Oakland Review of Books calendar of (not just) literary events, May 13–19
OK, I thought we were all going to take a breather after April but May is still chock-a-block. Oaklash, a dragstravaganza of queer culture and celebration, glitterbombs Oakland this Friday through Sunday, and an updated rendition of Ishmael Reed’s political satire Life Among The Aryans at the Black Repertory Group Theater opens Thursday, launching with a champagne gala at 7 p.m., and there are some fascinating and limited run movies showing at Grand Lake. And all the bookish gatherings below—Sunday is especially rich.—MS
Tuesday, May 13
Artificial Humanities: Centering Fiction, 12:30 p.m., Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Sutardja Dai Hall, UC Berkeley. Data science researcher Nina Beguš on how our own fictional narratives are shaping the creation and understanding of artificial intelligence. Stories help us imagine what will be, but when we fall in love with our own creations, do they lead us astray? Her book is forthcoming this fall; get a sneak preview over lunch. [Berkeley]
Also: Silent Book Club Oakland | You getting swole, sis? | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on sports, stardom, and social justice (at Henry J Kaiser)
Wednesday, May 14
Hana Baba shares folktales from Sudan, with hibiscus tea and accompanied by Ahmed Alejail on the oud (read more here). 2 p.m. Eastmont Branch OPL, Oakland [OPL] (And while you're at it, check out Haneen Sidahmed's soundcloud of digitized Sudenese music)
Book launch for Rebecca Solnit’s No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain, 6:15 p.m., Brower Center, Berkeley. In conversation with Daniel Aldana Cohen. If you’re booked up/going to the slam (see below), you can also catch Rebecca at a Tesla protest most weekends. [Eventbrite]
Opening Night (a movie), 7 p.m., BAMPFA, Berkeley. You can stream it on whatever they’re calling HBO now, but you probably won’t. Why not look at a movie in the way a movie was meant to be looked at? Never seen it, but I read the Wikipedia entry (it is, it turns out, An Important Film). The final entry in BAMPFA’s series of “movies about Gena Rowlands made by her husband, who was some guy.” [BAMPFA]
The Berkeley Slam, 8 p.m., The Starry Plow, Berkeley. The longest-running slam on the West Coast! Seriously, it’s been around a while. Summer 2001, I used a fake ID to go on a date to the Berkeley Poetry Slam (!) with a TA (!!) from a summer lecture who had a bleached-blond spiked-up ’do (!!!) and who was way, way too old to be taking out a girl who needed a fake ID to attend a poetry slam. Still, hearing the poets gave me chills then, and it does 25ish years later. [Eventbrite]
Also: Mrs. Dalloway’s celebrates the 100th anniversary of the publication of Mrs. Dalloway, all day | Kazu Haga, Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse | GGP Book Club: Anita de Monte Laughs Last, by Xochitl Gonzalez | Much Ado About Keanu
Thursday, May 15
Oakland Pedal Pools, really pretty early in the morning, various Oakland locations. It’s Bike to Wherever Day—and you can start your morning on a bike ride with your local elected officials and Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commissioners! Join in at one of the stops between 7:15 and 9 a.m. Or bike to wherever, whenever. [Bike East Bay]
What Are Meetings? 6 p.m., Bathers Library, Oakland. With Danny Spitzberg. I’ve done some of the readings from the syllabus, have not attended any meetings (YET), but this is my personal favorite level of meta. [Bathers Library]
⭐ The Fruitvale Community: The Legacy of the Chicano Movement in Oakland, 7 p.m., Chapel of the Chimes, Oakland. Panelists from the Fruitvale History Project will discuss how Chicano activists, beginning in the late 1960s, helped to develop this thriving community. The project JUST went live online with an archive. Event of the week??!! [Humanitix]
Also: ”Bridging Hearts & Minds: Finding Connection Across Political Divides with Stephen Cataldo” | The Good Vibes (Comic) Book Club | Mariah Blake's They Poisoned The World | ”History & Preservation of Oakland’s 16th Street Station”
Friday, May 16
Open Mic: The Poetry Lounge, 6:30 p.m., Zanzi, Oakland [Eventbrite]
Tamarack’s Friday poetry series, 6:30 p.m., Tamarack, Oakland. Juliana Spahr (JULIANNA SPAHR, FOLKS!), Violet Spurlock, and Norma Cole. [Tamarack]
Bonus West Bay event: San Francisco Giants vs. Athletics, 7:15 p.m. Oracle Park, West Bay. SELL THE TEAM. [Ticketmaster]
Saturday, May 17
Protest Tesla on fucking Fourth Street in Berkeley, because that’s just what folks do on Saturdays. Tesla showroom, 1731 Fourth St., Berkeley.
Free For All: The Public Library, 2 p.m., 81st Avenue Branch OPL, Oakland. Come watch the screening of the new documentary, Free for All: The Public Library, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and OPL staff. [OPL]
The Next 15 Minutes: Full Spectrum Futures, 6 p.m., Oakstop, 1736 Franklin St., Oakland. A juried sci-fi showcase that centers underrepresented writer-directors imagining new worlds, on their own terms. Five visionary storytellers, live readings by talented Bay Area actors, sci-fi that dares to reflect us, ALL of us. [Instagram]
Bonus North Bay event: LitCrawl Sebastopol, all day! [Instagram]
Sunday, May 18
Albany Comics & Fandom Expo, 10 a.m., runs all day, Albany Public Library. So many local authors, workshops, and food trucks! [Albany County Library]
Case Bound Bookbinding, 12 p.m., Rock Paper Scissors Collective, 2120 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. Make a book, THEN read it. [Eventbrite]
Sistah Scifi African Book Club, 1 p.m., Chapter 510 & the Dept. of Make/Believe, 546 9th St., Oakland. Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond on her novel My Parents' Marriage, in conversation with Faith Adiele. [Eventbrite]
Documentary premiere: The School: The Legacy of Hintil Ku’u Ca, 1 p.m., OMCA, Oakland. One legacy of the Indians of All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz is a close-knit pan-tribal community in Oakland, and specifically a public preschool centering Native children and cultures, featured in this new documentary. A panel with director Mike J. Marin and other former students will follow the screening. [Oaklandside]
Poetry reading: Mary Mackey and Susan Kelly-DeWitt, 3 p.m., Art House Gallery & Cultural Center, Berkeley). [Poetry Flash]
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want, 1 pm, Clio’s, Oakland. [Eventbrite]
Daryo’s All-American Diner, 2 p.m., Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Oakland. A full-length play by Conrad A. Panganiban, an award-winning Filipino American playwright, that follows May Daryo, a struggling 40-something Asian American diner co-owner whose life is transformed after a violent attack on her family during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Set in Fremont, Daryo’s All-American Diner explores how something positive and hopeful can come from a traumatic experience. [OACC]
Day Party with Blackbird Spyplane, 2 p.m., Temescal Alley, Oakland. Featuring wine from Snail Bar, clothing from Archie SS25 collection, plus a selection of vintage books (see, it’s literary), as part of Archie & Understory’s Mount Analog popup. [Instagram]
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, “A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World,” 4 p.m., Piedmont Community Church, Greater Oakland. Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy and a distinguished professor and endowed chair at Texas Tech University. [News24/680]
Monday, May 19
Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft, 6:30 p.m., Mrs Dalloway's, Berkeley. Please go ask Kwame Alexander about this reality show he’s apparently hosting—like, Project Runway for writers?! [Eventbrite]