We are delighted to announce that we’ll have two amazing poets reading in store THIS TUESDAY January 8th at 7pm: Tongo Eisen-Martin – winner of the California Book Award, the American Book Award, and nominated for the Griffin Poetry Prize – and Rachelle Escamilla, winner of the Willow Books Literature Award for Poetry and host of KKUP’s Out of Our Minds – the longest running poetry show in the US.
Short notice, we know, but we couldn’t miss the opportunity to book these two amazing poets who will be on the peninsula at the same time. Come out and hear their beautiful prose. You won’t be disappointed.
Suggested $10 donation, NOTAFLOF
About the poets
Originally from San Francisco, Tongo Eisen-Martin is a poet, educator, and movement worker. His latest curriculum on extrajudicial killing of Black people, We Charge Genocide Again, has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His poetry has been published in Harper’s and the New York Times magazines. His book titled, Someone’s Dead Already was nominated for a California Book Award. His latest book Heaven Is All Goodbyes was published by the City Lights Pocket Poets series, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, won a California Book Award, and won an American Book Award.
Rachelle Linda Escamilla is the descendant of campesinos and cannery workers from San Benito County, California. Her first book, Imaginary Animal, won the 2014 Willow Books Literature Award for Poetry. From 2012-2014 Rachelle co-founded Sun Yat-sen University’s English-language Center for Creative Writing in Guangzhou, China, and taught creative writing in the English Department at Sun Yat-sen University. In Guangzhou, Rachelle partnered with the United States Consulate to create a lecture series called “Literature of the Margins”. She launched the reading series “Speakeasy” at a cafe along the Pearl river, managed the writers-in-residence program, and was adviser to Sun Yat-sen University’s Rainbow Alliance (which was not formally recognized, and was dismantled by the time she left). She is the founder of the Poets and Writers Coalition at San Jose State University and the founding president of Legacy of Poetry Day at San Jose State University. In October of 2015 Rachelle took over as producer and host of Out of Our Minds on KKUP which is the longest running poetry radio show in the United States.
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