Our top picks for the week starting Monday, May 20 13. Suggest a feature, yo.

Pop-Up Magazine doing their thing on Monday, but either you’ve known about that and have your tickets or you’re… scalping? Porchlight: Kitchen Confidential for stories at the Verdi Club with a stellar lineup. If you’re doing the poetry thing Alice Jones is reading in Berkeley with Yoo-Chong Wong at Poetry Express (discount on your Indian food)!

read a review of alice jones’ plunge

Tuesday‘s sort of a thing this week. Litquake does this neat thing during lunchtime at YBCA sometimes and this installment of Lines & Lyrics features Sam Sax, Toni Mirosevich, Peter Kline and Jennifer Elise Foerster. That’s a hot ticket for 12:30! Litquake keeps it going that eve for a much-anticipated event with NoViolet Bulawayo, a Stegner fellow whose debut novel was just published to rave reviews. But, man, Write Club celebrates anniversary number two and that show is always so good (this month with Nate Waggoner and Toaster on the same bill it’s … and the hosts). It’d be wrong not to say Andrew Lam is doing Feast of Words tonight, so if you’re in the mood that will be the jam, and Jaron Lanier is at City Lights if you want to think about it (real talk). The Word Party‘s on if you’re mixing your art forms, Tom Drury is at Green Apple for an intimate story session, and Pints & Prose in Fairfax is always a blast of a smart time.

Wednesday, celebrate the launch of Two Lines Press, a new project by the Center for the Art of Translation, with an impressive double book release party (actors and all). Or head to The Emerald Tablet for An Evening of Adventure with Chicken John, Suzanne Kleid, Joshua Mohr, Sarah Fran Wisby and Tupelo Hassman (yes, they’ll seriously all be there). Or Oscar Villalon in discussion with Mundo Cruel @ City Lights might really make your night. Orrr (yes orrr!) help Matt Pine celebrate the release of his novel City Water Light & Power with Sarah Griff, Casey Childers, and Nate Waggoner!

Thursday: San Francisco magazine is doing an early launch for its June Authors Issue with a who’s who cast of contributors (many, it says, though not who, will be on hand). Beat Memories: The Photography of The Allen Ginsberg finally opens at the Contemporary Jewish Museum (I wasn’t sure I’d say this but I sort of can’t wait to see these). Tonight’s your first chance of the week to see Alex Dimitrov, at Moe’s with Genine Lentine, and there’s a backyard reading that starts at 6 with bonfire to follow.

From Friday until sometime next Monday may be referred to, now and in the future, as East Bay Poetry Summit. Click on that link for a full schedule of readings, dinners, and who knows what other social activities — all free. More about EBPS soon. Recent Pulitzer Prize winner Adam Johnson joins Anthony Marra to celebrate the launch of his highly-anticipated (lauded) debut. Live at 851 has you covered if you are currently crushing on poets (my lord do they): Alex Dimitrov, Cedar Cigo, Ben Mirov and erica lewis (say it again). And Under the Influence returns with a lineup that features Terry Taplin, Jason Schenheit, Alexandra Kostoulas and Marcus Lund sharing original work and work by W.B. Yeats, Gil Scott Heron, Charles Bukowski, and Grace Paley.

Saturday: Seriously, East Bay on the Brain is always a great series. The Layover is a pretty comfortable place to sprawl out for a reading, too — Michael David Lukas heads a genre-sprawling cast. Same can be said for Saturday Night Special — an all-out open mic w/features Cassandra Dallett and Robert Ricardo Reese.

Joshua McKinley and Tim Kahl are reading at Diesel on Sunday. Here’s Kahl!

—

Evan Karp is founder and president of Quiet Lightning, a literary nonprofit that curates a monthly submission-based reading series and publication. He also writes literary culture columns for the San Francisco Chronicle and SF Weekly and curates the monthly top 10 Bay Area lit events at SFArts.org. evan@litseen.com