Tuesday 5/7

The RADAR reading series presents its newest installment with four fantastic artists performing at the San Francisco Main Public Library, hosted by Michelle Tea. This event features  performance artist and community organizer Xandra Ibarra, media artist Rudy Lemcke, queer artist and educator Naima Lowe, and Janey Smith, poet and editor of Metazen. There will be a Q & A after the artists speak, and cookies are provided!

Watch Janey Smith read @ The Long Haul:

Wednesday, 5/8

Come see Kevin Powers, winner of 2013 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, 2013 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, read from his first novel, The Yellow Birds at Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley. The story of two soldiers doing anything to stay alive in a war they were unprepared for, The Yellow Birds is a book with profound emotional insight, especially into the effects of a hidden war on mothers and families at home. Powers holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, and served in the US Army in 2004 and 2005 in Iraq.

Going to be in San Francisco? Join David Henry Sterry & Friends @ The Booksmith for some steamy reading from an all-star lineup of the finest sex working writer/performers money can buy. This “Sex Worker Literati” will showcase writers from the sex business in the follow-up to the groundbreaking anthology Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys. Besides Sterry, readers include Carol Queen, Chris Moore, Kitty Stryker, and more!

Check out the event trailer:

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Thursday, 5/9

Join author, activist, queer social critic and former San Franciscan Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore at the GLBT History Museum to read from her new memoir, The End of San Francisco. Described as “a cross between Tinkerbell and a honky Malcolm X with a queer agenda” by the Austin Chronicle, this is sure to be a fantastically fun reading.    

This month’s installment of Why There Are Words features readings from  Louise Aronson, Cheryl Dumensil, Josh Farrar, Paul Mihas, Brian Sousa, Melanie Thorne, and Nancy Zafris. Admission is $10, but bring extra money for books and booze!

If you find yourself in Berkeley this Thursday, do yourself a favor and come to Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley to see Greg Bellow & Peter Orner discuss Greg’s heartfelt memoir, Saul Bellow’s Heart. As you may have guessed, Bellow is the son of one of America’s greatest 20th century writers, the Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow. This will be a wonderful opportunity to find out what it was like growing up with the influential writer.

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Friday, 5/10

The Poetry Center presents: How to Live On Planet Earth, a Celebration of Nanao Sakaki. Poets Gary Snyder, Joanne Kyger, Michael McClure, Malcolm Margolin, Jane Hirshfield, and Gary Lawless will be honoring the Japanese poet . This should be a beautiful reading; make sure to buy tickets in advance to receive a copy of Nanao Sakaki’s collected poems.

Join Joe Clifford at Pegasus Books in Berkeley to hear him read from his novel, Junkie Love. Street prophet and poet the mighty Joel Landmine and partner-in-crime Tom Pitts will be joining Clifford in a night filled with fun, free wine, and even freer hot dogs.

Watch Joe Clifford read:

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Saturday, 5/11

Start off your weekend at the 11th Annual Berkeley Poetry Festival for an afternoon of poetry readings and the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mary Rudge. There are some fabulous readers and artists attending, come check it out!

Watch Mary Rudge @Mrs. Dalloway’s:

In San Francisco? Come to another exciting festival, the 17th Annual Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Grand Slam Finals. Be a part of 1,800 audience members supporting youth voice and experiencing the best youth spoken word poetry in the Bay Area, which is open to all youth ages 13-19 years. Don’t miss out on supporting young, emerging poets!

This month’s Writers With Drinks features readings from Alexis Madrigal, Jai Arun Ravine, Phil Lapsley, Clarisse Thorn, Dan Wells, and Oscar Bermeo. Head down to the Make-Out Room and hear these awesome writers. All proceeds  benefit the Center for Sex and Culture.

Party down at the Be About It: PULL 6th Issue Release Party, featuring readings from Amy Berkowitz, Daniel Suarez, Jeff Von Ward, and many more. Readings start at 6, BYOB!

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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.