Our top picks for the week starting Monday, March 25, 2013. Suggest an event.

Monday, 3/25

Book Club of CA: The Oscar Lewis Awards:  Carolee Campbell is being honored with The Oscar Lewis Award for Book Arts for the wonderful publishing she does over at Ninja Press, which she established in 1984. This is not an ordinary press, as each book, broadside, and keepsake are designed, handset in metal type, printed, and bound by Carolee herself. Campbell’s passion for craftsmanship and quality shows in her books, many of which are collected in famous libraries such as The Getty Research Institute and the Library of Congress. Come celebrate this honor with Carolee Campbell and show your support for Ninja Press at the beautiful Book Club of California headquarters.

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Tuesday 3/26

InsideStorytime: MESMERISMS: Exciting line up at the Make-out Room, featuring award winning writers Susan Steinberg (read a review of her newest book here), Thaisa Frank, Patricia McNair, Doug Cordell, and Michael Bernard Loggins. InsideStorytime is a wonderfully intimate series, and this reading is sure to deliver a pleasing mix of storytelling styles all executed with expertise from these talented writers.

Watch Thaisa Frank at Litquake:

 

Doug Cordell at Quiet Lightning:

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Tuesday, 3/26

YesYes Books & 851 Readings: Melnick, Zeller, Ostrom & More: Saunter down to The Squat, an abandoned house on Haight turned literary haven, and check out the collaboration between the alternative lit 851 reading series and Katherine Sullivan’s YesYes Books. This reading features an eclectic mix of young poets and fiction writers including Lynn Melnick, Corey Zeller, Robert Ostrom, Christie Ann Reynolds, and Thomas Patrick Levy, all of whom have been published in various literary journals. The Squat itself is reason enough to go (squats are destinations, people), and these young writers are filled with enough vigor and talent to keep you there ’til the end.

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Wednesday, 3/27

Ali Liebegott @ City Lights: Local writer and Sister Spit superstar Ali Liebegott celebrates the release of her new novel, Cha- Ching!, a story of a hapless young queer girl trying to get by in 90’s Brooklyn. There is also a recent reprinting of her classic novel in prose, The Beautifully Worthless; together, the two books are the second and third releases on the new City Lights/Sister Spit imprint. (Read this excerpt and be prepared to want the whole book). Liebegott’s writing is poignant and often hilarious, filled with observations all humans can connect with, and has even been compared to Kerouac and David Wojnarowicz. She also has a great series with the Believer, in which she traveled the country and interviewed female writers and poets on her way to visit the Emily Dickinson house.

Watch Ali read at Sister Spit:

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Wednesday, 3/27

IN OUR OWN WORDS: Sri Lanken Women Writers: Kearny Street Workshop presents a reading in conjunction with Women’s History Month, celebrating female writers from Sri Lanka, who will hold their conversation at the San Francisco Public Library. A fierce quintet of writers from the global Sri Lankan diaspora representing Sinhalese, Tamil, and Bergher ethnicities will read from their works, and engage in a panel discussion about the role of history and identity in informing their work. Enjoy refreshments while listening in on this eye-opening conversation.

A great reading by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @ Litquake:

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Thursday 3/28

16th & Mission: You may have heard of the essence of literary chaos that is the 16th & Mission open mic, but if not, it is something worth seeing. A huge crowd gathers in a circle every Thursday at 10pm, averaging around 100 people, and anyone that jumps into the center has the freedom to do whatever they choose. It is raucous, anarchic, and even perturbing, but the excitement of the crowd is often so great that the energy feeds through its participants and creates incredibly sublime moments for all involved. This week’s weather should really pull in the crowds, so head down to the 16th St. BART and experience the sweet discordance.

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Friday, 3/29

Lip Service West: True Stories: Gritty, raw, real: Lip Service West presents True Stories this week in a special women’s day event. This is a hardcore lineup featuring an eclectic mix of ladies, including Lauren Becker, Zarina Zabrinksy, Ellen Westberg, Mariya Taher, Hollie Hardy, and Claudia Reed. These are all kick-ass writers that are sure to make this one hell of a show.

Lauren Becker @ Quiet Lightning:

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Sunday 3/31

Sister Spit @SF Main Library: Queer and queer friendly literature group Sister Spit will be gracing the Main San Francisco Public Library tonight. Be prepared for hilarious and emotional storytelling filled with thoughtful insights peppered with hilarity. These women are not only funny, but heartbreaking, and create a mutual sense of camaraderie between the performers and the audience. Watch the release party for the first Sister Spit/ City Lights publication, Sister Spit: Writing, Rants, and Reminiscence from the Road:

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Sunday, 3/31

Clattering Loom: Nunchi @ Viracocha: The Clattering Loom series is based on an intriguing premise: Give the writers a word that is not (or not easily) translatable into English, and sum up the meaning of the word through poems, stories, or any other form of writing. This reading’s theme is the word “nunchi,” which Wikipedia states is a concept in Korean culture that describes the subtle art and ability to listen and gauge others’ moods. (For example, I completely lack nunchi). The night features a great list of readers, including Casey Childers, Chiwan Choi, Sarah Griff, Shideh Etaat, and Chris Peck. I am attending, and I am incredibly curious to see how these readers emulate this word through their writing and help the audience understand its essence.

Sarah Griff @ Literary Death Match:

Casey Childers @ Quiet Lightning:

Shideh Etaat @ Quiet Lightning:

Chris Peck’s Awesome music video, “You’ve Got To Work It”

Chiwan Choi @ The Rumpus:

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Michelle Greenberg is a Litseen intern and Creative Writing student at SFSU. She likes to play drums and write poetry in her free time, and is obsessed with Charles Bukowski, Mexican food, and cats. She wants to publish at least one book of her original poetry and/ or own a guinea pig farm when she grows up.