Copper Canyon Press

Literary Speakeasy: A Toast to Foglifter
2025-05-29 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Martuni’s, 4 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
From the organizer:
This month Literary Speakeasy is celebrating Foglifter Journal with six fantastic Foglifter authors and writers! This month’s featured readers are:
* Cianga
* Syr Becker
* Lily Kaylor Honoré
* Randall Mann
* Eden Nobile
* D’mani Thomas
Your host and curator every month is James J. Siegel
Literary Speakeasy happens on the last Thursday of every month at Martuni’s piano bar. Show is FREE with no drink minimum. Arrive early and get a FREE raffle ticket for your chance to win some awesome Speakeasy prizes. We can’t wait to see you and raise a glass to Foglifter.
Foglifter—created by and for LGBTQ+ writers and readers—continues the San Francisco Bay Area’s tradition of groundbreaking queer and trans writing, often publishing those who are multi-marginalized (BIPOC, youth, elders, and people with disabilities). Foglifter’s biannual journal features the widest range of forms, with an emphasis on transgressive, risky, challenging subject matter, innovative formal choices, and work that pushes the boundaries of what writing can do.

Bennington Writers Reading Series: Summer 2025
2025-06-05 08:00 - 2025-06-13 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
From the organizers: Critically acclaimed, award-winning authors and faculty of the Bennington Writing Seminars will offer an evening reading series during the MFA program’s summer residency.
This series is open to the public and will be available to stream virtually. The complete schedule of readings can be found at the link below, along with streaming links.
https://www.bennington.edu/events/event-series/writers-reading-series-summer-2025

Jennifer Chang, Rachel Cohen, and Rebecca Makkai
Thursday, Jun 5
Tishman Lecture Hall

Peter Cameron, Bianca Stone, and De’Shawn Charles Winslow
Friday, Jun 6
Tishman Lecture Hall

Monica Ferrell, Dawn Lundy Martin, and Moriel Rothman-Zecher MFA ’23
Saturday, Jun 7
Tishman Lecture Hall

Jai Chakrabarti, Stacey D’Erasmo, and Craig Morgan Teicher
Sunday, Jun 8
Tishman Lecture Hall

Alumni Fellows Reading: Davin Malasarn MFA ’20 and Nina Peláez MFA ’24
Monday, Jun 9
Tishman Lecture Hall

‘Pemi Aguda and Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Monday, Jun 9
Tishman Lecture Hall

Brian Dillon, Hugh Ryan MFA ’09, and Taymour Soomro
Wednesday, Jun 11
Tishman Lecture Hall

Garrard Conley, Thomas Grattan, and Lance Richardson
Thursday, Jun 12
Tishman Lecture Hall

Randall Mann and Dinaw Mengestu
Friday, Jun 13
Tishman Lecture Hall

Poetry & Sex in Public Places: A Celebration of Mutsuo Takahashi’s “Ode”
2025-08-10 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Kerouac Alley, Kerouac Alley, San Francisco, CA, United States
From the organizer:
This event will be held in Kerouac Alley, between City Lights and Vesuvio Cafe. Admision is Free. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis.

A tribute to Mutsuo Takahashi, one of Japan’s most prominent living poets. With Randall Mann and D. A. Powell – This event will be held in Kerouac Alley, between City Lights and Vesuvio Cafe. Admision is Free. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis.

San Francisco poets Randall Mann and D. A. Powell will be reading selections from contemporary Japanese poet Mutsuo Takahashi, whose one-thousand line “Ode” is an erotic and devotional masterpiece of queer literature that has been furtively shared among gay poets for decades. The poem takes as its central occasion felatio in liminal spaces where the possibility of discovery quickens the heart. Powell and Mann will read selections from the long poem in Jack Kerouac Alley (and invite guest readers to participate in the divine verses.)
D.A. Powell’s books include Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys and Repast, both from Graywolf Press. He teaches at University of San Francisco.
Randall Mann is the author of six collections of poetry, most recently Deal: New and Selected Poems (Copper Canyon, 2023). He lives in San Francisco.
Mutsuo Takahashi is one of Japan’s most prominent living poets, having won almost every major poetry prize in the nation. Takahashi has published forty-eight books of poetry and countless volumes of poetry, essays, and literary criticism. Five collections of his poetry are available in English translation: Poem of a Penisist (Chicago Review Press, 1975, reprinted University of Minnesota Press, 2012), A Bunch of Keys (The Crossing Press, 1984), Sleeping, Sinning, Falling (City Lights, 1992), Two Shores (Dedalus, 2006), and We of Zipangu (Arc Publication, 2007). His memoir Twelve Views from the Distance (University of Minnesota Press, 2012), translated by Jeffrey Angles, was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. Takahashi presently lives in the seaside city of Zushi, ten kilometers to the south of Yokohama.
Made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation

A Poetry Reading with Gabrielle Calvocoressi at Smith College
2025-09-30 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall (Smith College)
In honor of her new book, The New Economy, Gabrielle Calvocoressi will be reading poetry on the Smith College campus Tuesday, September 30th from 7pm-8:30pm in Weinstein Auditorium. This event us free and open to the public. A livestream also available on the BDPC YouTube page.

The 2025 Pegasus Awards Reading
2025-10-24 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Poetry Foundation, 61 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60654, United States
The Poetry Foundation hosts this special reading as an opportunity to hear from the recipients of the 2025 Pegasus Awards, a set of prizes established by the Poetry Foundation. The reading, and winners of this years prizes, feature Rigoberto González (Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize), Amy Stolls (Pegasus Award for Service in Poetry), and Kazim Ali (Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism for the book Black Buffalo Woman: An Introduction to the Poetry & Poetics of Lucille Clifton).

The event will be held in person, October 24, 2025 from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Poetry Foundation, 61 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60654.
The venue is ADA accessible with ASL interpreters.

The Unifying Power of Translation: A Virtual Reading and Conversation with U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, Patty Crane, Shangyang Fang, and Robin Myers
2025-11-11 17:15 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Copper Canyon Press and host Michael Wiegers for a free, livestreamed event to celebrate the unifying power of translation. Michael will be joined by honored guests Arthur Sze, 25th Poet Laureate of the United States, Patty Crane, Shangyang Fang, and Robin Myers for an evening of poetry and conversation where you will be given the opportunity to make your gift in support of Copper Canyon Press.
Reserve your spot here.

Kwame Dawes and the African Poetry Book Distribution Project: Poetry Reading and Research
2025-11-15 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Poetry Foundation, 61 West Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60654, United States
Kwame Dawes and the African Poetry Book Fund (APBF) team will present research findings from the African Poetry Book Distribution Project. Funded by a Poetry Foundation grant, the Project studied poetry book distribution in African countries to improve accessibility and foster sustainable partnerships with publishing and literary stakeholders throughout Africa. The event also features readings from Midwest poets connected to the project, including Chris Abani, Rabha Ashry, and Cheswayo Mphanza.
The event will take place virtually, November 15, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. This event is free and open to the public, but you have to register in advance.

Words Like Blades: A Virtual Reading with SHANGYANG FANG, JANE MILLER, and LISA OLSTEIN
2025-11-23 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Join Shangyang Fang, Jane Miller, and Lisa Olstein for the “Words Like Blades” reading series hosted by Jennifer Franklin, Jane Huffman, Nathan McClain, and Ren Wilding. This event will be held on Sunday, November 23, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. eastern time (ET). The poets will read on Zoom, followed by a virtual Q&A.
Admission is free, but registration is required. Registered guests will receive a Zoom link and password prior to the start of the event. Registered guests will have the opportunity to send donations directly to the readers (to be split three ways) before, during, and after the event via Venmo or PayPal.

U.S. Poet Laureate ARTHUR SZE'S Inaugural Reading at the Library of Congress
2025-12-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, 10 First Street, SE Washington, DC, 20540, United States
RESCHEDULED: U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze will open his tenure on December 11, 2025 at 7:00 pm ET with an inaugural reading at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
To register for your FREE tickets, click here.

Words Bridging Worlds: Community Workshop on Translating Poetry with U.S. Poet Laureate ARTHUR SZE and Collected Works Bookstore
2026-01-07 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Phoenix) | Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Galisteo St, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, United Kingdom
Join us for a workshop on translation hosted by U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze and Collected Works Bookstore!
This event will take place at Collected Works Bookstore in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Event capacity is 15 registrants, so please reserve your FREE spot today! Click here to register.

Words Bridging Worlds: On Poetry and Translation – A Public Reading with U.S. Poet Laureate ARTHUR SZE
2026-01-07 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Phoenix) | Queen’s College, 5-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, United States
Join U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze for “Words Bridging Worlds: On Poetry and Translation,” a public reading at Queen’s College in the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library with Kimiko Hahn, the New York State Poet Laureate on January 7 at 5:00 pm MT. Register for tickets here.

The event will be livestreamed at this link.

Michael Bazzett in Conversation With Maggie Smith
2026-03-24 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Queermunity, 3036 Hennepin Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN, 55408, United States
Join Stern Prize winner Michael Bazzett and Maggie Smith for an evening conversation and celebration of Smith’s brand new poetry collection, A Suit or a Suitcase!
Tickets are selling quickly! To reserve your spot, click here.

A Celebration of Transient Worlds by U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze
2026-04-20 17:15 - 18:15 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze and host Michael Wiegers as we celebrate the publication of Transient Worlds, Arthur Sze’s official Laureate project! This virtual reading and conversation will take you inside the pages and purpose of this landmark collection. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Transient Worlds; travel the inspirational pathways of meaning between a source poem and its translations; and discover how reading and writing translation can be a new entrance into your own creative writing practice.

Click here to register.
