SPD's Holiday Open House! Books! Readings! Food!

Small Press Distribution's

Holiday Open House & Book Sale

1341 7TH St at Gilman in Berkeley

Saturday, December 1, 2007, 12-4PM

(Readings at 2PM)

13,000 titles, 20-50% off

Featuring free snacks, free readings and selected free books (in
trade for your own poetry)!!!

C. S. Giscombe just began teaching at UC Berkeley this fall. He is
the author of several books of poetry and a memoir Into and Out of
Dislocation. He received a prestigious Walt Whitman Award for his
first book Giscombe Road.

Susan Gevirtz's book Thrall is just out from Post-Apollo Press. She
teaches in the Visual Criticism Program at California School of the
Arts.

Brian Awehali is an award-winning journalist and author of Tipping
the

Sacred Cow: The Best of LiP: Informal Revolt, 1996-2007.

Catherine Meng's poems have appeared in Fence, Crowd, Fulcrum and The
Boston Review. Her first book Tonight s the Night is just out from
Apostrophe Press.

PLUS: TURN YOUR POETRY INTO FREE BOOKS

at the Poetry Trading Post

Small Press Distribution connects readers with writers by providing
access to independently published literature. SPD allows essential
but underrepresented literary communities to participate fully in the
marketplace and in the culture at large through book distribution,
information services, and public advocacy programs. SPD nurtures an
environment in which the literary arts are valued and sustained.

Artifact notes...

hello all,

Writing here from the midst of hiatus to "update" the blogosphere on what's up with Artifact.

So what is up with Artifact? Well, the reading series is on hiatus for a few more months and hopefully will be making a comeback in the winter of 2008. As most of you know, I had baby Mina Natalia Benham-Cunningham in May & so have been slightly pre-occupied with that undertaking. But there have been other changes as well. Chana Morgenstern, who co-founded Artifact with me & has continued to host Artifact in her apartment after I moved to Oakland last fall, and has moved to Providence, RI to begin her Ph.D at Brown. Renee Evans, who has been such an incredible asset to Artifact, has also moved there, so we have lost 2 major players over here and miss them both dearly. Chana had been working as our fund-raising director and spearheading our public writing projects arm of Artifact. Now that she is leaving, I believe it's best to dismantle this part of Artifact. In the meantime, I will be accepting any help offered in the way of fund-raising, mainly in grant-writing.

Chana & Renee's departure means a new space for Artifact, and likely that space will be public. I'm currently on the lookout for a suitable spot, so if anyone has any suggestions or connections, please contact me at artifactsf at gmail dot com. I am looking for a space in SF, close to transport, that will house 50+, and will allow booze & won't make demands on our programming. A tall order, but I'm keeping my fingers x-ed. If nothing in SF turns up, I may move it over here to the East Bay...so we'll just have to see.

In publishing news, Digital Artifact, led by Amanda Davidson, has made it online debut & looking towards a second issue. Their site looks amazing, thanks to the artwork of Renee Evans and the web developing of Jay Thomas. In print, I am working with Brent Cunningham and Neil Alger to bring Artifact Press and Hooke Press together which has been something we've been talking about for a long time.

So that's the news. Be well & I hope to see you all at an Artifact reading soon(ish).

xoxo,
Melissa Benham

New Yipes: 9/16 : Meng : Berrigan : Goodman

7 pm
Sunday
Sept. 16
at 21 GRAND
416 Twenty-Fifth Street
Oakland, California
5 dollars

CATHERINE MENG was born in New Jersey & raised in Massachusetts.
She spent time in New Mexico, Montana, and cooking school before moving
to the Bay Area in 2000. She lives in a shack and works at a restaurant.
Her first collection of poems, Tonight's the Night, was published in
March 2007 by Apostrophe Books.

ANSELM BERRIGAN's books of poems include Some Notes on My
Programming, Zero Star Hotel, and Integrity & Dramatic Life, all published by
Edge Books. From 2003 to 2007 he was the Artistic Director of the Poetry
Project at St. Mark's Church-in -the-Bowery. He's working on writing a
couple hundred poems all called "Have A Good One," and is a little
more than halfway there.

CRAIG GOODMAN lives in San Francisco, where he has made videos
based on popular genres such as commercials, music videos, and
made-for-TV movies. He was also a member of the sit-down keyboard
ensemble "The Helen Lundy Trio," with Karla Milosevich and Kota Ezawa.
Craig has also been fortunate to enjoy the work of others by acting as
curator for numerous video screenings, including "Visual Urban Legends,"
"The There There," and "Alone," at New Langton Arts in San Francisco.

* * * *
Oct. 21: Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Dolores Dorantes and video by Katie Edmonds

http://newyipes.blogspot.com

Sailers, Cunningham, & Luoma at Moe's, Monday 9/10

MONDAYS AT MOE’S
September 10th, 2007, 7:30pm

Cynthia Sailers, Brent Cunningham & Bill Luoma

CYNTHIA SAILERS is the author of Lake Systems (Tougher Disguises, 2004). She is currently writing a dissertation on narcissism and perversion in pathological group organization for the Wright Institute in Berkeley. She is a board member of Small Press Traffic and previously co-curated the New Yipes Reading Series (formerly New Brutalism). Currently she lives in Alameda.

BRENT CUNNINGHAM is the author of Bird & Forest (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2005). He lives in Oakland, works for Small Press Distribution (SPD) in Berkeley and serves on the board of Small Press Traffic in San Francisco. He and Neil Alger also run Hooke Press (hookepress.com), a local chapbook press dedicated to publishing short runs of poetry, criticism, theory, writing and ephemera. They've published four titles so far, with two more on the way.

BILL LUOMA is the author of Dear Dad (Tinfish, 2004), Works & Days (Hard Press, 1998), Swoon Rocket (Figures, 1996), and other works. He lives in Berkeley. He did not write or approve this biographical note, but he is a terrific writer.

Naropaens Unite!

Here is the latest missive from my Naropa alum, Jim Goar, who publishes Catfish Press. He has published 2 books by other Naropa alums, Richard Froude and Matthew Langley, both very talented writers.

Buy their books! Now! Thank you!

Dear Friends,

Know you have been waiting and waiting. Well, the
waiting is over. Catfish Press has made two books, The
Margaret Thatcher Trilogy by Richard Froude & Letters
Toward Jim by Matthew Langley. Stacy Dacheux & Allan
McLeod provided the lovely art for the books. Both
books can be purchased from the Catfish Press website
(http://www.pastsimple.org/catfishfront.html) with
PayPal. Both books are better than a cold Budweiser…
even better than drinking a cold Bud while floating in
a lake in one of those floaty chairs. Trust me. Also
on the site is our new Catfish jingle. It was written
by Pirooz Kalayeh and Jim Goar and performed by Pirooz
Kalayeh and The Slipshod Swingers. All in all, just
dig.

SUNDAY | Stephen Beachy | Lara Durback | Martha XIV | 8/26

This Sunday August 26
at 21 GRAND
416 25th Street
Oakland, California
6 blocks from the 19th St BART station
7 pm | $5 or fewer

STEPHEN BEACHY is the author of the novels The Whistling Song and Distortion.
His latest book consists of two novellas, Some Phantom and No Time Flat,
just out from Suspect Thoughts. He is currently finishing up a book
of essays entitled Dreams of Terror and Abuse and working on another
novel, Now That I'm Dead by Kathy Acker, among various other ephemeral
projects.

LARA DURBACK is an artist/poet working with text, letterpress printing, sound
(analog synthesizers and field recording), as well as the book form
and any other medium that can be combined and smashed together.
Currently contemplating humans awash in electromagnetic fields: both
those from the earth and those emitted by powerlines and electronic
devices, and how difficult it is to match a field to a source. Vectors
and concentric circles constantly going in and out...

MARTHAXIV grew out of mud and creeks and still feels very tied to them
despite her current urban existance. at present she is working on the
video and sound for a puppet show she is developing in collaboration with
her brother and a friend entitled, "between dog and wolf." marthaxiv
hopes to adopt a dog/wolf of her own in the near future.

* * * *

Sept. 16: Anselm Berrigan & Catherine Meng, w/ video by Craig Goodman

Oct. 21: Dolores Dorantes & Demosthenes Agrafiotis, w/ video by Katie Edmonds

As foretold at http://newyipes.blogspot.com

"The Persians" in Presidio--LOCATION CHANGE

from the nonsite collectives website:

Ah, the fate of guerrilla theater!

Since we initially scouted the site, construction has begun at the Presidio bunkers, making them unreachable to the public!!!

However, there is a more easily accessible public space at the Army Education Center across the way that should also make for good
theater.

Directions are the same: The easiest parking is in the huge unpaved lot just before Fort Winston Scott. The lot is on your right hand side, about 1/3 mile after you turn right off of Kobbe onto Lincoln Blvd.

Then, rather than going west towards the Coastal Trail, head east across the giant army quad at Ralston Ave.

There will be signs (and ushers) directing you, so you won’t miss it. Watch for the first sign just after the turn at Kobbe.

It is possible to get a glimpse of the bunkers from the Coastal Trail detour. We will try to get some information about their fate to share with you at the performance.

"The Persians"--Performance event in the Presidio, Aug. 26th

*****PERFORMANCE EVENT ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 26*****

*****RIDES AVAILABLE TO THIS EVENT*****

*****BE AWARE, THIS EVENT IS NOT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE (OR NOT WITHOUT
REAL DIFFICULTY)*****

Dear Friends,

Come see military civilizations collide!, in a special production of

Brandon Brown's "The Persians by Aeschylus"

Brandon's text is a literal translation of "The Persians" by
Aeschylus, which has been adapted for a site-specific performance in
San Francisco's Presidio, at the bunkers near the Golden Gate Bridge.


-----
CURRICULUM SOURCES RELATED TO THE PERFORMANCE


For an artist statement by Brandon Brown on his translation, please
see the PAGES section of the Nonsite Collective website (click on
"Curriculum Resources") at: www.nonsitecollective.org.

For info on Aeschylus' play, please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persians

For info on a "literal translation," please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_translation

For a (standard) translation by Robert Potter of Aeschylus' "The
Persians," please see:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/persians.html

For info on the Presidio and its history, please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_of_San_Francisco
www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/san-francisco-presidio.htm

For info on Executive Order 9066 (authorizing the internment of
Japanese Americans in concentration camps, signed at the Presidio):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9066

If you would like to share information you have found about the
Presidio's past/present/future, or to share any other potential
resources related to this performance, please send a link or document
to:
presidiodocs@nonsitecollective.org

-----

The cast for this special performance will include: John Sakkis,
Cynthia Sailers, Suzanne Stein, Dan Fisher, Taylor Brady, Tanya
Hollis, Lauren Shufran, and Brent Cunningham.

We suggest you bring along a blanket and a cold beer for a hopefully
not-so-cold afternoon.

The performance will begin at 2pm.  Rides to BART will be available
afterwards, so that we all can catch the New Yipes event at 21 Grand
in Oakland at 7pm, featuring novelist Steven Beachy and poet Lara
Durback, with films by Martha XIV.

For more info, please see:
http://newyipes.blogspot.com/

-----
PRESIDIO MAP

For a map of the Presidio, please go to:
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/planyourvisit/maps.htm

There is a "Printable Park Map" pdf there; when printing, choose
"crop" in order to get a larger image of the northwest corner of the
map.  This will give you an image that encompasses the Arguello St.
entrance as well.

The bunker, called "Battery Marcus Miller," is located at the very
northwest (top left) corner of the map, about an inch below the Golden
Gate Bridge.  It should be easy to find on the map-image because it
has a very distinct shape: it has two small semi-circles bulging out
at the left (towards the west).

The bunker is also located right on the Coastal Trail, about .1 miles
from the Golden Gate Bridge.  There are spectacular views of the
bridge here—almost like optical illusions.

For a re-scanned map of the Presidio with the bunker circled, please
see the PAGES section of the Nonsite Collective Website (click on
"Curriculum Resources") at: www.nonsitecollective.org.

-----

We hope to see you all there!!

All best to you,

Brandon Brown, and the Nonsite Collective

RIDESHARES AVAILABLE TO THIS SPECIAL EVENT!!!!!
PLEASE SEE THE DIRECTIONS BELOW FOR ARRANGING FOR RIDES AND OFFERING
RIDES TO THIS NON-STANDARD LOCATION.

Getting and Offering Rides

To get a ride to the Presidio site or to offer a seat in your vehicle
to someone seeking a ride, please send an email to:
carpool@nonsitecollective.org

Please specify whether you want to pick up/be picked up at the
MacArthur BART station or at the Civic Center BART station.
Ride-givers: Please give details about the look of your vehicle so
that ride-seekers matched with you can find you.

Rideshares for the east bay will be coordinated by David Brazil; he
will contact you by Saturday, Aug. 25th.

Rides from the east bay will meet at 1pm sharp!

Rideshares for SF will be coordinated by Taylor Brady; he will contact
you by Saturday, Aug. 25th.

Rides from SF will meet at 1:30pm sharp!

Driving Directions for Rideshares

From the Civic Center BART station

The Civic Center BART is located at about Hyde St./bet. 7th and 8th
streets on Market St. in SF.

Rides and riders can meet up at the following parking lot:

(Exit BART through the Hyde St. exit, walk up Hyde Street.)  One block
up from Market, you'll see the parking lot to your left.  The parking
lot is in between Hyde (east) and Larkin Streets (west), and bounded
by Fulton to the South and McAllister to the North.  There is a statue
glorifying the Spanish conquistadors in the middle of it.

From the parking lot to the Presidio site:
[PRINTING OUT THE PARK MAP IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED]
Take McAllister to Franklin, turn Left.
Take Franklin to California, turn Left.
Take California to Arguello, turn Right.
Take Arguello to the Arguello entrance of the Presidio.
Enter the Presidio, drive about 1/3 mile to Washington Blvd. and veer
Left onto Washington.
Take Washington about 2 miles to Lincoln Blvd.  (There is a small
interface with Kobbe Ave to get onto Lincoln, which is to your Left;
follow the signs to Lincoln Blvd.)
Take Lincoln about 1/3 mile until you are parallel with Ralston Ave.
There are various parking lots here marked with signs and all are less
than ¼ mile to the Battery Marcus Miller.

From the MacArthur BART station:
Take Telegraph to Grand, turn Right.
Take Grand to 880/80 towards the Bay Bridge.
Exit 80 at the Civic Center exit, veering Right, but getting ready to
make a soft Left onto Harrison, for about ½ block.
Get into Righthand lanes to turn R on 9th St.
On 9th St., get into Lefthand lane.
Cross Mission, then Market.  As you cross Market, you'll be making a
soft Left onto Hayes.
Take Hayes to Franklin, turn Right.
Follow directions above from Franklin.

Aug 5: Sarah Rosenthal and Sara Larsen at Overland Books

The Great Overland Book Company Presents

a poetry reading with

Sarah Rosenthal
Sara Larsen

Sunday, August 5, 7:30 pm

The Great Overland Book Company
345 Judah St.

Sarah Rosenthal's cross-genre book Manhatten (Spuyten Duyvil, forthcoming) was shortlisted for the Starcherone Fiction Prize. Her chapbooks include How I Wrote This Story (Margin to Margin, 2001), sitings (a+bend, 2000), and not-chicago (Melodeon, 1998). Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous journals such as Xcp (Cross-Cultural Poetics), 26, Bird Dog, Aufgabe, and Boston Review, and have been anthologized in Bay Poetics (Faux Press, 2005) and hinge: A BOAS Anthology (Crack Press, 2002). She has taught creative writing at San Francisco State University and Santa Clara University as well as privately. She is editing a collection of interviews with Bay Area avant-garde writers. She is a recipient of the Leo Litwak Award for Fiction.

Sara M. Larsen lives in San Francisco where she is the founder of Earthworm Press, Ampersand Press & Sound. She currently studies with Diane di Prima and writes for the American Book Review. Her work has been published in 3.:2, Bombay Gin, Can We Have Our Ball Back?, Combo, el pobre Mouse, One Less: Art on the Range, and Urvox.

Announcing the launch of Digital Artifact's online magazine

Hello All,

Digital Artifact is a new online magazine launched and sponsored by Artifact and edited and designed by a collective of writers and visual artists. Our first issue investigates the ways in which the internet transforms narrative and language.

Check it out at:
http://www.digitalartifactmagazine.com/issue1


Digital Artifact Online Magazine

Digital Artifact Magazine interrogates narrative in contemporary culture
through fiction, criticism, experimental prose, or web-based audio-visual
work. We're specifically interested in how the internet, digital culture,
global and non-Western literature, pop culture, eroticism, documentary,
philosophy, politics and war are creating hybrid texts and new forms of
narrative and literature.

For more info about Artifact and Digital Artifact please visit:

http://www.digitalartifactmagazine.com
http://www.artifactsf.org