Events · Feature Readings

Poetry Bleeding 2019, #3

I’m excited to have my first feature in almost 6 months. Friday, April 19th at 7 pm.

This is the 3rd night of the 2019 edition of this reading series, which happens (usually) every first Friday of the month at Viento y Agua Coffee House,4007 E. 4th St. in Long Beach. I’ll be joined by Alexandria Espinoza and more TBA. As always, the first 10 minutes will be an Open Mic, and then there will be our featured readers as well as with your host, Alan Passman for a little Q&A.

Events · Feature Readings

Seventeen Poems Not About a Lover Chapbook Release

Arroyo Seco Press presents Seventeen Poems Not About a Lover Chapbook Release party! 17 poems written by Sarah Thursday with lovingly crafted, paper-cut art for each poem by Alyssandra Nighswonger.
Sunday, April 29th from 4 to 6 pm at Viento Y Agua Coffeehouse, 4007 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA. There will be guest poets, art, and books! Details TBA.
More about the collaborators:
Sarah Thursday was born, in part, from inspiration found in her collaborator, Alyssandra Nighswonger. After six years of friendship and artistic crushing, this dream project has come to life. In addition to writing poetry, Sarah founded Sadie Girl Press to help publish local and emerging poets and artists. She ran a poetry website called CadenceCollective.net, co-hosted a monthly reading with G. Murray Thomas, but still wants to find new ways to bring poetry and art into her community. She has been published in many fine journals and anthologies and received a 2017 Best of the Net nomination. Her first full-length poetry collection, All the Tiny Anchors, and her other chapbooks and CDs are available at SadieGirlPress.com. Find and follow her to learn more on SarahThursday.com, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Alyssandra Nighswonger is a multi-media artist and adventure-lover from Long Beach, CA. This project was a swan dive into the heart and a journey in itself. The thing that Alyssandra admires the most about her friend Sarah is the way she takes her own personal challenges and creates an alchemy of the heart with her raw and fearlessly beautiful poetry. For Alyssandra, who can be a lot more timid with exposing the darker side of her emotions in her music and art and tends to hide meaning behind whimsy on the regular, this collaboration was a thematic challenge. It led to creating deeper layers in the illustrations, opening them up to being cut apart, and exposing that even the cutest wolf has a shadow, which developed this work into a papercut escapade. You can explore several of her musical projects and adventures at talesofalyssandra.com or follow her instagram @alyssssandra.
Events · Feature Readings

Poetry Bleeding #3, 2018

I really exicted to be doing ONE MORE last co-feature with my dearest poetry dad, G. Murray Thomas at Poetry Bleeding on Friday, April 6, at 7 pm. This one will have special guest host, Dave Russo, while Alan Passman recovers from a kidney transplant (GO ALAN!!). The divine, Robin Axworthy will also be joining us. The event will be at Viento Y Agua Coffeehouse, 4007 E. 4th St. in Long Beach. Check out the FB page for more details.

Events · Special Projects

THE TABLE presents Creating, Nurturing, Sustaining :: a reading and conversation

On Sunday, January 21st, from 3-5 pm, I will be participating in an event hosted by Karineh Mahdessian & Jessica Ceballos y Campbell & co-hosted by Angelina Sáenz.

“Creating, Nurturing, Sustaining:: a reading and conversation” invites creators, producers, curators, hosts, and supporters of readings across the Los Ángeles literaryscape to read their work, as not only hosts/creators/supporters, but as artists who contribute to the landscape in more ways than one. The reading will be followed by a panel discussion on what it means to create (readings, lit events), and how we grow community around these events (equity in promotion, investing in community capital), and how we sustain that community (publishing, relationships, self-care).

Angelina Sáenz
Art Currim
Audrey Kuo
Brian Dunlap
Cynthia Alessandra Briano
Elmast Kozloyan
Eric Contreras
Jess Castillo
Jessica Wilson Cardenas
Kelly Grace Thomas
liz gonzález
Luis Antonio Pichardo
Mike Sonksen
Natalie Patterson
Sarah Thursday
Wyatt Underwood
•••
THE TABLE Reading Series is a collection of twelve reading events executive produced by Natashia Deón, and in partnership with The Hollywood Hotel, with a mission to engage the next generation of writers and readers and fans of the arts by giving them a seat at the table; to help them to be actively engaged in the writing community by training them, giving them a space to begin, help them to reach new or estranged writers in Los Angeles, and to provide fresh outlets for writers and fans to engage and contribute to the vibrancy of the Los Angeles literary community. More info can be found at www.tablelit.com

Hollywood Hotel

1160 North Vermont Avenue in the big ballroom located on the ground floor. 

Los Angeles, CA 90029

Events · Feature Readings

Recording from “Women in Poetry Night” at Hellada Gallery on March 2017

Back in March 2017, I was privileged to feature at an event at Hellada Gallery with other phenomenal women in my community to celebrate National Women’s History Month. It was hosted by Tiffany Dawn Hasse and included some of my favorite poets in the Long Beach community: Shy But Flyy,Elmast Kozloyan, Erin Foley, and Tina Lim. What’s even more incredible is that the owner of the gallery, Marek Dzida, recorded the entire event live on this really neat online TV platform called Periscope. If you have time, you can watch the entire event. If you only have a little time, my set begins at 2:01:00.

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1RDGlRvpYvqxL

Events · Special Projects

Nomination for Best of the Net

I am deeply honored to be nominated by work to a calm for a Best of the Net award. They have chosen my poem “To the Men who told me my Love was not enough” along with four other poets from their web journal. The site specializes in confessional poetry. I’ve slowed my poetry activity quite a bit this year, so this news feels especially timely.

Events · Feature Readings

Women of Wonder at the Wine Bar

Very excited to join all these Women of Wonder on Wednesday, August 23rd, for a night of poetry, music, and art. Each of these women, Rachel Galindo, Tiffany Dawn Hasse, Shy But Flyy, Melissa Lussier, and Yeggi Kaela Watts, is a force in our Long Beach community! The wonder begins at 7 pm at 250 W. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach. Check out the Facebook event page for more details!