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Jesse Nathan

Diana Arterian and Jesse Nathan

12 APRIL 2026 — sunday

Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Jesse Nathan, Eggtooth, and Diana Arterian, Agrippina the Younger: Poems, Art House Gallery & Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, two blocks north of Ashby BART, refreshments, free, 3:00 pm (poetryflash.org).

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

MORE ABOUT THE READERS

Diana Arterian's most recent poetry collection is Agrippina the Younger. Brandon Som says, "In this stunningly lyrical book—rigorously researched and rigorously imagined—we hear history as lies but also lyre: an instrument, in Arterian's hands, attentively tuned and pitch perfect with song." She is also editor and co-translator of Smoke Drifts, a collection of poetry by the late Afghan poet Nadia Anjuman. Diana Arterian's first collection, Playing Monster :: Seiche, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was a Poetry Foundation Staff Pick. A Poetry Editor at Noemi Press and twice-finalist for the National Poetry Series, her creative work has been recognized with fellowships from the Banff Centre, Millay Arts, Yaddo, and elsewhere. Diana Arterian holds a PhD in Literature & Creative Writing from USC, and is the 2026 Lurie Distinguished Visiting Professor at San José State University. She writes "The Annotated Nightstand" column at Lit Hub. She lives in Los Angeles.

Jesse Nathan's debut collection, Eggtooth, won the New Writers Award, the Housatonic Book Prize, and the Kansas Book Award. It was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award, the Golden Poppy Book Awards, and the Nossrat Yassini Poetry Prize. The San Francisco Chronicle said, "By turns finely wrought and bracingly direct…alert to the wonderful and terrible things that happen beneath our feet. Nathan's ear for language and eye for the intersection of natural splendor and trauma are informed by his youth…melding self-aware metaphor with age-old rigor." His poems have appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, Poetry, and other magazines. His latest book is One Question: Short Conversations with Poets, a collection of prose and interviews with poets including Diane Seuss, Arthur Sze, Yusef Komunyakaa, Jorie Graham, Frank Bidart, Raúl Zurita, Robert Hass, Cathy Park Hong, Ross Gay, Safiya Sinclair, Fady Joudah, and many others, forthcoming from McSweeney's this April. Jesse Nathan's second book of poetry, The San Francisco Poem, is forthcoming from Scribner in 2027. He currently teaches literature at UC Berkeley.




Daily Listings

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17 MAY 2026 — sunday

  • Book Society presents "A Taste of the Land: Stories & Realities of Farming," an evening of conversation and farm fresh flavors with Jennifer Acker, Surrender, Andy Naja-Riese, CEO of the Agricultural Institute of Marin, and Tamara Hicks, Feast on the Farm, owner of Tomula Farms, Book Society, 2945 College Avenue, Berkeley, $45, members $30, 6:00-8:00 pm (www.booksociety.social/event-details/a-taste-of-the-land-stories-realities-of-farming)
  • Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Molly Fisk, Walking Wheel, a novel-in-verse, and poet and translator Francesca Bell, What Small Sound, Art House Gallery & Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, two blocks north of Ashby BART, refreshments, free, 3:00 pm PDT (poetryflash.org).
  • Green Apple Books presents National Geographic Explorer Krystle Hickman celebrating World Bee Day with her new book, The ABCs of California's Native Bees, featuring a discussion with Catherine Chang followed by a bee bioblitz in the Garden of Fragrance, offsite at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco, free with Garden admission (free for SF residents, veterans, Museums for All/EBT participants, and Gardens members), registration required, 11:00 am (Registration required: greenapplebooks.com/event/2026-05-17/offsite-abcs-californias-native-bees-book-talk-bioblitz)

18 MAY 2026 — monday

19 MAY 2026 — tuesday

20 MAY 2026 — wednesday

21 MAY 2026 — thursday

22 MAY 2026 — friday

23 MAY 2026 — saturday

24 MAY 2026 — sunday

  • "Words, blue flowers streaming…" presents poetry and music to celebrate spring in the garden, poetry written by Jaime Robles for the event will be sung and spoken, with voice and bird whistle, with Gael Alcock, cello and voice, Nancy Beckman, shakuhachi, double ocarina, and voice, and Tom Bickley, recorders and voice; a selection of short instrumental works for recorder and cello by Thomas Morley and Gael Alcock, and solos for shakuhachi, recorder, and cello will begin the afternoon, conversation and refreshments to follow, at The Tiger Garage Garden, a private studio, South Berkeley, near Ashby BART, location provided when you reserve a seat by emailing Tom Bickley, free, limited seating, reserve early, 3:00 pm (Reservation required, please email Tom Bickley, tbickley@gmail.com)

25 MAY 2026 — monday

26 MAY 2026 — tuesday

27 MAY 2026 — wednesday

28 MAY 2026 — thursday

29 MAY 2026 — friday

30 MAY 2026 — saturday

31 MAY 2026 — sunday


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