Wednesday 2/18: The English Department at UC Berkeley hosts The Holloway Series in Poetry. The Spring semester kicks off with Claudia Rankine. Free, 6:30 p.m., Maude Fife Room/Wheeler Hall at UC Berkeley.
Mary Volmer, author of a widely praised first novel, Crown of Dust, will read in another East Bay academic setting, St. Mary’s College in Moraga. Free, 7:30 p.m., Soda Center, Claey’s Lounge.
Thursday 2/19: At Under The Influence, performers read the work of a writer whom they admire, followed by work of their own written “under the infuence”. Tonight’s readers include a MacDowell Colony fellow, a winner of two PEN awards, an MFA candidate at the California College of Arts, a trans and queer international poet and artist from nyc (now living in Oakland) and a filmmaker. They are: Rasheen Alexis Meneses, Thaisa Frank, Patrick Newsom, Abbie Amadio, and Joe Stillwater. $5-10, 7:30 p.m., The Emerald Tablet.
Alley Cat Books’ Foglifter Reading Series features a fine pack of local talent: Genine Lentine, Baruch Porras-Hernanadez, Maria Judnick, Monique Mero-Williams, Liz Green, and Roberto F. Santiago. Free, 7 p.m., Alley Cat Books.
Friday 2/20: Alley Cat books is having a helluva week! Tonight’s reading features three distinguished poets with upcoming work in new collections: Lisa Cicarello has published in Tin House, Denver Quarterly, and other notable places. Tracey Knapp‘s work has appeared in Best New Poets of 2008 and 2010 and her first book of poems, Mouth, is coming out this year. Stegler Fellow (Stanford University) Matthew Siegel‘s Blood Work won the 2015 Felix Pollack Prize in Poetry from University of Wisconsin-Madison. That’s a pretty good lineup, indeed. Free, 7 p.m., Alley Cat Books.
The habitués of The Naked Bulb Reading Series in Oakland might not be thrilled at the characterization, but this scene is about as hip as it gets in the Bay Area poetic underground. Featured: Rohan Dacosta plus an open mic. Free, 6:30 p.m., The Octupus Literary Salon.
Sunday 2/22: Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island 1910-1940 by Him Lai and Genny Lim, first published in 1980 and now reissued, offers 150 poems in Chinese and English language translation, oral histories, and numerous photographs. It tells a fascinating San Francisco story. Historian Judy Yung, poet and playwright Genny Lim (one of the authors of Island), and SFSU Professor Marlon Hom will discuss this history at the San Francisco Public Library. A book signing will follow. Free, 1 p.m., San Francisco Public Library.
In San Francisco, we like to enjoy literature in pubs, and The Edinburgh Castle Pub has played host to many of our shining lights. Today, in a reading entitled “In Search of Lost Time”, six local authors will hold forth: Meghan Ward, Jack Boulware, Frances Stroh, Joe Clifford, Alan Black, and Naomi Goldner. Free, 3:30 p.m., Edinburgh Castle Pub.
Monday 2/23: Bay Area Generations is a reading series with an unusual submission requirement: they only consider submissions sent in tandem by readers of different generations. The result is a remarkable mix of ages and perspectives at every show. This month’s edition features: Annie Marron + Bonnie McManis, Tantra Bensko + Emily Kiernan, Jason Sposeto + Laurie Ann Doyle, and Laura Walker + Gretchen Stengel. $7 ($10 with souveneir chapbook). Berkeley City Club.
Tuesday 2/24: ZYZZYVA presents Matt Sumell in conversation with Oscar Villalon about Sumell’s debut novel, Making Nice. Free, 7:30 p.m., Green Apple Books on the Park.
*
This week’s theatre recommendation is Do It Live Productions’ presentation of Mike Bartlett’s Olivier Award winner Cock at the Firehouse Arts Collective in Berkeley. Bartlett is a rising star in the English theatre world, and Do It Live is one of San Francisco’s most interesting young theatre companies. This is your last chance to see this remarkable show before it closes on Saturday, 2/21. Read a review here. For further information, including ticket prices, times and venue location, click here.
*
This week’s featured local author is John Sakkis (click here to read an interview):
