Join beloved authors Beth Piatote and Aimee Suzara at Medicine for Nightmares for a reading and celebration of their newly released poetry collections, distant water and birth language.

Beth Piatote is a Nez Perce scholar, playwright, poet, and associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her books include The Beadworkers, which was longlisted for the PEN/Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection and the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and the scholarly monograph Domestic Subjects. Her play, Antíkoni, had its world premiere with Native Voices in Los Angeles in November 2024. Her poems, scholarly essays, and short stories have appeared in multiple journals and anthologies, including American Quarterly, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, World Literature Today, and PMLA. An enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Piatote is devoted to the study of her heritage language of Nez Perce and is an Indigenous language revitalization activist. She lives in Berkeley, California.

Filipino-American poet, playwright, performer, and educator Aimee Suzara is the author of the forthcoming poetry book BIRTH LANGUAGE (Tia Chucha Press, Aug 2026), SOUVENIR (Wordtech Editions 2014), which was a Willa Award Finalist, and two chapbooks, Finding the Bones and The Space Between. Her poems, prose and plays have appeared in Kartika Review, California Language Association Journal, Orion Magazine, Raising Mothers, Poets.org, Mom Egg Review, and Women Re-Creating Classics (Bloomsbury 2025), among others. Her commissioned play THE REAL SAPPHO was supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation New Works program and the National Endowment for the Arts. Suzara was a 2025 San Francisco Foundation / Nomadic Press Literary Award winner, and has been been awarded fellowships and residencies by Poetry and the Senses at UC Berkeley, Mesa Refuge, the Key West Literary Seminar, A Room of Her Own Foundation, Hedgebrook and the Atlantic Center for the Arts.  As a multidisciplinary performer, she has collaborated with dance theater and music ensembles such as Deep Waters Dance Theater and the Grammy-Award-winning Kronos Quartet. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley and Mills College.  Based in Oakland, California, she teaches writing at Bay Area colleges and universities and through her coaching business Wild Tongues.

Block printing workshop for community activists. We'll have tools, paper, tinta, and small blocks, and start off with a conversation about printmaking as cultural and political expression. Second Wednesdays in March, April, and May. Suggested donation $20 for artist and book store.

Clase de grabado para activistas de la comunidad / Tendremos herramientas, papel, tinta, y pequeños bloques, y empezamos con una conversación sobre el grabado como expresión cultural y política. Segundo Miercoles en marzo, abril, y mayo. Donación sugerida $20 para artista y librería.

Fernando Martí (he/him) is an artist, poet, community architect and housing activist, originally from Ecuador, based in San Francisco, Ramaytush Ohlone land.

Fernando Martí (el) es un artista, poeta, arquitecto comunitario y activista de vivienda, originario del Ecuador, y basado en San Francisco, tierra Ramaytush Ohlone.

No Kings, No Queens Chess Club is the super-chill community chess club that gathers the 1st Sunday of every month in the galeria. Hosted by Danny Cao, all ages and skill levels are encouraged to come. Never played chess? We'll teach you! Come hang out, talk chess and play a few games.

Other Dimensions in Sound is our Friday music series curated and hosted by Boohaabian multi reed player extraordinare David Boyce. Each week David will be inviting different musical guests to join him in our galeria for a night of musical medicina.

Tonight double dose of sonic sustenance is being provided by String, Skin & Breath (1st set) and Bristle(2nd set)

String, Skin & Breath is a global ensemble blending ancient traditions with contemporary expression through spontaneous, deeply collaborative performance. Drawing from Persian and North African modes, chamber music, global folk traditions, and jazz improvisation, the group moves fluidly between original compositions, reimagined songs, and in-the-moment creation. Their music moves from meditative stillness to intricate rhythmic interplay, guided by deep listening, collective intuition, and a borderless musical spirit.

A welcoming space for queer musicians and songwriters to share their work, connect, and build community. Performers can sign up online in advance, join as walk-ins, or be featured as a monthly Featured Artist.

This month’s featured artists is Nush.

Nush infuses contemporary jazz and indie with the depth of Hindustani classical and pop traditions. With a bright and bold voice, she aims to create moments of warmth and connection. Still exploring the nuances of her unique sound, Nush invites listeners on a journey of discovery and emotion.

Other Dimensions in Sound is our Friday music series curated and hosted by Boohaabian multi reed player extraordinare David Boyce. Each week David will be inviting different musical guests to join him in our galeria for a night of musical medicina.

Tonight we have two solo sets by the Boohabian Black Edgar (1st set) and Angel(2nd set)

This special evening brings together an incredible lineup of writers, artists, and storytellers for a celebration of queer storytelling, humor, and community. Expect a lively, thoughtful, and unforgettable night of literary conversation, comic brilliance, and creative connection. Hosted by Charlie Jane Anders and Baruch Porras Hernandez. Featuring Kim Shuck, Gwendolyn Paradice, Ajuan Mance, Rebecca Hall, Maria Minguez Arias, and Ginny Berson.

Charlie Jane Anders is the award-winning, nationally bestselling author of Lessons in Magic and Disaster. Her other books include All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night, and the young adult Unstoppable trilogy. She also published a book about how to use creative writing to get through tough times called Never Say You Can't Survive. Her writing has appeared in Tin House, Conjunctions, ZYZZYVA, the Paris Review, McSweeney's, Esquire and the Catamaran Literary Reader. She’s currently writing the comic book Star Trek: Zero Point for IDW.

Baruch Porras-Hernandez is a writer, performer, organizer, professional MC/Host, curator, stand up comedian, and the author of the chapbooks “I Miss You, Delicate” and “Lovers of the Deep Fried Circle” both with Sibling Rivalry Press. He had the honor of touring with the legendary Sister Spit Queer poetry tour in 2019, is a is a two-time winner of Literary Death Match, a regular host of literary shows for KQED, and was named a Writer to Watch in 2016 by 7×7 Magazine. His poetry can be found with Write Bloody Publishing, The Tusk, Foglifter, Assaracus and many more. He has been an artist in residence at The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, a Lambda Literary Fellow in Poetry, and Playwriting. He’s been featured in shows with The Rumpus, Writers with Drinks, has performed several times with Radar Productions, LitQuake, and Quiet Lightning. His solo show “Love in the Time of Piñatas” got a clapping man from the SF Chronicle and was performed to sold-out houses at Epic Party Theatre in December of 2019. He is the head organizer of ¿Donde Esta Mi Gente? a Latinx literary performance series, he is an immigrant originally from Mexico, and is currently the lead artist in a multidisciplinary project that will create new Queer Latino Superheroes with MACLA, which stands for Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana in San Jose. He lives in San Francisco.

Kim Shuck embraces the fool and jester qualities of being a modern poet and artist. She is a devotee of San Francisco, whose hills she wanders nearly always on foot. Her maternal grandparents met at the Polish Hall on Shotwell and she spent many hours with her mother and grandmother wandering the Mission St. Miracle Mile, taking books out of the Mission Branch library and watching aquarium fish on the ground floor of what used to be Hale's. She firmly believes in carrying a bubble wand, keys, pen and notebook and cats cradle string at all times. Shuck is widely published in journals, anthologies and a couple of solo books. She enjoys volunteering in SFUSD elementary school classrooms to share her loves of origami, poetry and basket making... in other words, math of various kinds. In 2019 Shuck was awarded an inaugural National Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets, and a PEN Oakland Censorship Award.

Gwendolyn Paradice writer professor editor scholar genre/gender bender

Ajuan Mance is a Professor of African American literature at Mills College in Oakland, California. A lifelong artist and writer, Ajuan has participated in solo and group exhibitions as well as comic and zine fests, from the Bay Area to Brooklyn. In her art, illustration, and comics, Ajuan uses humor and bright colors to explore race, gender, power, and the people and places in which they intersect. Her work has appeared in a number of digital and print media outlets, including, most recently, The Women’s Review of Books, Blavity.com, BET.com, Transition Magazine, Buzzfeed.com, KQED.org, the San Francisco Chronicle, NYTimes.com, KPIX News, and Publisher’s Weekly. You can reach Ajuan at 8rockart@gmail.com

Rebecca Hall, JD PhD is an independent scholar, activist, and educator. Her paternal grandparents were born enslaved and she is the daughter of Harry Haywood. Dr. Hall writes and publishes on the history of race, gender, law, and resistance as well as articles on climate justice and intersectional feminist theory. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College, Berkeley Law, and University of Santa Cruz.

María Mínguez Arias es narradora, ensayista, editora circunstancial y traductora. Es autora de Nombrar el cuerpo (Editorial Egales/España y El BeiSmAn PrESs/USA, 2022), elegido en España entre lo mejor de la literatura Queer del 2022 por la revista Qué Leer, e incluida entre las recomendaciones de Vanity Fair Spain para el mes del orgullo 2025 ; y de la novela Patricia sigue aquí (Editorial Egales, 2018), ganadora de un premio ILBA en Estados Unidos. Sus relatos y ensayos aparecen en antologías y revistas de Estados Unidos, México y España, fue co-editora de la antología #NiLocasNiSolas: narrativa escrita por mujeres en Estados Unidos (El BeiSmAn PrESs, 2023), y editora (2021-2024) de la sección Letras USA de El BeiSmAn, revista de literatura en español de Estados Unidos. La autora parte de su identidad como inmigrante, mujer queer, madre y escritora en español en EE.UU para explorar temas como la memoria digital, familiar e histórica, la maternidad, el lenguaje, el cuerpo o la cotidianeidad y la fortaleza de la vida cursada desde los márgenes. Mínguez Arias trabaja como directora de operaciones y co-directora interina en la editorial feminista Aunt Lute Books en la Bahía de San Francisco donde reside con su compañera e hijes.

Ginny Z Berson is a long-time political activist driven by a longing for justice.  She was a member of The Furies-- a radical lesbian feminist separatist collective in Washington, D.C.  that lived and worked collectively to develop lesbian feminist political thought and philosophy.  The group produced a newspaper, The Furies, that had a significant impact on women’s groups in the U.S.  Ginny was a contributor and member of the editorial staff.  

The SF Indian Classical Session at Medicine for Nightmares is back June 24th! 7pm show starts, $10! The Indian Classical Sessions are an informal gathering dedicated to sharing the meditative beauty, ecstatic energy, and sheer majesty of South Asian music. Hosted by percussionist, drumset and tabla player Sameer Gupta, this gathering focuses on curating 4 short live sets that represent different influences and traditions surrounding South Asian music. Our goal is to connect, build our raga music loving community, and share South Asian classical music in an impromptu, casual and attentive setting.

Featured sets are:

Meghana Kumar

voice

Gaurav Kale

tabla

Gayatrhi Srinidhi

voice

Madhurranjan Mohaan

voice

Suggested Donation; $10

In the early 2010s, San Francisco experienced a tech boom that created both great wealth and great inequality. The city became known for runaway gentrification, a major housing crisis, and an "eviction epidemic" of long-term tenants. Yet there was also an inspiring housing justice movement. This book documents this moment. In this book event we will discuss the powerful anti-eviction movement of the 2010s and  its connections to housing struggles and justice today.

Manissa Maharawal works as an assistant professor of anthropology at American University in Washington DC. She is also a member of the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project. 

Join us for an afternoon of tatreez, Palestinian embroidery, as we come together in community to stitch. A tatreez circle is a gathering of tatreez artists who stitch together while sharing stories and learning from each other. All levels of experience are welcome but this is not meant to be a workshop. We will not be teaching tatreez but are happy to help guide you on what you need to get started before the event. **Bring your own projects and your own supplies.**

What is Tatreez? Tatreez is the art of Palestinian embroidery that has been practiced in Palestine for centuries. A practice passed down generationally from mother to daughter. Taking inspiration from the land and everyday life, Palestinian women hand stitched motifs and patterns directly onto their thobe that represented their social status, the villages/regions from which they hailed and their individuality.

Can I join if I'm not Palestinian? YES! This is a space for Palestinians and non-Palestinians who share a love of tatreez. Regardless of who practices tatreez, it is important to always remember the history of this beautiful art and the role it plays today in the Palestinian resistance movement, both in Palestine and within the diaspora. These circles are a safe space for Palestinians and our allies.

If you’re new to tatreez and have questions please reach out to sfbaytatreez@gmail.com.

TONIGHT come hear decolonized verses, spanglish poesia, Latine spokenword, Pocho poemas and neighborhood chisme at Speaking Axolotl, the Bay Area’s long running monthly Latine Reading series. 10 slot open mic goes up a las 6:50PM. Open mic poets have 6 minutes to read.

!This month we welcome our very special feature Rolando André López Torres!

Rolando André López is an educator, writer, poet, and translator from San Juan, Puerto Rico. His work has been published in multiple outlets and he was a 2023 Puerto Rican Artist Fellow at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts. His nonfiction has been cited twice by Best American Essays. His fiction and poetry were recently featured in the speculative anthology “Not Your Papi’s Utopia,” published by Mouthfeel Press. He lives in Oakland, California.

NOTE; Speaking Axolotl is a BIPOC reading series which means black and brown poets only on the mic. White folks are more than welcome to attend and listend but their presence is not required.

Not Like the Rest Presents: Manifestation, an inaugural literary magazine by and for Bay Area incarcerated artists. The Stanford Jail and Prison Education Program (SJPEP) will be celebrating the mag’s release with readings by Fego Navarro and the Forced N2 Greatness Collective: Jus’ B, Pharaoh, and Trey Xavier. There will be letter writing for the mag’s artists inside SF County Jail 3 as well as statements shared from the editorial class. All proceeds from tonight’s event will fund next year’s artist honoraria and printing costs.

SJPEP: SJPEP is a volunteer-run, interdisciplinary co-teaching education space linking current Stanford graduate students with incarcerated community members in Bay Area jails and prisons. We aim to create two-way learning and teaching educational opportunities for folks inside in dynamic and decentralized classrooms. Jails are not meant for long-term stays. They lack programming, outdoor spaces, adequate healthcare, and other infrastructure necessary to care for people over an extended time. Yet, for local California jails incarcerated folks are staying longer and longer, and many stay 10+ years pre trial in jails designed for short-term stays. SJPEP's mission is to maintain connection with and provide engaging educational programming for our siblings incarcerated in jails in the Bay Area. Founded in 2011, SJPEP has reached more than 600 incarcerated students across San Francisco and San Mateo county jails and worked with almost 200 graduate instructors from over 30 academic disciplines across Stanford University. 

Fego Navarro: Fego Navarro is a Salvadoran American artist and filmmaker from San Francisco, California. He serves as Creative Director of Lyrical Opposition, a California-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit and artist collective that cultivates lyrical artists to challenge injustice through social awareness and systemic change.

Brian Shepperd, co-creator and co-host of the podcast The Th3rd Bridge, lives a life that embodies resilience, transformation, and leadership born from lived experience. Brian spent nearly 30 years in most of California’s worst prisons. Once immersed in gangs and survival culture, he made the decision to turn his focus inward, transforming those same hard-edged lessons into tools for growth, accountability, and healing. Today, Brian, who uses the pen name b.anthony.shepperd, is the published poet behind the book Confessions of a Compassionate Felon, a community builder, and an advocate. He leads with empathy and credibility, speaking from the place of someone who has lived the realities of incarceration and emerged determined to uplift others.

Pharaoh Elisha Brooks, @Pharaoh_Elisha on Instagram and @PharaohElisha on YouTube, is the Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program Director for Kingdom Builders Transitional Program. He was fortunate enough to be found suitable from the parole board after being incarcerated for 17 and a half years. Today, Pharaoh is a writer, author, musician, producer, poet, actor, counselor, rapper, and singer. His EP, Building 18: The Hip Hop Poetry Project, is available on Spotify and Apple Music and he is working on his first novel. He feels fortunate to share his story to help uplift the same type of communities he once tore down.

Trey Xavier Watkins is a jack of many trades. A musician, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, motivational speaker, and mentor, he finds balance in the breadth of his pursuits. He has published eight novels, including his crowning work The Creation, Death, and Resurrection of Theodore C. Andrews III. Drawing from a past that includes life as a bank robber, drug addiction, and 27 years behind bars, Trey offers audiences a unique perspective on politics, relationships, and the justice system. He came to realize later in life that everything he endured had a purpose: it was his to write about. 

!Tonight the San Francisco Flor y Canto International Literary Festival honors one of La Mission’s most beloved spoken word groups Los Delicados! Expect spoken word descarga and locura of the highest order tonight as we honor this foundational spoken word group with the community Teyolia Award.

Los Delicados were founded in the Mission District in 1996 during this neighborhood’s literary renaissance. Made up of Norman Antonio Zelaya, Darren J. de Leon, and Paul S. Flores—Los Delicados were a foundational force of poetry in La Mission renowned for pioneering a high-energy, multidisciplinary style known as "Word Descarga".

This Saturday, as part of the San Francisco International Flor y Canto Literary Festival, we will be presenting several poets from Cae de Maduro, an amazing poetry press from Argentina. Participating poets include Isadora Barcelos, Pola Gomez Codina, Nadia Sapag, Aketzaly Moreno, and Hernan.

NOTE; the Argentine poets will be joining us via Zoom and the event will be broadcast on our big screen in the galeria.

Copy and paste zoom link below to join;

https://us06wcb.zoom.us/j/83278466051

Facilitated by Amanda Ayala and co-presented by the SFPL participants in this workshop will learn watercolor and gouache painting techniques on quality watercolor paper and choose from a beautiful collection of fun USPS postage stamps to make a one of a kind painted postcard to send to a loved one or themselves. With the theme of Flor y Canto this workshop encourages each persons inherent creativity while encouraging connection through visual arts and the written word. This workshop is part of the San Francisco International Flor Y Canto Literary Festival.

Amanda Ayala is an interdisciplinary Xicana Indigenous artist and maker who centers people targeted by oppression and acknowledges their brilliance. Amanda leads and facilitates workshops that combine artist liberation and social justice for people of all ages. She creates within community as a way to heal and transform society. 

 linktr.ee/xicanaollin 

The Magnolia Tree Gazing presents poets from the Celebration of Queer Poetics Anthology Project, a poetry anthology and workshop series reflecting the diverse queer voices forming Bay Area Literary Landscape. This artisan made book grew from a six-week generative poetry workshop crafted by Lourdes Figueroa in the Mission District, focusing on bipocx queer poetics offering a tender space to explore and create poetry. The printed anthology is a collaboration between Lourdes Figueroa, The Celebration of Queer Poetics Workshop, and Murciélago Prensa, Cinthia Marisol Lozano Garcia Amaya.

Join us for an afternoon of love and ternura to celebrate the first volume of this anthology and hear the work created by workshop poets. Co-presented by Paseo Artistico and the San Francisco Flor Y Canto International Literary Festival.

As part of the San Francisco Flor Y Canto International Literary Festival join artist and writer Angela Chen for a participatory lecture-performance and reading of her debut text-image book After School 課後.

After School 課後 brings together autobiography, photographs, collage, and archival documents to unpack the culture of buxiban (after school tutoring centers) in predominantly East Asian communities in the San Gabriel Valley, CA. It tells the story of her family’s struggle to run Futurelink, a buxiban business, against the historical backdrop of anti-Asian discrimination and considers the after school as a paradoxical space of discipline and care, assimilation and cultural preservation, competition and community.

Angela Chen is a Taiwanese American artist, writer, and educator from the ethnoburbs of the San Gabriel Valley, CA. Her work explores the immigrant experience and uses assemblage as a metaphor for diasporic identity. Chen received her MFA in photography from the Yale School of Art. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan and previously taught at Rice University and New York University.

https://www.instagram.com/dan.yeongki/
https://angelachen.infoAs

!As part of the San Francisco International Flor Y Canto Literary Festival we are over la luna excited to present Cucatlicue Collective in our front window!

Cucatlicue Collective is a space for poets and artists to connect and build community: starting at our roots in LA and growing beyond Southern California.

Featuring readings by Mariam Martinez Gama, Michelle Ibarra, soledad con carne, and Laura Sermeno.

Other Dimensions in Sound is our Friday music series curated and hosted by Boohaabian multi reed player extraordinare David Boyce. Each week David will be inviting different musical guests to join him in our galeria for a night of musical medicina.

Tonight we have Anhad Naad Collective playing a special one hour set(7-8PM).

Formed in 2019, Anhad Naad Collective is a genre-defying ensemble rooted in the exploration of South Asian musical traditions and their intersections with global genres. The collective had its debut concert in 2020 in San Francisco, led by core members Divya Purohit Vyas and Jun Ishimuro (of Qb Moda Jazz). Initially, their work centered around blending South Asian raga-based music with the soulful textures of jazz, R&B, and Black musical traditions. With a flexible and evolving lineup of collaborating artists, Anhad Naad Collective has performed at notable Bay Area venues including Bird & Beckett, Integral Yoga Institute, the Golden Gate Park Bandstand, and events such as San Francisco’s Summer of Music hosted by Noise Pop. In 2023, the group expanded its focus to delve deeper into South Asian spiritual music, with a special emphasis on Sufi Qawwali traditions. Anhad Naad treats the spiritual dimension of Sufi poetry and music with deep reverence, often seeking guidance from poets and experts from Pakistan and India. Lead vocalist Divya Purohit Vyas has previously been a part of Bay Dervish in Alameda, a spiritual music collective associated with Sufi Way, led by the late Kiran Rana and Jeanne Rana.

Anhad Naad Collective Current Members: Divya Purohit Vyas – Vocals, Irum Aftab – Vocals, Vivek Anand – Vocals, Harmonium, Rajnish Kamat – Vocals, Rishi D - vocal, Jun Ishimuro – Flute, Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), Craig Reiter- Upright Electric Bass, Cello and Oud, Abhay Shankar Anand – Tabla, percussions, Sound Engineering

Block printing workshop for community activists. We'll have tools, paper, tinta, and small blocks, and start off with a conversation about printmaking as cultural and political expression. Second Wednesdays in March, April, and May. Suggested donation $20 for artist and book store.

Clase de grabado para activistas de la comunidad / Tendremos herramientas, papel, tinta, y pequeños bloques, y empezamos con una conversación sobre el grabado como expresión cultural y política. Segundo Miercoles en marzo, abril, y mayo. Donación sugerida $20 para artista y librería.

Fernando Martí (he/him) is an artist, poet, community architect and housing activist, originally from Ecuador, based in San Francisco, Ramaytush Ohlone land.

Fernando Martí (el) es un artista, poeta, arquitecto comunitario y activista de vivienda, originario del Ecuador, y basado en San Francisco, tierra Ramaytush Ohlone.

No Kings, No Queens Chess Club is the super-chill community chess club that gathers the 1st Sunday of every month in the galeria. Hosted by Danny Cao, all ages and skill levels are encouraged to come. Never played chess? We'll teach you! Come hang out, talk chess and play a few games.

!Join us tonight to celebrate the release of “Orange” Noel Quinones new book of poetry!

Noel will be joined by Bay Area poets who supported Noel throughout their poetry journey! Leticia Hernández-Linares, Josiah Luis Alderete, Reggie Edmonds-Vazquez, and Esperanza Cabrales. Hosted by Tino VH Jr. with an opening piece by San Francisco Youth Poet Laureate Karan Gupta, Noel's former student!

A bold and tender portrait of family, identity, and truth in the North Bronx.

Through narrative poems and innovative forms inspired by color theory and elementary school, Orange explores the ripple effects of queerness, lies, and finding yourself in a family. In this visceral new collection, however, the scope of "family" expands well beyond the nuclear unit; Noel Quiñones's poems center relationships between friends, cousins, partners, and many other family members. Painting a vivid and fraught portrait of the North Bronx, Quiñones unflinchingly confronts the contradictions at the heart of love, divorce, gender, religion, and community, unpacking the complexities of coming out, divorced parents, and generational trauma. Orange ultimately argues that truth resembles color: something real, yet elusive, and impossible to prove. Preorder Orange here or get a copy at the event.

Noel Quiñones is an Emmy award-winning writer of all genres. Noel is the author of the interactive poetry collection Orange (CavanKerry Press, May 2026) and has been published in Poetry, Boston Review, Poem-a-day, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT anthology, as well as the Michigan Quarterly Review, for which they won the 2025 Jesmyn Ward Fiction Prize. Noel’s short story "This Time and the Next" will be included in The Best Short Stories 2026: The O. Henry Prize Winners. Noel has also written for, narrated, and acted in several films, including the Emmy nominated documentary Takeover, recounting the Young Lords’ 1970 takeover of Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to fight for better healthcare. A graduate of the University of Mississippi's MFA program and founder of Project X, a Bronx-based spoken word poetry organization, Noel is currently a Justice for My Sister BIPOC Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab Fellow working on their first TV show, The Telescope. Follow Noel at www.noelpquinones.com.

Tino V. H. Jr. is a Mexican-American teaching artist and spoken word poet born and raised in Oakland, CA. He attended UC Santa Cruz, pursuing a degree in Literature with a concentration in Latin American Literature. He has represented poetry teams for cities like Santa Cruz and Berkeley, CA, on national stages. Most recently, he traveled to the Bigfoot Poetry Festival with the 2023 Berkeley Slam team, where they took 3rd place. His work explores im/migration, indigeneity, the hood, queerness, feminism, and decolonial frameworks. He currently organizes with RichOak Events in the Bay Area co-curating 4 shows: Alchemy Open Mic, Day Dreamer’s Poetry, the Oakland Poetry Slam and the Berkeley Poetry Slam. He is also Editor in Chief of the Poet’s Bookshelf, on Substack, and at Nomadic Bookshop as a monthly literary series In his spare time he constantly updates his “Best Tacos in East Oakland” list, plays too many video games, reads to feel alive and writes pre-colonial high fantasy.

Leticia Hernández-Linares is an award-winning bilingual, interdisciplinary writer, artist, and racial justice educator. Widely published, she is the author of Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl, Alejandria Fights Back! ¡La lucha de Alejandria! and co-editor of The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States. She has lived, created, taught, & protested in the Mission (unceded Ramaytush Ohlone land) for thirty years, and she teaches in the Department of Latina/Latino Studies at San Francisco State University.

Josiah Luis Alderete is a full blooded Spanglish speaking Pocho y left handed callejero de Aztlán who has been a part of the Bay Area's spoken word/literary scene for over twenty years. He is the curator and host of the long running monthly Latine reading series Speaking Axolotl and is the author of the poetry book “Baby Axolotls & Old Pochos(Black Freighter Press 2021) and the chapbooks “Fuchi Faces de los Estados Jodidos”(For The Pueblo Press,2023) and 'cuernitos de humo y other fragmentos"(Workers Quarter Printshop 2026). In 2023 he was the Poetry Center’s Mazza Writer in Residence at San Francisco State. In 2024 his work was translated in Spanish by the Universidad Autónoma De Nuevo León, as part of Hablando en Lenguas ,a literay project that paired Mexican and Xicanx poets. Along with his bookstore sister Tân Khanh Cao, Josiah tends the portal known as Medicina Para Pesadillas Bookstore y Galeria on 24th Street in San Pancho, Califas.

Reggie Edmonds-Vasquez (They/Them) is a poet, educator, and cultural curator from Richmond, CA. Their work, which examines the intersection of Black, Queer, and Gender diverse identities, has been selected for fellowships and awards from Nomadic Press, the Afro Urban Society, The Museum of the African Diaspora and others. Their poem, Aerodynamics of the American Negro, was a finalist for the 2022 Red Wheel Barrow Poetry Prize. A two time Berkeley Grand Champion and a nationally ranked poet, Reggie can currently be found as the Program Director of Rich Oak Events. Reggie’s debut chapbook, Ecology of the Hood (Foglifter Press) will be available in Summer 2026.

Esperanza Cabrales (they/them) is a queer, trans nonbinary Xicanx spoken word artist currently based in unceded Muwekma Ohlone lands, concurrently referred to as Oakland, CA. They're an organizer for the Berkeley Poetry Slam, workshop facilitator, certified Gemini summer baby, events organizer, polyglot, jewelry designer, and multi-media artist. Esperanza had the honor of being in the Queer Cultural Center's Creating Queer Communities 2024 L1 cohort, with a 15-minute poetry feature at the 2024 Fall National Queer Arts Festival. Their poem, ‘A Non-Controversial Poem’, was published in the 2025 edition of La Raiz Magazine. They've curated the following zines: “Lessons From My Cousin’s Garden” and “A Ghazal for Gaza/Where Does It Hurt?”, the latter of which was created in collaboration with Artists Against Apartheid and features collaged art from the Palestinian youth art exhibit "A Child's View from Gaza". They can be found on Instagram as @nepantlainoakland and on substack as @dreamingeyeswideopen.

Karan Gupta is a San Francisco-born poet and currently serves as the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of San Francisco. He's been writing poetry since he was a kid and finds that it's the most potent form of writing. He explores the themes of racism, grief, and gentrification in his poetry.

Other Dimensions in Sound is our Friday music series curated and hosted by Boohaabian multi reed player extraordinare David Boyce. Each week David will be inviting different musical guests to join him in our galeria for a night of musical medicina.

Tonight is a heavy duty dose of sonic sustenance as we celebrate the spoken word album release of PC Munoz’s “Little Ransoms” and also a very special performance by Red Fast Triple Luck(PC Munoz-percusssion,boom stick, and cosmic hook rug, David Boyce-reeds/efxs, Chris Trinidad-bass, Francis Wong-reeds)

Kitchen Table is a reading series centered around poetry and literature, food and drink, and culture and politics. The core of the events are the questions: What feeds your body? What feeds your mind? Writers share their work as we all share a local pop-up's food or drink. KT shows, classes, and pop-ups focus on dialogue between established writers and food makers with those interested in writing and cooking, community work and craft. Stay tapped in with Kitchen Table on our Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter.

Gabriel Cortez is a poet, educator, and organizer based in the Bay Area, California. Gabriel’s debut one person show, "Between Two Rising Seas," premieres at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA) in Fall 2027. He is beginning his MFA in Creative Writing at St. Mary’s College of California starting this September.

Lauren Ito is an American Gosei (fifth generation person of Japanese ancestry) UX research leader, poet, and community organizer committed to advancing equity through art and design.

Eddie Kim is a writer, editor and multimedia journalist living in San Francisco, California. He covers a spectrum of issues, from poverty and race to art and food culture. He is currently the City Reporter and a founding member of Gazetteer San Francisco.

Stay Sweet SF is a fresh take on chocolate and confections crafted in small batches by San Francisco-born-and-raised pastry Chef Mark Lieuw.

Other Dimensions in Sound is our Friday music series curated and hosted by Boohaabian multi reed player extraordinare David Boyce. Each week David will be inviting different musical guests to join him in our galeria for a night of musical medicina.

Tonight Other Dimensions In Sound & Eye-Full Films present – a night of rare 16mm films from the archives of David Michalak, including The Spoken Word, Once a Face, Start Talking, Not Quite Right and others. Original 16mm film prints will be projected.
The night opens with a set by Cindy Webster - singing saw, hurdy gurdy and Nancy Beckman – shakuhachi

photo - Helmut Wautischer in Not Quite Right

Calling all Arab Youth ages 18-35! The PYM is hosting a shadeh w dardasheh event - come learn to play tarneeb, meet other Arab youth, and learn about the work PYM is doing to enact an arms embargo. The event will be generously hosted by Medecine for Nightmares in the Mission. !انضمولنا

The SF Indian Classical Session at Medicine for Nightmares is back May 27th! 7pm show starts, $10! The Indian Classical Sessions are an informal gathering dedicated to sharing the meditative beauty, ecstatic energy, and sheer majesty of South Asian music. Hosted by percussionist, drum set and tabla player Sameer Gupta, this gathering focuses on curating 4 short live sets that represent different influences and traditions surrounding South Asian music. Our goal is to connect, build our raga music loving community, and share South Asian classical music in an impromptu, casual and attentive setting.

Featured sets are:
Vivek Thyagarajan 
Akshay Naresh 
Kamal Ahmad 
Sonia Mann Qureshi (kathak) & Ferhan Qureshi

Mycelium Youth Network presents an analysis of state violence, displacement, and environment across three cohorts of youth 15-23 years old from San Francisco and Oakland. Join us for an interactive art show that honors youth and attendees as knowledge holders and invites community to co-create understandings of environmental justice and resistance beyond individual action by engaging youth artwork and Photovoice projects. Also, come learn from our youth’s year-long work around mutual aid distributions, ICE safety planning, and community healing! 

Mycelium Youth Network (MYN) is a Bay Area youth-centered organization founded in 2017, dedicated to bridging the gap between increasing climate-related disasters and the abilities of young people to proactively respond. We prepare predominantly low-income Black and Brown youth in the Bay Area -- who are most vulnerable to and already feeling the effects of environmental racism -- for climate change by drawing from ancestral traditions and practices. MYN focuses on climate resilience and climate mitigation to create and strengthen existing holistic relationships and build out regenerative economies. We empower youth to grow as visionary leaders and budding environmentalists, connect with ancestral teachings, and trust in the wisdom of the natural world. 

The Youth Leadership Council is a place-based, environmental justice internship that equips young people from Mission High and Metwest High with political education, decision-making power, and research tools to critically assess their conditions, organize, and co-create their visions of a liberated future. 

Data Warriors is an anti-racist and anti-colonial participatory research internship where frontline youth from Oakland (ages 15-23) study issues they care about, relate them to State violence and environmental justice, then design and practice interventions that support their community. A core objective of Data Warriors is to develop evaluation values, tools, and capacity to explore lived realities and socioemotional experiences of oppression and liberation.

A welcoming space for queer musicians and songwriters to share their work, connect, and build community. Performers can sign up online in advance, join as walk-ins, or be featured as a monthly Featured Artist.

This month’s feature is TraumaCheez

TraumaCheez is a San Francisco-based indie singer-songwriter. Her musical artistry combines explosive vocals with a fluid sense of groove. Featuring catchy melodies paired with witty, humorous lyrics - and a high-energy stage presence focused on live interaction - she delivers a truly captivating performance.