Oakland Review of Books calendar of (not just) literary events, July 22 – July 28

Blackberries are ripening, the nisperos are fading, and at some point, summer weather might even start (why was it 7am all day yesterday?). Um, lots of things! Buy Javier Zamora’s Solito from Tally Ho and the proceeds go to Centro Legal, it's your last chance to see Lorraine Hansberry’s Les Blancs at the Oakland Theater Project, and as per usual, ICE go fuck itself. Weirdly a lot of ceramic themed events this week? On Saturday, try to choose between Beast Crawl and West Oakland Matters, or go to both, we won't tell. Don't forget to drop off your Oakland historical diaramas at OPL, all week, for Alexis and Dorothy to judge.-AB

Tuesday, July 22

[Bonus West Bay] Poetic Tuesday, 12:30PM, Yerba Buena Gardens (West Bay). Menat, Maurissa Brown, Charles Orgbon III, Bean Tupou, and Cael Dueñas-Lara, curated by Nia Pearl for the Museum of the African Diaspora. [YBGF]

Get your phone fixed at the library! 2-7PM, Elmhurst Branch of OPL (Deep-ish East).  Bring your broken phone to a friendly technician who will diagnose your problem and schedule repair if possible. [instagram]

[You-know-we-think-it’s-good-if-we-suggest-driving-out-to-Sonoma Special Event] Kelly Gray! 6PM, Sebastopol Regional Library (Sonoma). Kelly will read from her most recent collection, Dilapitatia and talk about it, too. [instagram]. 

Reality Check, 6PM, Book Society (Berkeley). Kara Loo and Jennifer Young visit Book Society to discuss their debut novel, Alice Chen’s Reality Check, but the mystery I want solved is how/if they’re getting people to pay $40 for a book event. The wine must be amazing? Nice work, I guess. [Book Society]

[Bonus West Bay] Phoenix Project fundraiser, 6-9PM, The Alembic (West Bay). Dean Preston, present! Discussion of Phoenix's forthcoming Doom Loop report, and all that 2026 is bringing. [luma]

Susana Kwan’s Awake in the Floating City, 7PM, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore (Berkeley). What if San Francisco got in the sea? On the surface a climate change novel, but reading about it, it feels like it must be a covid lockdown novel, too. [Mrs. Dalloways] 

Trauma Plot, 7PM, Womb House Books (Temescal). how to be the archetype of the rape survivor. A conversation between Jamie Hood and Elisabeth Nicula on Jamie's literary memoir, Trauma Plot: A Life. [Eventbrite]

Also: The State of California’s Public Lands at KALW (West Bay)

Wednesday, July 23

mak-'amham/Cafe Ohlone, 3:30PM, Berkeley Public Library Claremont Branch (Elmwood). Join the founders of Cafe Ohlone at BPL for an afternoon snack and conversation about East Bay Ohlone culture. Bask in the type of event that makes public libraries so enduring. This particular afternoon requires registration and is currently on a waitlist, but if you don’t get through this time, it happens every month. [Berkeley Public Library]

Conversations with The Oaklandside: Capturing the beauty of Oakland, 7 p.m., Clio's (The Lake), featuring local culture institution Azucena Rasilla, ace nature reporter Callie Rhoades, and sharp-eyed photojournalist Estefany Gonzalez, with Nosh flâneur Tovin Lapan moderating. Go listen to these card-carrying friends of ORB talk about arts, beauty, and culture in The Town. [Eventbrite]

The Long Goodbye, 7 p.m., BAMPFA (Berkeley). It's okay with us. Raymond Chandler’s knight errant is set down in post-'60s Los Angeles and given Elliott Gould's sideburns. Marlowe is a nebbish now, befuddled, hopelessly out of step with everyone and everything around him, including his cat. A perfect film—shaggy, languid, indirect, with bursts of violence to keep everything from floating into the ether. (And, yes, that's Arnold Schwarzenegger wiggling his pecs in the background.) Years later, Lebowski would come along to do a little stoner deconstruction of the hardboiled LA detective movie, only to realize that The Long Goodbye got there first. Part of BAMPFA’s “Robert Altman at 100" series. [BAMPFA]

Fundraiser for Victims of ICE, 7-10PM Tacos Oscar (Temescal) Raising money for CALMA. BYOB and eat beforehand because even though it’s at Tacos Oscar, this is vinyl-only DJ sets and then Phipps Pt. (Going to 420 40th St and NOT eating tacos, though, it doesn’t feel right? But whatever.) [instagram]

Also: Birdwalk (The Lake), MDMA & The Bay panel at KALW (West Bay), The History of Queer Art at St Joseph’s Art Society (West Bay), Bridget A. Lyons’ new essay collection at Mrs. Dalloway (Elmwood)

Thursday, July 24

The Enduring Wild, 7PM, Clio’s (Grand Lake). Josh Jackson and Obi Kaufmann on “what makes the Golden State a superlative site of ecological grandeur and significance.” Heyday heavyweights. $15 at the door, $40 for the book too. [Clio’s]

Marcus Clayton and Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta 7PM, Tally Ho Books (Oakland’s Piedmont). Nightbook books celebrating their twentieth anniversary and Tally Ho Books celebrating being rad with them. Read this interview with Luboviski-Acosta. Read this one with Clayton. Or just show up, either way. [TallyHo]

Black California Gold, 7PM, Books Inc (Alameda). Oakland’s own Wendy M. Thompson to read and sign copies of her new book, delving into the bay area’s past and present: family, migration, girlhood, and identity amidst a backdrop of urban redevelopment, gentrification, and the erasure of Black communities. [eventbrite]

MOTHS, 8PM, Courtland Creek (East Oakland). Early bird tickets are all gone, but the moths are still out there, and Damon Tighe will summon them for you. [zeffy] 

Also: Ocean Optimism at Hoptimism / Catamaran Summer Launch Party at Mechanics' Institute (West Bay)

Friday, July 25

Fired Up! 6–8 PM, Creative Growth (Lake). Opening night for a new show of bold and joyful work by artists from Creative Growth’s studio program. Members can get in at 5. The expressive potential of clay, human and otherwise. [Creative Growth]

Stories of Water, Stories in Water, 6-9PM, Rock Paper Scissors Collective (2120 MLK, Oakland). Opening reception for an exhibit curated by Irene Wibawa & Manon Wada, love letters in a multitude of media to the bodies of water that permeate our planet, and ourselves. [instagram]

Home After All 6:30PM, Junior Center (The Lake). Solo exhibition featuring artist Gracianne Kirsch, curated by Luka Vergoz. On an accumulation of memories of home, family, growing and changing in the rural Northern California landscape. [Junior Center]

Tamarack Poetry! 6:30PM, Tamarack (Lake-ish). Camille Roy and Andrew Kenower, and the whole crowd the previous Friday  went oooooh when him being part of the reading was announced, have no idea why, also Teddy Lance & A Special Surprise Guest [googledoc]

A Wife’s Heart (Tsuma no kokoro) 7PM, BAMPFA (Berkeley). Last week’s Mikio Naruse was sold out, but the people in line were hot, so you really can’t lose? [BAMPFA]

[West Bay but cool] Samar, a SWANA and friends literary series, 7-9PM, Kearny Street Workshop (West Bay). Raed Rafei, Zêdan Xelef, Ebti, and, ok, we’re kind of hyped for this. [KearnyStreet] 

Coup d'Etat: The Philippines Revolt, 8PM ATA Gallery (West Bay). David Bradbury’s 1986 documentary capturing the dramatic four-day People Power Revolution in the Philippines to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos’ 20-year dictatorship. Part of their anti-fascist film series. See also. [ATAsite]

Saturday, July 26

Wildcat Creek Cleanup, 9-12AM, Wildcat Creek (East Bay). This looks like a really nice, fun event but I spent a few minutes trying to ascertain where exactly you’re supposed to meet up with other people to do this, and came up short. Wildcat flows from Grizzly Peak to North Richmond and into the bay, so I guess… just find some part of it and clean it? [watershedproject] 

[Virtual] Narrating the Mother, 10AM, Internet (The Internet). Bay Area Book Festival and Litquake will put on an internet conversation between Iman Mersal and Kate Briggs, and you know what, sometimes virtual events are what allows parents to join in. Moderated by Nayomi Munaweera. [Eventbrite] 

SOIL, 11AM-12PM, Redwood Grove amphitheater (Berkeley). Camille Dungy and Ashia Ajani (!!) Sold out, but, I don’t know, maybe you can still find a way. [BotanicalGarden] 

BEAST CRAWL 12-7:30PM, Chapter 510 & The Dept. of Make/Believe (Old Oakland). Year 11. When east bay is translated back from pig latin into English, you get beast. This is just day one, with two curated readings and Trans Writers Workshop Anthology Release. [BeastCrawl] 

The Future We Deserve 12-3PM, Oakstop (2323 Broadway). Speakers are Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Marlene Sanchez, and Amika Mota and what exactly they’re going to talk about isn’t quite clear to me (“policy, power, healing”), but sounds interesting. Those are important things. [ActionNetwork]

SEIU Day of Action for Our Families, 1PM, Snow Park (Oakland). Nationwide day of peaceful action to put care over the cruel cuts and attacks on families from Congress and the White House. [SEIU]

A West Oakland Stroll, 1-3PM West Oakland BART (Prescott). Walk along historic 7th St. past Esther’s Orbit Room, a 19th-century whale captain’s house, the site of Lew Hing’s  Pacific Cannery, interesting Victorians, and the 1912 16th St. train station area, and end up at West Oakland Matters. [OaklandHeritage] 

West Oakland Matters, 3-8PM 7th West (Prescott). Second annual artists advocacy event for West Oakland community's creative self-renewal. Fashion show at 6:30. [WestOaklandMatters] 

Starlight Strut, 6:30PM, Lake Merritt Dance (The Lake). Oakland’s very own queer country-western dance night happens on the fourth Saturday of every month, and this month’s theme is “Beach, please.” Brush up on your Do-Si-Do choreography, put on a Hawaiian shirt, and pretend like you weren’t just wearing a down jacket in the middle of July. Come for the intergenerational queer scene, stay for the wholesome partner dancing. [Starlight Strut]

[West Bay] Silent Film in the Tenderloin, 7PM Great American Music Hall (Tenderloin). For those who think film should be seen and not heard, a one-night-only celebration of the West Bay’s early cinema roots; Club Foot Orchestra performs live original scores to two Buster Keaton classics: One Week and the West-Bay-filmed Day Dreams. Kathy Rose O’Regan will talk about the Tenderloin’s historic film stuff. [GAMH]

Sunday, July 27

Tiles and Terra Cotta walking tour, 10AM Howden Building (337 17th St Oakland). Look at ceramics! Arts that are Beaux! Oakland Heritage. [OaklandHeritage] 

Solidarity Cinema #1: Palestinian Short Film Screening, 12:30PM, The New Parkway (Uptown). DIY Museum and Bay2Gaza Mutual Aid put together a screening of short films by Palestinian filmmakers from the Solidarity Cinema library. The event is also a fundraiser for Gaza, with all ticket proceeds going to families in Gaza. [Eventbrite]

MORE BEAST. 1-6PM, Chapter 510 & The Dept. of Make/Believe (Old Oakland). Day two. See you there, again. [BEAST]

Virtual Tenants Rights Clinic, 3PM The Internet (The Internet). The event is virtual, not the rights. If you’re having issues with your landlord, Oakland Tenants Union 's Community Counselors are here to help. [eventbrite]

Earth Seed, 3–6 BAMPFA (Berkeley). Special screening of the People’s Kitchen Collective’s (PKC) documentary EARTH SEED: A People’s Journey of Radical Hospitality, followed by a panel discussion with Jocelyn Jackson and a special guest from the film. Free! [BAMPFA]

Lion Dance Cafe Pop-Up, 5PM, Gold Palm (Uptown). If Tallboy’s menu doesn’t fill the Lion Dance Cafe-shaped hole in your stomach, head to Gold Palm for a one-night menu of the “‘Authentic not Traditional’ meatless Italo-Chinese-Singaporean” food that made the cafe such a beloved local institution. Drinks will feature some collaborative specials courtesy of Gold Palm’s bar program. Walk-ups only, no reservations. [Lion Dance Cafe]

Also: Chemaki Open Mic (Uptown).