(Nicole McFeely)

The Tenderloin is a prison of dirty windows. It is pigeons pecking at the flesh of discarded chicken bones lying next to human feces on the sidewalk, hunger stretching its terrible limbs block after block, shooting up in doorways, and choking on the smoke of the cigarettes held by hookers, advertising sex as others walk by, turning their heads only briefly—if at all. Briefcases, attempting to escape to later on or elsewhere, their faces glued to tiny screens in sad attempts to ignore the near tangible hum of apprehension all around them.

Some people are caught up in ignorance. Others are caught up ignoring.

Jonathan Hirsch, founder and host of the Tenderloin Reading Series, is not one of those people. Neither are Paul Corman-Roberts, Joel Landfield, Julie Michelle, William Taylor Jr., or Michael Warren Grant. People like this, people who pay attention, are dangerous, especially in numbers. Read the rest of this entry »

(Nicole McFeely)

Featured Event: Saturday, July 30th - Bay Area Poetry Marathon

Marathon is right. What used to be a weekend-long event in Boston has transformed into a momentous event in the Bay. With brief author introductions and a loooooong reading, this edition of The Bay Area Poetry Marathon features a wonderful lineup of up-and-coming and experimental authors, including Maxine Chernoff, Kevin Killian, and Dean Rader. For more information, read this profile or check out this review of their last show. Read the rest of this entry »

Sun Feb 20, 11 Viracocha

(Nicole McFeely)

On Sunday February 20th, I joined Jonathan Hirsch and an audience of about 40 at Viracocha to enjoy the first installment of his inspired seasonal reading series The Clattering Loom. I had met Hirsch, who is also founder of the groundbreaking Tenderloin Reading Series, by chance the night before as I was leaving Writers with Drinks and was struck by his enthusiasm for the project; it was infectious. He seemed an incredibly voracious soul, capable of finding inspiration in details most people dismiss or ignore. He told me a bit about his inspiration for the series, which came from this anonymous Japanese love poem translated by Kenneth Rexroth: Read the rest of this entry »