SFPL's Latino/Hispanic Community Room follows, nominated books are selected by the Northern California Book Reviewers, event presented by Poetry Flash and the San Francisco Public Library, with our community partners Women's National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter and Mechanics' Institute Library, Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, free and open to the public, 2:00 pm (Check back for updates and nominee announcements, poetryflash.org/programs/?p=ncba_2026 or sfpl.org)

20 SEPTEMBER 2026 — sunday

  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Award-Winning Poets," with readings by Farnaz Fatemi, Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate Emerita; Ellen Kombiyil, Raleigh Review's Geri Digiorno Multi-Genre Prize-winner, and Claire Drucker, 2026-2028 Sonoma County Poet Laureate, with event host Kary Hess, Copperfield's Books, 140 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, free, 2:00 pm (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Found Poets in The Round," with readings by Lorrie Chang, Mahrs Emerson Schoppman, mOody bLaCk, with event host Original Giotis, The Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington Street, Petaluma, free, 1:00 pm (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • The Freight presents Rumi's Caravan, an evening of spoken word with musical accompaniment in an improvised poetic conversation that meanders through moods of prayer and grief to humor and celebration, with words by poets from Rumi and Hafiz to Yeats, Rilke, Neruda, and Mary Oliver, benefitting the Middle East Children's Alliance, The Freight, 2020 Addison Street Berkeley, $30 advance, $35 at the door, 7:30 pm, doors open 7:00 pm (Tickets available: secure.thefreight.org/16039/16041-rumis-caravan-260920)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Sixteen Rivers Press Poets," with poetry readings by Dane Cervine, Lenore Myers, and Carolyn Miller, with event host Terry Ehret, Hotel Petaluma, Ballroom, 205 Kentucky Street, Petaluma, free, 11:00 am (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Taurean Horn and Friends," with readings by Donna Emerson, Jack Crimmins, and Dr. Jeanne Powell, with event host Bill Vartnaw, founder of Taurean Horn Press and Petaluma Poetry Walk director emeritus, Usher Gallery, 1 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma, free, 4:00 pm (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Tender Hearts Poets," with poetry readings by Maw Shein Win, Lourdes Figueroa, and Luisa Giulianetti, with event host Ingrid Keir, Jess Brown Design, 144 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, free, 5:00 pm (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk and the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum present "Translator Poets," with readings by Pat Nolan, Adrian Arias, and Francesca Bell, with event host Jennifer Barone, The Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, 20 Fourth Street, Petaluma, free, 3:00 pm (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Word Flights," with readings by Deyci Carrillo López, Wendy M. Thompson, and Cintia Santana, with event host Daedalus Howell, The Big Easy, 128 American Alley, Petaluma, free, 6:00 pm (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)
  • Petaluma Poetry Walk presents "Youth Poets," with readings by Elizabeth Foster, Nika Grajqevci, and Juno Phipps, with event host Maxine Flasher-Düzgünes, Keller Street CoWork, 140 Keller Street, Petaluma, free, Noon (petalumapoetrywalk.org/2026-schedule)

21 SEPTEMBER 2026 — monday

22 SEPTEMBER 2026 — tuesday

23 SEPTEMBER 2026 — wednesday

24 SEPTEMBER 2026 — thursday

25 SEPTEMBER 2026 — friday

26 SEPTEMBER 2026 — saturday

27 SEPTEMBER 2026 — sunday

28 SEPTEMBER 2026 — monday

29 SEPTEMBER 2026 — tuesday

30 SEPTEMBER 2026 — wednesday


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