CA Conrad + Kazim Ali at the Poetry Center: writing to calm down and autiobiographical basics

On February 21, I attended a reading at SFSU’s Poetry Center featuring CA Conrad and Kazim Ali, two eccentric poets of unusual distinction. Eccentric? Well, Kazim Ali began by remarking how delighted he was to be reading with CA Conrad, stating that they had intended to meet up earlier to levitate the Golden Gate Bridge. Read More

Joyce Carol Oates at Mills College: twitter, crayons, and the role of violence

On February 12, I attended a reading and talk at Mills College by the elegant, distinguished Joyce Carol Oates. It was a memorable evening. Oates spoke in a lovely room in Mills Hall, just the sort of place one pictures when thinking of academia. The wood paneling, beautiful architecture and park-like views were as removed from the often Read More