Where to host a small poetry reading in the Bay Area?
July 20, 2015 6:33 AM
I'm publishing a chapbook of poems this month, and I'd like to do a short reading when I visit the SF Bay Area at the beginning of August. I'm looking for a small, intimate venue where I can host this public event.
I'm from the Bay Area originally, but I haven't lived there for about 7 years, so a lot of the places I had in mind are no longer there. I'm looking for a coffeeshop, independent bookstore, wine bar, or someplace along those lines that would be open to me doing a chapbook reading. It would be a half hour long and I would have copies of the book available for free. I'll have some friends and family there but I'm definitely looking for it to be a public event. I'm not likely to draw a huge crowd, so a small and intimate venue is probably best. Imagine I'm part of an acoustic duo playing their first show - who would you recommend they contact?
I'll be based in Concord (my home town), but anywhere in the area is fine. Any ideas?
I'm from the Bay Area originally, but I haven't lived there for about 7 years, so a lot of the places I had in mind are no longer there. I'm looking for a coffeeshop, independent bookstore, wine bar, or someplace along those lines that would be open to me doing a chapbook reading. It would be a half hour long and I would have copies of the book available for free. I'll have some friends and family there but I'm definitely looking for it to be a public event. I'm not likely to draw a huge crowd, so a small and intimate venue is probably best. Imagine I'm part of an acoustic duo playing their first show - who would you recommend they contact?
I'll be based in Concord (my home town), but anywhere in the area is fine. Any ideas?
Laurel Books in downtown Oakland hosts plenty of author events.
posted by suelac at 8:42 AM on July 20, 2015
posted by suelac at 8:42 AM on July 20, 2015
The San Francisco Public Library branches are good choices. The Bernal Heights branch is always hoting recitals, readings, musical performances, and so on.
Ditto Bird & Beckett in Glen Park. It's a bookstore, but hosts readings and music (especially jazz) all the time. They have a poet-specific series, so it might be worth reaching out and asking them for more information.
These are both intimate spaces, not big caverns. I'd love to give a reading at either and go to events at both all the time.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:09 AM on July 20, 2015
Ditto Bird & Beckett in Glen Park. It's a bookstore, but hosts readings and music (especially jazz) all the time. They have a poet-specific series, so it might be worth reaching out and asking them for more information.
These are both intimate spaces, not big caverns. I'd love to give a reading at either and go to events at both all the time.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 9:09 AM on July 20, 2015
The Booksmith on Haight; Any of several bookstores on Valencia (Dog-Eared, Borderlands), Vinyl Coffeeshop on Divis.
Check out literary open mics coming up and go read at them! Then you'll have a built in crowd.
Read this (old but still somewhat accurate) article about LitQuake for ideas.
posted by amaire at 9:54 AM on July 20, 2015
Check out literary open mics coming up and go read at them! Then you'll have a built in crowd.
Read this (old but still somewhat accurate) article about LitQuake for ideas.
posted by amaire at 9:54 AM on July 20, 2015
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posted by puddledork at 7:43 AM on July 20, 2015