Chris Stroffolino, part 2; readings for Pride Day; Mamadora inspires

For Sunday, June 25, Chris Stroffolino continues to blow our minds, we read poems in honor of SF Pride Day, and a very special lady delivers a very special message.

Also -- please forgive the technical difficulties at the beginning. I was unexpectedly running the board for the first few minutes of the show and wasn't at all sure what I was doing (not to mention that the theme music CD skipped)! The show finally starts 3:29 in.

Click here to listen.

PAR Calendar: June 25-June 30

Saturday, June 25

A Garden of Poetry and Music features a reading by Stephen Meadows, Chris Olander, Patrice Vecchione, Nancy Dahl, Michael Hannon, Lee Perron, Beth Benjamin, Jay Salter, with music by guitarist Bruce Abrams and bagpiper Jay Salter, The Chadwick Garden Anthology of Poems will be available at a special event price, sponsored by Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden and the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, refreshments, Alan Chadwick Garden, University of California, Santa Cruz, free, noon–2pm (831/459-3240, 831/459-3376)

*

Reading with Judy Halebsky, author of Sky=Empty, & José Luis Gutiérrez

4pm

Rebound Bookstore
1611 4th Street
San Rafael

*

2011 Bay Area Poetry Marathon features readers Lindsey Boldt, Samantha Boudrot, Stephanie Brown, Tom Comitta, Nathan Hauke, David Kent Highsmith, Nick Johnson, Kirsten Jorgensen, and Linda Norton, curated by Donna de la Perriere, 7pm @ The Lab, 2948 16th Street, one block from Mission BART, SF, (bayareapoetrymarathon.com).

Sunday, June 26

Poetry & Music Benefit for Poetry Flash presents Detroit poet M.L. Liebler performing acoustic sets with legendary guitarist Peter Lewis of the Moby Grape rock and roll band, poets Susan Browne, David Meltzer, and Julie Rogers, plus poetry and jazz with Raymond Nat Turner and Zigi Lowenberg of UpSurge!, a celebration and benefit for Poetry Flash, Literary Review & Calendar’s new website design and print magazine, refreshments and fun, Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, 1317 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, $10, doors open 7pm, show 7:30–9:30 (Poetry Flash: 510/525-5476, Ashkenaz:510/525-5054,ashkenaz.com

Monday, June 27

Philip Hackett presents a poetry reading by Kirk Lumpkin, open mic, Caffé Greco, 423 Columbus Avenue, North Beach, SF, 6:30pm–9:30pm (Hackett.philip @ gmail.com)

Tuesday, June 28

Marin Poetry Center’s Summer Traveling Show presents a poetry reading hosted by Claire Blotter, featuring Barbara Brooks, Carol Griffin, Gabrielle Rilleau, Budd Winston, Bonnie Long, Diana Lyster, Donna Seager Gallery, 851 Fourth Street, San Rafael,7pm(marinpoetrycenter.org)

Wednesday June 29

“Cover to Cover” with Jack Foley featuring a celebration of Ahadada Reader 3 (part 2)
listen on KPFA 94.1 FM, 3pm

*

Poets David Meltzer and Julie Rogers @ Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley
moesbooks.com, (510) 849-2087, 7:30pm

Thursday June 30

Poetry reading by Yolanda Catzalco and Stephen Gray, curated by Jack Hirschman, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library poet-in-residence, Readers Café & Bookstore, Building C, South End, Fort Mason Center, SF, 6:30pm (415/771-1011, readerscafe.org)

*

Wendy Lesser, editor of The Threepenny Review, reads from Music for Silenced Voices, City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, SF, 7pm, (415/362-8193, www.citylights.com)

*

Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading by Judy Wells, I Dream of Circus Characters: A Berkeley Chronicle, Eileen Malone, I Should Have Given Them Water, and Connie Post, Trip Wires, Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, 7:30pm (510/849-2087moesbooks.com)

*

Poet Neeli Cherkovski with Gary Gach in conversation, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 653 Chenery St., San Francisco, 7pm. Neeli Cherkovski reads & discusses his new collection of poems From the Middle Woods originally inspired by The Confucian Odes, a renewed natural politics for the 21st Century with Gary Gach.

Chris Stroffolino, part 1: A History of Radio and Content; Interview

For our June 18, 2011 show, we aired two recordings we made with musician, essayist, and poet Chris Stroffolino: a performative and musical reading of an excerpt from his multi-part essay A History of Radio and Content (yes, that's his music paired with his reading), and the first part of an extended conversation.

Chris Stroffolino is an American poet, musician, critic, performer, and author of 12 books of poetry and prose. His first solo album, Single-Sided Doubles, was released in December 2010 on Popsnob Records.

Finally, we'd like to remind readers and listeners that Chris will be offering a creating writing workshop in Oakland this summer; to register, you can contact him at chris.stroffolino at gmail.com.

Click here to listen.

PAR Calendar: June 18-June 25

Saturday, June 18

Poetry Readings at the North Beach Festival on the Stellar Poets Stage, 3pm-4 pm, Filbert and Grant Street Stage, North Beach, San Francisco

3pm to 3:15pm * Camincha
3:15pm to 3:30pm * Ruebi Jimenez
3:30pm to 3:45pm * Ronald Sauer
3:45pm to 4pm * Tony Seymour

*

New Cadence Poetry Series presents a reading by James Meetze and more

7:30pm

Felix Kulpa Gallery
107 Elm Street, Santa Cruz

*

The Word Temple Poetry Series presents: Susan Browne, Robin Ekiss, Keith Ekiss & Todd Melicker

7pm

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
6780 Depot Street, Sebastopol

*

Film screening in conjunction with an exhibit of artwork by Robert Duncan, Jess, Madeline Gleason, and others, “Poetry of the San Francisco and Berkeley Renaissance,” show closes June 19, films shown today: The Household of Robert Duncan and Jess by David Fratto and Christopher Wagstaff, and Lawrence Jordan: Moments of Illumination, by Kathryn Golden and Ashley James, Lawrence Jordan will be present for discussion hosted by David Reid, Mythos Fine Art & Artifacts, 1747 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, free, 7pm, (510/528-4291, mythosfineart.com)

Sunday, June 19

Poetry Readings at the North Beach Festival continue…on Filbert/Grant St. Stage

3pm to 3:15pm * Jessica Loos
3:15pm to 3:30pm * Q.R. Hand
3:30pm to 3:45pm * Javier Reyes
3:45pm to 4pm * Tony Seymour

Monday, June 20

Poetry reading to benefit the forthcoming anthology, Conversations at the Wartime Café: A Decade of War, reading features Daphne Gottlieb, Stephanie Young, Gina Goldblatt, Meg Day, Estee Schwartz, Aimee Suzara, hosted by Sean Labrador Y Manzano, Bollywood

7pm–10pm

3372 19th Street, at Mission, SF

Tuesday, June 21

Marin Poetry Center’s Summer Traveling Show presents:Adrienne Amundson, Jane Green, Kit Kennedy, Karen Benke, Terri Glass & Jane Wagner; hosted by Prartho Sereno.

7pm

Book Depot
87 Throckmorton, Mill Valley

*

WORDParty presents poetry and jazz, open mic for poetry only, with hosts Jennifer Barone and Ingrid Keir, Nova Jazz with Daniel Heffez on sax, Colin Williams on bass, and Geordie Van Der Bosch on skins.

8pm

Virachocha, 998 Valencia Street, at 21st Street, SF, $5, (thewordparty.com)

Wednesday June 22

“Cover to Cover” with Jack Foley featuring a celebration of Ahadada Reader 3
KPFA 94.1 FM

3pm

*

Berkeley Poetry Slam, hosted by Jamie DeWolf, Betsy Gomez, and Matt Blesse, presents a featured performer, open mic, cash prizes, The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, open sign up 7:30pm, show 8:30pm, all ages before10:00 (510/841-2082)

Thursday June 23

Benefit for Dean Young’s heart transplant surgery, co-presented by ZYZZYVA and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers present a reading by poets Robert Hass, W.S. Di Piero, Brenda Hillman, D.A. Powell, Troy Jollimore, Dora Malech, director and playwright Octavio Solis, Copper Canyon Press editor Michael Wiegers, writer, poet and record producer David Breskin, novelist and poet Joseph Di Prisco, emceed by Oscar Villalon, managing editor of ZYZZYVA, event donation stations, book and broadside sales to benefit Dean Young, Maude Fife Room 315, Wheeler Hall, University of California, Berkeley, free, 7pm, (donate: www.transplants.org/donate/deanyoung)

*

’Lectric Collective presents Ekphrastic!—a multimedia reading series with readings by Lisa Cattrone, Brian Ang & Gillian Conoley along with original artworks by David Aipperspach, Matthew Cella, Bobby Glass, Frederick Koulouch, Jerry Smith, Blake Straus & Maria Villote

7:30pm

Krowswork Gallery
480 23rd Street (side entrance), Oakland

*

Poetry reading by Francisco Orrego and Linda King, curated by Jack Hirschman, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library poet-in-residence, Readers Café & Bookstore, Building C, South End, Fort Mason Center, SF, 6:30pm, (415/771-1011, readerscafe.org)

*

David Meltzer reads from When I Was a Poet: Pocket Poet Series No. 60, his first City Lights book of poems, City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, SF, 7:00 (www.citylights.com)

Friday June 24

Queer Open Mic featuring Michael Montlack, Cool Limbo (NYQ Books)

Sign up at 7pm; Reading starts at 7:30pm

Modern Times Bookstore (note new location!)
2919 24th Street, SF

*

Poet Gerald Fleming reads from his new collection, Night of Pure Breathing, Book Passage in Marin, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, 7pm (415/927-0960, www.bookpassage.com)

Saturday June 25

Reading with Judy Halebsky, Sky=Empty, & José Luis Gutiérrez

4pm

Rebound Bookstore
1611 4th Street, San Rafael

*

How to Make a Chapbook Workshop presented by Red Berry Editions, all aspects covered; by the end of the workshop, each person will have a chapbook designed and bound by hand, bring twelve pages of poetry or prose and your lunch, 58 Park Road, Fairfax, $110 includes materials, 9:30am–4pm (send $25 nonrefundable deposit to Red Berry Editions, 1648 Ocean View Avenue, Kensington, CA 94707; redberryeditions.com)

*

A Garden of Poetry and Music features a reading by Stephen Meadows, Chris Olander, Patrice Vecchione, Nancy Dahl, Michael Hannon, Lee Perron, Beth Benjamin, Jay Salter, with music by guitarist Bruce Abrams and bagpiper Jay Salter, The Chadwick Garden Anthology of Poems will be available at a special event price, sponsored by Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden and the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, refreshments, Alan Chadwick Garden, University of California, Santa Cruz, free, noon–2pm (831/459-3240, 831/459-3376)

Stroffolino, part 1; Radio Survivor

Of course we know you'll be listening tomorrow at 9am to Poet as Radio on saveusf.org, but some useful bits of information go by quickly during the conversation with Chris Stroffolino. One that absolutely shouldn't get lost is his multi-part essay A History of Radio and Content, on Radio Survivor. The first piece you'll hear from him is excerpted from this essay.

Sara Larsen, part 2; Candy Shue reviews Jennifer Moxley's The Line

For our show on Saturday, June 11, we featured the conclusion of Sara Larsen's interview (1st part here), in which she discusses and reads from her chapbook, The Hallucinated. As we discuss between interview segments, this was a difficult interview to edit because of a certain word-you-aren't-supposed-to-say-on-the-radio. We all felt that the need to silence certain arbitrary but culturally-charged phonemes did an injustice to the poem and especially to the reading of it. In this particular show, however, poetry gets the last subversive laugh due to an editing oversight (or maybe an editing Freudian slip).

We finished the show with a gorgeous review of Jennifer Moxley's The Line, by Candy Shue. We'll be featuring more of Candy's reviews in the future.

Click here to listen.

Conversation with Chris Stroffolino

Today, Poet as Radio talked for nearly three hours with musician, essayist, award-winning poet, and intellectual and cultural tour-de-force, Chris Stroffolino. We can't wait to present excerpts from the discussion on upcoming shows -- personally, I found the discussion a dazzling and electrifying whirlwind of words, music, politics, and ideas, and I'm sure you will too. I can honestly say I think it would be impossible to spend five minutes with Chris without learning something profound and feeling empowered and energized to create.

Which is why I'm especially excited to let listeners and readers know about an opportunity to take a workshop from Chris this summer. Here are some details:

Creative Writing Workshop with poet, musician, essayist Chris Stroffolino in a fun, nuturing, non-accredited setting, at The Oakbook Gallery Jack London Square.

Taking each student's writing and/or performance pieces as the starting point, this workshop encourages students writing in different genres. Students may work within one genre throughout the entire course, but will be encouraged to explore a way of stylistic options including poems, manifestos, creative non-fiction, dialogue pieces, song lyrics, poem-paintings, videos, texts that redefine or de-define genre, "hybrid texts," or "non-poetry." Students will offer critiques of each other's work to create a dialogue within a "unity in diversity" approach. By the end of the class, students can expect a deeper understanding into the creative process as well as the business of publishing or other ways of making their work public. Note: this class is intended for all levels.

8 Three Hour Sessions; 1st Summer session begins late June (or July). Dates & times to be determined depending on the needs of the class.

Class size: minimum of 6, maximum of 10.

Cost: $300; check, money-order, or cash are all acceptable.

To register: contact Chris Stroffolino at chris.stroffolino at gmail.com or 415-260-753. Spaces are limited. No more than 10 students will be accepted per class. Interested students should submit a short 3-5 page sample (or 2 MP3s if working in primarily an audio format).

PAR Calendar: June 11-June 18

Saturday, June 11

Sara Larsen and David Brazil present A MUSE MEANT !

featuring: Monica Peck, Jackqueline Frost, & Steve Orth

7:30pm

Shattuck Muse Community Room
6525 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley (between Ashby & Alcatraz)
[please note: this is an alcohol-free venue]

*

Writers with Drinks presents TV writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, poet Daphne Gottlieb, 15 Ways to Stay Alive, K.M. Ruiz, Mind Storm, a post-apocalytic book, and comedian/comedy writer Kevin Camia, emceed by Charlie Anders, benefits the Center for Sex and Culture.

doors open 6:30pm; event 7:30pm

The Make-Out Room
3225 22nd Street, between Mission and Valencia, SF
$5–$10 sliding scale
more info @ writerswithdrinks.com

*

Featured poetry reading by John Rowe and Scott Caputo, open mic follows

7:00pm-9:00pm

Frank Bette Center for the Arts, 1601 Paru Street, Alameda
www.frankbettecenter.org

Sunday, June 12

Poetry reading by poets of the Mendocino Coast, with Sharon Doubiago, Devreaux Baker, Gordon Black, and Bill Bradd
2:00pm

Bird & Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery Street, SF, (415/586-3733, www.birdbeckett.com)

*

“Poet Be Like God,” a reading and discussion featuring Kevin Killian, Lewis Ellingham, and Tara McDowell, hosted by David Reid, in conjunction with an exhibit showing artwork by Robert Duncan and Jess, “Poetry of the San Francisco and Berkeley Renaissance,” show closes June 19.

3:00-5:00pm

Mythos Fine Art & Artifacts, 1747 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, free (510/528-4291, mythosfineart.com).

*

Poetry Flash presents a poetry reading with Bruce Isaacson, Ghosts Among the Neon, and Toni Mirosevich, The Takeaway Bin.

3:00pm

Diesel, A Bookstore, 5433 College Avenue, Oakland

Monday, June 13

Canessa Park Reading Series presents: Brian Teare, Pleasure, & Laura Walker, Bird Book.

7:00pm doors; 7:30pm reading

Canessa Park Gallery, 708 Montgomery Street (at Columbus), SF, $6 admission

Tuesday, June 14

Center for the Art of Translation’s Lit & Lunch presents poet, novelist, and translator Fanny Howe discussing A Wall of Two, a collection of verse written on worksheets stolen from the factories by two sisters in the Kraków ghetto.

12:30pm-1:30pm

111 Minna Street Gallery, 111 Minna Street, at 2nd, SF, free.

*

Summer Poetry in North Beach presents three award-winning poets: Dean Rader, Works & Days, winner of the T.S. Eliot Poetry Prize, Rusty Morrison, the true keeps calm biding its story, winner of the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, Ahsahta Press Sawtooth Prize, and James Laughlin Prize, and Alexandra Teague, Mortal Geography, Gold Medal recipient from the California Book Awards.

7:00pm

North Beach Branch Library, 601 Lombard Street, SF, (sfpl.org).

*

Second Tuesday Poetry presents a Sixteen Rivers Press poetry reading by Christina Hutchins, The Stranger Dissolves, and Jeanne Wagner, In the Body of Our Lives, open mic for poetry follows, hosted by Catherine Taylor.

7:00-9:00pm

Albany Library, 1247 Marin Avenue, Albany, (510/526-3720)

*

Marin Poetry Center's Summer Traveling Show presents: C.B. Follett, Susan Terris, Patricia Garfield, Yvonne Postelle, Oskar Klausenstock & Phyllis Teplitz, hosted by Barbara Brooks.

7:00pm

The Belvedere-Tiburon Library, 1501 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon

Wednesday June 15

“Cover to Cover” with Jack Foley, featuring Jesse Glass, KPFA 94.1, 3:00pm.

*

Reading with Rena Rosenwasser & Hazel White.

7:30pm

Green Arcade Books, 1680 Market Street (at Gough), SF.

*

Lyrics & Dirges presents: Erika Lopez, Andrew Lam, Tomas Moniz, Tanya Baker & Heidi Cooper, hosted by Tomas Moniz.

7:30-9:30pm

Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley

*

Online magazine San Francisco Peace and Hope launches with an inaugural poetry reading featuring Al Young, Kit Kennedy, and Susan Gangel, with remarks by editor Elizabeth Hack and web designer Niya C. Sisk, open mic before the feature, hosted by Dan Brady.

open mic 7:10; featured readers 8:15pm

Sacred Grounds Café, 2095 Hayes Street, SF, (415/387-3859, sfpeaceandhope.com)

Thursday June 16

Condensary #12 with Sara Wintz, Brian Teare & Kevin Killian.

6:30-9:00pm

The Speakeasy, 604 56th Street, Oakland, free.

*

Marin Poetry Center’s Summer Traveling Show presents: Joan Gelfend, Alan Cohen, James Phoenix, Meryl Natchez & Andrea Freeman, hosted by Lauren Feigenbaum.

7:00pm

The Falkirk Cultural Center, 1408 Mission Street, San Rafael.

*

Poetry reading by Rebecca Bella and Rosemary Manno, curated by Jack Hirschman, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library poet-in-residence.

6:30pm

Readers Café & Bookstore, Building C, South End, Fort Mason Center, SF, (415/771-1011, readerscafe.org)

Friday June 17

Trafficker Press reading presents Taylor Brady, his forthcoming Trafficker chapbook is For I Know Not What I Did Last Summer, Ariel Goldberg, Photographer without a Camera, and Erika Staiti, In the Stitches.

7:00-9:00pm

The Harvey Milk Center, 50 Scott Street, SF, (415/621-3761, www.traffickerpress.com) followed by a reception a few blocks away at Books & Bookshelves, 99 Sanchez Street.

*

RADAR showcase of underground and emerging writers and artists presents their Radar Spectacle annual performance and art auction gala to support queer literature, hosted by Michelle Tea and Ali Liebegott.

7:00pm

The Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street, SF, (tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com)

*

A reading and discussion featuring poet Richard O. Moore and artist Ariel Parkinson, a documentary film about Robert Duncan directed by Richard O. Moore, and taped interviews and readings by San Francisco Renaissance poets, hosted by David Reid, in conjunction with an exhibit showing artwork by Robert Duncan and Jess, “Poetry of the San Francisco and Berkeley Renaissance,” show closes June 19.

7:00pm

Mythos Fine Art & Artifacts, 1747 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, free, (510/528-4291, mythosfineart.com)

Saturday June 18

New Cadence Poetry Series presents a reading by James Meetze and more.

7:30pm

Felix Kulpa Gallery, 107 Elm Street, Santa Cruz

Sara Larsen part 1: A,a,a,a,a; Gertrude Stein recordings

For our June 6, 2011 show, we sat down with poet Sara Larsen to talk about her latest chapbook, A,a,a,a,a. It was a spirited, wide-ranging discussion that touched frequently on California assemblage artist Wallace Berman. Later in the show, we introduced and played some recordings of Gertrude Stein reading from her work, in anticipation of SFMOMA's marathon reading of The Making of Americans.

Tune in to KUSF in Exile at 9am this Saturday for the second part of Sara's interview!

Sara Larsen is a poet living in Oakland. For the past 3 years, she has edited the monthly poetry and arts zine, TRY magazine, along with David Brazil. She is a member of the Poetic Labor Project, and also co-curates the A Muse Meant reading series in Berkeley. Chapbooks include "doubly circulatory" (Artifact press), "2000 decembers" (Ampersand press), "23 Chromosomes for David Wojnarowitz" (Earthworm press & projects), "NOVUS" (Earthworm press & projects), "The Hallucinated” (Cannot Exist), and most recently, “A, a, a, a, a” (Berkeley Neo-Baroque).

Click here to listen.

Sarah Rosenthal, Part 2: Manhatten and Lizard

For our May 28, 2011 show, we continue our conversation with Sarah Rosenthal. Last time, we talked about her book of interviews, A Community Writing Itself. This week we talk about her novel/poem hybrid Manhatten and her latest project, Lizard.

On a related note, this show's own Delia Tramontina reviewed Manhatten for Galetea Resurrection #14.

Click here to listen.

Sarah Rosenthal, Part 1: A Community Writing Itself

For our inaugural show, we were honored and delighted to speak with a poet who has been a teacher and muse to all three of us: Sarah Rosenthal. This show consists of the first half of this interview, in which Sarah talks about her book of deeply-engaging interviews, A Community Writing Itself: Conversations with Vanguard Writers of the Bay Area.

Sarah Rosenthal is the author of the cross-genre book Manhatten and several chapbooks, the most recent of which is called The Animal. Her interview collection A Community Writing Itself: Conversations with Vanguard Writers of the Bay Area was published by Dalkey Archive in 2010. An affiliate artist at Headlands Center for the Arts, she has received the Leo Litwak Fiction Award and grant-supported residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Soul Mountain, and Ragdale. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of San Francisco and writes curricula for the Developmental Studies Center in Oakland. For more info, please visit acommunitywritingitself.com.

Click here to listen.