“hands down are roots to lift a well” — poetry film with Chin Keita

It seems I never put up a link on the blog to “hands down are roots to lift a well”, a poem published in the ezine concis in 2017. Time to rectify that! 

This link will take you to the poem & accompanying video that library co-worker Chin Keita helped me make. I used my iPad and filmed Chin in a cramped alley behind the Claremont Branch of the Berkeley Public Library: 

“hands down are roots to lift a well” with video

This link will take you to an ebook version of the issue of concis in which the poem appears (no video):

concis, winter 2017

“Personal Testimony” at Quiet Lightning

Quiet Lightning, the long-running SF Bay Area reading series, had its final regular reading on February 7, 2022. QL hasn’t closed up shop. They are continuing to sponsor special events. It’s just that the monthly (most lately bimonthly) “literary mixtape” is no more. 

Quiet Lightning was a new creature on the scene when it debuted. I was used to the standard reading featured two poets and an open mic. Sure, you could find group readings or all-opens or features without opens. But QL curated its readings, that is, if you wanted to read, you had to submit your work ahead of time, and the curators for that month would put together the pieces they wanted in the order they preferred. When you read for them, you were vocalizing the chosen piece. Readers were cautioned not to ramble on about how grateful they were or how they came to write the poem/story/essay. “Just read it and get off the stage.” 

I kind of missed the poets apologizing for an unworkshopped poem or shuffling through pages for one that was “right here.” But it was an interesting new idea, a hybrid between a magazine and reading — and you got both. 

It took me several tries to get into Quiet Lightning. I bought past issues of Sparkle and Blink, the little magazine that is available at each reading and which includes all the work read on a particular night. I don’t know that they helped me figure out what a “Quiet Lightning poem” was, but judging by what of mine ultimately did get picked, I’d say socially relevant or personal testimony pieces had a leg up. It was nice that they didn't mind if a piece had been previously published. "Personal Testimony" was originally published in Spillway.

Quiet Lightning moved around, every month popping up in a new venue. That was ambitious, but must have been a logistical hassle. "Since December 2009 we've presented 1,790 readings by 960 authors in 146 shows and 119 books, selected by 77 different curators and performed in 91 venues, appearing everywhere from dive bars and art galleries to state parks and national landmarks," QL says. Come the pandemic QL migrated to Zoom, as so many did. Thus the library you see behind me in the video is my own. 

Sparkle and Blink #113 is available online. 

The readings were all recorded, too. 

Glenn Ingersoll reading "Personal Testimony"

“The Cowardly Lion and the Courage Pills,” a short story reading

 

2021 is the 50th anniversary of Oziana, an annual collection of Oz short stories published by the International Wizard of Oz Club. To celebrate, authors were asked to read their stories.

“The Cowardly Lion and the Courage Pills” appeared in Oziana 1982. Which means I wrote it when I was 16? It was fun to read. And some fellow Ozzies assure me it’s fun to listen to.

You can check out more of the readings here: Oziana 50th anniversary playlist

Clearly Meant presents Judy Bebelaar

On February 27, 2016 Judy Bebelaar was the second poet in the reading series. My supervisor at the library had asked me to brand it. I stared for a while at the name of our branch library, the Claremont, and it resolved into Clearly Meant. Because what else is poetry but what is clearly meant? 

I became acquainted with Judy through Katharine Harer (one of the poets with whom I worked on the Poetry & Pizza series). But the Claremont Branch is also Judy’s local library, so when she walked in the door one day to ask about some book or other, she moved up my list of possible readers. Getting local writers was a priority. I was already thinking of Clearly Meant as a neighborhood series. I knew other poets who lived nearby. A resource to take advantage of!

I ask the guest poet to provide enough poems for a chapbook, which I put together and make available free at all the Berkeley library branches for the month leading up to the reading. I prefer the poet give me poems that they can talk about during the discussion period. It’s nice to have the option of talking in depth about a poem, especially one the audience is holding in their hands. 

Judy was eager to talk about a project she’d been working on for some time, a book about the teenagers she knew in the Peoples Temple. 

And Then They Were Gone: teenagers of Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown by Judy Bebelaar and Ron Cabral was published in 2018. Recently Judy emailed me wondering who she could talk to about a presentation at the library. I posed the question to my supervisor. My supervisor said, “This is something you’d like to do?” I hadn’t thought I was going to be doing any programs during our covid days. My poetry programs were on hiatus, both Clearly Meant and the monthly Poetry Circle. Why not? I said. Might as well do a zoom. I’ve participated in a zoom poetry reading or two from home. But I hadn’t hosted anything. 

So I got the in-house instructions for librarians on how to do remote programming, and Judy and I put her talk on the calendar. April 16, 2021. I think it went well.

Clearly Meant reading & interview series featuring Maw Shein Win

 

My supervisor at the Claremont Branch asked if I was interested in doing any library programming. I said I could do a poetry reading series. It had been a few years since Poetry & Pizza ended and I was ready to get back into the hosting business. 

Poetry & Pizza was a reading series in downtown San Francisco sponsored by Paul Geffner, owner of Escape from New York Pizza. Paul is a poet himself. But he didn’t feel like he knew the scene well enough to invite good readers, so Paul asked his friend Clive Matson and Clive recruited Katharine Harer and myself to help run it. Poetry & Pizza took place once a month and we coordinators shared out the calendar. I booked four readings a year, two poets per. It was a good scene. Money was raised for charity (all door donations went to a charity of the readers’ choice). Pizza was eaten. Poetry was thrown against the walls and windows. And some of it stuck. 

The Claremont Branch is a small library and the events room is also small, so I needed a program that would tend to be small. One poet. No open mic. The Bay Area literary scene is crazy active. There are a lot of good poets out there. But what would make this new series different? An interview and discussion with the poet. There were plenty of opportunities for poets to address an audience. But not much interaction. You had your turn and gave way to the next person. 

For the first poet I wanted someone who was ambitious and active, with a local following and happy to chat. Of course I also wanted to be a fan of their poetry. Maw Shein Win was the first person I asked and she said yes. Since the reading on October 3, 2015, Maw has gone on to being El Cerrito Poet Laureate, has published two full length poetry collections, and has been a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, among other things. Active and ambitious, no? 

A poet’s reward is typically a few ahs and a round of applause. But for this I was given a budget. Guest poets got paid! 

Gathering an audience for a poetry reading can be tricky. If there’s no open, poets looking for audience for their own work won’t show. Much depends on the poet. Do they have a fan base? Friends? Copious relatives? Over the course of four years our audiences ranged from a room exploding 70 to a friendly and attentive one. 

I had never conducted interviews, and I can seize up when on the spot, but I like talking about poetry and there are always a few questions I have about it so I figured I could string enough of those together to fill twenty minutes. I announce that the poet will read for 20 minutes, sit for an interview for 20 minutes, then participate in an audience discussion for the remainder of the hour. As I assure the poets, it’s not an interrogation, it’s a conversation. Occasionally the interview or the discussion can be hard. The poet needs to be talkative! But the hour usually flies by. 

At Clearly Meant the poet gets paid. The poet’s work is listened to. The poet is taken seriously as an authority. I think of Cleary Meant as a small town series, friendly, focused on locals (so far most of the readers have been actual users of the Claremont Branch library), and low key. 

A month before each reading I produce an 8-page promotional chapbook which is made available free at all Berkeley Public Library branches. So I get to be a publisher, too.

Ventura County Poetry Project reading video

 

Glenn Ingersoll

video of Thursday, August 27 reading

hosted by Phil Taggart

under the auspices of the EP Foster Library

I read via Zoom from my home. Phil Taggart conducted a brief interview afterward, which I enjoyed, but which didn’t get recorded.  

Other readings in the series can be accessed via the Askew Poetry Journal youtube channel. 

“Human Right” as a video

I performed “Human Right” for the Quiet Lightning Virtual Poets-in-Parks reading via Zoom. Yes, that is my home library. 

   

You can compare the performance to the written version of the poem, which I included in my last post.

And if you want to see how my poem fits into the Quiet Lightning experience, you can watch go to youtube for the full playlist. 

Glenn Ingersoll reading with Quiet Lightning’s virtual Poets-in-Parks

Quiet Lightning and California State Parks present: 

The 6th annual Poetry in Parks!

Monday, 07 September at 7 PM – 8:30 PM

online via Zoom

This is a free event, but RSVP is required. RSVP here: https://app.gopassage.com/events/poetry-in-virtual-parks

A live literary mixtape in two sets, featuring readings by Elizabeth Burch Hudson, Ladan Khoddam-Khorasani, Robert Keim, Jeanie Ngo, Glenn Ingersoll, Andre Le Mont Wilson, Brandon Henry, Jane Mauchly, Carla A. Hanson, Aleesha Lange, Deborah Bernhardt, Karisma Rodriguez, Sorcha Collister, Shirley Huey, Rohan DaCosta, Wood Reede, Alex Maceda, Doug Mathewson, and Elisa Salasin!

All selected authors will be paid and published in sPARKLE & bLINK 107 featuring cover art by Judit Navratil.

If you’d like a copy of the sPARKLE & bLINK book, featuring all selected writing and cover art by Judit Navratil, donate $15 (paypal or venmo); issue 107 will be mailed to you — plus a bonus back issue.

Glenn Ingersoll reading for Ventura County Poetry Project tonight

Glenn Ingersoll

followed by an open mic

reading starts at 7:30, Thursday, August 27 

hosted by Phil Taggart

under the auspices of the EP Foster Library 

the zoom room opens at 7

join Zoom Meeting – new zoom number

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9607501600

meeting ID: 960 750 1600

Ventura County Poetry Project, a weekly reading series in Southern California, has moved online during the covid-19 pandemic.

That makes it easier for me to join them! I will be reading from my Berkeley home. 

The renga, Bay Area Generations reading

Here is the renga Rebecca Radner, Alan Bern, and I performed for Bay Area Generations on August 26.

Backyards: Poets for Local Change, Sept 28, Alameda

This will be the second stop on my September “Islands” tour. First Angel, then Alameda. 

Backyards: Poets for Local Change

Hosted by Sharon Coleman and Jeanne Lupton

Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 7 PM – 9 PM

Free

Frank Bette Center for the Arts

1601 Paru St, Alameda

California 94501

Come join us for a poetry reading by eight incredible poets who are also dedicated to creating change locally and beyond. This is part of the ongoing 100 000 Poets for Change, a global poetry reading on the last Saturday of September. 

We are also honoring Jeanne Lupton, who has spent years running the reading series at Frank Bette.  She is retiring and this is her final reading. 

Rohan DaCosta

Alison Hart

Glenn Ingersoll

Tobey Kaplan

Aqueila M. Lewis-Ross

Dena Rod

Kimi Sugioka

Maurisa Thompson

Rohan DaCosta is a multi-disciplinary artist from the city of Chicago, working primarily through photography, writing, and song. Rohan explores complex dilemmas, and frequencies found in lovers, in families, in ecosystems, and in places. His book of photography, poetry, and song, The Edge of Fruitvale, was published by Nomadic Press on April 28, 2018, and has been nominated for a California Book Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a CLMP Firecracker Award.  His photography has been featured at The Flight Deck Gallery as a solo exhibition titled Ordinary People (2018). His photography has also been featured at Root Division Gallery as part of a group exhibition titled Let Me Be a Witness (2018). In 2018, he was awarded the Individual Artist Funding Grant by the City of Oakland for his arts exhibition, Trap : Trauma : Transformation (April 9 – May 18).

Alison Hart’s debut novel Mostly White (Torrey House Press, 2018) was praised by the National Book Award-winning author Isabel Allende as "So compelling it gave me goosebumps…” Alison identifies as a mixed race African American, Passamaquoddy Native American, Irish, Scottish and English woman of color. She is the author of the poetry collection Temp Words (Cosmo Press, 2015), a play Mother Daughter Dance, and her poems appear in Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California, (Scarlet Tanager Books, 2016).

Glenn Ingersoll works for the Berkeley Public Library, hosting Clearly Meant, a reading & interview series, out of the Claremont Branch. His longest stint running a series was Poetry & Pizza in San Francisco, a monthly reading co-curated with Clive Matson and Katharine Harer, which lasted for seven years. Glenn Ingersoll’s multi-volume prose-poem-epic 'Thousand' (Mel C Thompson Pub) is available from Amazon; ebook at Smashwords. He keeps two blogs, LoveSettlement and Dare I Read. Recent work has appeared in Sparkle + Blink, riverbabble, Humble Pie, and as a Zoetic Press chapbook.

Tobey Kaplan, originally from New York City, with degrees from Syracuse and San Francisco State Universities, has been teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area for forty years.  An active member of California Poets in the Schools and Associated Writing Programs,  Ms. Kaplan has given readings, workshops and presentations throughout the country regarding creative process, literacy and social change. For several years, she worked with the Native TANF program/Washoe Tribe to coordinate a range of educational services and identify career building programs for the Native American community in Alameda Country.

Ms. Kaplan has received grants from the California Arts Council, 1979-1982 to serve as poet in residence at community mental health centers. Her honors include: being named Dorland Mountain Colony Fellow, honorable mention Crazyhorse poetry prize 2008 and Affiliate Artist at the Headlands Center for the Arts, as well as being the recipient of a Bay Area Award (New Langton Arts, 1996). Among her publications are: Across the Great Divide ( Androgyne, 1995). Her poems are published in numerous literary anthologies.  

Aqueila M. Lewis-Ross is a multi-talented, award-winning Bay Area Native well-versed in singing, poetry/spoken word, and journalism. Aqueila has studied and performed throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and is a graduate of Napa Valley College and University of California, Berkeley. Her book of poetry, Stop Hurting and Dance, published by Pochino Press, is a collection of stories overcoming fear, oppression, gentrification, and police brutality; she honors what it means to live with resilience, love and prosperity.  She holds the titles of Ms. Oakland Plus America 2014, SF Raw Performing Artist of the Year 2015, and was an Oakland Voices-KALW Community Journalist awardee in 2016 and Greater Bay Area Journalism Awardee in 2017.

Dena Rod is a writer, editor, and poet based in the Bay Area. They run the RADAR Productions  weblog and are the Assistant Creative Nonfiction Editor at homology lit. They were selected for RADAR Productions’ Show Us Your Spines Residency, Kearny Street Workshop’s Interdisciplinary Writer’s Lab, and Winter Tangerine’s Summer Writer’s Workshop. Through creative nonfiction essays and poetry, Dena works to illuminate their diasporic experiences of Iranian American heritage and queer identity, combating negative stereotypes of their intersecting identities in the mainstream media

Kimi Sugioka is a poet, songwriter and educator who tries to confront and illuminate the cognitive dissonance she experiences at every turn in society, politics and media. She has an MFA from The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include various anthologies: Standing Strong! Fillmore & Japantown and Endangered Species, Enduring Values, and Civil Liberties United. She has published a book of poetry, The Language of Birds, and, soon to be published, Wile & Wing.

Maurisa Thompson was born and raised in San Francisco, and is a proud alum of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People.  A poet and educator, she is a graduate of UC Riverside’s MFA program and is currently teaching English at John O’Connell High School in San Francisco. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in The Pedestal Magazine, The Black Scholar, La Bloga, Cosmonauts Avenue, the anthologies A Feather Floating on the Water: Poems for Our Children and En Vuelo: In Celebration of el Tecolote, and The Haight-Ashbury Journal, which nominated her for a Pushcart Prize.  She has worked with arts organizations including Richmond's RAW Talent and the Gluck Fellowship program at UC Riverside.  She is currently working on her first poetry manuscript that combines history and folklore with her grandparents’ stories from Louisiana and San Francisco, and a middle-grade novel exploring police brutality, which won the support of a Walter Grant from We Need Diverse Books.

Quiet Lightning on Angel Island, Sept 15

I will be reading an excerpt from Autobiography of a Book at the next Quiet Lightning event, Poetry in the Parks. 

Here is what looks like pretty darn complete information as copied from Quiet Lightning’s event announcement on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/585757751951570/

Poetry in Parks 2019: 

Quiet Lightning on Angel Island

open to the public

Hosted by Quiet Lightning and Kearny Street Workshop

Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM

- Youth readings

- A literary mixtape curated by Katie Tandy and July Westhale, with all work published in sPARKLE & bLINK 101 featuring art by Connie Zheng: 

Norma Smith » David S. Maduli » Kate Hoyle » Syche Phillips » Abigail Licad » Julia Halprin Jackson » Johnny Alvarez » Glenn Ingersoll » Linette Escobar | Maddy Raskulinecz » Donna Laemmlen » Peter Bullen » Christina Newhard » Cassandra Dallett » Eric Darby » C.E. Shue » Kevin Dublin 

- Neighborhood Heroes, with readings by Kirin Khan, Genny Lim, Kenji C. Liu, Janice Lobo Sapigao, Truong Tran, Flo Oy Wong, and others TBA, curated by Kearny Street Workshop

- Music by Cindy Z 

- Live painting by Joshua Coffy, Nathalie Fabri, Dilcia Giron, and Allison Snopek, curated by ArtSpan

:: For links and more information ::

http://quietlightning.org/poetry-in-parks-2019/

--

About Quiet Lightning

Now in its 10th year, Quiet Lightning is a San Francisco-based literary nonprofit with the mission to foster community based on literary expression and to provide a safe and supportive arena for said expression. Its flagship is the literary mixtape, a submission-based series with a completely blind selection process and different curators for every show, for which there are no introductions or banter. The shows are published as books, handed out free to the first 100 people at each show. All participating artists are paid and the shows are free to attend.  We’ve now produced 126 shows, featuring 1,200+ readings by 900+ different authors in 80+ venues and 100+ books. Quiet Lightning also maintains Litseen.com, a daily calendar of literary events. For more on QL: http://quietlightning.org/about/.

About California State Parks

The mission of CA State Parks is to provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. For more on California State Parks: https://www.parks.ca.gov/.

About Kearny Street Workshop

Founded in 1972, during the height of the Asian American cultural movement, Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) is the oldest Asian Pacific American multidisciplinary arts organization in the country. We offer classes and workshops, salons, and student presentations, as well as professionally curated and produced exhibitions, performances, readings, and screenings. KSW makes artists out of community members and community members out of artists. For the past 45 years, KSW has nurtured the creative spirit, offered an important platform for new voices to be heard, and connected artists with community. For more on Kearny Street Workshop: https://kearnystreet.org/.

About ArtSpan

ArtSpan believes in the power of art to enrich lives. For 20-plus years we’ve championed an inclusive art experience and provided diverse audiences with an authentic connection to local art and artists. We support emerging and established artists who contribute to San Francisco’s inimitable creative energy, while bolstering the next generation of artists and encouraging the public to engage in preserving and furthering our vibrant art community. For more on ArtSpan: http://artspan.org/

With crucial support from SOMArts Cultural Center

SOMArts leverages the power of art as a tool for social change through multi-disciplinary events and exhibitions. Equipping artists with the space, mentorship and support they need to shift perspectives and innovate solutions, SOMArts fosters access to arts and culture for collective liberation and self-determination. For more on SOMArts: http://somarts.org/.

:: Ferry information / to get to the event :: 

> There are two ferries departing for Angel Island: from San Francisco at Pier 41, starting at 9:45am ($19.5 round trip, takes about 25 min); from Tiburon, starting at 10am ($15 round trip, takes about 15 min). 

> It’s suggested you arrive at least 20 minutes early.

Tiburon accepts cash and checks only, though you can purchase the SF tickets in advance.

> Once you arrive on Angel Island, you will see signs and Quiet Lightning greeters, but to get to the event site you simply take a right when you disembark from the ferry, and walk around the cove until you get to the picnic tables. It’s about a quarter of a mile walk on a flat surface.

> Accessibility is important to us! If you have any special needs, please email evan@quietlightning.org and we will do our absolute best to accommodate you.

:: Other possibly helpful information ::

> You are welcome to bring snacks, though there is a cafe on the island and we will have draft beer available for purchase, courtesy of Lagunitas. There are water fountains with potable water at the event site.

> Seating consists of wooden picnic tables, so if you have a cushion, a folding chair, or a blanket you’d like to bring, there’s plenty of space for it. If you need a seat, please email evan@quietlightning.org no later than 48 hours before the event and we will do our absolute best to accommodate you.

> Dogs are not allowed on the island, service animals excepted. This does not include the use of emotional support animals which are not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

> More information to be added here, but if you have any questions at all please direct them to evan@quietlightning.org.

see also: http://quietlightning.org/?fbclid=IwAR1pHbxJrWOFW0Fpo2SOEGUND_O-fB4dOAbaTn4cEbvNniLinnkze5fv6f4

at that link we get some statistics:

* For the literary mixtape, they say they received 85 submissions and accepted 17 (20%). Of those:

• 8 have never read at Quiet Lightning before (47%)
• 7 are returning (53%):
• Norma Smith (2)
• Julia Halprin Jackson (5)
• Johnny Alvarez (1)
• Glenn Ingersoll (2)
• Linette Escobar (4)
• Donna Laemmlen (2)
• Peter Thomas Bullen (20)
• Cassandra Dallett (20)
• C.E. Shue (2)

As you can see, I’ve read with QL twice before, though I have applied and not been chosen many times. I’ve enjoyed my prior QL experiences and I’m looking forward to doing it again. 

And for those writers who haven’t been in the mix, if you can ask yourself, “Do I write like Cassandra Dallett &/or Peter Bullen?” and answer, “Well, yeah, more or less,” and you aren’t applying to QL, you’re leaving money on the table, man.

Video of my reading is viewable at YouTube.

[post updated with YouTube link, 12/22/23]

Bay Area Generations reading, August 26

Alan Bern and Rebecca Radner and I will be reading a renga (a haiku conversation) as part of the Bay Area Generations series. 

Bay Area Generations Show #72

Monday, August 26, 2019

7:00-9:00 pm

at Joyce Gordon Gallery

406 14th Ave, Oakland, CA

requested donation $10, includes a program reproducing all the performed works.

A literary salon featuring curated works of San Francisco Bay Area poets, writers and storytellers.

The full line up:

Guy Biederman + Tony Aldarondo

Lyra Halprin + Julia Jackson

Sam Delaune + Erica Peck

Alan Bern + Glenn Ingersoll + Rebecca Radner

Natasha Dennerstein + RFS 

The three of us read with Bay Area Generations a year ago. It was great! Hope to see you there.

Reading with Babar-in-Exile at Octopus on 5/9/19

I will be reading with Babar-in-Exile this coming Thursday. Here’s the announcement from their website:

Babar in Exile celebrates its FOURTH BIRTHDAY (!!) with a romp through the minds of light-struck poets (and maybe some cake). For our 18th installment, we are excited to feature two former and very active participants of Café Babar and Poetry above Paradise series of the 1990’s who have been in the poetry trenches ever since. Blogger and poet Glenn Ingersoll currently runs the reading and interview series Clearly Meant at the Berkeley Public Library. And mental health advocate and multi-genre writer Deborah Fruchey is hard at work editing an anthology of tribute poetry to Julia Vinograd for Zeitgeist Press. As well we welcome “honorary Babarian” Yume Kim, a perspective-challenging SF poet who will feel right at home with these rad oldsters.

So come on down to check out a slice of Bay Area poetry history, now and in the making, and make your way home with a bindle full of inspiration and a thimbleful more hope for the species.

Babar in Exile #18

a revival of the Cafe Babar, Paradise Lounge, and Club Chameleon reading series
featuring

Glenn Ingersoll

Deborah Fruchey

and Yume Kim

and you, in our infamous open mic

Hosted by Richard Loranger and Paul Corman-Roberts

free of charge and oppression

Glenn Ingersoll hit the scene back in the 90s when Cafe Babar and Poetry Above Paradise were hot, and snagged features at both places. Where fame went after that is hard to say. Currently Ingersoll works for the Berkeley Public Library where he hosts Clearly Meant, a reading & interview series. He keeps two blogs, LoveSettlement and Dare I Read. He has two chapbooks, City Walks (broken boulder) and Fact (Avantacular). Recent work is in Sparkle + Blink, Mary, The Walrus, and Caveat Lector. The multi-volume prose beast, Thousand, is on its way from MCT Publishing.

Deborah Fruchey tried to write her first book at the age of 8. She went by the name Debralee Pagan for a while, but people still mispronounced it, so she gave up. Her first novel was chosen as a Best Book by the American Bookseller’s Association, and her manual on mental illness was once described as “The best book of its kind.” Her latest is a volume of flash fiction called Priestess of Secrets. All of her work is available on Amazon. Deborah has spent too much of her life in churches, psych wards, and poetry readings, and has appeared in 10 anthologies. She is the editor of the coming anthology in tribute to Julia Vinograd, from Zeitgeist Press - you are invited to contribute! Her ambition is to acquire a cult following and a flat stomach. If she can’t have that, she would settle for never receiving a robocall ever again!

Yume Kim lives in San Francisco but commutes to South Bay for tutoring/teaching. She is a grad  recipient of both an MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. She is also a Kundiman fellow recipient from Fordham University. Her forthcoming chapbook (title TBA) will be published by Nomadic Press sometime this year.

Date: 

Thursday, May 9, 2019 - 7:00pm

Octopus Literary Salon

2101 Webster Street at 22nd St.

Uptown Oakland

19th Street BART

“Yes” at Quiet Lightning

The video features me performing the poem “Yes” during Quiet Lightning’s May 7, 2018 event at StudioToBe in Oakland. If the video doesn't appear above you can click through and watch on youtube. 

At each reading Quiet Lightning gives away a magazine called Sparkle and Blink that includes all the work performed on that date. If you go, you get a copy free. Often there are back issues for sale, too. I have picked up several that way. 

“Yes” originally published in the magazine, Askew.