JOIN US FOR A POETRY MONTH CELEBRATION
No Poetry No Peace
Monday, April 26, 2021 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm
A Reading and Celebration of National Poetry Month
"Poetry provides pathways for creative and cathartic human expression and peace."
S. J. Bize-Boutte
https://www.milibrary.org/events/no-poetry-no-peace-apr-26-2021
This event is produced by the MECHANICS INSTITUTE LIBRARY in partnership with the San Francisco Writers Conference.
Please register via Eventbrite and the Zoom credentials will be sent to you when you register and a few days prior to the event.
https://www.milibrary.org/events/no-poetry-no-peace-apr-26-2021
Join us in celebration of National Poetry Month for a reading of poems from No Poetry No Peace, a collection written by Sheryl Bize-Boutte and her daughter Dr. Angela Boutte; and a selection of local poets.
ABOUT OUR POETS
Pushcart Prize nominee Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte is an Oakland multidisciplinary writer whose autobiographical and fictional short story collections, along with her lyrical and stunning poetry, artfully succeed in getting across deeper meanings about the politics of race and economics without breaking out of the narrative. Her writing has been variously described as "rich in vivid imagery," "incredible," and "great contributions to literature." Her first novel, Betrayal on the Bayou, was published in June 2020 and a poetry collection she has written with her daughter Dr. Angela M. Boutte, titled No Poetry No Peace, was published in August 2020. She is also a popular literary reader, presenter, storyteller, curator, and emcee for local events.
Dr. Angela M. Boutte is a biochemist, neuroscientist, and avid recreational indoor climber who loves the tranquility and peace found in writing the occasional poem.
Isis Machline Blanchette is a wife and mother of 2 young boys living in Long Beach, Ca where she works as a special education program director. Isis loves to dance, sing, and enjoy life's simple offerings. She has been writing most her life and is an aspiring author. She writes prose, essays, poetry, historical fiction, and science fiction. Tonight she will share from her poetry collection.
Leticia Garcia Bradford is a poet, playwright and publisher. In 2014 she founded B Street Writers Collective (BSWC), Hayward, CA- a community of writers both amateur and professional. Her poems and stories have been published in local and national journals. She edited BSWC’s anthologies Fly With Me and What Is Love which she is, also, the publisher for MoonShine Star Co. In 2017, Leticia toured around the entire SF Bay Area with her poetry and stories at open mics and readings.
A long time activist, journalist, and Bay Area resident, Fred Dodsworth earned his bachelor's degree in creative writing with a concentration on gender studies, and his Masters in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. A poet since childhood, Fred's short stories and poems have been published in Red Light Lit, Rag Mag, Troop, Oakland Review #3, riverbabble, Transfer, Milvia Street, Bay Area Generations, Writing Without Walls, Saturday Night Special, Something Worth Revising, US Represented, and in the anthologies 11-9 the Fall of Democracy, RISE!, Colosses: Home among others.
Kevin Dublin is a writer of poetry, prose, scripts, and code originally from the small town of Smithfield, NC. His words have recently appeared in The Racket, Cincinnati Review, North Carolina Literary Review, Sparkle + Blink, and he is author of the chapbook How to Fall in Love in San Diego (Finishing Line Press, 2017). Kevin holds an MFA from San Diego State, leads workshops as a part of Litquake’s Elder Writing Project, and enjoys making video adaptations of poetry and developing web apps for writers. You can find him on Twitter @PartEverything.
Mary Mackey is the New York Times bestselling author of 14 novels and 8 collections of poetry including Sugar Zone, winner of the 2012 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award and The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams, winner of the 2019 Erich Hoffer Small Press Award for the best book published by a small press. Her poems have been praised by Maxine Hong Kingston, Al Young, Wendell Berry, Jane Hirshfield, D. Nurkse, and Marge Piercy for their beauty, precision, originality, and extraordinary range. Her novels have made The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller lists and been translated into twelve languages. At www.marymackey.com, you can sample her work and read her interview series People Who Make Books Happen, which is designed to help writers and teachers of writing. You can also follow her on Twitter @MMackeyAuthor.
AND ON APRIL 30, 2021
4:00-5:30 pm Pacific Time, PDT
FOR THE
WOMEN'S NATIONAL BOOK ASSOCIATION-SAN FRANCISCO CHAPTER
SPRING POETRY MIXER
REGISTER HERE:https://wnba-sfchapter.org/april-30-wnba-sf-poetry-mixer/
MEET THE POETS:
Lucille Lang Day is the author of seven full-length poetry collections and four poetry chapbooks. Her most recent collection is Birds of San Pancho and Other Poems of Place (Blue Light Press, November 2020). She has also co-edited two anthologies, Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California and Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California, and has published two children’s books and a memoir, Married at Fourteen: A True Story. Her many honors include the Blue Light Poetry Prize, two PEN Oakland/ Josephine Miles Literary Awards, the Joseph Henry Jackson Award, and eleven Pushcart Prize nominations. She is the founder and publisher of Scarlet Tanager Books. https://lucillelangday.com
Award winning poet and Pushcart Prize nominee Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte is an Oakland multidisciplinary writer of prose/poetry, autobiographical and fictional short stories. Her writing has been variously described as “rich in vivid imagery,” “incredible,” and “great contributions to literature.” Her first novel, “Betrayal on the Bayou,” was published in June 2020 and a poetry collection she has written with her daughter Dr. Angela M. Boutte, titled “No Poetry No Peace,” was published in August 2020. She has served as a poetry judge for the Bay Area Poets Coalition, the long-term emcee and co-curator for theMontclair/Oakland Public Library’s annual celebration of National Poetry Month and is slated to judge the WNBA-SF’s Effie Lee Morris Writing Contest poetry category. She is a popular literary reader, presenter, and storyteller, and in addition to her books, her varied works appear in numerous journals, anthologies and print and on-line magazines and videos. www.sheryljbize-boutte.com
Dr. Jeanne Powell holds degrees from WSU in Michigan and USF in California. She is a published poet and essayist, with four books in print from Taurean Horn Press and Regent Press: MY OWN SILENCE, TWO SEASONS, WORD DANCING and CAROUSEL. She founded Meridien PressWorks™, which published 20 writers in 20 years. Jeanne’s film and cultural reviews appear online. For ten years Jeanne facilitated Meridien Writers, which met monthly in San Francisco. For a decade she hosted Celebration of the Word, a weekly open mic in the City. Jeanne has taught in CS, OLLI and UB programs on college campuses. She has been a featured performer in coffee houses, cafes, libraries and bookstores. Jeanne’s new collection of poetry will be published in April 2021 by Taurean Horn Press. www.jeanne-powell.com starkinsider.com/author/jeannep
Athena Kashyap grew up in India and went to the U.S. for her higher education. She received her BA in Critical Social Thought and History from Mount Holyoke College, her MA in English from the University of California at Davis, and her MFA in Poetry from San Francisco State University. She currently lives in San Francisco where she teaches English at City College of San Francisco. Athena has written two collections of poetry, Sita’s Choice (2019) and Crossing Black Waters (2012), both published by Stephen F. Austin State University Press in Texas. Her poems have appeared in Exquisite Corpse, All Roads Lead You Home, The Missing Slate, Forum, The Fourth River among other journals. Her work has also been anthologized both in the U.S. and India and has been translated into other languages.
Iris Jamahl Dunkle is an award-winning poet, literary biographer, and essayist. She has published four poetry books, including West: Fire: Archive, The Center for Literary Publishing, 2021 and the biography Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer. Dunkle teaches at Napa Valley College and is Poetry Director at the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference.
The author of three poetry collections, a chapbook of short fiction and You Can Be a Winning Writer, a book for writers, Joan Gelfand’s work appears in national and international journals including Rattle, PANK! The Los Angeles Review of Books, Prairie Schooner, Kalliope, California Quarterly, the Toronto Review, Marsh Hawk Review and Levure Litteraire. Her chapbook of short fiction won the Cervena Barva Fiction Award. President Emeritus of the Women’s National Book Association, a member of the National Book Critics Circle and California Writers Club, Joan coaches writers. Joan’s novel, Extreme, set in a Silicon Valley startup, was published by Blue Light Press in July, 2020.
