Double header Sunday / Poets Monday

Novelist at 2:30 Sun.
Middle-Eastern Ensemble at 4:30 Sun.
Poets at 7:00 Mon.

Sunday, June 19th – 2:30 pm

Frank Bergon reads from his novel, Jesse’s Ghost

A novelist, critic, and essayist, Frank Bergon’s focus has been on the history and environment of  the American West.  His Nevada trilogy consists of three novels spanning a century from the Shoshone massacre of 1911 to the current battle over nuclear waste in the Nevada desert.  His new California trilogy, set in the Central Valley in the latter half of the 20th century, begins with the novel he’ll read from today at Bird & Beckett, Jesse’s Ghost — a novel about a man haunted by his murder of his best friend decades before, and his realization that the ghosts of his past will always haunt him. Bergon’s characters are the sons and daughters of the people portrayed in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath—Dust Bowl descendants who came of age when toughness, hard work, and loyalty provided one definition of what it meant to be a man in America.

Sunday, June 19th – 4:30 & 5:30 pm (two sets)

Iraqi Violinist Husain Resan & Ensemble

which way west? sunday concert series

Husain Dixon Resan studied oud at Baghdad’s Bayt al-Fann school and joined its music ensemble at the age of 16. He continued his studies of violin at San Francisco’s City College.

In addition to his virtuosity on violin, oud and bass, Husain is an accomplished vocalist.  He performs frequently with the ASWAT Choir, the Georges Lammam Ensemble and Layyali Sharq.

For this performance at Bird & Beckett, Husain is joined by colleagues Younes El-Makboul, also on violin, and dumbek player Loay Dahbour, to present music drawn from a number of traditions across the Middle East.

Each of these three musicians is a well-traveled and respected performer and teacher in his own right, and all are well-known in the Bay Area for their work in support of the ASWAT Choir, a very large vocal ensemble founded in 2000 which trains Arab and American musicians and singers in folkloric, classical, and contemporary Arabic music.

Monday, June 20th – 7:00 pm

Jorge Argueta & Miguel Robles

POETS! featured readers + open mic

Jorge Argueta immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in the 1980s, and has been a powerful presence on the poetry scene in San Francisco for three decades.  He is well known particularly for his work with children, and has authored many renowned bilingual children’s books, including Una pelicula en mi almohada  / There’s a Movie in My Pillow and the recent Arroz con leche / Rice Pudding: Un poema para cocinar / A Cooking Poem. More on Jorge’s personal and literary history can be found here.

Miguel Robles, born and raised in Mexico City, is more recently arrived in San Francisco, but made his mark very quickly as a poet with his debut collection At 24th and Mission: poesia local con esencia global.

Jerry Ferraz hosts the reading and the open mic which follows.