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  • AMERARCANA 2012: A Bird & Beckett Review - $15.00
    The Third Annual, featuring the words of Bill Berkson, Justin Desmangles, Joanne Kyger, Rodrigo Lira (translated by Rodrigo Olavarría & Thomas Rothe), Duncan McNaughton, Jackson Meazle, David Meltzer, Sarah Menefee, Jason Morris, Jeffrey Joe Nelson, Erik Noonan, Cedar Sigo, Will Skinker, Tisa Walden & the editor Nicholas James Whittington, with artwo […]
  • The Cuban Drumbeat, by Piero Gleijesis - $15.00
    In waging a long war against oppression and misery in the third world, Castro's Cuba sent more troops into battle on foreign soil in defense of besieged populations than all but the U.S., Russia and a few Western European countries. Gleijeses wonders what's next for a post-Castro Cuba. […]
  • Two Underdogs and a Cat, by Slavenka Drakulic - $17.00
    Drakulic, well known to readers of The Nation, the New York Times and the New York Review of Books, ponders the fate of the communist idea through three stories: "An Interview with The Oldest Dog in Bucharest," "A Guided Tour of the Museum of Communism" and "A Cat Keeper in Warsaw" […]
  1. Holderlin & WordWind

    February 22, 2012 by Eric

    Sunday, February 25

    2:30 pm – Walker Talks!
    on the German poet Holderlin

    Once a month, Walker mesmerizes us with his fascinating meanderings amidst the meanings of writers, philosophers, mythologies and mysteries… how he does it, we don’t know, but he’s gained a following that hangs on the gossamer threads of thought that he spins.  Holderlin?  Come and find out…

    4:30 pm – WordWind Chorus

    Brian Auerbach, Q R Hand Jr. and Lewis Jordan (shown left to right here) are joined by Julian Carroll in an acapella jazz poets aggregation that will set you on your ear.  Four voices augmented by Lewis’s saxophone weave an intricate web of word strands to create heady music indeed.

    Founding WordWind member Reginald Lockett, who left us a few years ago, had this to say about Q R:
    “Q R Hand’s poetry traverses the terrain of form, music and language. This is an inspired, well crafted poetry that is political in intent and spirited in execution and defies any comparison to any literary predecessors or contemporary schools of thought. Q. R. Hand is an entity unto himself; a true visionary walks among us.”

    The ensemble will set the air on fire, delivering deep blues and exhortations to electrify your senses.

    Read up here for more on QR and WordWind.

    Monday, Feb. 27, 7:00 pm

    Poets Norman Fischer & Stephen Ratcliffe read their work.

    Zoketsu Norman Fischer is a Soto Zen roshi, poet and Buddhist author practicing in the lineage of Shinryu Suzuki; he is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weisman, from whom he received Dharma transmssion in 1988. Co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995—2000, Fischer has published several works of poetry and books on Buddhism.

    He will read from his latest book-length poem, Conflict, incorporating readings by the audience into the work.

    Poet Stephen Ratcliffe, from the cover of Sound/System (Green Integer Press)Stephen Ratcliffe has authored numerous books of poetry and three books of criticism. He lives in Bolinas, and has published the work of a number of significant modern poets under his Avenue B Press imprint.

    Formerly the director of the Creative Writing program at Mills College, where he has been an instructor for more than 25 years, Ratcliffe continues to teach poetry and literature courses there.

  2. Post-colonial literature + Macy Blackman

    September 13, 2011 by Eric

    This coming Sunday… September 18th… two events

    A Panel Discussion of New Writing from India, Africa and the Caribbean

    Music by Macy Blackman and the Mighty Fines

    first up: literary panel at 2 pm!

    Speakers: Aaron Bady – Rohit Chopra – Gautam Premnath

    Academic specialists Rohit Chopra (Asst. Prof., Dept. of Communication, Santa Clara Univ.), Gautam Premnath (Asst. Prof. Dept. of English, UC Berkeley) and Aaron Bady (PhD candidate, Dept. of English, UC Berkeley) discuss recent writing in English from formerly colonized societies in South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

    They will look specifically at work by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole, Mohsin Hamid, Marlon James, Gyan Prakash, Altaf Tyrewala and Binyavanga Wainaina.

    Since the publication of Salman Rushdie’s landmark novel, Midnight’s Children, three decades ago, postcolonial writing has become an integral part of global literary consciousness, read the world over.

    The discussion will cover themes including the experiences of immigrant and diasporic communities – gender, race and class issues – the increasing significance of the US for postcolonial writing – the impact of globalization.  Short presentations will be followed by an open dialog with the audience.

    Books discussed may include, but will not be limited to, the following: Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck – Adichie; Open City – Cole; Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Hamid; John Crow’s Devil, The Book of Night Women – James; Mumbai Fables, Noir Urbanisms – Prakash; No God in Sight, Mumbai Noir (forthcoming) – Tyrewala; One Day I Will Write About This Place – Wainaina.

    next up: New Orleans R&B at 4:30 pm & 5:30 pm (two sets)!

    Macy Blackman & the Mighty Fines

    Bird & Beckett’s “which way west?” Sunday afternoon concert series presents Macy Blackman & the Mighty Fines.  Macy plays a rollickin’ New Orleans-style barrelhouse & boogie woogie piano in front of a crackerjack band that includes tenor player Nancy Wright, bassist Bing Nathan and drummer Jack Dorsey.

    Born in ’48 in Delaware, Macy grew up in Philly and led an R&B band, the Evergreens, while still in high school — backing up classic touring outfits like the Orlons and Lee Andrews & the Hearts… by ’66 he was in NYC, where he came under the fond tutelage of the drummer Charles “Hungry” Williams, who played with Huey “Piano” Smith & countless other New Orleans greats.  It was a relationship that cemented Macy’s knowledge of the music and mastery of the style.  Hungry’s gone now, but Macy rocks on…

    Always a good time when Macy’s in the house! Let it roll!