Notable San Francisco grieves for the tragic loss of life in Oakland with the burning of Ghost Ship. Making art is a dangerous pastime, but it shouldn’t be life threatening because artists are forced by city gentrification to live on the urban fringe. We honor those lost in our hearts as we keep artistic community alive by showing up for it.
Wednesday 12/7: Rebeca Solnit celebrates the release of Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas. Free, 7 p.m., City Lights.
Feature filmmaker (Illusion), documentarian (You Can Heal Your Life), actor (Party of Five), and writer Michael Goorjian reads from his new novel, What Lies Beyond the Stars. Free, 6 p.m., Book Passage at the Ferry Building.
Thursday 12/8: It’s been a while since we’ve reminded you of “Why There Are Words,” a monthly reading in Sausalito. This might be a good week to get reacquainted. This month’s lineup (reading on the theme of “Sugar”) includes Jonathan Cardew, Russell Dillon, Grant Faulkner, Christine Hale, Matt Hart, Kristie Betts Letter, and Janey Skinner. $10, 7 p.m., Studio 333 on Caldeonia Street.
Kearny Street Workshop is having a party to celebrate the the release of the chapbook radio heart, or how robots fall out of love by Margaret Rhee. Featured: Debbie Yie, Virgie Tovar, Sean Y Manzano, Maria Fiani, Daniel Redman, and Isla Ford. There will also be an awards ceremony to honor Truong Tran “for years of service, mentorship, and friendship to writers and artists of color in the Bay Area.” Free, 7 p.m., ARC Gallery.
Friday 12/9: The Beat Museum presents “Celebrating the Holidays with Poetry and Jazz” featuring jazz poet Charles Curtis Blackwell and saxophonist Lucho with additional participants to be announced. Free, 7 p.m., The Beat Museum.
You’re Going to Die offers “an evening of music and art, a communal grief release” with a live presentation of Deep Pools’ new album See You In The Morning Light. You’re Going to Die is “a communal exploration of death & dying, one driven by creativity, fueled by arts & entertainment, writing & music, interviews & stories, through any means & all social forums available, but always with the continued commitment to bring people creatively into the conversation of death & dying, while helping to inspire & empower out of an unabashed embrace of our losses & mortality…” For those in mourning after the Oakland fire, this might be a place for solace. $15 (contact [email protected] if unable to afford this), 7 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry.
Saturday 12/10: Nomadic Press celebrates the release of MK Chavez’s full-length poetry collection, Dear Animal, with guest readers Tongo Eisen-Martin, Arisa White, Nick Johnson, Paul Corman-Roberts, Cyrus Armajani, and Ingrid Keir. Free (donations solicited), 7 p.m., Chapter 510 and The Department of Make Believe.
Alley Cat Books presents a reading with poets Russell Dillon, Matt Hart, and Shauna Hannibal, hosted by Jason Morris. Free, 7 p.m., Alley Cat.
Monday 12/12: The Center for Literary Arts at San Jose State University and the Center for Steinbeck Studies present readings by this year’s Steinbeck Fellows, Xochitl Bermejo and Gary Singh. Free, 7 p.m., MLK Library Room B1, San Jose State University.
Nomadic Press is featured at Perfectly Queer. With MK Chavez (Dear Animal), Arisa White (Black Pearl), and Kwan Booth, plus musician Azuah. Free, 7 p.m., Dog Eared Books in the Castro.
Tuesday 12/13: Mya Pindyck, Katharine Agard, Chloe Caldwell, and Grace Rosario Perkins read for the December Queer Reading Series at the San Francisco Public Library. Presented by Radar Productions. Free, 5:45 p.m., San Francisco Public Library.
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This week’s theatre recommendation is Paradise Street by Clive Barker. You may know Clive Barker as a writer of horror novels (sometimes called the British Stephen King) but did you know he is also a playwright, and a damn good one? Director Stuart Bousel brings us the American premiere of Paradise Street, which dates from the 1980s decade of Thatcher, but seems highly pertinent now. It is riotously erudite, funny and insightful, political and raunchy, and features a visit to gritty Liverpool by the time-traveling Queen Elizabeth I accompanied by a 16th century entourage including an unexpectedly goofy Earl of Essex, the poet Ben Jonson, and a pet ape. Great fun! For more information, click here. 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, Susie Hara. Read an interview here.
And here’s some video of one of last week’s SF notables, Bill Ayers.
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If you have a Bay Area event listing you’d like us to consider for Notable SF, please contact [email protected] as far in advance as possible, and include the date of the event in the subject line.
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Logo art by Max Winter.
