[ Fri Apr 13 12 ]

Cheena Marie Lo hosted the 6th installment of Manifest at the Tender Oracle in Oakland, featuring readings by (in the following order) Tom Comitta, Nicole Trigg, and Ken L. Walker.

This was my first time at the Tender Oracle, 531 22nd St (off of Telegraph in Oakland), and I almost walked past it because I thought with a name like that it had to be some kind of ornate tabernacle. But no, of course it was a house (and you know how house parties are always the best). You have 40 people in a house and it’s a party, even if you’re just there for poetry. Or maybe it’s the refreshments that make something a party. Or the ideas flowing through the place.

I saw a lot of people I’m just getting to know, which was really fun, and most of them reconvened down the street at a spontaneous dance party (I had to get up early for Fishing for Words: the Pacifica Pier Poetry Walk, because I rode my bike there, which I will tell you all about soon because it was truly marvelous. This has been a really wonderful week, just you wait for that podcast!). Speaking of podcasts, I ran into Andrew Kenowner who runs this amazing podcast of Bay Area readings. Check it out when you get a chance.

Above is the entire evening, with Lo’s intros included to give you some background and a better feeling of the atmo. Click “Play” to watch all, “Next” to skip forward, or the small “Playlist” screen (to the right of the video time) to see thumbnails and watch them directly.