$10 advance / $12 door. 644-2020. www.thefreight.org
11am, Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street
Launch Party and Reception
PEN Oakland and Heyday Books announce the publication of Fightin’ Words: 25 Years of Provocative Poetry and Prose from “The Blue-Collar” PEN, an anthology of poetry, fiction, essays and interviews reflective of a quarter century of activism by the literary group.
The book, edited by Judith Cody, Kim McMillon and Claire Ortalda, includes the work of such well-known authors as Al Young, Juan Felipe Herrera, and Mona Lisa Saloy, reaffirms the importance of diverse cultural voices within America’s literary tradition.
The third of PEN Oakland’s anthologies, this new collection of poetry and prose features 125 works which distill radical politics and the need for social justice into passionate literature. Pieces span the spectrum of human emotion: from rage, as in Floyd Salas’s declamation against torture, to grief in CB Follett’s “Words to the Mother Whose Son Shot My Son,” to joy and contentment in the work of California poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera. They range in subject from Kitty Kelley’s exposé of the revenge tactics of George H. W. Bush to Paul Krassner’s account of the night Ken Kesey invited him to a Grateful Dead concert at the pyramids of Giza. Featuring works by luminaries such as Rebecca Solnit and MacArthur Fellow Ishmael Reed as well as lesser-known writers, Fightin’ Words offers readers access to a vibrant American literary tradition well outside mainstream consciousness.
2pm to 4pm, Heyday Books, 1633 University Avenue
Growing up in the French provinces, Madame Gufay was fascinated by news reports of the Free Speech Movement (the FSM) which fermented on the campus of U.C. Berkeley and resonated worldwide. Now, having returned to school late in life, she has arranged to finish her last semester studying at her own personal mecca, U.C. Berkeley. Madame Gufay is a force of nature, and her wacky, goofy efforts to experience Free Speech in the present day involve most campus life: the administration and academics, the classroom, the library, Sproul Plaza demonstrations and, of course graduation.
Madame Gufay overcomes language challenges, academic arrogance, uncontrollable urges, public drunkenness, lewd and lascivious behavior, to the fulfillment of innocent wacky, goofy dreams. To be sure, Madame Gufay and her activist Lovelutionaries do care passionately about social justice and they advocate for world peace, justice, not to mention lowering tuition for public universities!
Directed by Alan Barkan, by Norah Foster. With Simone Bloch, Sarang Cho Lee, Chris Habash, Scott Alexander Ayres, Edward Kimak, Tom Westlake, Alicia Barela, Vicki Zabarte, Patrick Glenn, Martha Luehrmann, Chris Cruz, CJ Gross, Cai Shaotian, Andrea Granera.
Tickets are available at www.aeofberkeley.org
8pm to 10pm, 1301 Walnut Street
Zydeco dance lesson at 8 pm. $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com
9pm, Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, 1317 San Pablo Avenue