Wednesday 3/8: The Museum of the African Diaspora, as part of their current exhibition Where Is Here (curated by Jacquelyn Francis and Kathy Zarur), celebrate International Women’s Day with a discussion featuring mixed media and installation artist Asya Abdrahman and writers Faith Adiele and Tonya M. Foster. $10, 7 p.m., MOAD.
Thi Bui launches her debut graphic novel, The Best We Could Do, about her family’s departure from war-torn Vietnam. Free, 7:30 p.m., Pegasus Books.
Thursday 3/9: Remember when you used to sit enthralled for “story hour” at your local library? Sure you do, but I bet the featured reader was never Joyce Carol Oates. The Morrison Library at UC Berkeley hosts their monthly “Story Hour” with the renowned novelist. A treat, for sure, but possibly not suitable for young children. Free, 5 p.m., Morrison Library at UC Berkeley.
Peg Alford Purcell celebrates her first book launch (Show Her a Flower, a Bird, a Shadow) at Why There Are Words, the reading series she co-founded. Other readers will include Harriet Scott Chessman, Molly Giles, Glen David Gold, Stephen Kiesbye, Ethel Rohan, and Sarah Stone. No doubt, some of your favorite folks will be in attendance for this happy occasion. Free, 7 p.m. Studio 333 on Caledonia.
Friday 3/10: Norman Ohler, a German novelist (The Quota Machine—acknowledged as the first novel to utilize hypertext) and journalist (Spiegel, DIE ZEIT) reads from his intriguingly titled new book, Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich. Free, 7:30 p.m., Green Apple Books on the Park.
Kevin Killian and Aaron Shurin are featured at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Free with $12 gallery admission, 6 p.m., BAMPFA.)
Saturday 3/11: Chinaka Hodge will emcee The 2017 Poetic Address to the Nation at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with the participation of Cameron Awkward-Rich, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Bob Holman, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Michelle Lee, Hadeel Ramadan, Luis J. Rodriguez, Beau Sia, Marvin K. White, and Naudika William, plus others. The organizers urge attendees to come early (doors will open at 3:30 p.m.) to “take part in activities that promote a healthy democracy.” This event is presented in partnership with People’s State of the Union and the US Department of Art and Culture. $10 (in advance), $15 (at the door), but no one turned away for lack of funds. 3:30 p.m.(doors open) and 5 p.m. (main event). YBCA.
Writers With Drinks offers more of the usual unusual: Shobha Rao (Unrestored Woman), Paul Vangelisti (Border Music), L. A. Kauffman (Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Activism), and Leena Trivedi-Grenier (Leena Eats). $5-20 (no one turned away), 7:30 p.m., The Makeout Room.
Sunday 3/12: Carolyn Ho and Yume Kim. Free, 8:30 p.m., The Great Overland Book Company, 345 Judah St., San Francisco.
Poetry Flash presents Kendra Tanacea (A Filament Burns in Blue Degrees), Tracey Knapp (Mouth), and Peter Bullen (Wallflower). Free, 6 p.m., Bazaar Café.
Monday 3/13: Fantasy novelist Brian Catling (The Erstwhile, sequel to The Voohr). Green Apple Books on the Park.
Tuesday 3/14: Poetry at the Albany Library presents Camille Dungy (Trophic Crusade). Free, 7 p.m., Albany Public Library.
Pireeni Sundaralingam and Francisco Herrera read for Tuesdays at North Beach. Free, 6:30 p.m., North Beach Branch of the San Francisco Public Library.
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This week’s theatre recommendation is A.C.T.’s production of Annie Baker’s celebrated play, John. Baker has deservedly been called “an American Chekhov” but that characterization doesn’t give full justice to her startling originality. This production (a West Coast premiere) features the great Georgia Engel in the role for which she received an Obie Award in 2015 for the New York production. This one is worth getting excited about. For further information, click here.
For coverage of the Bay Area theatre scene, visit TheatreStorm.
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Evan Karp and Rebecca Samuelson of Litseen present video of this week’s featured local author, R. O. Kwon. Read an interview here.
And here’s video of one of last week’s SF Notables, Yiyun Lee.
https://youtu.be/PKVKAaDJrh0&w=580
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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.
