< previous month | show all APRIL | next month >
21 APRIL 2023 — friday
- The Mechanics' Institute presents "The Writers' Lunch: The Birth of a Poem," a discussion on the conception, maturation, and birth of a poem, with featuring poet and novelist Douglas Cole, The White Field, winner of the American Fiction Award, poet and essayist Dr. Jeanne Powell, and poet and translator Chun Yu, Little Green: Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, moderated by multidisciplinary writer Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte, Betrayal on the Bayou, online via Zoom, free, Noon-1:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.milibrary.org/events/writers-lunch-birth-poem-apr-21-2023)
- Litquake presents their annual celebration of National Poetry Month, held under the stained glass of San Francisco's historic Grace Cathedral, attendees can hear James Cagney, Henri Cole, Jewelle Gomez, Jacques Rancourt, and Rachel Zucker read from their latest poetry collections, Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street, San Francisco, register for free by clicking on the link below, 7:30 pm-9:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.eventbrite.com/e/grace-notes-tickets-579732183567)
- Sierra Poetry Festival presents a pop-up event, "Mélange Poetry and Visual Art Collaboration," with Artists Liz Collins, Mira Clark, Susan Lobb-Porter, Mark Wilcox, and poets Kirsten Casey, Liz Collins, Maxima Kahn, and Ingrid Keriotis, exhibit runs April 6-May 14, Nevada City Winery Gallery, 321 Spring Street, Nevada City, free to attend, wine available for purchase, 5:00-7:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
- Beyond Baroque presents a reading with poet Jacqueline Osherow, Divine Ratios, and Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson, Fretwork, winner of the 2019 Marsh Hawk Poetry Prize, hosted by David St. John, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free, doors open 7:30 pm, reading starts 8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/a-reading-with-jacqueline-osherow-and-lynne-thompson-tickets-591886728137)
- Aurora Theatre Company presents BIPOC Poetry Night, a pre-show reception and reading featuring poets Rafael Jesús González, the inaugural Berkeley Poet Laureate,
22 APRIL 2023 — saturday
- Sacramento Poetry Alliance presents a poetry reading by Tim Kahl, California Sijo, and Gene Berson, followed by an open mic, Sacramento Poetry Alliance, 1169 Perkins Way, Sacramento, free, 4:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/sacramentopoetryalliance)
- Sierra Poetry Festival presents a pop-up event, "Poetic Crossings, Past & Present: San Juan Ridge Poets," honoring poets who either once called San Juan Ridge place home or helped to shape the culture during their time here; each poet will share a bit of history about the poet they are reading, a few poems by the featured poet, and a couple of their own; featured poets and the poets they are celebrating: Laura Pendell (Dale Pendell), Will Staple (Allen Ginsberg), Jacquie Bellon (her own work and history), Jamie Hunyor (Gary Snyder), Susan Suntree (her own work and history), Louis Bluecloud (Peter Bluecloud), Sarah Sparks (Steve Sanfield), Davis Reeves (Nanao Sakaki), and Bishop Randall (Lew Welch), North Columbia Schoolhouse, 17894 Tyler Foote Road, Nevada City, $15 benefits the Schoolhouse and Nevada County Arts Council, 7:00 pm PDT, doors open at 6:00 pm (More information here: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
- Fourth Saturdays presents a reading with featured poets Cynthia Tuell and Ron L. Dowell, Watts UpRise, finalist for the Press 53 Award for Poetry, books will be available for purchase at the event, Claremont Helen Renwick Library, 208 N. Harvard Avenue, Claremont, free, 2:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/fourthsaturdayspoetry)
23 APRIL 2023 — sunday
- The San Francisco Public Library presents poet Chen Chen, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities, winner of the Thom Gunn Award, discussing his new collection, Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency, in conversation with poet Sam Herschel Wein, Butt Stuff Flower Bush, forthcoming from Porkbelly Press, online, free, 2:00 pm-3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2023/04/23/author-chen-chen-conversation-sam-herschel-wein)
- Litquake Literary Festival presents a celebration of Alka Joshi's new novel, The Perfumist of Paris, a benefit for Litquake; she will discuss her work with Lit Camp founder Janis Cooke Newman, at the San Francisco residence of Karyn DiGiorgio and Steve Sattler, tickets are $125.00, include a signed copy of the book, and can be purchased by clicking the link below, 2:00 pm-5:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTc4OTY4)
24 APRIL 2023 — monday
- Small Press Traffic presents a reading by poets Sara Nicholson, April, and Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, A Treatise on Stars, finalist for the National Book Award, The Lab, 2948 16th Street, San Francisco, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.smallpresstraffic.org)
25 APRIL 2023 — tuesday
- You're Going to Die presents "Meaning Out of Mortality," a writing workshop using writing prompts to examine mortality to create meaning in our day-to-day lives, facilitated by Ned Buskirk, founder and YG2D executive director, and Chelsea Coleman, singer songwriter and YG2D creative director, The Center SF, 548 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, sliding scale $40-120, 7:00 pm-10:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/541528996807)
- Cobalt Poets presents a reading by VCP SoCal Poets, with featured poet to be announced, followed by an open mic, online via Zoom, free, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
26 APRIL 2023 — wednesday
- City Lights Books presents poet Evan Kennedy, Jerusalem Notebook, celebrating his new collection, Metamorphoses: City Lights Spotlight No. 22, joined in a reading with poet and editor Sophia Dahlin, moderated by Garrett Caples, City Lights poetry editor and curator of the Spotlight Poetry Series, Poetry Room at City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, and online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
- Dominican University of California presents a reading by poets Barbara Tomash, PRE-, Joan Baranow, In the Next Life, and Christina Lopez, all reading from new work, Dominican University, Edgehill Mansion, 75 Magnolia Avenue, San Rafael, free, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/new-works-from-barbara-tomash-joan-baranow-and-christina-lopez-tickets-588959071437)
27 APRIL 2023 — thursday
- Poetry Flash presents "An Evening of Poetry & Memoir," reading and discussion with poet Rose Black, Green Field, and memorist Hannah Sward, Strip, both writers work with Right to Write Press, a nonprofit that supports emerging writers who are incarcerated in California prisons; in-person, Art House Gallery & Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, two blocks north of Ashby BART, refreshments, free, 7:00 pm PDT (poetryflash.org).
- City Lights Books presents poet and translator Katie Farris, A Net to Catch My Body in its Weaving, winner of the 2020 Chad Walsh Poetry Award from Beloit Poetry Journal, reading from her new collection, Standing in the Forest of Being Alive, in conversation with poet Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic, online via Zoom, free, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: citylights.com/events)
- Writers Read presents featured poet Molly Fisk, former Poet Laureate of Nevada County, California, and author of The More Difficult Beauty, Naming Your Teeth: Even More Observations from a Working Poet, and more, followed by an open mic reading, free admission, suggested donation of $5, Grace Hudson Museum, 431 South Main Street, Ukiah, 7:00 pm PDT
- Green Apple Books presents Eugenia Leigh, Blood, Sparrows and Sparrows, winner of the Debulitzer Prize in Poetry, reading from and discussing her new collection, Bianca, in conversation with poet Jennifer S. Cheng, MOON: Letters, Maps, Poems, Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize-winner, 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-eugenia-leigh-jennifer-s-cheng)
- Celebrate the launch of poet and critic Dean Rader's new book, Before the Borderless: Dialogues with the Art of Cy Twombly, a collection of Rader's poems side-by-side with the artist Cy Twombly's work, in conversation with Marin Poet Laureate Francesca Bell, Bright Stain, finalist for the Washington State Book Award, Creekside Room, Mill Valley Library, 375 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley, free, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/9945180)
- Mechanics' Institute presents nonfiction author Nino Strachey, Rooms of Their Own: Eddy Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, discussing her latest book, Young Bloomsbury: The Generation that Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England, about the generation of writers and artists that followed the Bloomsbury Group, a collection of writers and artists that included Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, among others, in conversation with San Francisco State University professor Loretta Stec, online via Zoom, members free, public sliding scale $5-$10, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.milibrary.org/events/young-bloomsbury-generation-redefined-love-freedom-and-self-expression-1920s-england-apr-27)
- University of San Francisco Reading Series presents a reading by award-winning poets Arisa White, Who's Your Daddy, and Derek Mong, The Identity Thief, Maraschi Room, Fromm Hall, 2497 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, free, 7:45 pm PST (More information here: usfca.edu/arts-sciences/programs/graduate/writing-mfa/reading-series)
28 APRIL 2023 — friday
- Beyond Baroque presents the second annual International Poetry Film Festival, Los Angeles, a two-day festival showcasing filmmakers and poets who merge poetry and film, this opening night will host a screening of the documentary One More Step West is the Sea, directed by Thomas Antonic, about the legendary Beat poet ruth weiss, with poet K.R. Morrison reading ruth weiss's poetry accompanied by bassist Christian Camacho, followed by a Q&A with the director moderated by S.A. Griffin, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free for members, $10 early bird price, $20 for single day, $30 for both days, 7:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-film-festival-los-angeles-2023-tickets-596210390327?aff=ebdsoporgprofile)
29 APRIL 2023 — saturday
- Beyond Baroque presents the second annual International Poetry Film Festival, Los Angeles, a two-day festival showcasing filmmakers and poets who merge poetry and film, this second day will screen forty-three international poem-based films, Official Selection of the Poetry Film Festival Los Angeles 2023, screened in the Experimental, Narrative, Animation, Documentary, and Original Score categories, with special guest speakers, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd, Venice Beach, Los Angeles, free for members, $10 early bird price, $20 for single day, $30 for both days, Noon PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-film-festival-los-angeles-2023-tickets-596210390327?aff=ebdsoporgprofile)
- Sacramento Poetry Alliance presents a reading with featured poets Elizabeth Robinson, On Ghosts, finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award, Randy Prunty, Test Camp, and Alexandra Mattraw, Raw Anyone, followed by an open mic, Sacramento Poetry Alliance, 1169 Perkins Way, Sacramento, free, 4:00 pm PDT
- Book Passage presents award-winning poet Maggie Smith, Good Bones, discussing her new memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, in conversation with novelist Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Fruit of the Drunken Tree, California Book Awards silver medal winner in First Fiction, Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, and online, $32, ticket includes a copy of the book, 4:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookpassage.com/event/maggie-smith-ingrid-rojas-contreras-you-could-make-place-beautiful-corte-madera-person-and)
- Sierra Poetry Festival presents a pop-up event, "Poetry in the Park," history, nature, and poetry in a culminating event for National Poetry Month, presented by California State Parks, Sierra Gold Parks Foundation, and Nevada County Arts Council, this celebration also honors California's Arts, Culture and Creativity Month, and features local students and poets reading poems that were inspired by the Empire Mine, Empire Mine Park, 10791 East Empire Street, Grass Valley, $5 entry fee to Park, 2:00-3:30 pm PDT (More information here: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
30 APRIL 2023 — sunday
- American Book Award-winner and Pulitzer Prize-finalist Will Alexander, Divine Blue Light (for John Coltrane): Pocket Poets Series No. 63, and Andrew Joron, writer of experimental poetry and speculative fiction, are featured in a rare poetry reading and concert in the intimacy of a private home, both poets will read, followed by a free improvisation with Will Alexander on grand piano and Andrew Joron on the theremin; this reading/performance will take place in a private Berkeley home with limited seating, 4:00 pm PDT (To attend, email the event host at: Harry@fullplatemedia.com)
- "The West Revisits Harlem," Black poets read, featuring Tshaka Campbell, Donté Clark, Meilani Clay, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, Blood on the Fog, A'aron Heard, LadiRev, and Landon Smith, San Francisco Public Library, Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, free, 4:00-5:30 pm PDT (More information here: sfpl.org/events/2023/04/30/performance-west-revisits-harlem)
- Alibi Bookshop presents a reading with featured poets Laura Walker, psalmbook, Maw Shein Win, inaugural Poet Laureate of El Cerrito and author of Storage Unit for the Spirit House, and Katie Peterson, Life in a Field, hosted by musician and poet Jeffrey Kingman, On a Road, part of the Vallejo Poetry Festival and National Poetry Month, Alibi Bookshop, 624 Marin Street, Vallejo, free, 1:00 pm PDT (More information here: www.facebook.com/alibibookshop)
< previous month | show all APRIL | next month >