Poetry For The People

Join us on April 29, 30, and May 1 as the incredible student poets from Poetry for the People read their work! These three nights will change your life.

7pm Lipman Room (8th Floor Barrows Hall), UC Berkeley Campus

from “4th of July Poem”

freedom is out there growing
on the cornfields in Iowa
the orange groves of Florida
and the vineyards in California
freedom ripens in the rays of our poetry
and the shade of our skin

we harvest our freedom daily
fruit
by
fruit

-Haas Mroue

Dear Poets and Friends,

On October 6, 2007, we lost our beloved Haas Mroue to a sudden heart attack. At his passing, Haas was writing and traveling in Beirut, Lebanon. In early December, our beloved’s friends and family hosted a memorial in Haas’ home of Port Townsend, Washington to celebrate him in all his different lights. For those of us who knew him, Haas was many things: a teacher, a glass of red wine, a reassuring voice over the telephone, a poem on the page. Haas’ natural inclination was to travel—to take flight. As a man of many homelands, Haas often came to the Bay Area to teach, read, and write with many of our local poets. The last time Haas flew into Oakland Airport he threw his open arms around the familiar body that greeted him and whispered, “It’s so good to be home.”

So to our friends throughout the Bay Area and California (and beyond) we call out to you to assist
us in celebrating Haas in an evening featuring his poems and our tributes. There is no structured way to mourn, grieve or even rejoice in the glow of a life lived well. Instead we will do what poets do and we
will return to the poetry. We will return, like Haas, home.

Please join us for a reading of selected poetry from Haas Mroue’s Beirut Seizures performed by friends of Haas Mroue and Poetry for the People’s extended family of poets. A video introduction of Haas given by June Jordan will introduce the evening’s activities.

Memorial Poetry Reading for Haas Mroue
Thursday, January 10th
Eastside Arts Alliance
2277-2289 International Blvd.
Oakland, CA
www.eastsideartsalliance.com

Doors open at 7:45pm
Program begins at 8:00pm
Donations at the door are encouraged.

We hope to see all of you there and please feel free to forward this to any and all who were touched by
Haas Mroue’s poetry and life. Feel free to print out the attached flyer for this memorial reading as well as the original obituary from the Port Townsend memorial.

Join us on April 24, 25, and 26 as the incredible student poets from Poetry for the People read their work! These three nights will change your life.

7pm Lipman Room (8th Floor Barrows Hall), UC Berkeley Campus

Francisco X. Alarcón, Chicano poet and educator, is the author of ten volumes of poetry, including, From the Other Side of Night / Del otro lado de la noche: New and Selected Poems and De amor oscuro / Of Dark Love. Francisco has also published several books for children, including one of bilingual poetry titled Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems, which was awarded the 1997 Pura Belpré Honor Award by the American Library Association and the National Parenting Publications Gold Medal.

Francisco has been a recipient of the Danforth and Fulbright fellowships, and has been awarded several literary prizes, such as the 2002 Fred Cody Lifetime Achievement Award.

He currently teaches at the University of California, Davis.

Suheir Hammad, was born in Amman, Jordan to Palestinian refugee parents and immigrated to Brooklyn NY when she was five years old. Fellow poet Elmaz Abinader has called her “a new voice with an authentic blend of language that’s her own, and music that belongs to the streets” She has been on and worked with Def Poetry Jam. Suheir has read her poems in many places, from Ivy League Universities, to prisons, and Brooklyn’s street corners. Her writing has appeared in various publications and award winning anthologies.

Her books Born Palestinian, Born Black and Drops of This Story, have received critical acclaim: “[ Born Palestinian, Born Black] is about culture, conflict and consciousness… I was born Black and Suheir Hammad has taught me what it means to be a Palestinian… this book opens a door” (E. Ethelbert Miller, Howard University). She recently published her latest book of poetry, Zaatar Diva.

Class starts at 3:15pm in the Unit 2 Rec Room, 2650 Haste St, Berkeley, CA.

A Poetry for the People alum, Ruth Forman is an award-winning young writer and filmmaker. Her first book of poetry, We Are The Young Magicians, won the Barnard New Women Poets Prize. In its starred and boxed review, Booklist said, “Ruth Forman[’s]… poems are alive and kicking; they pound and pulse with a hard-won sense of self, beauty, femininity, strength and righteous indignation.” Renaissance, Ruth Forman’s second book, is written with the same irrepressible voice.

A graduate of UC Berkeley and the famed USC film school, Ms Forman works to inspire others with the power and magic of language, frequently collaborating on music and film projects, and providing readings and workshops to a wide variety of audiences. She most recently received the 2001 Durfee Artist Fellowship to continue work on Mama John, her first novel, as well as a third volume of poetry.

Ms Forman will be reading during class on February 15th in the Unit 2 All-Purpose Room (2650 Haste St). Class begins at 3:15pm.

Poetry for the People and the Dept of African American Studies presents:

‘And Our Eyes Were Watching’
Thursday Dec 1, 7pm
at the Morrison Room in Doe Library, UC Berkeley Campus

The passionate poets of Poetry for the People share their words and wisdom in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. Rooted in a poetic vision of social justice, these young poets bravely engage
the world with all their hope, humanity and love. Please join us!

Light reception to follow event
Wheelchair accessible
For more info, call 510 642 2743

Directions the the UC Berkeley Campus

Location of Main Library. The Morrison Library is located inside the main library.