“...and I'd like a little flashlight to write poems with this lousy day not this poem I'm writing under the mostly flat blaze of bulb but a poem written with the light itself a tiny fleeting love poem to life hot hot hot a poem that would say "oh look here a bright spot of life, oh look another!”
—from “I’d Like a Little Flashlight” by Rachel Zucker
Hello Litquakers,
We aim to deal in the bright spots of life. Our role in the literary community is to be a guiding force for curious minds, whether that means gathering together authors that simply MUST meet, or organizing events that inspire someone that’s never thought the writing life possible. With this in mind, we continue to add a flurry of opportunities for awe and education to our calendar.
This Thursday, you’ll be hit with an email so packed with authors, so dynamic in subject matter, that you might even drop your morning coffee. So be prepared! Don’t say we didn’t warn you. The schedule for our new Craft & The Creative Life series drops this Thursday, featuring a June weekend of panels for aspiring writers. Whether you’re an undergraduate looking for inspiration, or a published author looking to dissect the writing process, we’ll have something for you.
There’s so much more on the horizon, but you’ll want to plan ahead. All of our Spring events are selling out fast! Scroll down for more info on what’s to come and follow us @litquake on all social media for the latest. |
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| Join Litquake for our annual celebration of National Poetry Month. We’ll gather under the stunning stained glass of San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral and hear James Cagney, Henri Cole, Jewelle Gomez, Jacques Rancourt, and Rachel Zucker read from their latest collections. Book sales and signing to follow. |
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| Only a handful of tickets remain for our upcoming fundraiser with New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi, in celebration of her newly released novel The Perfumist of Paris. Alka will be in conversation with author and Lit Camp founder Janis Cooke Newman. Books will be available from Bookshop West Portal, and each guest will leave with an exclusive gift, available only at this event. |
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| We just added another event to our Spring Epicenter series! Next month, Litquake will host the launch of MariNaomi’s new graphic memoir I Thought You Loved Me, a scrapbook-esque exploration of the expectations of friendship, the unreliability of memory, and the struggle to let go. |
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| San Francisco’s hallmark film festival returns in just a few days! For ten days, SFFILM will host all sorts of filmmakers as they screen their latest projects ahead of their theatrical releases. Click below to find more information about this year’s screenings and how to secure tickets. |
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Litquake Weekly Literary news, upcoming events, and whatever else we’re looking at...
“The anxiety of living makes us want to judge, be sure, have a stance, definitively decide. Having a fixed, rigid system of belief can be a great relief.” Maria Popova elaborates on the beauty of indecision and the narrative power of not knowing alongside George Saunders • the marginalian
“We don’t need an explanation for every damn thing. There’s a lot to be said for letting go and doing something simply because it feels right.” Joan Baez discusses the therapeutic benefits of drawing upside down, and a lifetime of music, in her new book Am I Pretty When I Fly?: An Album of Upside Down Drawings • San Francisco Chronicle Datebook
“What is life like? Does your life feel like having magic powers and saving the galaxy? My life feels like driving a truck full of dynamite over a mountain.” J.D. Daniels writes about void, outer space, and 1979’s sci-fi classic The Black Hole • Paris Review
“For one minute, I give you permission to be grateful that one of the most influential people on the planet makes it a priority not just to promote books but to be personally moved by them.” A loving, albeit skeptical investigation into the origins of Barack Obama’s annual Summer reading list • Esquire
“Fairy tales are well-loved source materials for modern reimaginings, but the stories of White Cat stray wonderfully far from their sources; they’re not so much straight updates as they are fever dreams by the original characters that we’ve been permitted to step inside.” From riffs on classics like Snow White and Hansel and Grettle, to new stories about intergalactic games and shapeshifting, Kelly Link’s fairytales are giving your childhood classics a run for their money • Electric Lit
“All reading happens in metaphysical space first, and there are as many types of reading as there are people who can read.” A former prison librarian investigates where we go when we read • Literary Hub |
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