Wednesday 8/17: Congressman John Lewis, distinguished civil rights leader who marched with Dr. King and recently, astonishingly, led a Congressional sit-in in the not-so-hallowed halls of Congress, has written a graphic novel, March, in collaboration with author Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell. This extraordinary man and his colleagues will take the stage at the University of San Francisco to discuss their work. Not to be missed, if you can help it. Free, 5:30 p.m., USF McClaren Complex.
Lyrics and Dirges celebrates the sixth anniversary of their monthly Berkeley reading with featured authors Virgie Tovar, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Cyrus Armajani, and Giovanni Singleton. Hosted by Sharon Coleman and MK Chavez. Free, 7:30 p.m., Pegasus Bookstore Downtown Berkeley.
Friday 8/19: Honestly, we’re not sure what to make of the following, but it sounds too intriguing not to be notable. So, here you go: Ex-Machina 3.0: A Psychomagic Exorcism of the Tech Industry by La Pocha Nostra is a ritual action involving a human body, an acupuncturist, and spoken word. The central image consists of a shaved nude cyborg body, covered in lacquer to look like a doll, acupunctured with needles bearing flags of the forty most insidious tech companies of the Bay Area. The audience will be challenged to partake in the removal of the flags as an act of collective exorcism. The performance ritual is also a call for the recapturing of the body/city as a site for bohemian creativity, activism, imagination and compassion. Free, 8 p.m., Fort Mason Chapel. Limited space available.
Saturday 8/20: Small Press Distribution (SPD) Presents brings us Jasper Bernes, Lindsey Boldt, and Fanciulla Gentile. Free, 5 p.m. Moe’s Books.
Youssef Alaoui presents a number of readers who have been published by Paper Press Publishing, a veritable “who’s who” of the East Bay scene: Cassandra Dallett, Joel Landmine, MK Chavez, Paul Corman-Roberts, Sharon Coleman, William Taylor Jr., Alexandra Naughton, Dennis Formento, and Missy Church. This oughtta be a fun party. Free, 6 p.m., The Octopus Literary Salon.
Tuesday 8/23: Tracy Knapp continues her August poet-in-residency at the Bazaar Café, presenting readings by Melinda Clemmons, Brittany Perham, and Amos White. Free, 7 p.m., Bazaar Café.
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This week’s theatre recommendation is Twelfth Night, presented by Marin Shakespeare Company at Dominican University in San Rafael. There are few more delightful summer Shakespeare experiences than those provided by Marin Shakespeare. The amphitheater is lovely and rustic, the vibe community, and the company makes up with enthusiasm whatever it may sometimes lack in polish. For information about Twelfth Night, click here. You can also read a review here.
For extensive coverage of the Bay Area theatre scene, visit TheatreStorm.
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Evan Karp presents video of this week’s featured local author, Aya de Leon. Read an interview here.
And here’s some video of one of last week’s SF notables, bassist Miles Karp (performing with Steven Grey), the musical half of the poet/musician sibling team of Evan (yes, that Evan) and Miles Karp, Turk & Divis.
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