"Kitchen Table, Grand Coffee, and Medicine for Nightmares are coming together for a book launch and fundraiser to support displaced Palestinian youth. To celebrate the debut of poetry chapbook 'These Empires, These Flowers,' Kitchen Table co-founder Paolo Bicchieri invited local writers Arati Warrier, D'Mani Thomas, Keith Donnell Jr., Kevin Madrigal Galindo, Lucie Pereira, and Giovanna Lomanto together for a night of readings and food. Grand Coffee will provide tea and Palestinian snacks thanks to co-owner Nabeel Silmi.
$20 to attend which includes a copy of the book, food, and drinks. Funds go directly to a family in Gaza. No pre-purchase is required."
Arati Warrier (she/they) is writing and living in the Bay Area. Their work has been published in The Shade Journal, The Rumpus, and the Academy of American Poets, and they co-authored the collaborative chapbook Longing and Other Heirlooms. Arati's other interests include eating extremely good produce and talking about tv. She is caste/class privileged.
Keith Donnell Jr. is a California-based poet and book editor. He is a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA Program at San Francisco State University and the author of The Move (Nomadic Press, 2021) and supreme night (Black Lawrence Press, 2025). He is a previous Editor-in-Chief of Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review and his work has appeared in journals and anthologies, including POETRY and Best American Nonrequired Reading.
Giovanna Lomanto is a Pushcart-Prize nominated poet and artist. She has published six books of various lengths and genres. A recent graduate of NYU’s MFA program, her work has been supported by U.C. Berkeley, KQED, and the SFMOMA archive. In addition to working as a teaching artist and nonprofit organizer, she has also co-hosted the Living Room Poetry series and served as the lead curator for the San Francisco Literary Festival’s inaugural Out Loud weekend for Queer & BIPOC writers. Currently, she serves as the co-owner of the indie press Game Over Books. She lives in Oakland with her partner and their lion head bunny Maggie.
Paolo Bicchieri is a writer living on the coast. His work has been featured in the Seattle Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Ghost City Press, and Nomadic Press. 'These Empires, These Flowers' is their latest chapbook and their second collection of poems after 2021's 'Familial Animals' which won Animal Heart Press's poetry chapbook contest. He enjoys strong coffee and stronger labor politics.
D'mani Thomas (he \ they) is a writer, and creative from Oakland, California (Ohlone territory). Their work currently explores surveillance, intimacy, and the insidious ways Black queers have been impacted by both. D’mani has received fellowships from UC Berkeley’s Art & Research Center via The Engaging the Senses Foundation, The Watering Hole, The Outpost Foundation, Foglifter, and others. In 2023, they became a finalist for the Penrose Poetry Prize, and were awarded a California Arts Council grant through Youth Speaks. His work can be found in Muzzle Magazine, The Shade Journal, Oroboro Lit Journal, KALW 91.7 FM, The Auburn Avenue, and elsewhere. His debut chapbook, “Grown-up Elementary”, is now available through Black Lawrence Press. Outside of poetry, catch them studying horror movies, dancing, and eating too many fries.
Lucie Pereira (she/her) is a writer and educator living in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Honey Literary and Stanchion Zine, among others, and her debut chapbook, From Here to the Ocean, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. She is currently pursuing a master’s in creative writing at University College Cork.
Sagaree (they/she) is a poet, educator, organizer, and queer from the Bay. Their writing has been featured in Autostraddle, The Margins, them. magazine, and The Offing, where they served as the Micro Editor. Their book SHRINES is out from Game Over Books now. They are moving from class and caste privilege to caste abolition, class suicide, and housing for all. They are down to help you redistribute your wealth.