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Poetry Flash Reading Series


Dan Alter
Photo: A. Mathiowetz

Dan Alter, Judy Halebsky, Maw Shein Win

29 MAY 2025 — thursday

Poetry Flash presents a book launch for Dan Alter, who will read from his new collection Hills Full of Holes; he'll be joined in the celebration by Judy Halebsky, Spring and a Thousand Years (Unabridged), and Maw Shein Win, Percussing the Thinking Jar, Art House Gallery & Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, two blocks north of Ashby BART, refreshments, free, 7:00 pm PDT (poetryflash.org).


Thank you for continuing to support Poetry Flash and our reading series. The featured books will be available for signing at the event and at bookshop.org/shop/poetryflash. This event will be posted on the Poetry Flash YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UClwdR-uPFNz7XxbBbLcnoEA.

MORE ABOUT THE READERS

Dan Alter's new poetry collection is Hills Full of Holes. Judy Halebsky says, "These immersive poems open interior and exterior worlds and diminish dichotomies of plant and human, nature and industry, history and now. Tender and vivid, they ask the reader to change perspectives and see the world anew." Dan Alter's previous collection is My Little Book of Exiles, winner of the Poetry Prize for the 2022 Cowan Writer's Awards. A volume of translations, Take a Breath, You're Getting Excited, was published in 2024. He has published poems in journals including Field, Fourteen Hills, Pank, and ZYZZYVA. He was a fellow of the Arad Arts Project and a finalist for the Rosenberg Award for Poems on the Jewish Experience. He is a member of the Community of Writers at Olympic Valley, and holds an MFA from Saint Mary's College of California. The Learning and Engagement Coordinator at the Magnes Museum, he lives in Berkeley.

Judy Halebsky has three full-length books, most recently Spring and a Thousand Years (Unabridged), winner of the Miller Williams Poetry Prize. Katy Peterson says, "Under the spell of Basho's haiku, but written in a voice entirely its own, Judy Halebsky's Spring and a Thousand Years (Unabridged) is the first book of poetry I've read in years that makes civilization look good. It makes me want to make dinner, make love, and make noise. Only a poet this generous, this wise, and this rich in language could have made this splendid thing. Read this book and you will wish you were her neighbor." Her previous collections are Sky = Empty, winner of the New Issues Poetry Prize, Tree Line, and Space/Gap/Interval/Distance, a chapbook. Originally from Nova Scotia, she moved to the Bay Area to study poetry at Mills College, then spent five years in Japan on fellowships from the Japanese Ministry of Culture. She directs the low-residency MFA at Dominican University of California, and lives in Oakland.

Maw Shein Win's new book of poems is Percussing the Thinking Jar. Lee Herrick says, "Percussing the Thinking Jar is a marvel of lyric invention. The 'thought logs' make stream of consciousness feel new. Stroke log, vertigo log, anxiety meditations, wild ideas: no idea or language is out of Win's reach." Her previous collections include Storage Unit for the Spirit House, nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, longlisted for the PEN America Open Book Award, and shortlisted for CALIBA's Golden Poppy Award for Poetry; Invisible Gifts: New and Selected Poems; and two chapbooks, Ruins of a glittering palace and Score and Bone. A Burmese-American poet who teaches poetry in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco, she served as the inaugural Poet Laureate of El Cerrito, California 2016-2018.




Daily Listings

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7 AUGUST 2026 — friday

  • Artists' Television Access, City Lights, and PM Press present a four-day seven-film Guy Debord retrospective hosted by Ken Knabb, translator and radical theorist, to celebrate release of The Cinema Must Be Destroyed: The Films of Guy Debord, along with recent re-releases of other works by Ken Knabb, today's program includes four early short films, Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco, $10, 7:00 pm (citylights.com/events/the-cinema-must-be-destroyed-the-films-of-guy-debord)
  • Vroman's Bookstore presents Ariel Delgado Dixon discussing and signing copies of her new novel Sourland, in conversation with Sam Cohen, Vroman's Bookstore, 695 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, free, 7:00 pm (vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-08-07/ariel-delgado-dixon)
  • Book Soup presents composer David K. Israel, discussing and signing copies of his new novel The Lost Mozart, in conversation with Meghan Daum, novelist and Guggenheim fellow, signed copies also available online if purchased before event, Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, free, 7:00 pm (booksoup.com/event/2026-08-07/david-k-israel)
  • Golden Sardine wine bar presents the First Friday Poetry Series with a reading by Carlos Quinteros III, Rueben Gelley Newman, and Randall Mann, Golden Sardine, 362 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, free, 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm (www.goldensardinesf.com/events)

8 AUGUST 2026 — saturday

  • Artists' Television Access, City Lights, and PM Press present a four-day seven-film Guy Debord retrospective hosted by Ken Knabb, translator and radical theorist, to celebrate release of The Cinema Must Be Destroyed: The Films of Guy Debord, along with recent re-releases of other works by Ken Knabb, today's program includes "The Society of the Spectacle," Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco, $10, 7:00 pm (citylights.com/events/the-cinema-must-be-destroyed-the-films-of-guy-debord)
  • Book Soup presents Douglas Messerli, poet and publisher of Sun and Moon Press, discussing and signing copies of new book My Queer Cinema: LGBTQ+ Films Coded and Explicit, Volume 1, 1887-1919, signed copies also available online if purchased before event, Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, free, 7:00 pm (booksoup.com/event/2026-08-08/douglas-messerli)

9 AUGUST 2026 — sunday

  • Poetry performance by poet Carla Harryman with saxophonist Jon Raskin, who is well known for his integral role as a founding member of the ROVA Saxophone Quartet, and other projects; among them his collaborations with poet Carla Harryman; hosted by Harry Bernstein at a private home in Berkeley, seats are $30, payable in advance via PayPal or Venmo, email Harry Bernstein for location and admission information; event begins at 5:00 pm (Harry Bernstein, harry@fullplatemedia.com)
  • Vroman's Bookstore presents Rey M. Rodriguez, attorney, discussing and signing copies of his debut poetry collection Todos Somos Sagrados/All Are Sacred, in conversation with professor Obed Silva, Vroman's Bookstore, 695 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, free, 3:00 pm (RSVP requested: vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-08-09/rey-m-rodriguez)

10 AUGUST 2026 — monday

11 AUGUST 2026 — tuesday

12 AUGUST 2026 — wednesday

13 AUGUST 2026 — thursday

  • Hollie Hardy presents a six-session poetry revision workshop with the goal of refining toward publication in a generous and supportive environment, meeting August 13 to October 22, alternating Thursdays, for written feedback and small group workshops, bring new or old work, optional revision prompts also provided, online via Zoom, $475, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm (Sign up at: holliehardy.com/shop/p/poetry-revision-workshop-fall-2026)

14 AUGUST 2026 — friday

  • Artists' Television Access, City Lights, and PM Press present a four-day seven-film Guy Debord retrospective hosted by Ken Knabb, translator and radical theorist, to celebrate release of The Cinema Must Be Destroyed: The Films of Guy Debord, along with recent re-releases of other works by Ken Knabb, today's program features "In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni," Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco, $10, 7:00 pm (citylights.com/events/the-cinema-must-be-destroyed-the-films-of-guy-debord)
  • Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore presents Robert Hass, Pulitzer Prize-winner, and 1995-1997 US Poet Laureate, introducing his new book A Third Commonness: Essays on Poetry, Poetics, and the Natural World, in conversation with Brenda Hillman, book signing to follow, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT, RSVP TO JOIN WAIT LIST: mrsdalloways.com/event/2026-08-14/robert-hass-third-commonness)

15 AUGUST 2026 — saturday

  • Artists' Television Access, City Lights, and PM Press present a four-day seven-film Guy Debord retrospective hosted by Ken Knabb, translator and radical theorist, to celebrate release of The Cinema Must Be Destroyed: The Films of Guy Debord, along with recent re-releases of other works by Ken Knabb, today's program features "Guy Debord: His Art and His Time," Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco, $10, 7:00 pm (citylights.com/events/the-cinema-must-be-destroyed-the-films-of-guy-debord)
  • San Francisco Public Library Bernal Heights presents Sally Love Saunders to discuss poetic process and read from her new poetry collection Sally's Casserole, San Francisco Public Library, Bernal Heights Branch, 500 Cortland Avenue, San Francisco, free, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, reservation required: call (415) 355-2810, email bhemfr@sfpl.org, or sign in at the library reference desk (sfpl.org/events/2026/08/15/author-sally-love-saunders-sallys-casserole)

16 AUGUST 2026 — sunday

17 AUGUST 2026 — monday

18 AUGUST 2026 — tuesday

19 AUGUST 2026 — wednesday

20 AUGUST 2026 — thursday

21 AUGUST 2026 — friday

22 AUGUST 2026 — saturday

  • Berkeley Poetry Festival presents "Poetry Takes Root," a free community fundraiser, the celebration features poetry readings by Natasha Dennerstein, Jennifer Hasegawa, and James Cagney, along with music, dance, refreshments, community prizes, and opportunities to support Berkeley Poetry Festival; funds raised will help the organization expand its programs, partnerships, and opportunities for poets and audiences; Donkey & Goat Winery, 1340 Fifth Street, Berkeley, 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, free/donations encouraged (For information and accessibility inquiries, email: theberkeleypoetryfestival@gmail.com, or visit www.berkeleypoetryfestival.com)

23 AUGUST 2026 — sunday

24 AUGUST 2026 — monday

25 AUGUST 2026 — tuesday

26 AUGUST 2026 — wednesday

27 AUGUST 2026 — thursday

28 AUGUST 2026 — friday

29 AUGUST 2026 — saturday

30 AUGUST 2026 — sunday

31 AUGUST 2026 — monday


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