Avotcja, poet and prose writer, musician, musicologist, dj and cultural warrior,
has just brought out With Every Step I Take 2 (Taurean Horn Press, 2022).

Join us at Bird & Beckett for a publication party and help us celebrate with Avotcja and master percussionist & steel pan wizard Val Serrant.

No charge! Donations appreciated.
Call for a reservation: 415-586-3733

The event can also be found in a live stream,
and can also be viewed later in the archive,
on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Your donations help us to pay the artists and to meet the expenses of streaming.

“Introducing herself as storyteller, ‘wild woman,’ a ‘bonafide sound junkie,’ nothing slows or dampens Avotcja’s passion for the power and wonder of music. Guided by ancient, ancestral wisdom, she refuses to separate poetry and storytelling from song or dance. In ‘Blue To the Bone,’ her rhapsodic tribute to Oakland’s uncrowned poet laureate, Reginald Lockett (1947-2008), musician-poet-broadcaster Avotcja could just as well be describing her own esthetic. ‘Reggie was the real deal,’ she croons. Melodically keyed to what she calls ‘la palabra musical,’ Avotcja’s rhythmic testament — decades in the making — celebrates the world-changing spirit of human creativity while condemning its cold-blooded, tone-deaf assassins.” —Al Young, California’s poet laureate emeritus

“Watch out! Whether Avotcja’s fronting her take no prisoners band, Modúpue, or standing, sitting or reading alone, her words roll out like thunder, raw, fast and furious in staccato, machine gun ricocheting fashion that will leave you breathless and delirious. This sister is a word demon from the word go. She will intoxicate you with her rhythms and seize you with her passion and zest for life, people and music. You won’t know what hit you but you’ll know you were there.” —Ginny Lim, award-winning San Francisco jazz poet & educator

Avotcja’s awesome. If you don’t know that already, you should investigate why we say that! Here’s a good place to start. Another is her radio show on KPFA. Another is her radio show on KPOO. It’s all true! Come to Bird & Beckett October 5th, and tell everybody to tell everybody!