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1 APRIL 2021 — thursday

  • Point Rayes Books presents novelist and poet Andrea Bajani discussing his new novel If You Kept a Record of Sins, in conversation with novelist Jhumpa Lahiri (Interpreter of Maladies, The Lowland), free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/andrea-bajani-and-jhumpa-lahiri)
  • Vroman's Bookstore presents novelist Wendy Heard, discussing her new book, She's Too Pretty to Burn, a mystery thriller that follows three artists in San Diego, in conversation with novelist Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys), free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.vromansbookstore.com/event/wendy-heard)
  • Lunch Poems, hosted by UC Berkeley, presents a poetry reading by Shane McCrae, The Gilded Auction Block and Sometimes I Never Suffered, free, online, Noon PDT (Register to attend: lunchpoems.berkeley.edu)
  • Litquake presents Tom Perrotta, best-selling novelist whose books have been adapted Oscar-nominated films and an award-winning television show, discussing his work, including his latest novel Mrs. Fletcher, as part of the Seismic Salon series, an intimate setting with an author and a small audience, $100, limit ten participants, online, 5:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.litquake.org/seismicsalons.html)
  • Beyond Baroque presents a reading featuring two prominent and influential Los Angeles poets, poet and translator Paul Vangelisti (Motive and Opportunity) and Dennis Phillips (Mappa Mundi), poet and former director of Beyond Baroque, free, online via Zoom, 6:00-7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)

2 APRIL 2021 — friday

3 APRIL 2021 — saturday

  • Fourth Sundays at the Claremont Library presents the annual Garden of Verses poetry reading, featuring readings from poets Lavina Blossom, Cindy Bosquet Harris, John Brantingham, Anders Carlson-Wee, Andrea Carter Brown, Lucia Galloway, Karen Greenbaum-Maya, Genevieve Kaplan, Judy Kronenfeld, Chloe Martinez, Fran McConnel, Penelope Moffet, shali nicholas, Patty Scruggs, David Stone, Erin Stone, Chad Sweeney, Jennifer K. Sweeney, Judith Terzi, Romaine Washington, and Felicia Zamora reading nature-themed poems, free, online via Zoom, 11:00 am PDT (RSVP to attend: www.facebook.com/events/2371000713043352)
  • Join poet Cecilia Woloch (Tsigan: The Gypsy Poem) for the workshop "Just Writing: Reimagining the Daily Journal," participants will focus on journaling and offer feedback on the raw materials produced in a writing journal, in an intimate, nonjudgmental environment, please note that starting in May this workshop will meet on the first Sunday of the month, $75 drop-in or $200 per consecutive three-month cycle, online, 10:00 am-12:30 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdolDhtZxrH9Lo56NYzj3cidf9jIv9iS0g0VIR8wzd9SSU3kA/viewform)
  • City Lights Books presents Jillian C. York, International Activism Director at Electronic Frontier Foundation, discussing her new book, Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech under Surveillance Capitalism, in conversation with Ben Tarnoff, writer and co-founder of Logic magazine, free, online, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3761)

4 APRIL 2021 — sunday

5 APRIL 2021 — monday

  • Odd Mondays Reading Series presents a reading with three teacher-poets Susan Dambroff, A Chair Keeps the Floor Down, Brennan DeFrisco, A Heart with No Scars, and Kimi Sugioka, Wile & Wing, reading from their work and discussing how they balance teaching and writing poetry, free, online via Zoom, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Email oddmondaysnoevalley@gmail.com for Zoom link or RSVP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OddMondays)
  • Rivertown Poets presents a reading featuring poets Terry Ehret, Poet Laureate emeritus of Sonoma County and co-founder of Sixteen Rivers Press, and Phyllis Klein, hosted by Sande Anfang, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend/sign up for open mic: aqus.com/rivertownpoets)

6 APRIL 2021 — tuesday

7 APRIL 2021 — wednesday

  • The San Francisco Public Library presents a poetry reading featuring Natasha Dennerstein, Seahorse, Molly Fisk, The More Difficult Beauty, Kelly Grace Thomas, Boat Burned, Kelliane Parker, co-host of My Word Open Mic, and Ramona "Mona" Webb, former Artistic Director of Project ABLE and Lyrical Minded415, this reading is 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 PDT (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2021/04/08/performance-kim-shucks-poetry-night-one-city-one-book-edition)
  • Point Reyes Books presents nonfiction writer and journalist Matthew Gavin Frank discussing his new book, Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa, in conversation with actor and writer Elena Passarello, Let Me Clear My Throat, free, donations welcome, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/matthew-gavin-frank)
  • Bookshop Santa Cruz presents novelist and editor Morgan Jerkins, reading and discussing her new novel, Caul Baby, $29 (includes hardcover copy of the book, ticket prices may vary to include shipping), online, 6:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/morgan-jerkins)
  • City Lights Books presents novelist and essayist Rachel Kushner, celebrating the launch of The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020, a collection of selected essays spanning twenty years, in conversation with novelist Dana Spiotta, free, online via Zoom, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3756)
  • Join Poet Laureate Emeritus of Sacramento Indigo Moor (Everybody's Jonesin' for Something, Through the Stonecutter's Window) for a free poetry writing workshop, "Writing from History and Culture," hosted by the MFA Creative Writing Program at Dominican University of California, free, online, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.eventbrite.com/e/creative-writing-workshop-with-indigo-moor-tickets-144079773481)
  • The Poetry Center presents Brontez Purnell, writer, musician, performance artist, and Mazza Writer in Residence at The Poetry Center, reading and discussing his new book, 100 Boyfriends, emceed by novelist TreVaughn Malik Roach-Carter, free, online, 4:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: poetry.sfsu.edu/events/29190-mazza-writer-residence-brontez-purnell-reading-and-conversation)

8 APRIL 2021 — thursday

  • The Poetry Center presents a roundtable reading and conversation for queer writers of color, featuring Brontez Purnell, writer, musician, performance artist, and Mazza Writer in Residence at The Poetry Center, in conversation with Cisco Guzman, artist and community organizer Mason J. (Crossbones on My Life), and musician and writer Melissa Merin, emceed by TreVaughn Malik Roach-Carter, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: poetry.sfsu.edu/events/29191-mazza-writer-residence-brontez-purnell-and-friends-reading-and-conversation)
  • Beyond Baroque presents a reading featuring Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Lynne Thompson (Start With a Small Guitar), reading with three Los Angeles poets, Hiram Sims (Poems of a Young, Troubled Mind), Gail Wronsky (So Quick Bright Things), and Mariano Zaro (Decoding Sparrows), free, online via Zoom, 6:00-7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html)

9 APRIL 2021 — friday

10 APRIL 2021 — saturday

  • The Sierra Poetry Festival presents a reading featuring four poets from Canada, Hélène Dorion, Endre Farkas, Carolyn Marie Souaid, and Alain Cuerrier, exploring the scope of translation in poetry in French and English, the reading will be followed by several workshops led by poets Tanaya Winder, Megan Falley, and Maxima Kahn, free, online via Zoom and Facebook Live, 10:55 am PDT (Register to attend: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
  • The Sierra Poetry Festival presents a reading featuring poets Lee Herrick (Scar and Flower), Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Oceanic), Megan Falley (Drive Here and Devastate Me), and Maxima Kahn (Fierce Aria), followed by workshops led by Lee Herrick and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, free, online via Zoom and Facebook Live, 1:40 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
  • Book Passage presents author and executive editor for The New Yorker Dorothy Wickenden, discussing her book The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights, a look at history through the lens of Harriet Tubman, Martha Wright, and Frances Seward, free, online, 4:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookpassage.com/event/book-passage-presents-dorothy-wickenden-agitators-online-event)
  • The Sierra Poetry Festival kicks off with the keynote speaker Tanaya Winder, poet and singer/songwriter, author of Words Like Love and When Stars Fall From the Sky (forthcoming), speaking on the festival's theme of "Re-membering", free, online via Zoom and Facebook Live, 10:15 am PDT (Register to attend: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)

11 APRIL 2021 — sunday

  • Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium presents a reading featuring poet and children's book author Kate Aver Avraham (Arms of My Longing) and poet Laura Bayless (Chairs in the River), hosted by Jennifer Lewis Lagier Fellguth, free, online via Zoom, 2:00 pm PDT (Email jfellguth@sbcglobal.net by 5:00 pm on Saturday, April 10, for Zoom info)
  • Left Margin Lit offers the poetry writing workshop "Entering the House Through the Window: New Ways to Write the Familiar," led by MK Chavez, poet and co-founder of the reading series Lyrics & Dirges, and Maw Shein Win, poet, editor, Storage Unit for the Spirit House, runs two Sundays (Aprill 11 and 18, $275, online via Zoom, 10:00 am-3:00 pm PDT (Enroll here: www.leftmarginlit.org/entering-the-house-2-chavez-win)
  • The Sierra Poetry Festival presents a reading featuring poets Anthony Cody (Borderland Apocrypha), Paul Tran (All the Flowers Kneeling), Siaara Freeman (work published in The Offing, BOAAT, and others), and Judie Rae (The Weight of Roses), free, online via Zoom and Facebook Live, 10:40 am PDT (Register to attend: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
  • The Sierra Poetry Festival celebrates fifty years of poetry writing with the Community of Writers and launches its new anthology, Why to These Rocks: 50 Years of Poetry with the Community of Writers, featuring readings from staff poets Patricia Spears Jones, Sharon Olds, and Matthew Zapruder, as well as alumni poets Francisco Márquez, Chris Davidson, Christina Hutchins, and Maw Shein Win, introduced by editor Lisa Alvarez, followed by a short open mic, free, online via Zoom and Facebook Live, 11:50 am PDT (Register to attend: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)
  • Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Sarah Kobrinsky, D.L. Lang, Juanita J. Martin, Kim Shuck, and Kimi Sugioka, current and former poet laureate contributors to Colossus: Home; the anthology addresses the Bay Area housing crisis, 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 San Francisco Public Library presents the annual open mic reading, Poems Under the Dome, this year held online, featuring Mission District Elder Jorge Molina with the Community Blessing and San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin with the First Poem, bring one short poem to read, all ages welcome, free, online, 4:00-6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfpl.org/events/2021/04/11/performance-16th-annual-poems-under-dome)
  • The Sierra Poetry Festival presents a reading featuring poet Alicia Vandevorst (Conjugal), poet and translator William O'Daly (The Whale in the Web), and writer and translator Zara Houshmand (A Mirror Garden, co-authored with Monir Farmanfarmaian), followed by a conversation between William O'Daly, Zara Houshmand, and Boris Dralyuk, editor-in-chief for the Los Angeles Review of Books, free, online via Zoom and Facebook Live, 1:40 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.sierrapoetryfestival.org)

12 APRIL 2021 — monday

  • Bookshop Santa Cruz presents Lulu Miller, science reporter for NPR, discussing her debut nonfiction work, Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life, a look at the life and work of David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist in the nineteenth century, and the obstacles he faced in his attempt to name and categorize fish, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/event/virtual-event-lulu-miller-why-fish-dont-exist)
  • The Library Foundation of Los Angeles presents novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen discussing his new book The Committed, a much-anticipated sequel to his acclaimed spy thriller The Sympathizer, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, in conversation with novelist and essayist Laila Lalami (Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and The Moor Account), reservations open to members on March 9, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: lfla.org/event/the-committed)

13 APRIL 2021 — tuesday

  • The Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center presents a reading featuring poets Stella Beratlis (Alkali Sink) and Dane Cervine (Earth Is a Fickle Dancer), part of the Second Tuesday Poetry reading series, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.mostpoetry.org/event/second-tuesday-barkin-dog-on-zoom-3)
  • Join Jack Foley, along with Nina Serrano, Jovelyn Richards, and Jennifer Stone, for Cover to Cover, a radio show celebrating poetry and prose of all sorts, Tuesdays on KPFA in Berkeley, free, online, 2:00 pm PST (Go to kpfa.org/program/cover-to-cover)
  • Coastside Poetry presents a reading featuring poet and herbalist Christine Holland Cummings, whose poems have appeared in the anthologies Blue Arc West: An Anthology of California Poets and Our Last Walk: Using Poetry for Grieving and Remembering our Pets, free, online, 6:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: coastsidepoetry.org/current-features)
  • Skylight Books presents Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes reading from her new memoir, My Broken Language, her story of growing up in a Philadelphia barrio and her drive to become an artist, free, online, 6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-quiara-alegria-hudes-reads-her-memoir-my-broken-language)
  • Cobalt Poets presents a poetry reading featuring Lob, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
  • City Lights Books presents editor and essayist Jesse McCarthy discussing his new book, Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul, essays examining subjects such as rap music, the Bataclan massacre in Paris, and writers such as Claudia Rankine and Terrence Hayes through the lens of the intersection of politics, art, and racial justice, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3751)

14 APRIL 2021 — wednesday

  • Skylight Books presents best-selling novelist Rachel Kushner, discussing her new book The Hard Crowd, a collection of essays spanning subjects such as art and literary criticism, classic cars, and the music scene of San Francisco, in conversation with Kim Gordon, bassist and vocalist for the band Sonic Youth and author of the best-selling memoir Girl in a Band, free, online, 6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-rachel-kushner-discusses-her-book-essays-hard-crowd-kim-gordon)
  • City Lights Books presents novelist and musician Willy Vlautin discussing his new book, The Night Always Comes, a heart-wrenching story of a young woman struggling with financial stability and keeping her family together amid a world of greed and gentrification, in conversation with novelist Megan Abbott (The Turnout, The End of Everything), free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3762)

15 APRIL 2021 — thursday

16 APRIL 2021 — friday

  • Small Press Traffic presents the High Dawn Reading Series, this month featuring readings from poets Lindsay Choi and Saretta Morgan, introduced by poet and essayist Tonya Foster, with musical performance by Kaori Suzuki, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.smallpresstraffic.org/upcomingevents/lindsay-choi-saretta-morgan)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a masterclass on "How to Start your Own Literary Press," featuring a panel with Noemi Press publisher Carmen Giménez Smith, Noemi Press Senior Poetry Editor J. Michael Martinez, and Noemi Press Managing Editor Sarah Gzmeski, moderated by Anne Cheilek, Reed Magazine's lead poetry editor, free, online, 3:00-4:30 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a reading featuring campus leaders of SJSU: President Mary Papazian, Provost Vincent J. Del Casino, Academic Senate Chair Ravisha Mathur, Dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts Shannon Miller, and English and Comparative Literature Department Chair Noelle Brada-Williams, reading poems by Edwin Markham, Dr. Henry Meade Bland (first Poet Laureate of California), and Al Young (Poet Laureate of California 2005-2007), free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a reading featuring SJSU faculty and alumni, including J. Michael Martinez (Museum of the Americas, Noemi Press publisher Carmen Giménez Smith, Michael Tod Edgerton (Vitreous Hide), Alan Soldofsky (In the Buddha Factory), Lara Gularte (Kissing the Bee), Darrell Dela Cruz, Julia Dunn, Vuong Vu, and others, free, online, 5:45 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)

17 APRIL 2021 — saturday

  • City Lights Books presents novelist and screenwriter Courttia Newland discussing his new novel, A River Called Time, in conversation with novelists Naomi Jackson (The Star Side of Bird Hill) and Victor LaValle (The Ecstatic, Big Machine), free, online, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3753)
  • The Poetry Center presents a reading for environmental justice, featuring poets Ed Roberson (Asked What Has Changed), Tiffany Higgins (And Aeneas Stares Into Her Helmet), Eli Clare (The Marrow's Telling: Words in Motion), and Lehua M. Taitano (A Bell Made of Stones), emceed by poet Steve Dickison, with audience Q&A to follow, free, online, 6:00-7:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: poetry.sfsu.edu/events/29192-poetry-and-environmental-justice-roberson-higgins-clare-taitano)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents the Poets and Writers Coalition Reading, featuring readings from undergraduate and graduate student poets, with special guest Rachelle Escamilla (Me Drawing a Picture of Me[n]), founder of the Poets and Writers Coalition and host of Out of Our Minds, the longest-running poetry radio show in the U.S., free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a reading by the Diasporic Peoples Writing Collective, featuring poets Karen Bankhead, Tureeda Mikell, Daniel Summerhill, Vernon Keeve III, MK Chavez, Keenan Norris, Ume Ali, Ben Soriano, Mario John Chris, Julinda LeDee, and Felipe De La Rosa, free, online, 4:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • Join poet Cecilia Woloch (Tsigan: The Gypsy Poem) for the "Regenerative Poetry Workshop," a weekend-long workshop, participants will get feedback on in-progress poems, as well as complete writing exercises and learn about revision, limit eight participants for a small and intimate group setting, runs two days (April 17 and 18), $200, online, 10:00 am-2:30 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1U_hBK-L253w-4mBAYIbUhGvcUCppLD_nqEdjN-bxUqR5cg/viewform)

18 APRIL 2021 — sunday

  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a reading from Poetry Center San Jose, featuring Santa Clara Poet Laureate emeritus (2018-2019) Mighty Mike McGee (In Search of Midnight), Tshaka Campbell (Tunnel Vision), former Poet Laureate of Santa Clara (2016-2017) Arlene Biala (One Inch Punch), poet and novelist Linda Lappin, poet Bill Cozzini, editor Kimy Martinez, poet Lesa Medley, artist and poet Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo, poet and first Poet Laureate of Santa Clara Nils Peterson, poet SevanKelee Boult, poet Scorpiana Xlent, poet Brandon Luu, poet Amy Meier, and more, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents the San Jose Story Maps Project, a reading featuring former Santa Clara County Poet Laureates Sally Ashton (The Behaviour of Clocks), Nils Peterson (A Walk to the Center of Things), and Mighty Mike McGee (In Search of Midnight), with Gary Singh, Metro Newspaper columnist and author of Silicon Alleys: Selected Metro Silicon Valley Columns, 2005-2020, and poets Jenny Clendenen, Lara Gularte, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Dan Pulcrano, John Allen Cassady, and more, free, online, 4:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)

19 APRIL 2021 — monday

  • Rivertown Poets presents an open mic poetry reading, three minutes per reader, hosted by Sande Anfang, free, online, 6:15 pm PDT (Sign up for the open mic/Zoom link: aqus.com/rivertownpoets)
  • Rivertown Poets presents a reading featuring poets Patrick Cahill, (The Machinery of Sleep) and Eliot Schain, (The Distant Sound), hosted by Sande Anfang, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 6:15 pm PDT (Register to attend/sign up for open mic: aqus.com/rivertownpoets)
  • Book Passage presents novelist Patricia Engel (The Veins of the Ocean), discussing her latest book, Infinite Country, a poignant story of a Colombian family grappling with the realities of immigration in America, free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookpassage.com/event/book-passage-presents-patricia-engel-infinite-country-online-event)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a reading and conversation with poet and current Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets Ellen Bass (Indigo) and Toi Derricotte (I: New and Selected Poems), poet and former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets (2012-2017), free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)

20 APRIL 2021 — tuesday

  • Join Jack Foley, along with Nina Serrano, Jovelyn Richards, and Jennifer Stone, for Cover to Cover, a radio show celebrating poetry and prose of all sorts, Tuesdays on KPFA in Berkeley, free, online, 2:00 pm PST (Go to kpfa.org/program/cover-to-cover)
  • Cobalt Poets presents a poetry reading featuring Julianna McCarthy, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
  • Vroman's Bookstore presents a poetry reading featuring poets Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Living Weapon), Didi Jackson (Moon Jar), Peter Filkins (Water/Music), and Major Jackson (The Absurd Man), free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.vromansbookstore.com/event/group-poetry-event)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a tribute to Lawrence Ferlinghetti, with a screening of the documentary film Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder, and a panel discussion featuring photographer and filmmaker Christopher Felver, Ferlinghetti biographer and poet Neeli Cherkovski, artist Patrick Surgalski, and Garret Caples, poet and editor for City Lights Books, with Joyce Jenkins, poet and editor-director of Poetry Flash, free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)

21 APRIL 2021 — wednesday

  • City Lights Books presents novelist and memoirist Marie Mutsuki Mockett (Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye), discussing her new book, American Harvest: God, Country, and Farming in the Heartland, in conversation with essayist Garnette Cadogan, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3764)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents "Spoken Word and Video Poem Workshop," led by Santa Clara Poet Laureate emeritus Mighty Mike McGee (In Search of Midnight) and poet Tshaka Campbell (Tunnel Vision), hosted by the San Jose Poetry Center, limited to fifteen participants, $15 for students and PCSJ members, $25 nonmembers, online, 5:00-7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • Book Passage presents JoAnne Tompkins reading from and discussing her latest novel, What Comes After, a story of community, loss, and family set in the Pacific Northwest, in conversation with novelist Aimee Liu (Glorious Boy), free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookpassage.com/event/book-passage-presents-joanne-tompkins-what-comes-after-online-event)

22 APRIL 2021 — thursday

  • Kepler's Literary Foundation presents best-selling novelist Becky Albertalli, discussing her latest book, Kate in Waiting, in conversation with novelist Leah Johnson (You Should See Me in a Crown), free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.keplers.org/upcoming-events-internal/2021/4/22/becky-albertalli)
  • Point Reyes Books presents novelist and essayist Andri Snaer Magnason discussing his latest book, On Time and Water, a deeply moving history of climate change and an appeal to humanity to work together in this current global crisis, in conversation with nonfiction writer and essayist Rebecca Solnit (Men Explain Things to Me, A Field Guide to Getting Lost), free, with donations welcome, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/andri-snaer-magnason-and-rebecca-solnit)
  • City Lights Books presents actor and writer Mira Sethi, reading from her new book, Are You Enjoying?, a collection of stories about life in Pakistan, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3763)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents the Reed Magazine Sponsored Reading, featuring poet and labor activist Rodrigo Toscano (In Range) and poet Danusha Laméris (Bonfire Opera: Poems), with current and former student contributors and editors of Reed Magazine, including Ume Ali, Vinnie D. Lopez, and Megan R. F. Alfaro, free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)
  • Litquake presents T.J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, discussing his work, including Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America and The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, part of the Seismic Salon series, an intimate setting with an author and a small audience, $100, limit ten participants, online, 5:00-6:30 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.litquake.org/seismicsalons.html)
  • Skylight Books presents author and artist Johnny Sun, discussing his new book, Goodbye, Again, a heartfelt collection of essays featuring Johnny Sun's black-and-white illustrations, in conversation with Karen Chee, staff writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers, hosted by Dynasty Typewriter, $5 admission only, $27.35 includes a copy of the book, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-dynasty-typewriter-jonny-sun-discusses-his-new-book-goodbye-again-karen-chee)
  • The Library Foundation of Los Angeles presents award-winning writer and activist Terry Tempest Williams discussing her new books, Erosion: Essays of Undoing, a collection of essays engaging with various forms of erosion in America, from often disastrous changes to the environment to erosion of trust in democracy and government, reservations open to members on March 9, free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: lfla.org/event/erosion-essays-of-undoing)

23 APRIL 2021 — friday

  • The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books presents the panel "History: Racism and Exclusion in the United States," featuring three finalists for the L.A. Times Book Prize, Alice Baumgarten (South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War), Walter Johnson (The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States), and Martha S. Jones (Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All), moderated by historian Anna-Lisa Cox, free, online, 11:00 am PDT (RSVP to attend: events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/project/2021-event-history-racism-exclusion)
  • San Jose State University Legacy of Poetry Festival presents a premiere of the poetry performance videos entered for the performance video contest co-sponsored by the Poets and Writers Coalition and Poetry Center San Jose, entries accepted until May 3, winners will be announced on May 14, free, online, 5:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.sjsu.edu/legacyofpoetry/LoP2021/index.php)

24 APRIL 2021 — saturday

  • Join poet Cecilia Woloch (Tsigan: The Gypsy Poem) for "20th Century Poetry: A Monthly Salon for Writers," a monthly salon focusing on twentieth century poets, focusing on their biographies and works, reading and appreciating their work, meets every third Saturday of the month, $75 drop-in or $200 per quarter, 10:00 am- Noon PDT (RSVP to attend: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_3WWspIjPG9Eic4wO6TGgY_5CXBzXCAPCLYlGncGJreE9rw/viewform)
  • Bookshop Santa Cruz presents the poetry workshop "My Voice in Ink: Speaking Our Truths," led by poet and nonfiction writer Patrice Vecchione, $40, ticket price includes a copy of one of Patrice Vecchione's recent books, either Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience or My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice: A Guide to Writing Poetry and Speaking Your Truth, online via Zoom, 10:00 am-Noon PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/my-voice)

25 APRIL 2021 — sunday

  • Book Passage presents Ross King, historian and best-selling author of The Judgment of Paris and Brunelleschi's Dome, discussing his latest book, The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance, about the life of Vespasiano da Bisticci and the bookshop he owned in a time before the printed book, when manuscripts were lavishly produced by hand, free, online, 1:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookpassage.com/event/book-passage-presents-ross-king-bookseller-florence-online-event)
  • Skylight Books presents novelist Fiona Mozley (Elmet, finalist for the Man Booker Prize 2017) discussing her new novel, Hot Stew, the story of a battle over real estate that unearths dark secrets and connections for everyone involved, free, online, Noon PDT (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-fiona-mozley-discusses-her-new-novel-hot-stew)
  • Sixteen Rivers Press presents a reading featuring poets Barbara Jane Reyes (Letters to a Young Brown Girl) and Maw Shein Win (Storage Unit for the Spirit House), part of the Sixteen Rivers Presents bimonthly poetry reading, free, online, 3:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: sixteenrivers.org/category/readings-events)
  • Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Kristin George Bagdanov, Diurne, and Terese Svoboda, Theatrix: Poetry Plays, 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)
  • VCP SoCal Poets presents a poetry reading featuring Gail Wronsky, Ramón Garcia, and Dig Wayne, part of their 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)

26 APRIL 2021 — monday

  • The Mechanics' Institute presents a reading of poems from the collection No Poetry No Peace, featuring poets Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte (Betrayal on the Bayou) and Dr. Angela M. Boutte, authors of the collection; as well as local poets Isis Machline Blanchette; Leticia Garcia Bradford, founder of the B Street Writers Collection; Fred Dodsworth, whose work has been published in Milvia Street, riverbabble, and Bay Area Generations, among others; Kevin Dublin (How To Fall in Love in San Diego); and Mary Mackey (Sugar Zone, The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams); in celebration of National Poetry Month, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.milibrary.org/events/no-poetry-no-peace-apr-26-2021)
  • Book Passage presents Grammy-award winning musician Rickie Lee Jones, discussing her memoir, Last Chance Texaco, in conversation with actor and author Peter Coyote (The Rainman's Third Cure: An Irregular Education), $40, tickets come with a complimentary copy of the book, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.bookpassage.com/RickieLeeJones)

27 APRIL 2021 — tuesday

  • Join Jack Foley, along with Nina Serrano, Jovelyn Richards, and Jennifer Stone, for Cover to Cover, a radio show celebrating poetry and prose of all sorts, Tuesdays on KPFA in Berkeley, free, online, 2:00 pm PST (Go to kpfa.org/program/cover-to-cover)
  • Cobalt Poets presents Tongo Eisen-Martin, Poet Laureate of San Francisco, open mic to follow, free, online via Zoom, 7:30 pm PDT (Zoom link here: www.poetrysuperhighway.com/cobalt/calendar.html)
  • Bookshop Santa Cruz presents writer and cartoonist Brian Fies (Mom's Cancer), discussing his new book, A Fire Story, a firsthand account of the devastating northern California wildfires in 2017, originally posted online and now available in an updated, expanded paperback form, free, online, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.bookshopsantacruz.com/fire-story)
  • City Lights Books presents poet and activist Sesshu Foster and artist Arturo Ernesto Romo discussing the launch of their new book, ELADATL: A History of the East Los Angeles Dirigible Air Transport Lines, a fictional history of a radical airship movement in Los Angeles told through a myriad of voices and diverse narratives, in conversation with writer and artist Carribean Fragoza, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3759)
  • Join Poetic License Sonoma every fourth Tuesday for an evening of poetry reading featuring the nine poets that make up Poetic License Sonoma, Susanne Arrhenius, Jeffrey Bartfeld, Joseph Cutler, Paul DeMarco, Kusum Irene Jain, Leo McCloskey, Steve Trenam, Judith Vaughn, and Jaime Zukowski, tonight's theme is "transience," free, donations welcome, 7:00-8:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: poeticlicensesonoma.com/events)
  • Kepler's Literary Foundation presents novelist Kawai Strong Washburn, discussing his debut novel, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, a saga about a Hawaiian family, magic, and, mythology, in conversation with Angie Coiro, producer and host of the radio show In Deep with Angie Coiro, free, online, 6:00-7:00 pm PDT (RSVP to attend: www.keplers.org/upcoming-events-internal/kawai2021)

28 APRIL 2021 — wednesday

  • The San Francisco Chronicle presents a multimedia evening of poetry, song, art, and literature honoring the life and words of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the late San Francisco poet, activist, and co-owner of City Lights Books; among those participating are the new San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin and former San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman, Gary Kamiya, Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City, musicians Lane Murchison, Allison Lovejoy and the Quivering Fringe quartet, free, online, 5:30-6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: sfchronicle.com/tribute)
  • City Lights Books presents artist and writer Carribean Fragoza, discussing her new collection of stories, Eat the Mouth That Feeds You, in conversation with novelist Héctor Tobar, free, online, 6:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.citylights.com/bookstore/?fa=event&event_id=3758)
  • Skylight Books presents Angela Mi Young Hur (The Queens of K-Town) reading from and discussing her latest novel, Folklorn, on family, magic, and mythology, free, online, 6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-angela-mi-young-hur-reads-folklorn)

29 APRIL 2021 — thursday

  • Litquake presents former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, discussing his work and career; Herrera is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Every Day We Get More Illegal and Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems, part of the Seismic Salon series, an intimate setting with an author and a small audience, $100, limit ten participants, online, 5:00-6:30 pm PDT (Purchase tickets here: www.litquake.org/seismicsalons.html)
  • Poetry Flash presents a virtual poetry reading by Katie Peterson, Life in a Field, and Phyllis Stowell, Transformations: Nearing the End of Life: Dreams and Visions, online via Zoom, free, 7:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: please click here; you will receive an email with a link to join the reading)

30 APRIL 2021 — friday

  • Point Reyes Books celebrates the publication of On the Mesa: An Anthology of Bolinas Writing, a formerly out-of-print collection of poetry from City Lights Books, featuring writing from several schools of thought, including the Beat and New York School Poets, the San Francisco Renaissance, and Black Mountain Poets, all converging in Bolinas, California, this event will feature a reading and discussion of the works by friends and contributors, moderated by Steve Heilig, free, online, 1:00 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.ptreyesbooks.com/event/mesa)
  • Skylight Books presents writer and actor Mira Sethi, reading from and discussing her debut collection of stories, Are You Enjoying?, free, online, 6:30 pm PDT (Register to attend: www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-mira-sethi-reads-her-collection-are-you-enjoying)

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