Babar in Exile #19: A Family Affair

Babar in Exile hosts an intriguing and unique lineup of readers for their 19^th installment, namely an entire family of poets resulting from the original series. You can often say that a reading series encourages new poets, but rarely can you say that it’s created one. Back in the good ol’ 90s, poet and songwriter Kimi Sugioka met writer and activist Richard Stone at the Café Babar, and eventually collaborated to produce Kai Sugioka-Stone, a fine piece of writing who is now a poet, artist, and world-changer himself. We are proud and excited to feature the one and only (known) family of poets that the Babar series, however brusquely, caused.

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 #19: A Family Affair

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

featuring

Kimi Sugioka

Richard Stone

and Kai Sugioka-Stone

and you, in our infamous open mic

Hosted by Richard Loranger and Paul Corman-Roberts

PERFORMER BIOS

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.

At 54, Richard Stone is a 31-year-long resident of the Bay Area, currently residing in a rent controlled shoebox in the heart of the Mission District in SF. He’s served on the Green Party County Council since 2008, and is a postal delegate to the SF Labor Council. In addition, Richard serves on the Community Advisory Board at KPFA, the original public and flagship radio station of the Pacifica Network. Also, in splitting his range between baritone and bass, he sings the songs of a Leonard Cohen with the fabulous Conspiracy of Beards. And as a Transcendental Agnostic, he believes the Oracle and the Architect will redesign the Matrix once the replacement parts are no longer delayed in shipment.

Kai Sugioka-Stone is a writer, musician, photographer, video editor, and world traveler from the Bay Area. He is currently studying Music at Berkeley City College, and he recently returned from internships in Brazil and Ecuador. The two trips were part of a gap year program he completed known as LEAPYEAR, a college-level program that’s accredited through Naropa University in Colorado. He wishes to pursue his life as an artist in mixed media, writing, and meditation. Follow him on Instagram @mind.compassion.