April 4 - May 23, 2005
Fiction Writing
An 8-week writing workshop with
Claire Light
Mondays, 7 - 9PM
SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street (between 8th and 9th
streets), San Francisco
Class size: minimum of 8, maximum of 12.
Cost: $195 non-members, $175 for KSW members.
Note: This workshop is made possible in part by
Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from The
James Irvine Foundation.
To register, please send a check for the full amount to: Kearny
Street Workshop, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Please
include your name, contact information (phone number and email address
if possible), and which class you are registering for. For questions,
please contact program manager Samantha Chanse at 415.503.0520 or
info@kearnystreet.org.
Class Description:
What is "risky" writing in a country where a writer is in more danger
of being ignored than being imprisoned? What risks does a fiction
writer take in writing plausible lies, rather than making factual
truth vivid and accessible, like journalists or memoirists? How
can we measure the cultural importance of fiction without hyperbole
or overstatement?
Fiction's very value is in its ability to protect us while we examine
ugly truths. By not constraining ourselves with facts, we have more
freedom to face obliquely that which we cannot face head on. Thus,
shying away from difficult subject matter and sticking to the safe
and familiar in fiction writing is a double betrayal: avoiding the
fact and avoiding the truth. In this class we will take risks with
fiction writing, leave our comfort zones and experiment with new
ideas and techniques -- even if it means we write poorly.
We will study the basic craft elements of short prose fiction through
readings and analyses of diverse writers. Then we will practice
the craft through in-class and take-home exercises. Both craft and
content will be discussed and manipulated, and we will investigate
a variety of possible -- and risky -- subjects. By the end of the
class, each student will have completed a rough draft of a short
story, and we will read each other's stories and discuss them, workshop
style. Note: this class is intended for writers of all levels.
About the Instructor:
Claire
Light stepped down as Kearny Street Workshop's program
manager to pursue her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing
(fiction) at San Francisco State University. She received her Bachelor's
degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona in 1992
and subsequently studied contemporary history and cultural studies
at Humboldt University of Berlin. She is also a graduate of the
Clarion West Writer's Workshop, an intensive workshop/retreat for
writers of speculative fiction. She is a co-founder and the literary
editor of HYPHEN Magazine and has had her stories and articles published
in McSweeney's, Hyphen Magazine, Other Magazine, Sensor, and a variety
of other online and print zines and chapbooks.
April 5 - 21
Intergenerational Writers Lab
Presented by Kearny Street Workshop and Bindlestiff Studio
Kearny Street Workshop and Bindlestiff Studio are proud to present
the second annual Intergenerational Writers Lab (IWL), a literary
festival of readings, artist discussions, and writing workshops
with professional literary talents of the Bay Area. For three weeks,
a multigenerational and multicultural South of Market community
will engage in a literary journey led by two Asian American artists:
critically-acclaimed poet Catalina Cariaga and emerging playwright
Andrés Saito. The program culminates with an evening of readings
featuring and celebrating the voices and vision of IWL participants.
All readings, discussions, and workshops are free and open to the
public (writing workshops require RSVP).
IWL Schedule:
2-Day
Poetry Workshop with Catalina Cariaga
Date: Tues - Wed, April 5 - 6th
Time: 6 - 9PM
Location: TBA; RSVP for workshop location.
Cost: Free; Space is limited. RSVP required. Please
RSVP to sam@kearnystreet.org or 415.503.0520
Poetry Reading & Artist Talk with Catalina Cariaga
Date: Thurs, April 7th
Time: 7 - 9PM
Location: Bindlestiff Studio, 505 Natoma (between
Mission and Howard), @ 6th Street, SF
Cost: Free; donations appreciated.
2-Day
Playwriting Workshop with Andrés Saito
Date: Tues - Wed, April 12 - 13th
Time: 6.30 - 9.30PM
Location: TBA; RSVP for workshop location.
Cost: Free; Space is limited. RSVP required. Please
RSVP to sam@kearnystreet.org or 415.503.0520
Staged
Reading & Artist Talk with Andrés Saito
Date: Thurs, April 14th
Time: 7 - 9PM
Location: Bindlestiff Studio, 505 Natoma (between
Mission and Howard), @ 6th Street, SF
Cost: Free; donations appreciated.
Workshop
Readings and Closing Reception
Date: Thurs, April 21st
Time: 7 - 9PM
Location: Bindlestiff Studio, 505 Natoma (between
Mission and Howard), @ 6th Street, SF
Cost: Free; donations appreciated.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
CATALINA CARIAGA is the author of Cultural Evidence
by Subpress Collective / ‘A’A Arts. She is contributing
editor of Poetry Flash and received her M.F.A. from San Francisco
State University. She has taught on the adjunct faculty of New College
of California. She works in Berkeley, and lives with her husband
and young son in Oakland, California. In her spare time, she plays
and collects vintage ukuleles and Bolivian charangos.
Photo credit: Grant Nakamura, 1999.
ANDRES
PABLO SAITO escaped Los Angeles to Berkeley. He then fled
Berkeley to Oaxaca, Mexico and Ixcan, Guatemala. He currently teaches
poetry and playwriting with the San Francisco WritersCorps, and
is a member playwright of the Asian American Theater Company's New
Works Incubator. He has studied writing with June Jordan, Cherrie
Moraga, Alfred Arteaga, Jeannie Barroga, Joan Holden, and Octavio
Solis, as well as theatre with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, El
Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani from Peru, and Dijana Milosevic of DAH
Theater in Serbia.
Photo courtesy of Andrés Saito.
ABOUT
BINDLESTIFF STUDIO
BINDLESTIFF STUDIO, located in the South of Market area of San Francisco,
is the epicenter of Filipino American arts, producing theatrical,
music, and literary events for the San Francisco community. Its
mission is to provide an affordable, professional, intimate performing
arts venue where new and veteran artists can take creative risks.
A Filipino American artistic hub, Bindlestiff Studio also provides
artists a space that nurtures artistic development and collaboration
with others. Visit Bindlestiff at bindlestiffstudio.org
Thanks to our supporters.
This project is supported in part by The
San Francisco Foundation and Poets
& Writers, Inc.., through a grant it has received from the James Irvine
Foundation.
April 10
Warning: graphic contents 2005
Comic book readings at the Alternative Press Expo
Join Kearny Street Workshop at Comic-Con's 2005 Alternative
Press Expo for a live comic book reading by Bay Area
cartoonists Hellen Jo, Gene Yang,
Garret Izumi, and others. Enjoy your favorite panels
in all their read-out-loud, projected-on-screen glory. Spend your
Sunday afternoon browsing the tables at San Francisco's annual
comics convention, and then stop by for the reading.
Pictured at left: Hellen Jo's website welcome.
Date: Sunday, April 10th, 2005
Time: 3.45 - 5pm
Location: The Concourse at Exhibition Square,
620 7th Street (@ Brannan Street), SF
Cost: APE admission fee; no additional charge
for presentation.
Admission to APE is $7.00/one day, $10.00/both days
FREE Admission for 1) qualified store owners who sell comics,
with store business card, and 2) 2004 Comic-Con Members attend
free with Comic-Con 2004 badge.
More information: Contact sam@kearnystreet.org or visit comic-con's 2005 Alternative Press Expo website.
About the artists:
Garret Izumi has been self-publishing since the early 90s.
His work includes photography books, comics and hand letterpress
books. Each book has focused on varying themes from memories and
vision to suburban and urban landscapes to life in the nuclear
age. In 1994, Garret received the Xeric Grant to publish Strip
Down. Garret's latest book, Three Grey Women, is a hand letterpress
accordion-style book. Three Grey Women is the retelling of the
ancient Greek myth of Perseus and Medusa. The story explores sight
and vision and how our world is defined by what we see. Art and
text and printing by Garret Izumi and the linoleum block carvings
are by Patricia Wakida.
Hellen
Jo makes komisches buch. komisches buch is the dumbest comic
you've ever seen. It has schlepped through two retarded issues
so far, both of which are currently out of print. A third is miserably
manifesting itself right now. Untitled versions appear here and
there, most regularly in hardboiled. Visit http://hellen.gq.nu.
Left: Panel from Hellen Jo's "I Just Want to Rock."
Cartoonist
Gene Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade.
In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant, a prestigious comics industry
grant, for 'Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks', his first
comics work as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number
of comic books, including 'Duncan's Kingdom' (illustrated by Derek
Kirk Kim) for Image Comics and 'The Rosary Comic Book' for Pauline
Books and Media. 'American Born Chinese', his most recent work,
is serialized weekly at the Modern Tales site. Gene currently
teaches high school computer science in Oakland. He lives in Fremont,
California with his lovely wife Theresa and newborn son Kolbe.
His site: humble
comics
Above: From Gene Yang's strip, "American Born Chinese."
About Comic-Con:
Comic-Con International, which produces the Alternative Press Expo, is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. For more information, please visit comic-con.org.
April 11
Crash Into Me:
Solo Performances with Canyon Sam's Workshop
Join KSW and Canyon Sam's Writing for Performance workshop participants
for an evening of solo theater performances. Featuring Jinky
de Rivera, Colleen "Coke" Nakamoto,
Erin Reese, Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik,
han ngoc pham, and Mabel Lung.
Date: Monday, April 11, 2005
Time: 7-9pm
Location: New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom, between
8th and 9th sts, SF
Cost: $5
More information: Contact sam@kearnystreet.org
April 26
Grassroots Fundraising Training with Ernest Mark
Calling all community arts activists!
Come learn how to support the work you love with Grassroots Fundraising!
Kearny Street Workshop is offering a Grassroots Fundraising Training
to grow the base of our community fundraisers, to highlight the
importance of building community and to grow donor support for
our community arts programs. It is more important than ever to
build a funding base that is created by, for and from ourselves
and our community. Government and foundation funding will come
and go, but community support will always be the most consistent
and sustainable source of funding.
Come to the workshop and:
· Learn about where non-profit money really comes from
· Discover your natural fundraising skills
· Get some practical tools for developing grassroots fundraising
strategies - direct mail, special events.
· Have fun!
Workshop is led by Ernest Mark, KSW Board Vice President
and non-profit consultant. Ernest has been providing non-profit consulting
services in facilitation, strategic planning, organizational development,
and grassroots fundraising training for the past four years. He has
worked with small grassroots groups to million-dollar organizations
with programs in community arts, social justice, environmental justice,
community development and education.
Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Time: 6.30 - 9.30pm
Location: SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street
(between 8th and 9th streets), SF
Cost: $5 - 25 sliding scale; Space is limited!
please RSVP by April 19 to sam@kearnystreet.org
More information: Contact sam@kearnystreet.org
This workshop is offered as part of a training series designed for
emerging arts and community organizers, curators, and ambassadors. For
more information on the series, please contact KSW.
The workshop will begin promptly at 6.30PM. Workshop participants
are expected to be on time and stay for the duration of the event.
While the training is offered at no cost, participants are asked
to bring their checkbooks for donations. We do ask for support
to make these trainings possible.
