September 27 to October 1 – David Kubrin to Gary Gach, Marx to Hafiz, with more jazz between

9/27, 7:30 - David Kubrin book event - Marxism & Witchcraft. With Francisco Herrera.David Kubrin, genial and brilliant philosopher of art, science, community and social evolution, comes over -- with his friend Francisco Herrera providing guitar and song -- to present his book Marxism & Witchcraft.

Starhawk notes that, "Marxism and Witchcraft is a vitally important book, a tremendous resource for anyone interested in the question 'How did we get into this mess?'
"At this time of environmental meltdown, Kubrin's careful analysis of how and why the mechanistic model was imposed on science, philosophy and Western culture is vital to our understanding what we must do to transform it. To see the world as alive again, infused with vitality and spirit, we must also confront the violence with which that worldview was stamped out -- the Witch persecutions that assaulted women's power and traditional modes of healing, the genocide against indigenous people in the Americas and the dehumanizing African slave trade all worked together to break peoples' ties to land, culture and a relational world view.
"Such understanding is vital for those striving to develop an intersectional critique of racism, sexism and structural oppression. Kubrin's extensive knowledge of the history of science and the underlying politics behind the adoption of the mechanistic paradigm is a unique and valuable contribution.
"Kubrin has had a huge influence on my own writing and thinking ever since I heard him lecture on this topic more than forty years ago. Now, with this new book, he has deepened and expanded his thesis to made an enormous contribution to all who seek to change the world... It is truly a massive piece of work, fascinating and vitally important for this political moment."

9/28, 7:30 - Martin Nakell/Rebecca Goodman/Evan Burkin. Poetry and fiction.
Martin Nakell, author of The Way of Chaos: Literary, Art, and Music Composition, has published 18 books of fiction and poetry. His most recent, Consciousness, was published in 2021 by Spuyten Duyvil Press. His forthcoming book, The Martin Nakell Reader, will come out from Spuyten Duyvil in 2024.  Reviewing his 2008 fiction, Settlement (Spuyten Duyvil), Angela Genusa, writes in Mad Hatter’s Review: “Nakell has achieved something in Settlement that is nearly impossible and would likely be disastrous if undertaken by a less skilled writer….to create a unique and ground-breaking work of literature celebrating….[E]very human’s….primal urge to create something from nothing.” Of his fiction, Monk (Spuyten Duyvil 2015), Stuart Matranga writes in The Believer, “Like Calvino’s Marco Polo wonderingwandering through the invisible cities of the imaginary Mongol empire, our Monk discovers that every amazing place he goes is only and always a gateway to the next amazing place.” Mr Nakell also teaches in the Creative Writing program at Chapman University in Orange, California.
Rebecca Goodman has published three books of fiction. Forgotten Night, her latest, was published earlier this year by Spuyten Duyvil Press. Her previous works include The Surface of Motion (Green Integer 2008) and Aftersight (Spuyten Duyvil 2015). Reviewing Forgotten Night in Dactyl Review (dactylreview.com), Eugene Garber writes: “The recovery of self, call it soul if you prefer, is the nature of [Forgotten Night’s] quest at its deepest level. Many, I believe, would say that it is the agenda of our postmodern world.” In World Literature Today, the reviewer Mark Axelrod-Sokolov writes: “Forgotten Night is the natural evolution from Goodman’s earlier novel, Aftersight, and continues to expand her natural talents as a poetic novelist.” She teaches in the Creative Writing program at Chapman University in Orange, California.
Evan Burkin (he/him) is currently working toward an MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. His words have found homes or are forthcoming in THRUSH, Birdcoat Quarterly, A-Minor, Rain Taxi, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Analogies & Allegories Literary Magazine, The Madrigal, Inklette, and elsewhere. His favorite authors tend to delight in breaking language open, such as Mikhail Shiskin, Diane di Prima, and Edmond Jabès. He can be reached at evanburkin.com.