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Northern California

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7 MAY 2017 — sunday

8 MAY 2017 — monday

9 MAY 2017 — tuesday

    CENTRAL:
  • Tuesdays at North Beach, a weekly poetry series celebrating international poets and showcasing local talent, presents a reading by Carol Denney and Michael Warr, curated by Jack Hirschman, North Beach Branch Library, 850 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, 6:30 (415/522-8602, www.friendssfpl.org/events/tuesdays-at-north-beach.html)
    SOUTH:
  • Poetry Center San José's Well-RED Reading Series presents Tania Martin and Caesar Kent, open mic follows, Works/San José, 365 South Market Street, San Jose, $2, doors open 6:30, reading 7:00 (< a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcsj.org/">www.pcsj.org)

10 MAY 2017 — wednesday

    CENTRAL:
  • Digital Cultures Lab founder Ramesh Srinivasan, celebrates and discusses his new book, Whose Global Village? Rethinking How Technology Shapes Our World, NYU Assistant Professor and co-author Finn Burton discusses his critically acclaimed book, Obfuscation: A User's Guide for Privacy and Protest, moderated by Shahid Buttar, Director of Grassroots Advocacy for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)
    NORTH:
  • On the Road: Dana Gioia's 58-California County Tour: "Stump the Laureate: A Poetry Recitation Event with California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia, 99 Poems: New & Selected, book sales and signing follow, the audience is welcome to participate and recite favorite memorized poems, registration online is recommended especially for recitations, adults/high school students only, Mill Valley Public Library, Creekside Room, 375 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, free, 7:00 (415/389-4292, www.millvalleylibrary.org)

11 MAY 2017 — thursday

    CENTRAL:
  • Prose writer Dodie Bellamy, When the Sick Rule the World, and poet, editor, and playwright Kevin Killian, Impossible Princess, celebrate the release of their co-edited book, Writers Who Love Too Much: New Narrative 1977-1997, City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)

12 MAY 2017 — friday

    CENTRAL:
  • Last Word Reading Series presents a reading by poet and fiction writer Adele Mendelson and poet Leah Steinberg, author of a memoir with interviews and poetry, Raised in the Shadow of the Bomb: Children of the Manhattan Project, plus open reading, support the series by ordering dinner or a drink, Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Avenue, near Hearst, Berkeley, free, 7:00 (venue: 510/841-6374)

13 MAY 2017 — saturday

    NORTH:
  • Novelist and personal essayist writer Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, in an onstage interview, lecture, and Q&A, Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, $160 per person, register in advance for event, 1:00-4:00 (415/927-0960, www.bookpassage.com/event/class-anne-lamott-writing)

14 MAY 2017 — sunday

15 MAY 2017 — monday

16 MAY 2017 — tuesday

    CENTRAL:
  • Tuesdays at North Beach, a weekly poetry series celebrating international poets and showcasing local talent, presents a reading by Gary Hicks and Martin Hickel, curated by Jack Hirschman, North Beach Branch Library, 850 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, 6:30 (415/522-8602, www.friendssfpl.org/events/tuesdays-at-north-beach.html)

17 MAY 2017 — wednesday

    CENTRAL:
  • Gordon Ball, poet, photographer, filmmaker, and master storyteller, reads from his new short story collection, On Tokyo's Edge, City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)
  • Lyrics and Dirges monthly reading series features emerging writers to highlight the diverse literary community of the Bay Area, hosted by Mk Chavez and Sharon Coleman, Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, 7:30 (www.pegasusbookstore.com)

18 MAY 2017 — thursday

    CENTRAL:
  • Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Dawn McGuire, American Dream with Exit Wound, and David Watts, Having and Keeping, request ASL interpreters one week in advance at editor@poetryflash.org, wheelchair accessible, Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, 7:30 (510/849-2087, www.moesbooks.com)
  • Adam Morris, recipient of the 2012 Susan Sontag Foundation Prize in literary translation, celebrates and discusses the release of his latest translation of Brazilian author Joáo Gilberto Noll, Atlantic Hotel, with Scott Esposito, critic, author, and editor-in-chief of The Quarterly Conversation, City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)
  • The first of poet Arisa White's Beautiful Community Events, Natural Heir: The Arisa White Extension, features models' hair graphically altered with images inspired by poems from White's You're the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened, which follows photographer Nye' Lyn Tho's series, Natural Heir, a creative collaboration in which she replaces the subject's hair with beautiful plant life that represents African and African American cultures; the five models included are Janet Halfin, medical assistant and health education specialist for TransVision, Tri-City Health Center; Zakiya Harris, cultural architect, artist, and founder of Hack the Hood; Kerby Lynch, creator of the soon-to-be Black Lesbian Oral History Project; ecotherapist and Oricha priest J. Phoenix Smith, founder of EcoSoul; and visual artist and educator Orlonda Uffre, the evening includes the exhibition of five portraits in collabration with Nye' Lyn Tho, a poetry reading by Arisa White, Q&A with White, Tho, and photo subjects, Qulture Collective, 1714 Franklin Street, Oakland, free, 6:30 (510/419-0552, www.qulturecollective.com)
    NORTH:
  • Marin Poetry Center presents a celebration to welcome Marin's new Poet Laureate Rebecca Foust, Paradise Drive, with an appreciation for outgoing Poet Laureate Prartho Sereno, Call From Paris, before Third Thursday event takes place, Falkirk Cultural Center, 1408 Mission Avenue, San Rafael, free, doors open 6:00 for champagne and cake reception, brief remarks on the poets 6:30 (415/485-3328, www.falkirkculturalcenter.org)
  • Third Thursday Poetry & Jazz Improv Reading Series features Brian Kirven, hosted by blake more, reading begins with live jazz by local musicians and an open mic with jazz improv, 215 Main Pub, 215 Main Street, Point Arena, free, 7:00 (707/884-9189, blake@snakelyone.com, www.facebook.com/215Main)
  • Marin Poetry Center presents an evening of Poetry & Music with San Francisco troubadour-poet Brian Laidlaw, The Stuntman, along with Alaskan fiddler-poet Ken Waldman whose CD, All Originals, All Traditionals, includes Appalachian-style string-band music with original poetry, light refreshments, Falkirk Cultural Center, 1408 Mission Street, San Rafael, $5 non-members/$3 members, students free, 7:30 (415/388-4033, events@marinpoetrycenter.org, marinpoetrycenter.org/events.php)

19 MAY 2017 — friday

    CENTRAL:
  • Poetry reading by David Shaddock, Vernal Pool, and performance poet Kirk Lumpkin, open mic follows, Expressions Gallery, 2035 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7:00 (www.expressionsgallery.org)
  • The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis presents "Trauma, Poetry, and the Emerging Word," a two-day immersion; this evening features a poetry reading by poet and memoirist Gregory Orr, Poetry As Survival, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, 444 Natoma Street, San Francisco, register through website, $15, no one turned away for lack of funds, 7:00 (415/563-5815, www.sf-cp.org/poetry)
    EAST:
  • The 2017 Ecopoetry Festival celebrates the poetry of W.S. Merwin, featuring a reading by poet Jane Hirshfield, The Beauty, current Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and nonfiction writer and retired Heyday publisher Malcolm Margolin, The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area, along with a few of Alhambra High School's poets; former participants and Alhambra students are invited to read Merwin's work, John Muir National Historic Site, John Muir House, 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, free but reservations required, 6:00 (contact James MacDonald: 925/228-8860x6431, or Eliot Schain: eschain@martinez.k12.ca.us)

20 MAY 2017 — saturday

    CENTRAL:
  • The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis presents "Trauma, Poetry, and the Emerging Word," a two-day immersion; poet and memoirist Gregory Orr discusses his poetry, trauma, and the role of the unconscious in his imagery and language, in conversation with Susan Kolodny, poet and chair of the SFCP Poetry and Psychoanalysis program; then Alice Jones, poet and member of the SFCP Poetry and Psychoanalysis program, discusses his work from a psychoanalytic perspective, Q&A, San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, 444 Natoma Street, San Francisco, register through website, $75, $20 optional lunch, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 (415/563-5815, www.sf-cp.org/poetry)

21 MAY 2017 — sunday

    CENTRAL:
  • The Bay Area Writing Project presents a poetry reading by poet and writer Susan Cohen, A Different Wakeful Animal, and poet, memoirist, and literary critic Mary Pacifico Curtis, Between Rooms, open mic follows, light refreshments available, Expressions Gallery, 2035 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, free, 3:00-4:30 (510/644-4930, judy@judybebelaar.com, www.expressionsgallery.org)
  • California Writers Club talk with LeeAnne Krusemark on "How to Get Paid to Write for Magazines and Websites," the meeting includes interactive marketing and writing craft support groups, ConneXion, Jack London Plaza, 520 Third Street, Suite 109, Oakland, $10/$5 members, noon-4:00 (www.cwc-berkeley.org, www.leeannekrusemark.com)
  • The Oakland Book Festival presents one hundred writers in fifty events on one day, this year featuring writers Angela Davis, Judith Butler, Danielle Allen, Jeff Chang, Arlie Hochschild, Sheryl Oring, Mistah F.A.B., Wendy Brown, Ishmael Ree, Laura Albert, and Anthony Marra among many others; this literary event is dedicated to books, ideas, and the pleasures of literacy, aiming to serve the reading public, to encourage debate, and celebrate Oakland; the City Hall hearing rooms host panels in which journalists, fiction writers, poets, editors, critics, and memoirists discuss challenges of gentrification, cosmopolitan, diversity, tolerance, conflict, education, more, audience participation is encouraged; live performances for all ages as well as a dedicated children's area featuring readings hosted by the Oakland Public Library, book-making projects sponsored by Oakland's Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA), and interactive programs courtesy of Fairyland, book vendors and publishers exhibit [Visit Poetry Flash and Manic D Press at Booth 33! Come see the latest books on pop culture from Manic D Press and pick up free Poetry Flash poem bookmarks and the latest on the 2017 Northern California Book Awards], Oakland City Hall and Frank Ogawa Plaza, downtown Oakland, free, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 (www.oaklandbookfestival.org)
  • The 14th Annual Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Lecture on the Teaching of Poetry presents, "Dada, Dido, Dodo, Du Du Or, Who's Afraid of Wisdom Verse?" a lecture by acclaimed poet Peter Cole, Hymns & Qualms: New and Selected Poems and Translations, the introduction to Peter Cole's lecture, by poet/translator Forrest Gander, Alice Iris Red Horse: Poems by Yoshimasu Gozo, will be read by Albany poet Nate Klug, Anyone, reception follows, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, free, 3:00 (510/643-2526, www.magnes.org)
    NORTH:
  • 4th Annual El Cerrito Hillside Festival activities for young and old include hiking, learning about nature, history, geology, more; the main gathering spot will be Meadow just above the Schmidt Lane Trailhead near El Cerrito Recycling Center; 11 a.m.-noon: Poetry Hike for all ages, join Jenny Hammer for a literary treasure hunt through nature and search for some hidden poems, moderate level hike; noon: lunch snacks provided but you are welcome to bring your own sandwiches while listening to poet and performer Kirk Lumpkin, In Deep, celebrate the city's open spaces, and musicians Ken Hayes and Tom Cline perform renditions of roots and Americana tunes, Meadow just above the Schmidt Lane Trailhead, Hillside Natural Area, El Cerrito, free, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 (ectrailtrekkers@gmail.com, www.ectrailtrekkers.wordpress.com/hillside-festival)

22 MAY 2017 — monday

23 MAY 2017 — tuesday

    CENTRAL:
  • China Miéville, The City and the City, multi-award-winning author of many works of fiction and non-fiction, discusses the subject of his new book, October: The Story of the Russian Revolution, the story of the extraordinary months between Russia's last monarchy and becoming the first socialist state in world history, City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)
  • Tuesdays at North Beach, a weekly poetry series celebrating international poets and showcasing local talent, presents a reading by Jami Proctor-Xu and Bob Booker, curated by Jack Hirschman, North Beach Branch Library, 850 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, 6:30 (415/522-8602, www.friendssfpl.org/events/tuesdays-at-north-beach.html)

24 MAY 2017 — wednesday

    CENTRAL:
  • Poet, translator, and novelist David Brazil, The Ordinary and Antisocial Patience, celebrates the release of his third full-length collection of poetry, Holy Ghost (City Lights Spotlight No. 15), with co-founder of Ugly Ducking Presse and poet Julien Poirier, Way Too West, City Lights Booksellers, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:00 (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)

25 MAY 2017 — thursday

    CENTRAL:
  • Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Dan Bellm, Deep Well, and Ann Pelletier, Letter That Never, request ASL interpreters one week in advance at editor@poetryflash.org, wheelchair accessible, Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, 7:30 (510/849-2087, www.moesbooks.com)

26 MAY 2017 — friday

27 MAY 2017 — saturday

    CENTRAL:
  • An Evening of Political Readings with California Writers Club authors Ransom Stephens, Al Sandine, Ann Berlak, Jim Beach, Gini Graham Scott, Stephen Cataldo, Mary Luersen, Kristen Caven, Karma Bennett, and Henry Hitz, book signing follows, Laurel Book Store, 1423 Broadway, Oakland, free, 6:00 (510/452-9232, www.laurelbookstore.com, www.cwc-berkeley.org)

28 MAY 2017 — sunday

29 MAY 2017 — monday

30 MAY 2017 — tuesday

    CENTRAL:
  • Tuesdays at North Beach, a weekly poetry series celebrating international poets and showcasing local talent, presents a reading by Virginia Barrett and Q.R. Hand, curated by Jack Hirschman, North Beach Branch Library, 850 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, 6:30 (415/522-8602, www.friendssfpl.org/events/tuesdays-at-north-beach.html)

31 MAY 2017 — wednesday


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