All the News That’s Fit to Build: Local News Dioramas, Oakland Library History Center
Deadline for submissions is July 5, exhibit runs July 17–Oct. 3
Returning for a second time after last year’s smash-hit debut, the library’s diorama competition and exhibit is a terrifically fun way to make local stories come alive. With a July 5 deadline for entries, interested participants will have to hustle. The rules are straightforward: find a newspaper article about an event that happened in Oakland or the Bay Area — no blogs or websites. Create a homemade, handmade diorama within the size guidelines and drop it off with a copy of the article and entry materials. Best of all, no story is too zany to win a top prize from local supporters in the special closing celebration in October. Last year’s winners included dioramas featuring inebriated
seagulls, noisy peacocks, a pickler in distress, a magician turned upside down outside the Oakland Tribune building and more.
Free, Oakland Public Library History Center
Meet the Author: Jeff Chang – Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America, Oakland Public Library Main Branch, July 9
This event is a rare treat, especially for anyone who missed the launch of Chang’s biography of Bruce Lee. As a cultural producer, commentator, and author, Chang digs into the life of iconic martial artist and famous cinematic star who’s work in films manifested the modern day definition of Asian America. Joined by Librarian Ian Hetzner, the conversation will include discussion of Chang’s career in cultural criticism as well as the broad, social, political, and cultural themes revealed in his book. The event is heard for adults and seniors. Registration is encouraged.
July 9, 6 p.m., Free, Oakland Public Library
Listening to Wine: A Tasting and Storytelling Experience, Jered’s Pottery, July 16
Proceeds from this special write-and-wine event benefit Litquake, San Francisco’s literary festival. Participants gathered at Jered’s Pottery in Emeryville will sip their way through a curated series of Saintsbury wines. Meanwhile, led by Grant Faulkner (The Art of Brevity) and Elizabeth Rosner (Third Ear and other books), people will receive prompts generating 100-word essays or poems of any length to describe the color, fragrance, texture and tone of the sampled wine. Fictional or factual stories about wine are welcome also. No doubt, Faulkner and Rosner will arrive with a few stories of their own, adding up to a fun night to celebrate wine, words, and the art of reading and
writing in community. Contests to name Jered’s new glaze, wine discounts, and a raffle with prizes included.
July 16, 6 p.m., $40-Up, Litquake
The Last Human Bear, author Greg Sarris, Finley Community Center, July 16, City Lights, July 23
Presenting his new book, Sarris appears in conversation with writer Rebecca Solnit in an event in Santa Rosa hosted by Copperfield’s Books. A second, closer-to-home appearance has the award-winning writer and professor speaking with ZYZZYVA editor Oscar Villalon in San Francisco’s Kerouac Alley, next to City Lights bookstore and near the Vesuvio Cafe. Sarris is an enrolled member of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and a tribal leader currently serving his seventeenth term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The Last Human Book is his first novel in 28 years, It tells the story of Mary Hatcher, a Native Pomo woman whose life journey from the 1930s to the 21st century is sculpted by magical powers, mysterious family history, love, Native and white societal forces, and destiny.
July 16 and July 23, Free: Finley Community Center in Santa Rosa, 6:30 p.m. (July 16) and City Lights, 6:30 p.m. (July 23)
Colleen Morton Busch, ‘Smolder’, Mrs. Dalloway’s, July 23
The Berkeley poet appears at the Elmwood independent bookstore with a new collection, “Smolder”. The book’s title and the heart-rending poems were born during and following her husband’s diagnosis of multiple myeloma. The treatable but incurable blood cancer thrust the couple into anxiety that smoldered under the surface or burst forth in thoughts of grief, loss, rage, and eventually, acceptance and the joy in being alive despite uncertainty. The folks at Dalloway’s are notably adept at selecting intriguing writers and thought leaders who partner in conversation with visiting authors and poets. Joined by poet David Keplinger, the conversation will center on her debut poetry collection, but might also touch on Busch’s nonfiction book, “Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire”, which was selected as a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Barnes and Noble.
July 23, 7 p.m., Free, Mrs. Dalloway’s bookstore