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Calendar
KSW programs and events.
January 2006
January 10 - February 21, 2006
Creating & Performing Your Own Work: Writing for Performance
with Canyon Sam
January 10 - February 21, Tuesdays, 7 - 9.45PM
Public performance on March 14th
180 Capp Street (@17th street
),
San Francisco
Class size: minimum of 6, maximum of 9.
Cost: $195 non-members, $175 for KSW members.
Registration deadline: January 6th, 2006.
Register by check or credit card, contact program
director Samantha Chanse at 415.503.0520 or sam@kearnystreet.org for more information. Registration info below.
Class Description:
A class to generate and develop material for performance, primarily solo performance. Open to people who have taken at least one course in theater or performance and are comfortable with being on stage, improvising, movement, and working with a director. Requires an outside commitment of two to four hours every week outside class. Fun, but focused. Student work will be presented at a KSW-sponsored event open to the public.
 About
the Instructor:
Canyon Sam, M.F.A. has performed her original one woman shows all over the U.S. and Canada to critical and popular acclaim. The Village Voice called
her, "A master storyteller [whose work] is moving, evocative, and universally relevant." She began doing performance art in 1991 after many years as a poet and writer. She has directed for the S. F. Mime Troupe's CSU Summer Arts Program, taught in the Mime Troupe's Youth Program and at California College of the Arts and SFSU. She studied at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theater and at A.C.T., and collaborated with theater artists Brian Freeman and Nina Wise. www.canyonsam.com
Registration info below.
Registration information:
Register by paying full amount in advance (by check or credit card), or contact program
director Samantha Chanse at 415.503.0520 or email at sam@kearnystreet.org for more information about payment plans and partial scholarships (limited availability).
To register by credit card:
KSW members click below:
non-members click below:
To register by check:
Please send a check for the full amount to
Kearny Street Workshop
Attention: Performance workshop
180 capp street, 3rd floor
San Francisco, CA 94110
Thursday, January 19
 Atomik Aztex: Reading and Book Signing with Sesshu Foster
Join Kearny Street Workshop and City Lights for a reading and book signing with Sesshu Foster, author of Atomik Aztex, a fantastical gonzo Aztlán mythology, where modern Aztecs and immigrant ghosts uncover blood sacrifice in Los Angeles In the alternate universe of Atomik Aztex, the Aztecs rule, having conquered the European invaders long ago. Aztek warriors with totemic powers are busy colonizing Europe, and human sacrifice is basic to economic growth.
Reading will be followed two days later by a two-hour workshop with Sesshu Foster.
Full description and author bio below.
Date: Thursday, January 19th, 2006
Time: 7 -9PM
Location: 180 Capp Street, @17th Street (San Francisco)
Cost: donations welcome
Sesshu Foster has taught composition and literature in East L.A. for 20 years. He's also taught writing at the University of Iowa and the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work has been published in THE OXFORD ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN AMERICAN POETRY (seehttp://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/foster/foster.htm) and, recently, XCP: STREETNOTES (www.xcp.bfn.org/foster.html). One of his last readings at St. Mark's Poetry Project NYC is Mp3 archived at Salon.com (www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/foster/). He is currently collaborating with artist Arturo Romo and other writers on the website, www.ELAguide.org. His most recent books are the novel ATOMIK AZTEX (City Lights, 2005), and AMERICAN LONELINESS: SELECTED POEMS (Beyond Baroque, 2006).
About Atomik Aztex
A fantastical gonzo Aztlán mythology, where modern Aztecs and immigrant ghosts uncover blood sacrifice in Los Angeles
In the alternate universe of Atomik Aztex, the Aztecs rule, having conquered the European invaders long ago. Aztek warriors with totemic powers are busy colonizing Europe, and human sacrifice is basic to economic growth.
Zenzontli, Keeper of the House of Darkness, is plagued by nightmares of a parallel reality where American consumerism reigns supreme. Ghosts of banished Aztek warriors emerge to haunt contemporary Los Angeles, and Zenzontli’s visions of Hell become real as he’s trapped in a job in an East L.A. meatpacking plant.
“If the Aztecs had defeated the conquistadores and had eventually become the mainstream, what would our world be like? Where is Teknotitlán located? In Robo-Los Angeles, Mexico D.F., or in the imagination of Sesshu Foster? If Ancient America had triumphed over savage capitalism, chicanismo would be the (poetical, political, and spiritual) center of it all. Atomik Aztex is a graphic, hilarious and violent chronicle of multiple realities that could emerge out of this proposition. It's an amazing exercise of radical imagination.” — Guillermo Gómez-Peña
"Punk sci-fi and kitchen-sink realism create a startling, morally fraught vision in Foster's genre-straddling tour de force. . . . readers will be blown away by Foster's control over the material . . . brilliantly inventive . . . " –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"This is one mad neighborhood carnival roller coaster ride through Aztlán, the underground, the QT—a smoky universe hall of mirrors cosmik barrio existential comic strip. Oddball, hilarious—deep. Sesshu Foster delivers." –Marisela Norte, author of East L.A. Days/Fellini Nights
"Burroughs meets Gómez-Peña . . . nah, Roque Dalton meets Kurt Vonnegut . . . or how about Cesaire meets Nezahualcoyotl? Dare we say original? Yes! Hilarious, poignant, and at times devastating, Foster has crafted a fine post-global poetic, a cocktail of sublime anarchy to toss into the machine." –Rubén Martínez, author of The New Americans: Seven Families Journey to Another Country
"Anyone who reads Atomic Aztex is doomed. Those who don't have lost their opportunity to go out with a salubrious whimper, never to know why they were condemned. The prose is an electrifying, eclectic phantasmagoria of Groucho's marxism, dadada, surreal and natural (ism and ain'tm) combined with double-edged intellectual/historical hysteria." –Rick Harsh, author of the Driftless Trilogy
Saturday, January 21, 2006
I WRITE, THEREFORE I INTERVENE:
Writing Beyond Consumerist Publication
an in-depth workshop & discussion with Sesshu Foster
co-presented with Locus Arts and City Lights
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2006
Time: 2 - 4.30pm
Location: 180 Capp Street, @17th Street (San Francisco)
Cost: $20 - 45, sliding scale; limited number of scholarships available. Please contact KSW for application procedure.
Registration Deadline: January 11t h, 2006, with short fiction or poetry piece (see below). Register by check or credit card, contact program director Samantha Chanse at 415.503.0520 or sam@kearnystreet.org for more information. Registration info below.
Note to workshop participants: Workshop participants will be asked to submit a 1 - 2 page fiction or poetry piece (excerpts from longer manuscripts are welcome) by January 11th, 2006. Sesshu Foster will be responding to each piece during the workshop, and will also use the submissions to tailor the workshop more specifically to participants' interests and writing style & experience.
Workshop description
The purpose of this workshop is to develop your writing by exploring various forms and functions of publication.
Beyond publication as sale, self-publicity and self-objectification as an end, publication and performance can promote and develop shared community, documentation of a meaningful life, and improve your writing. Most workshops focus on writing as a product, polishing it, packaging it, and positioning it in the market for sale (that's 2 free copies for you poets). The consumerist model of writing reduces writing from subjective communication, evocation and Art to the merely useful Thing, a utilitarian service, a hobby-like craft. We'll explore a more dynamic concept integrating publication and intervention in public spaces as organic parts of the writing process, allowing for a meaningful conception of writing that considers local politics and social function.
Sesshu Foster has taught composition and literature in East L.A. for 20 years. He's also taught writing at the University of Iowa and the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work has been published in THE OXFORD ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN AMERICAN POETRY (see http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/foster/foster.htm) and, recently, XCP: STREETNOTES (www.xcp.bfn.org/foster.html). One of his last readings at St. Mark's Poetry Project NYC is Mp3 archived at Salon.com (www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/foster/). He is currently collaborating with artist Arturo Romo and other writers on the website, www.ELAguide.org. His most recent books are the novel ATOMIK AZTEX (City Lights, 2005), and AMERICAN LONELINESS: SELECTED POEMS (Beyond Baroque, 2006).
Registration information:
Register by paying full amount in advance (by check or credit card), or contact program
director Samantha Chanse at 415.503.0520 or email at sam@kearnystreet.org for more information about scholarships (limited availability).
To register by credit card, please click on the "donate" button below and enter the amount you would like to pay for your registration ($20 - 45). Please note that our sliding scale registration is based on the honor system, and we trust that those who are able to pay more will do so in order to keep registration fees accessible to all. Thank you for understanding!
Please write "Sesshu Foster's Workshop" in the "payment for" field.
To register by check:
Please send a check for the full amount to
Kearny Street Workshop
Attention: Sesshu Foster workshop
180 capp street, 3rd floor
San Francisco, CA 94110
Wednesday, January 25
road show : writers share stories about place
from linda watanabe mcferrin's writing workshop
featuring Han Pham, Jenny Eng, Mary Gow, Erin Reese, Sana Makhoul, Shannon Baker, & Susanna Kwan
with Linda Watanabe McFerrin
Join Kearny Street Workshop and be transported to new landscapes with Linda Watanabe McFerrin. Hear travel essays from McFerrin and other Bay Area voices and stick around for a reception with the writers.
Date: Wednesday, January 25th, 2006
Time: 7 -9PM
Location: 180 Capp Street, @17th Street (San Francisco)
Cost: $5 suggested donation
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
 Poet, travel writer, novelist and teacher Linda Watanabe McFerrin, M.A., has been traveling since she was two and writing about it since she was six. She is a contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online publications including “The New York Times,” the “Washington Post,” the “San Francisco Chronicle Magazine,” “Modern Bride,” Travelers' Tales anthologies and Salon.com. Linda is the author of two poetry collections and the editor of the 4th edition of “Best Places Northern California,” “Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel” and “Hot Flashes: Sexy Little Stories & Poems.” A winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, her work has also appeared in Wild Places and American Fiction. Her novel, “Namako: Sea Cucumber” was published by Coffee House Press and named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public Library. Her collection of award-winning short stories, “The Hand of Buddha,” was published in 2000. A popular teacher and lecturer, Linda has served as a judge for the San Francisco Literary Awards, the Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence and the Kiriyama Prize. For more information about Linda Watanabe McFerrin, please visit her website at www.lwmcferrin.com Above photo courtesy of the artist.
 Jenny Eng's many career incarnations found her in the fields of retail, education, and environmental design. Despite heavy partying in college, she snagged an architecture degree from Cal and worked briefly at an architecture firm. Then she discovered the magic of the Internet and Photoshop. The seven years since have seen her busily and happily designing both print and digital media. With each new experience she’s honed her design chops, and has slowly developed a preference for working with non-profits and clients who try to better the world. She’s worked with a range of clients from Schwab to UNICEF, and has left her mark on everything from infographics and game boards to websites. In addition to her design work, Jenny also occasionally teaches design for new media at CCSF. A fervent journalist since she first scrawled her name in crayon, she's passionate about recording her thoughts and observations. Someday she hopes to further pursue her love of writing in conjunction with her newfound wanderlust; but for now design, fashion, technology, local politics and human folly (especially her own) reign amongst her favorite topics on her blog at mosspink.com. image courtesy of the artist.
A native of Louisiana, Mary Gow currently writes and lives in Mountain View, California. She received her B.S. in communications/advertising from The University of Texas at Austin and her M.A. in Education/Instructional Technology at San Jose State University. Her articles have appeared in publications including the Austin American-Statesman, New Texas Magazine, and the International Examiner.
 Susanna Kwan would rather be wandering the planet and crossing borders, but for now, the San Francisco native spends her free hours drawing, writing, racking up overdue fines at the library, knitting, waiting for MUNI, sitting in coffeeshops, willing the sky to rain, exchanging stories, and travel-dreaming. So far, her favorite places include the Pacific Northwest, Suva, and Bolivia.
 Han Pham is an artist who enjoys obsessing over the little shit. Her work elevates the humor and beauty of the mundane moments normal people would rather forget – port-a-potty romance, bedroom snafus, and foul-mouthed mothers. She has written, choreographed, and performed in original productions with the Vietnamese theatre ensemble, Club O'Noodles, on stage and film. Her written stories have been featured on the radio, in the Vietnamese newspaper Nguoi Viet, the non-fiction webzine Ostrich Ink and in print for various publications. She was recently showcased in the 24Hour Show, a site-specific art installation featuring six Asian-American artists spanning dance, performance, spoken word, photography and visual art (http://24hourshow.com) and is currently co-curating Fling!, a multi-disciplinary art show uniting artists, writers and performers to explore the art of relationships in March 2006 (www.myartfling.com). Image courtesy of the artist.
 Erin Reese is the author of the short story, "Miracle on the Mangala Express," published in the anthology Angel Over My Shoulder, and the blog, "Travels With Bindi Girl." By day, Erin is a content manager and editor for a major astrology website. In her other life, she lives out her childhood fantasies by trying anything she may have remote talent at – or not – whether it be singing, acting, guitar strumming, or making people smile. Her first solo performance piece, “Over the Top,” debuted through the Kearny Street Workshop in April 2005, and again in Black Rock City, Nevada in August 2005. Erin is proud to be a Transpersonal Psychology grad school dropout as well as a Life Coach training dropout, both of which she found to be incredibly stifling to her creative expression. She wishes to thank the dear friends that support and encourage her various endeavors to bring a little more light to people’s lives.
Intergenerational Writers Lab (IWL) 2006
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
A program of Kearny Street Workshop & Intersection for the Arts
A unique 3-month program with two of SF’s oldest arts organizations to thoroughly explore and develop your writing. Accepted applicants will participate
in workshops led by accomplished writers, have the opportunity to perform work at public events, and be published in a new chapbook.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 25, 2006
Not a postmark deadline. Applications received after January 25, 2006, will not be considered.
SF-based arts nonprofits Kearny Street Workshop & Intersection for the Arts are seeking applications for a literary program for emerging writers, the Intergenerational Writers Lab (IWL) 2006, scheduled to take place March 1 - June 2006. Twelve participants will be selected to participate in the literary program, which will involve workshops, public readings, and a chapbook publication. IWL workshops will be led by 6 writers, including playwright & poet Philip Kan Gotanda, journalist & poet Nguyen Qui Duc, performer & poet Robert Karimi, poet Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, and fiction writer Mary Anne Mohanraj. The IWL will include public readings, featuring selected writers, scheduled for March 1, April 11, and one evening each in May and June, at Kearny Street Workshop & Intersection for the Arts.
The goals of the IWL program include the following:
1) to provide twelve local emerging writers with the opportunity to challenge, develop, and expand their writing by working with emerging and established writers in a variety of genres;
2) to contribute to the development of new literary forms and language that incorporate multiple forms of creative expression;
3) to provide emerging writers with the opportunity to connect and work with each other and with established writers in the literary world;
4) to provide the community with an opportunity to engage with new work and new explorations of form and language;
5) to contribute to the wealth of independent literary publications by publishing a new chapbook from KSW Press & Intersection for the Arts that highlights work by exciting new writers committed to exploring new forms and voices.
We are looking for local (SF Bay Area) emerging writers who wish to develop and expand their writing skills by experimenting with new forms and taking risks in creative expression. Selected participants will participate in nine workshop sessions of three hours duration each (all workshop sessions will take place on weekend afternoons and one Friday night March through June) and will have the opportunity to attend the four public events at KSW & Intersection for the Arts. Writers need not be published, but must demonstrate a consistent pursuit of literary arts and a deep interest in participating in an experimental writing program.
TO APPLY:
Please submit the following:
1. An IWL 2006 application form: Click here to download the application form, or contact KSW or Intersection to have one mailed, faxed, or emailed to you);
2. Writing sample, 12 point & double-spaced, not to exceed 7 pages;
3. A description of why you want to enroll in the IWL program, not to exceed 500 words.
TUITION & SCHOLARSHIPS:
The tuition for accepted IWL participants is $150 – 300 sliding scale, with two full scholarships available. Tuition levels will be determined on a case-by-case basis, based on individual participant needs. If you wish to be considered for a partial or full scholarship, please submit an additional description of your
circumstances and why you believe you deserve a scholarship.
Please submit all materials to:
Kearny Street Workshop
Attention: IWL 2006
180 Capp Street, Box #5
San Francisco, CA 94110
For more information, please contact either:
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Theatricality of Poetry, Story & Memory:
A Well of Voices and Experiences
a workshop with ed bok lee and robert karimi
co-presented with Locus Arts
Date: Sunday, January 29, 2006
Time: 12.30 - 2.30pm
Location: 180 Capp Street, @17th Street (San Francisco)
How to register: To register, please sign up in person at Ed Bok Lee and robert karimi's reading to celebrate the release of Ed Bok Lee's neww book of potery. The reading takes place on Friday, January 27, 8pm, at space180 (address above). The event is $5; there is no additional charge to register for Sunday's workshop.
Workshop description
his class begins with the premise that every writer has access to a well of potential voices. The root of this comes through the writers' ability to access memories, both experiential and sensory. Through writing and performative exercises, we will focus attention on developing these voices and identities. In addition to creating and embodying these ideas from the substance of your life and being, we'll address issues relating to the creative process, audience, social and
cultural relevance, point of view, and using sense-memory in the oral interpretation of your work, depending on the interests of the participants. Open to all levels.
About the artists
Ed Bok Lee has received awards for his poetry, fiction, and plays from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Loft Literary Center, the Minnesota State Arts Board, SASE and the Jerome Foundation. He attended kindergarten in South Korea, grew up in North Dakota and Minnesota, and holds a BA from the University of Minnesota, an MFA from Brown University, and is a former North Dakota Grand Slam Poetry champion. Real Karaoke People: Poems and Prose is his first book. More information at edboklee.com.
robert karimi is an interdisciplinary artist/activist whose Iranian/Guatemalan hybrid heritage serves as a point of departure for his work. Just recently featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, karimi's site specific performance work has been featured at the Artspace, Galeria de la Raza, Yerba Buena Arts Center, La Peņa Cultural Center, and as part of a lecture series at the Smithsonian Institute. karimi was a memberof the 1999 National Poetry Slam Championship Team, and his poetry has been published in Callaloo, Asian American Collective- Chicago's kitchen poems, and the upcoming Longman Press- Latino Literature Today anthology. He now performs throughout the world, directs short films,
lectures about issues of mixed culture and teaches poetry andperformance workshops. He currently is a drama teacher at Perspectives Charter School. More information at kaoticgood.com. 
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