Wording Life
Upcoming readings, talks,
workshops
CAVE CANEM BLACK WRITERS WORKSHOP – OAKLAND CALIFORNIA – FALL 2023
Mid-September to Mid-November. Ten weeks. Final week is a poetry reading by all participating poets. Details Forthcoming
FIRST VOICE PRESENTS STORY CIRCLE 2023
SATURDAY MAY 20th
ZOOM Event – Details forthcoming
SF’s 17th Annual City-Wide Kwanzaa Celebration (2022) (funcheap.com)
Kwanzaa Celebration at the
- 7 pm – The Origins Boutique Night Club, 1538 Fillmore; Performance by Tia Carroll, Poetry Reading by SF Poet Laurate, Devorah Major
Musikiwest presents jazz harp legend Destiny Muhammad who will be joined by Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Tammy Hall, drummer – Leon Joyce Jr., bassist – Arthur Chico Lopez and poets – Devorah Major and Enid Pickett for this sonic solstice experience.
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Black Fire this Time Celebration
SFPL Zoom Saturday July 16th 3PM
An anthology that explores all facets of the Black Arts Movement. Edited by Dr. Kim McMillon and Kofi Antwi. Foreword by Ishmael Reed. Introduction by Dr. Margo Natalie Crawford. This anthology, nearly 60 years in the making, features over 100 poets and writers on the theme of “Black is Beautiful, Black is Powerful, Black is Home.” Exploring the past, present and future of Black writing, this collection bridges many of the founders of the Black Arts Movement-including Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Amiri Baraka, Wanda Coleman, Dudley Randall, Eugene B. Redmond and Askia Touré-with contemporary established writers in the tradition such as brian g. gilmore-to Ishmael Reed’s “younger generation”-Karla Brundage, Allison E. Francis, Tongo Eisen-Martin and C. Liegh McInnis. Designed as an open conversation between generations bridging hearts and minds across decades, Black Fire-This Time’s works are rooted in preservation, reverence and discovery. Several little-known works are included for the first time. New works-from established writers as well as emerging talent-share this historic debut. Black Fire-This Time also stands out for its inclusion of many voices that were underrepresented in previous anthologies, most notably Black Fire: an anthology of Afro-American Writing (1968) and its ancestor, The New Negro (1920). The works of writers such as Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin provide a more complete view of the myriad perspectives on Black identity and writing.
Aunt Lute Books Poetry Reading
Wednesday July 20th 6 PM Zoom
First Voice Story Circle
Saturday August 20 – 10 AM Zoom
Italia – Southern Italy and Sardinia
September 1 -September 15th
Contact: Casa della Poesia for details
SilverTongues Poetry Series
November 12 – Saturday 3 PM
Auburn, California
Healdsburg Jazz Festival 2022
June 17th 1-2 PM
Textures, Colors, Tones: A Musical Conversation on African American Quilter Rosie Lee Tompkins
Healdsburg Regional Library – Healdsburg Meeting Room
Healdsburg Jazz is honored to present its 2022 Artist in Residence harpist and composer Destiny Muhammad in conversation at the Healdsburg Library. Destiny will discuss her career, her influences, and her original musical suite titled “Textures, Colors, Tones: Sketches in JAZZ In Celebration of African American Quilter Effie Mae Martin aka Rosie Lee Tompkins.” devorah major and Enid Pickett will join in the conversation and share poems on the important quilter.
June 18th 1-3 PM
Tix Link below ⬇️
INA COOLBRITH POETRY CIRCLE 95TH POETS DINNER AND AWARD CEREMONY
Saturday June 4th – Noon – Benicia City Park
featuring devorah major as keynote speaker.
MAYA ANGELOU DAY 2022
Sunday April 3, 2022
2nd Annual Maya Angelou Day live at the Harmon Deck
TIME: 2 pm-4 pm PST
WHERE: Harmon Deck; Healdsburg, CA
227 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA 95448
WHAT: Celebration of the legacy of poet and writer Maya Angelou featuring performances by former SF Poet Laureate devorah major, 2021 Healdsburg Jazz Poet Laureate Enid Pickett, and the Healdsburg Jazz 2022 Artist in Residence harpist Destiny Muhammad with Healdsburg Jazz Artistic Director and bassist Marcus Shelby. We are also honored to have youth poet Matthew Carbajal perform his poem dedicated to the legacy of Maya Angelou.
This is a free patrons and members in-person soiree. We will announce our 2022 Summer Festival during this event
Saturday April 23rd, 2022 – 7:30 PM
Songs for J-Town
A world premiere by Mark Izu
Saturday, April 23rd 7:30 pm
Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
Tickets: (415) 960-3949 On-line: www.presidiotheatre.org
For one performance only, Songs for J-Town will feature music from the history of San Francisco’s Japantown. The evening will begin with the story of the Sun Goddess by Brenda Wong Aoki and a blessing by Konko Priest Mas Kawahatsu, followed by an instrumental jazz performance infused with Gagaku, a 1500-year-old ceremonial Japanese music that Izu studied for 26 years under his mentor Togi Suenobu.
Mark and his ensemble will also perform 1940’s swing and big band tunes popular with Japanese American political prisoners in internment camps after they were forcibly removed from their homes in Japantown during the height of anti-Asian hysteriaduring World War II. As well as resistance songs that callback to Japantown of the 1970s, the birthplace of Asian American Jazz, a genre which Izu helped pioneer during the struggle by Black and Japanese residents to fight the forced evictions of tens of thousands of neighborhood residents during waves of demolition led by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.
Caroline Cabading, a Fillmore Filipina herself, will sing lonesome ballads the manong, unmarried male Filipino elders, sang to themselves, survivors of cruel immigration and marriage laws that prevented Filipino women from settling in California while also preventing Filipino men from marrying non-Filipino women. And devorah major, San Francisco’s third Poet Laureate, will perform two spoken word pieces, “Rage” and “Rise,” that speak to the current culture of COVID, anti-Asian attacks, historic racism to all people of color and yet resilience and faith in the future.
Following the performance, because of the long isolation imposed by the pandemic, there will be a simple closing reception with tea and Japanese candy for audience members to greet and enjoy one another.
“Mark Izu’s music is a great gift to the jazz tradition, to its ongoing transformation and revitalization into energetic and unpredictable new directions” – Downbeat Magazine
Led by Emmy Award winning composer Mark Izu, Songs for J-Town is a Japanese American Jazz concert dedicated to our grandchildren’s children and the ancestors who carry them.
“This is my 45th year as a musician and composer–and my first concert in a very long time. As I emerge out of the chrysalis of COVID, I muse on what the world has become. Where is my place in it? What do I have to contribute?
My musings always take me back to J-Town. We the original, the first Japanese settlement in America, displaced three times: the Anti-Japanese laws during the Victorian era, the Incarceration, and Redevelopment!
And back to my father fighting in Europe with the 442nd. To my mother in-prisoned in Poston. Still our brave little community stands!
Warm memories of people and places come and gone: Issei grandmas in kimono riding Muni, Nisei aunties cooking community feasts, Sansei fighting for Redress. As I compose this music, the spirit of my sensei, Togi Suenobu, whispers in my ears, “The journey continues.”
– Mark Izu
Sunday April 24th, 2022 2:30 PM
Afro Solo presents: Hold the Line
Being named a Poet Laureate is among the highest honors a poet can achieve. The San Francisco Bay Area is fortunate to be the home of numerous Black poet laureates. In this celebratory reading, AfroSolo, in collaboration with the African American Center, proudly features San Francisco’s 8th and current Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Francisco’s 3rd Poet Laureate, devorah major, performing with acclaimed harpist Destiny Muhammad, and Oakland’s first Poet Laureate, Dr. Ayodele “WordSlanger” Nzinga. We highlight these artists in our ongoing endeavor to champion artists who give voice to the human spirit that reigns within us all.
devorah major photo by Bob Fischer
March 10, 2022
6:00 – 7:15
San Francisco Poet Laureate emerita Kim Shuck invites HERstory poets Kitty Costello, Susan Dambroff, Natasha Dennerstein, devorah major and Maw Shein Win to this monthly poetry reading.
March 8, 2022
REVOLUTIONARY POETS BRIGADE ZOOMS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY POETRY
MONDAY, MARCH 8, ZOOM AT 7 PM Lisbit Bailey, Zoom host—
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89139231794 Meeting ID: 891 3923 1794
Carol Denney, guitar and poetry
FEATURING
MAHNAZ BADIHIAN, Iranian Poet and translator
CLARA HSU, Clarion Music and Art, poet and playwright
DEVORAH MAJOR, Sanfrancisco’s Third Poet Laureate
JAMI PROCTOR XU Poet and Translator of Chinese
NINA SERRANO, Poet, media producer
With poets from the Revolutionary Poets Brigade: VICTORIA BRILL, KRISTINA BROWN, AGGIE FALK, SARAH MENEFEE, KAREN MELANDER-MAGOON, BARBARA PASCHKE
Sunday February 27, 2022 – 3 PM PST
Celebrating Quincy Troupe’s Duende: Poems, 1966-Now, with poets Michael Warr & devorah major.
Poet of the “deep song,” Quincy Troupe has a new collection of poems. DUENDE: Poems, 1966 – Now, published by Seven Stories Press, representing more than 50 years of lyrical, evocative writing.
Sunday November 1st 2:00 PM Zoom
The Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium Presents:
devorah major
Sunday, November 1, 2:00 p.m. via Zoom
To obtain the login link
Email jfellguth@sbcglobal.net by Sat. October 31 to receive a logon link
______________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday October 6th 6:30 PM Zoom
Colossus:Home Book Release Reading
Zoom link for registration
Thursday October 8th 11AM (Cali Time)
Revolutionary Poets Brigade new anthology reading
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82759790450?pwd=NWlzLzdwa2RRWWQ3R2hqUkQvSUtVQT09
Wednesday October 13th 3PM (Cali time)
ALAMEDA VIRTUAL BOOK FESTIVAL
featuring devorah major, Jason Bayani & James Cagney
3-4PM Via zoom
Wednesday August 19th 7 PM
Sacred Grounds Poetry Reading
This is a Zoom event but because of problems
Sunday August 16th 3 PM
Black Arts Movement Fest 2020 – an afternoon of poetry and conversation celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Black Power Movement.
featuring: Dr. Eugene Redmond, devorah major, Raymond Nat Turner, Tureeda Mikell, Marvin X, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Wanda Sabir. Hosted by Kim McMillon under the auspices of the Collective Oakland (a Black owned bookstore)
BAMBDFEST 2020 is under the artistic direction of Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, Ph.D. This event is partially funded by the California Arts Council, the Zellerbach Foundation, the Akonadi Foundation, Theater Bay Area, the Community Coalition for Equitable Development, and the National Ensemble of Theaters.
devorah major and Gail Newman celebrate the release of their new books
MONDAY JULY 27 7:OO PM Bird and Beckett Books
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7678515247?pwd=c2dnd2FHVzdvNEh0UXpkOS9maTJCQT09
July 12 2-4PM
Wake Up America v2
Click on link for details
Tsuru Rising! Virtual Protest to Close the Camps
Sat, Jun 6, 2020 10:00 AM – Sun, Jun 7, 2020 10:00 PM EDT
Saturday July 11th Ina Coolbrith Poets Dinner 2 PM
Livermore.
I will be giving the keynot speech and sharing some poems
July Sunday, July 12, 2020 2 PM (PST ) Join Zoom Poetathon & Facebook Live! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8615962043 Meeting ID: 861 596 2043 Mobile Phone: +16699006833 (CA)
April 9-20, 2018 Home:Making Space for Radical Love and Justice
Oliver Art Gallery California College for the Arts Diversity Studies Art Exhibition Home: Making Space for Radical Love and Justice Oakland Campus on Broadway at College
April 19th I will be giving a poetry tour of the exhibition 12- 2PM Free
There are two weeks of exciting events including music, presentations, speakers. Check it out here
May 7, 2018 Battle of the Brains
Small Press Distribution is hosting their “battle of the brains” fundraiser along with celebrating laura moriarty’s retirement at the lake merritt boat house on Monday, May 7th, @ 6:30pm, and I will be on team city lights!
more here Details TBA
May 6, 2018
Authors will read selections of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s brand new book: Dreaming of Empire – the first of a three part work collectively titled Murder Incorporated: Empire, Genocide, and Manifest Destiny.
Details TBA
March 31, 2018 7-930 Contagious Spirit
Hip hop, poetry, music video premiere
The Contagious Spirit video has just debuted on Afropunk
March 8
KPOO 89.5 FM KPOO.Org Radio Interview – Connecting the Dots 1-2 PM
February 22
Closing Celebration 6-8 PM Free – San Francisco State University Students Arts Center
Poetry, tap dancing, capoeira
I Am San Francisco: Black Past & Presence (IAMSF) explores social and cultural values and concerns through the depth and diversity prevalent within Black life and culture in San Francisco. From past to present, the exhibition honors Black existence, voice and insight that transcend, both, time and place.
IAMSF is a combination of photography, interview excerpts, collage, illustration, and mural work in collaboration with photographer Michole “Micholiano” Forks, mixed-media artist Sydney “Sage” Cain, and San Francisco youth. The excerpts are from 40+ film-documented and transcribed conversations between Phillips and a variety of Black natives, residents, and leaders of San Francisco who offered to share a piece of their story.
February 15 “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”
“Freedom is a Constant Struggle” television show with guests with guests Bilal Mafundi Ali and devorah major
Host and producer Kiilu Nyasha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMyoOame0TU&feature=em-uploademail
Thursday August 10, 2017 5:00 PM
MoAD – Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street (at Third)
San Francisco, California
I will be August 10 featured Bay Area Cave Canem poets reflecting on themes of the current exhibition. Now on view, The Ease of Fiction presents the work of four African artists living in the United States as the foundation of a critical discussion about history, fact and fiction. The readings and discussion of original work will take place in the gallery for a maximum of 30 minutes.
FREE ADMISSION
Thursday August 17, 2017 6:00 PM
Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street (at Third)
San Francisco, California
Community Voices: Poets Speak, The series has been curated by Arisa White. Bay Area Cave Canem poets reflect on themes of the current exhibition. This the culmination of the series with a reception and an evening of poetry by the participating poets on Thursday, August 17, 2017.
Free Admission.
Friday September 29, 2017 7:00 PM
Sierra Writers Series
I will be reading with Indigo Moor at
The Open Book
671 Maltman Drive
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Friday October 21 7:30 PM
Litquake Reading – Writers with Drinks
Make Out Room
3225 22nd Street,
SF near Mission. Close to 24th street BART. Show at 7:30
Past Readings
Lunch Poems
Morrison Library in Doe Library
U.C. Berkeley
Berkeley, Ca.
Sunday April 9, 2017 – 8:00
My birthday
SF Jazz Center
201 Franklin Street San Francisco, Ca.
SF Jazz Poetry Festival
This is the last day of an exciting program of poetry and music curated by Genny Lim. The [poetry festival will close with Devorah major with Destiny Muhammad, harpist, composer and vocalist extraordinaire
Genny Lim with Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra
Friday April 21 7 p.m.
World Poetry Series
Mill Valley Public Library 375 Throckmorton Ave
batter up! a big rowdy crowd, free wine and beer and popcorn, and the best poetry around. come join Daniel Handler, Julia Levine, Brynn Saito, Charif Shanahan, Devorah Major, Zubair Ahmed, Roy Mash, Tom Barbash, and Prartho Sereno at this insanely fun event! admission is free.
Wednesday, April 26 at 6:00
Cal State East Bay -Hayward Hill Campus
Distinguished Writers Series, Department of English
COME HEAR POET DEVORAH MAJOR AND WINNERS OF THE DECLERCQ POETRY CONTEST
BIELLA ROOM, CSUEB LIBRARY
An award-winning writer of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, and performer, editor, and part-time professor, Devorah Major served as San Francisco’s third Poet Laureate from 2002 to 2006, and currently serves as poet-in-residence of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She has appeared in scores of literary journals and anthologies, and has published two novels (An Open Weave and Brown Glass Windows) four chapbooks, two history books for young people, and four poetry collections (Where River Meets Ocean, With More Than Tongue, Street Smarts, and and then we became, which Library Journal named one of the Top Poetry Books of Fall 2016). Jewelle Gomez says, “devorah major remains one of our premier storytellers.”
Further info: Professor Steve Gutierrez at steve.gutierrez@csueastbay.edu. On-campus parking fee. California State University, East Bay welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. Please notify event sponsor at least two weeks in advance if accommodation is needed.
as part of National Poetry Month
and in conjunction with the DeCerq Poetry Prize
Thursday October 8th 11AM (Pacific Time)
Saturday April 29 1:30PM
Poerty Without Borders 2017 4-9-17 flyer-1[3154]
Saturday, April 29 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm Oakland Main Branch Library 125 14th Street, Oakland CA Favianna Rodriguez, Copyright 2017 Co-sponsored by The Ina Coolbrith Circle and PEN Oakland This year’s National Poetry Month Program features migration – and the kaleidoscope of images, experiences and adventures available with the movement that reshapes lives, landscapes and our knowledge of each other.
SATURDAY MAY 20TH
FIRST VOICE STORY CIRCLE 2023
ZOOM Event
Details forthcoming
SF’s 17th Annual City-Wide Kwanzaa Celebration (2022) (funcheap.com)
Kwanzaa Celebration at the
- 7 pm – The Origins Boutique Night Club, 1538 Fillmore; Performance by Tia Carroll, Poetry Reading by SF Poet Laurate, Devorah Major
Musikiwest presents jazz harp legend Destiny Muhammad who will be joined by Grammy Award winning jazz pianist Tammy Hall, drummer – Leon Joyce Jr., bassist – Arthur Chico Lopez and poets – Devorah Major and Enid Pickett for this sonic solstice experience.
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Black Fire this Time Celebration
SFPL Zoom Saturday July 16th 3PM
An anthology that explores all facets of the Black Arts Movement. Edited by Dr. Kim McMillon and Kofi Antwi. Foreword by Ishmael Reed. Introduction by Dr. Margo Natalie Crawford. This anthology, nearly 60 years in the making, features over 100 poets and writers on the theme of “Black is Beautiful, Black is Powerful, Black is Home.” Exploring the past, present and future of Black writing, this collection bridges many of the founders of the Black Arts Movement-including Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhubuti, Amiri Baraka, Wanda Coleman, Dudley Randall, Eugene B. Redmond and Askia Touré-with contemporary established writers in the tradition such as brian g. gilmore-to Ishmael Reed’s “younger generation”-Karla Brundage, Allison E. Francis, Tongo Eisen-Martin and C. Liegh McInnis. Designed as an open conversation between generations bridging hearts and minds across decades, Black Fire-This Time’s works are rooted in preservation, reverence and discovery. Several little-known works are included for the first time. New works-from established writers as well as emerging talent-share this historic debut. Black Fire-This Time also stands out for its inclusion of many voices that were underrepresented in previous anthologies, most notably Black Fire: an anthology of Afro-American Writing (1968) and its ancestor, The New Negro (1920). The works of writers such as Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin provide a more complete view of the myriad perspectives on Black identity and writing.
Aunt Lute Books Poetry Reading
Wednesday July 20th 6 PM Zoom
First Voice Story Circle
Saturday August 20 – 10 AM Zoom
Italia – Southern Italy and Sardinia
September 1 -September 15th
Contact: Casa della Poesia for details
SilverTongues Poetry Series
November 12 – Saturday 3 PM
Auburn, California
Healdsburg Jazz Festival 2022
June 17th 1-2 PM
Textures, Colors, Tones: A Musical Conversation on African American Quilter Rosie Lee Tompkins
Healdsburg Regional Library – Healdsburg Meeting Room
Healdsburg Jazz is honored to present its 2022 Artist in Residence harpist and composer Destiny Muhammad in conversation at the Healdsburg Library. Destiny will discuss her career, her influences, and her original musical suite titled “Textures, Colors, Tones: Sketches in JAZZ In Celebration of African American Quilter Effie Mae Martin aka Rosie Lee Tompkins.” devorah major and Enid Pickett will join in the conversation and share poems on the important quilter.
June 18th 1-3 PM
Tix Link below ⬇️
INA COOLBRITH POETRY CIRCLE 95TH POETS DINNER AND AWARD CEREMONY
Saturday June 4th – Noon – Benicia City Park
featuring devorah major as keynote speaker.
MAYA ANGELOU DAY 2022
Sunday April 3, 2022
2nd Annual Maya Angelou Day live at the Harmon Deck
TIME: 2 pm-4 pm PST
WHERE: Harmon Deck; Healdsburg, CA
227 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA 95448
WHAT: Celebration of the legacy of poet and writer Maya Angelou featuring performances by former SF Poet Laureate devorah major, 2021 Healdsburg Jazz Poet Laureate Enid Pickett, and the Healdsburg Jazz 2022 Artist in Residence harpist Destiny Muhammad with Healdsburg Jazz Artistic Director and bassist Marcus Shelby. We are also honored to have youth poet Matthew Carbajal perform his poem dedicated to the legacy of Maya Angelou.
This is a free patrons and members in-person soiree. We will announce our 2022 Summer Festival during this event
Saturday April 23rd, 2022 – 7:30 PM
Songs for J-Town
A world premiere by Mark Izu
Saturday, April 23rd 7:30 pm
Presidio Theatre, San Francisco
Tickets: (415) 960-3949 On-line: www.presidiotheatre.org
For one performance only, Songs for J-Town will feature music from the history of San Francisco’s Japantown. The evening will begin with the story of the Sun Goddess by Brenda Wong Aoki and a blessing by Konko Priest Mas Kawahatsu, followed by an instrumental jazz performance infused with Gagaku, a 1500-year-old ceremonial Japanese music that Izu studied for 26 years under his mentor Togi Suenobu.
Mark and his ensemble will also perform 1940’s swing and big band tunes popular with Japanese American political prisoners in internment camps after they were forcibly removed from their homes in Japantown during the height of anti-Asian hysteriaduring World War II. As well as resistance songs that callback to Japantown of the 1970s, the birthplace of Asian American Jazz, a genre which Izu helped pioneer during the struggle by Black and Japanese residents to fight the forced evictions of tens of thousands of neighborhood residents during waves of demolition led by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.
Caroline Cabading, a Fillmore Filipina herself, will sing lonesome ballads the manong, unmarried male Filipino elders, sang to themselves, survivors of cruel immigration and marriage laws that prevented Filipino women from settling in California while also preventing Filipino men from marrying non-Filipino women. And devorah major, San Francisco’s third Poet Laureate, will perform two spoken word pieces, “Rage” and “Rise,” that speak to the current culture of COVID, anti-Asian attacks, historic racism to all people of color and yet resilience and faith in the future.
Following the performance, because of the long isolation imposed by the pandemic, there will be a simple closing reception with tea and Japanese candy for audience members to greet and enjoy one another.
“Mark Izu’s music is a great gift to the jazz tradition, to its ongoing transformation and revitalization into energetic and unpredictable new directions” – Downbeat Magazine
Led by Emmy Award winning composer Mark Izu, Songs for J-Town is a Japanese American Jazz concert dedicated to our grandchildren’s children and the ancestors who carry them.
“This is my 45th year as a musician and composer–and my first concert in a very long time. As I emerge out of the chrysalis of COVID, I muse on what the world has become. Where is my place in it? What do I have to contribute?
My musings always take me back to J-Town. We the original, the first Japanese settlement in America, displaced three times: the Anti-Japanese laws during the Victorian era, the Incarceration, and Redevelopment!
And back to my father fighting in Europe with the 442nd. To my mother in-prisoned in Poston. Still our brave little community stands!
Warm memories of people and places come and gone: Issei grandmas in kimono riding Muni, Nisei aunties cooking community feasts, Sansei fighting for Redress. As I compose this music, the spirit of my sensei, Togi Suenobu, whispers in my ears, “The journey continues.”
– Mark Izu
Sunday April 24th, 2022 2:30 PM
Afro Solo presents: Hold the Line
Being named a Poet Laureate is among the highest honors a poet can achieve. The San Francisco Bay Area is fortunate to be the home of numerous Black poet laureates. In this celebratory reading, AfroSolo, in collaboration with the African American Center, proudly features San Francisco’s 8th and current Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Francisco’s 3rd Poet Laureate, devorah major, performing with acclaimed harpist Destiny Muhammad, and Oakland’s first Poet Laureate, Dr. Ayodele “WordSlanger” Nzinga. We highlight these artists in our ongoing endeavor to champion artists who give voice to the human spirit that reigns within us all.
devorah major photo by Bob Fischer
March 10, 2022
6:00 – 7:15
San Francisco Poet Laureate emerita Kim Shuck invites HERstory poets Kitty Costello, Susan Dambroff, Natasha Dennerstein, devorah major and Maw Shein Win to this monthly poetry reading.
March 8, 2022
REVOLUTIONARY POETS BRIGADE ZOOMS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY POETRY
MONDAY, MARCH 8, ZOOM AT 7 PM Lisbit Bailey, Zoom host—
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89139231794 Meeting ID: 891 3923 1794
Carol Denney, guitar and poetry
FEATURING
MAHNAZ BADIHIAN, Iranian Poet and translator
CLARA HSU, Clarion Music and Art, poet and playwright
DEVORAH MAJOR, Sanfrancisco’s Third Poet Laureate
JAMI PROCTOR XU Poet and Translator of Chinese
NINA SERRANO, Poet, media producer
With poets from the Revolutionary Poets Brigade: VICTORIA BRILL, KRISTINA BROWN, AGGIE FALK, SARAH MENEFEE, KAREN MELANDER-MAGOON, BARBARA PASCHKE
Sunday February 27, 2022 – 3 PM PST
Celebrating Quincy Troupe’s Duende: Poems, 1966-Now, with poets Michael Warr & devorah major.
Poet of the “deep song,” Quincy Troupe has a new collection of poems. DUENDE: Poems, 1966 – Now, published by Seven Stories Press, representing more than 50 years of lyrical, evocative writing.
Sunday November 1st 2:00 PM Zoom
The Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium Presents:
devorah major
Sunday, November 1, 2:00 p.m. via Zoom
To obtain the login link
Email jfellguth@sbcglobal.net by Sat. October 31 to receive a logon link
______________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday October 6th 6:30 PM Zoom
Colossus:Home Book Release Reading
Zoom link for registration
Thursday October 8th 11AM (Cali Time)
Revolutionary Poets Brigade new anthology reading
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82759790450?pwd=NWlzLzdwa2RRWWQ3R2hqUkQvSUtVQT09
Wednesday October 13th 3PM (Cali time)
ALAMEDA VIRTUAL BOOK FESTIVAL
featuring devorah major, Jason Bayani & James Cagney
3-4PM Via zoom
Wednesday August 19th 7 PM
Sacred Grounds Poetry Reading
This is a Zoom event but because of problems
Sunday August 16th 3 PM
Black Arts Movement Fest 2020 – an afternoon of poetry and conversation celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Black Power Movement.
featuring: Dr. Eugene Redmond, devorah major, Raymond Nat Turner, Tureeda Mikell, Marvin X, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Wanda Sabir. Hosted by Kim McMillon under the auspices of the Collective Oakland (a Black owned bookstore)
BAMBDFEST 2020 is under the artistic direction of Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, Ph.D. This event is partially funded by the California Arts Council, the Zellerbach Foundation, the Akonadi Foundation, Theater Bay Area, the Community Coalition for Equitable Development, and the National Ensemble of Theaters.
devorah major and Gail Newman celebrate the release of their new books
MONDAY JULY 27 7:OO PM Bird and Beckett Books
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7678515247?pwd=c2dnd2FHVzdvNEh0UXpkOS9maTJCQT09
July 12 2-4PM
Wake Up America v2
Click on link for details
Tsuru Rising! Virtual Protest to Close the Camps
Sat, Jun 6, 2020 10:00 AM – Sun, Jun 7, 2020 10:00 PM EDT
Saturday July 11th Ina Coolbrith Poets Dinner 2 PM
Livermore.
I will be giving the keynot speech and sharing some poems
July Sunday, July 12, 2020 2 PM (PST ) Join Zoom Poetathon & Facebook Live! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8615962043 Meeting ID: 861 596 2043 Mobile Phone: +16699006833 (CA)
April 9-20, 2018 Home:Making Space for Radical Love and Justice
Oliver Art Gallery California College for the Arts Diversity Studies Art Exhibition Home: Making Space for Radical Love and Justice Oakland Campus on Broadway at College
April 19th I will be giving a poetry tour of the exhibition 12- 2PM Free
There are two weeks of exciting events including music, presentations, speakers. Check it out here
May 7, 2018 Battle of the Brains
Small Press Distribution is hosting their “battle of the brains” fundraiser along with celebrating laura moriarty’s retirement at the lake merritt boat house on Monday, May 7th, @ 6:30pm, and I will be on team city lights!
more here Details TBA
May 6, 2018
Authors will read selections of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s brand new book: Dreaming of Empire – the first of a three part work collectively titled Murder Incorporated: Empire, Genocide, and Manifest Destiny.
Details TBA
March 31, 2018 7-930 Contagious Spirit
Hip hop, poetry, music video premiere
The Contagious Spirit video has just debuted on Afropunk
March 8
KPOO 89.5 FM KPOO.Org Radio Interview – Connecting the Dots 1-2 PM
February 22
Closing Celebration 6-8 PM Free – San Francisco State University Students Arts Center
Poetry, tap dancing, capoeira
I Am San Francisco: Black Past & Presence (IAMSF) explores social and cultural values and concerns through the depth and diversity prevalent within Black life and culture in San Francisco. From past to present, the exhibition honors Black existence, voice and insight that transcend, both, time and place.
IAMSF is a combination of photography, interview excerpts, collage, illustration, and mural work in collaboration with photographer Michole “Micholiano” Forks, mixed-media artist Sydney “Sage” Cain, and San Francisco youth. The excerpts are from 40+ film-documented and transcribed conversations between Phillips and a variety of Black natives, residents, and leaders of San Francisco who offered to share a piece of their story.
February 15 “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”
“Freedom is a Constant Struggle” television show with guests with guests Bilal Mafundi Ali and devorah major
Host and producer Kiilu Nyasha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMyoOame0TU&feature=em-uploademail
Thursday August 10, 2017 5:00 PM
MoAD – Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street (at Third)
San Francisco, California
I will be August 10 featured Bay Area Cave Canem poets reflecting on themes of the current exhibition. Now on view, The Ease of Fiction presents the work of four African artists living in the United States as the foundation of a critical discussion about history, fact and fiction. The readings and discussion of original work will take place in the gallery for a maximum of 30 minutes.
FREE ADMISSION
Thursday August 17, 2017 6:00 PM
Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street (at Third)
San Francisco, California
Community Voices: Poets Speak, The series has been curated by Arisa White. Bay Area Cave Canem poets reflect on themes of the current exhibition. This the culmination of the series with a reception and an evening of poetry by the participating poets on Thursday, August 17, 2017.
Free Admission.
Friday September 29, 2017 7:00 PM
Sierra Writers Series
I will be reading with Indigo Moor at
The Open Book
671 Maltman Drive
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Friday October 21 7:30 PM
Litquake Reading – Writers with Drinks
Make Out Room
3225 22nd Street,
SF near Mission. Close to 24th street BART. Show at 7:30
Past Readings
Lunch Poems
Morrison Library in Doe Library
U.C. Berkeley
Berkeley, Ca.
Sunday April 9, 2017 – 8:00
My birthday
SF Jazz Center
201 Franklin Street San Francisco, Ca.
SF Jazz Poetry Festival
This is the last day of an exciting program of poetry and music curated by Genny Lim. The [poetry festival will close with Devorah major with Destiny Muhammad, harpist, composer and vocalist extraordinaire
Genny Lim with Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra
Friday April 21 7 p.m.
World Poetry Series
Mill Valley Public Library 375 Throckmorton Ave
batter up! a big rowdy crowd, free wine and beer and popcorn, and the best poetry around. come join Daniel Handler, Julia Levine, Brynn Saito, Charif Shanahan, Devorah Major, Zubair Ahmed, Roy Mash, Tom Barbash, and Prartho Sereno at this insanely fun event! admission is free.
Wednesday, April 26 at 6:00
Cal State East Bay -Hayward Hill Campus
Distinguished Writers Series, Department of English
COME HEAR POET DEVORAH MAJOR AND WINNERS OF THE DECLERCQ POETRY CONTEST
BIELLA ROOM, CSUEB LIBRARY
An award-winning writer of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, and performer, editor, and part-time professor, Devorah Major served as San Francisco’s third Poet Laureate from 2002 to 2006, and currently serves as poet-in-residence of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She has appeared in scores of literary journals and anthologies, and has published two novels (An Open Weave and Brown Glass Windows) four chapbooks, two history books for young people, and four poetry collections (Where River Meets Ocean, With More Than Tongue, Street Smarts, and and then we became, which Library Journal named one of the Top Poetry Books of Fall 2016). Jewelle Gomez says, “devorah major remains one of our premier storytellers.”
Further info: Professor Steve Gutierrez at steve.gutierrez@csueastbay.edu. On-campus parking fee. California State University, East Bay welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. Please notify event sponsor at least two weeks in advance if accommodation is needed.
as part of National Poetry Month
and in conjunction with the DeCerq Poetry Prize
Thursday October 8th 11AM (Pacific Time)
Saturday April 29 1:30PM
Poerty Without Borders 2017 4-9-17 flyer-1[3154]
Saturday, April 29 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm Oakland Main Branch Library 125 14th Street, Oakland CA Favianna Rodriguez, Copyright 2017 Co-sponsored by The Ina Coolbrith Circle and PEN Oakland This year’s National Poetry Month Program features migration – and the kaleidoscope of images, experiences and adventures available with the movement that reshapes lives, landscapes and our knowledge of each other.