My co-host Gaia and I are excited about participating in this year's Lit Crawl, Sebastopol.
Last year, we started a new literary series and open mic in Santa Rosa at Shady Oak Barrel House. At these events, we feature readings by published writers and provide space for writers from all backgrounds to share their work aloud during our open mic.
The main theme of our events revolves around the honoring of who we call an "influencer" of the highest order -- a writer or artist deserving of gratitude. We use this lens to inspire those who maybe wouldn't come to a literary series otherwise and excite those of us who admire and wish to thank writers and artists deserving of continual recognition and consideration. So far, our influencers have been Frida Kahlo, Emily Dickinson, James Baldwin, and Octavia Butler with plans to honor Oscar Wilde, Diane di Prima, and Mary Shelley (and more). We have fun and want our audience to leave our events feeling uplifted, supported by a local community of passionate writers and artists as well as those of the past, and compelled to learn more. It has been going great so far! See what we have been up to at
https://www.instagram.com/patron.saints.sr/For this event, we plan to offer a review of past events by presenting a selection of published writers in the Bay Area who we have featured over the past year, and therefore, our influencers and their work. We will decorate our space with electric votive candles showcasing collages of our influencers and featured readers; and instead of a collection plate, our audience will be encouraged to take free gifts such as handmade magnets featuring our honored influencers' likenesses as well as prompts and other small tokens of our appreciation. We want it to feel like a celebration!
