
Richard Tillinghast
Richard Tillinghast, Jeanne Foster, Alan Williamson
19 JUNE 2025 — thursday
Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Richard Tillinghast, Night Train to Memphis, Jeanne Foster, Your Form Became My Own, and Alan Williamson, The Pattern More Complicated: New and Selected Poems, 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
Richard Tillinghast's new book of poems is Night Train to Memphis. Roger Rosenblatt says, "Characteristic of Richard Tillinghast's genius, Night Train to Memphis gives us comfort with a beautiful strangeness. 'Imagine what you know,' said Shelley. Richard does just that. He welcomes us to a poem, treats us like kin, then quietly changes our lives for the better." He has published fourteen previous collections, the most recent Blue If Only I Could Tell You, and five works of creative nonfiction including literary travel books on Istanbul, Ireland, and a critical biography of the poet Robert Lowell. His poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. Recipient of grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts, he lives in Hawaii and spends his summers in Tennessee.
Jeanne Foster has published four books of poetry, most recently Your Form Became My Own. Rodney Jones says, her "gift is to witness again and again the timeless in a single glimpse." She is a translator from Italian, and co-translated with Alan Williamson, The Living Theatre: Selected Poems of Bianca Tarozzi, Northern California Book Award-winner for Poetry in Translation. Ascoltando una conchiglia, her selected poems translated into Italian, will be published in Venice this fall. Jeanne Foster is the recipient of the QRL Poetry Award and grants from MacDowell, New York State CAPS, Saint Lawrence, and Lannan Foundation. She is Professor Emerita at Saint Mary's College of California, and is a Unitarian Universalist minister who has spoken in pulpits as wide-ranging as London, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
Alan Williamson is the author, most recently, of the poetry collection Franciscan Notes; Kevin McIlvoy says, "It is impossible to leave Franciscan Notes without experiencing the inmost smile that is the response of the body and mind to intimate, authentic truth-telling. Each poem embodies processes of reckoning with the intricacies of mythmaking and unmasking in the 'lifework' of loving. Invoking the Franciscan spiritual practice of discernment through the 'trinity' of memory, intelligence, and love, Williamson unlocks in the reader expectations of sudden joy." Williamson's previous books include The Pattern More Complicated: New and Selected Poems, Love and the Soul, and Res Publica. With Jeanne Foster he co-translated The Living Theatre: Selected Poems of Bianca Tarozzi, Northern California Book Award-winner for Poetry Translation. His most recent book of literary criticism is Dante and the Night Journey. He has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UC Davis, he continues to teach in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.


Daily Listings
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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
- Book Soup presents Eliot Glazer, comedian, discussing and signing copies of his new book The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay: Essays, in conversation with Trixie Mattel, drag performer, Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, $34.74 ticket includes a book, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (Tickets available: www.eventbrite.com/e/eliot-glazer-discusses-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-gay-tickets-1986275345026)
- Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore presents S.C. Godfrey reading from and signing copies of her new thriller The Enigma Challenge, in conversation with Michelle Chouinard, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (RSVP requested: mrsdalloways.com/event/2026-08-11/sc-godfreys-enigma-challenge)
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
- In anticipation of the upcoming releases of A Crown of Thorns and Roses The Acotar Countdown Book Club is revisitng the romantasy saga by Sara J. Maas, 2945 College Avenue, Berkeley, $30, 6:30 pm (www.booksociety.social/event-details/the-acotar-countdown-book-club-2026-08-19-18-30)
- Pegasus Books Downtown presents Devyn Defoe, celebrating the release of her debut novel Burnside, in conversation with novelist Kate Folk, Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7:00 pm (pegasusbookstore.com/event/2026-08-19/devyn-defoe-burnside-kate-folk)
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
- Bathers Library presents Summer Symposium, a five-day series of talks, readings, workshops, screenings, performances, and gatherings, August 26-30, Wednesday-Sunday, schedule TBA second week of August, Bathers Library, 2310 Telegraph Avenue, and other venues around Oakland, early-bird tickets $40-$100, regular tickets $60-$120, volunteers welcome (Tickets available: bathers-library.square.site/product/summer-symposium-2026-early-bird-passes/ENFWV7WZ6GLFVGRVNMG5JIJV?cs=true&cst=custom&utm_source=bathers-library.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=summer-symposium-2026)
27 AUGUST 2026 — thursday
28 AUGUST 2026 — friday
29 AUGUST 2026 — saturday
- Fourth Saturdays Poetry at the Claremont Library presents a reading by Anna Zumbahlen, poet and educator, and Serena Chopra, poet and multidisciplinary artist, Helen Renwick Library, 208 North Harvard Avenue, Claremont, free, 2:00 pm (www.claremontlibrary.org/monthly-poetry-readings.html)
30 AUGUST 2026 — sunday
31 AUGUST 2026 — monday
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