Jack & Janis – An Evening with Holly George-Warren

Holly George-Warren is editor of The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats, and author of Janis (2019) a biography of Janis Joplin, with a forthcoming biography of Jack Kerouac currently in progress.

‘The Bone Man of Benares’ – 20th Anniversary

Reading and book signing with author Terry Tarnoff and Phil Cousineau

16mm Showcase Extravaganza!

"Fugs" (at the Waldorf-Astoria) by Edward English (1965) "Family Fall Out Shelter" by Edward English (1960) "Odds and Ends" by Jane Conger Belson (1959) "The Wold Shadow" by Stan Brakhage (1972) "In the Course of Human Events" by Dominic Angerame (1997)

16mm Showcase

Renegade Cinema in North Beach presents Dada/Surrealist Films Hans Richter Symphony Diagonale (1924) by Hans Richter and Viking Eggling Rhythmus 21 (1921) Rhythmus 23 (1923) Filmstudie (1926) Inflation (1928) Ghosts Before Breakfasts (1929) Dimitri Kersanom Menilmontant (1926)

‘For All’ – 2024 Anthology Book Party

The Revolutionary Poets Brigade celebrates the release of their latest anthology, For All.

Daniel W. Wright, Liz Cahill, Charlie Getter, and Kevin Ridgeway

Celebrating the release of Daniel W. Wright's new book, Snake Oil.

Gabor Gyukics & Kim Shuck

Watch the livestream: gabor g. gyukics (b. 1958) poet, jazz poet, literary translator born in Budapest, Hungary. He is the author of 11 books of original poetry, 6 in Hungarian, 2 in English, 1 in Arabic, 1 in Czech, 1 in Bulgarian and 19 translations including A Transparent Lion, selected poetry of Attila József (2006), Green Integer Press […]

A Kerouac Conversation with Steve Edington: Why Jack Still Matters

Join Steve Edington for an open discussion based on the "Talking Jack" series at Lowell Celebrates Kerouac.

Stan Brakhage & Bruce Conner

We’re back for another installment of Renegade Cinema in North Beach. Join us for the following films, curated by Dominic Angerame: Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars In The Human Mind (1998) Stan Brakhage This film, a combination of hand-painting and photography, is a fulsome exposition of the themes of DOG STAR MAN. In that early […]

A Talk with George Walker

We realize it's short notice, but George Walker—known as "Hardly Visible" amongst the Merry Pranksters—will be appearing at the Beat Museum this Thursday evening. You don't want to miss this unique opportunity to participate in a discussion with a key figure of the '60s counterculture, as he shares his vision of what the future might hold.

Pat Thomas presents Allen Ginsberg: Material Wealth

Join Pat Thomas in person for a presentation of his new book Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg, an interview, and a screening of "Walking On Water Wasn't Built In A Day," a 1971 short film featuring Ginsberg, Yippie Jerry Rubin, Terry Southern, and Wavy Gravy.

Ben Van Meter: Films of Ex-Spirit-Mental Cinema of the Sixties: Twilight of My Humble Brother & Acid Mantra

Join us for an evening screening several of Ben Van Meter's films, part of Films with Friends.

PW Covington with Tom Murphy, and Nathan Brown

PW Covington returns to the Beat Museum for a reading with Tom Murphy and Nathan Brown. PW Covington writes in the Beat tradition of the North American highway. Born in the high desert, near the end of historic Route 66, PW is a 100% service-connected disabled veteran. Between time spent wandering and exploring, time spent […]

Vic Ruggiero & Lauren Napier (‘The Witch & The Burro’)

Our friends Vic Ruggiero (The Slackers) and Lauren Napier—on tour together as ‘The Witch & The Burro’—return to the Beat Museum this Sunday at 5pm for an evening of tunes.

An Evening with Rumi

Join us for an evening in tribute to the poetry of 13th-century Sufi poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī. This event is organized by by Mahnaz Badihian, who will be reading Rumi poems in the original Farsi. Featured readers include: John Curl Kim Shuck Agneta Falk-Hirschman Sheryl Bize-Boutte Greg Pond Jennifer Barone Dena Rod music by […]

The Committee’s Larry Hankin Returns to North Beach

Larry Hankin, pioneering standup, film and television actor and founding member of the San Francisco improvisational theater The Committee, returns to North Beach in May for an appearance at The Beat Museum. Larry will read and tell tales from his new book That Guy: A Cautionary Memoir. “After a confrontational graduation day, I decided to run […]

Zeitgeist Press: Babar is Back!

Zeitgeist Press returns to the Beat Museum for an evening of poetry featuring the following readers: David West Bruce Isaacson Jan Steckel Andrew Romanelli James Norman In homage to the Cafe Babar, and in memoriam of Andy Clausen, Julia Vinograd, Eli Coppola, and David Lerner.  

Celebrating National Poetry Month 2024

Join us for an evening of poetry from readers: Charles Curtis Blackwell Kristine Brown Patrick Cahill Diego De Leo Gerald Fleming Charlie Getter Jessica Loos Luis “Lucho” Cardenas Afro/Cuban beat Brandon Loberg …and featuring special guests from the Key West Poetry Guild: Vicki Bogusziewski Sherri Lohr Hosted by Bob Booker

Art Goodtimes, Neeli Cherkovski, Danny Rosen, and Tate Swindell

Join us for an evening with poets Art Goodtimes, Neeli Cherkovski, Danny Rosen, and Tate Swindell. Art Goodtimes is a poet, basketweaver, emeritus Western Slope Poet Laureate (2011–2013), and poetry editor for Fungi magazine. He has been poet-in-residence at the Telluride Mushroom Festival for 43 years, and directs state and national poetry contests at tellurideinstitute.org/talking-gourds. […]

Haight Ashbury Literary Journal

Join us for an evening of readings from the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal.

The God Given Talent: The Creative Life of Charles Curtis Blackwell

Directed/co-produced by Jeff M. Giordano. “A story of survival, memories and poetry, with fine art interspersed, social justice in motion, ends powerfully with poem and music.” Lead Programmer Over-the-Rhine International Film Festival Superfest International Disability Film Festival: winner of the Disability Justice Award. A 70-minute documentary about Charles Curtis Blackwell: the African-American blind poet, painter, […]

Plague Summer | Pull My Daisy | Have You Sold Your Dozen Roses

Join us for this season’s final installment of Films With Friends, presented by Those Guys. The Beat Museum will be screening three films: Plague Summer (1953) Chester Kessler based on The Journal of Albion Moonlight by Kenneth Patchen, 16 min. Disturbing animation film by Chester Kessler one of Kenneth Anger’s cinematographers. Kenneth Patchen sets off […]

Sunnylyn Thibodeaux, Andrew Paul Nelson, Barbara Jane Reyes, Neeli Cherkovski, Agneta Falk, with music by Scott Bird

Sunnylyn Thibodeaux Andrew Paul Nelson Barbara Jane Reyes Neeli Cherkovski Agneta Falk with music by Scott Bird

Manifest Differently – feat. Dena Rod, Kim Shuck, Linda Noel, Steve Meadows

Featured Readers: Dena Rod Kim Shuck Linda Noel Steve Meadows Led by Clarion Alley Mural Project, “Manifest Differently” is a new project developed and directed by Kim Shuck and Megan Wilson. Over the next year, 2023/24, they’ll be working together with 38 diverse, multigenerational visual/media artists and poets to interrogate the history of Manifest Destiny […]

Healing a Fractured World

The Revolutionary Poets Brigade releases its latest anthology, Healing a Fractured World.

Honoring Kenneth Anger

The Beat Museum joins Those Guys for a screening of the films of Kenneth Anger, another installment of Films With Friends: Renegade Cinema in North Beach.

The Jive 95 with Hank Rosenfeld

Join us for an evening with Hank Rosenfeld, author of The Jive 95: An Oral History of America’s Greatest Underground Rock Radio Station, KSAN San Francisco—an oral history of America’s first hippie underground FM station which broadcast the countercultural consciousness of the ‘60s and ‘70s to a new generation.

Harry Smith: American Magus & Modern Alchemist

The Beat Museum joins Those Guys for Films With Friends, featuring the films of Harry Smith, along with the documentary Harry Smith: American Magus by Paola Igliori. Harry Everett Smith (1923–1991) was an American polymath—artist, experimental filmmaker, anthropologist, collector, and mystic. His paintings and drawings are heavily influenced and portray sacred geometry and mysticism across numerous […]

Kaye McDonough

Join us for a very special reading as Kaye McDonough returns to San Francisco! Hosted by Fanny Renoir. McDonough, in her own words: “Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1943 (a good time to be born), raised in the fifties (a dreamlike time to be raised), lived in Berkeley in the sixties (a strange time to […]

Book Release: ‘Maze Mouth’ by Brian Sonia-Wallace, with Kim Shuck, Aileen Cassinetto, Armen Davoudian, James J. Siegel, and Kelly Grace Thomas

Join us Saturday, August 5th for a reading in celebration of West Hollywood Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace‘s latest collection, Maze Mouth. “Raw—as in haunting, but also as in no condom—West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace’s culminating laureate project traces the year he lost his father and moved to a gay mecca. Expect human pups, […]

Marsha Bellavance Celebration of Life

Please join us on Sunday, June 25th, 1pm at the Beat Museum for a celebration of Marsha’s life, hosted by her sister, Lee Bellavance Diamond. Friends are encouraged, if they have them, to bring copies of Marsha’s photographs.

Confluences of Solitude: Kurt Schweigman & Kim Shuck

Join us for an evening with poet Kurt Schweigman, and San Francisco Poet Laureate Emerita Kim Shuck. 

Andy Romanoff, featuring special guest Wavy Gravy

An evening with Andy Romanoff, reading from his book, Stories I've Been Meaning to Tell You. Joining Andy is his pal from the old days, Wavy Gravy.

20th Anniversary of the Beat Museum on Kerouac’s 101st Birthday!

Join us in celebration of Jack Kerouac's 101st birthday, and 20 years of the Beat Museum! Hear some of our stories from the road, along with music, poetry, games, door prizes and other giveaways!

Omerta: Celebrating the Life and Literary Legacy of Les Gottesman

Join us for a long-awaited celebration of Les Gottesman, who passed away at the height of the covid pandemic. A poet and publisher, Gottesman founded Omerta Press, releasing numerous books from San Francisco writers, including Diane di Prima and Herb Gold.

Danny Rosen, Neeli Cherkovski, Jessica Loos, Scott Bird & Friends!!

Join us for a poetry reading featuring Danny Rosen of Lithic Press! About Danny Rosen Each morning Danny pees on the bank of the largest unnamed tributary to the East Branch of Big Salt Wash which flows into the Colorado River several miles below Fruita, Colorado. Early on he learned to swing a hammer and […]

Beat Not Beat Anthology Release

Anthology release featuring: Kim Addonizio, Judith Ayn Bernhard, Ianthe Brautigan, MK Chavez, Neeli Cherkovski, Agneta Falk, Rich Ferguson, Charlie Getter, S.A. Griffin, Jessica Loos, Kim Shuck, Tate Swindell, V. Vale

Poetry & Music: Kyle Harvey, Neeli Cherkovski, Scott Bird, Jessica Loos and Friends

Join us for poetry and music featuring: Scott Bird Neeli Cherkovski Patrick Dunagan Kyle Harvey Marina Lazzara Brandon Loberg Jessica Loos Tate Swindell

‘Lyon Street’ Book Release with Marc Zegans

True poetry: rooted in San Francisco streets… this collection has the look of a classic.” Larry Beckett author of American Cycle Lyon Street is a love letter to a perpetually reincarnating city that often fails to remember itself. Reading Lyon Street, says novelist David Scott Ewers, is to imbibe “a San Francisco of the Mind.” […]

‘Desolation Peak’ Book Launch with Charles Shuttleworth

Join us for an evening with Charles Shuttleworth, editor of Desolation Peak: Collected Writings, published by Sal Paradise Press with Rare Bird Lit. Comprised of heretofore unpublished material Kerouac wrote while employed as a fire watcher atop Desolation Peak in the North Cascades, this gorgeous new volume includes extensive journals, notes, and other writings, including […]

Women: The First Target

For Mahsa Amini and all the women and men who want to be free. Mahnaz Badihian Lisbit Bailey Judith Ayn Bernhard Kristina Brown John Curl Carol Denney Sharon Dubiago Agneta Falk Karen Melander Magoon Sarah Menefee devorah major Sheida Mohamadi Barbara Paschke

Celebrating Gregory Corso’s ‘The Golden Dot’

Join us for a long-awaited party celebrating the publication of Gregory Corso’s final collection of poems, The Golden Dot. Readings from the book by: Jessica Loos Garrett Caples Jason Morris Caitlyn Wild George Scrivani Co-editor of the book Tate Swindell Brandon Loberg Copies will be available for sale. Anyone who’s ever switched off an old […]

Storm Warning

Poets for the Planet Building Socialism Reading from the Revolutionary Poets Brigade’s multilingual international anthology Storm Warning: Poets for the Planet Building Socialism. Readings by: Mahnaz Badihian Lisbit Bailey Virginia Barrett Judith Ayn Bernhard Scott Bird Charles Curtis Blackwell Kristina Brown Yolanda Catzalco Bobby Coleman Kitty Costello Dr. J Vern Cromartie John Curl Carol Denney […]

Steve Edington: “Whither Goest Thou America, in Your Shiny Car in the Night?”

This talk takes its title from one of the chapters in Steve Edington’s forthcoming book, The Gospel According to Jack: Tracking Kerouac in My Life. For all the quotable lines in Kerouac’s On the Road, to Edington this one is the most significant, as it represents the challenge that the Beat writers and poets were […]

Wicked Game: Michael Goldberg

On SF Punk Star Jimmy Wilsey Wicked Game: The True Story of Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey is a new book by veteran music journalist Michael Goldberg about Jimmy Wilsey, the brilliant but troubled guitarist who was the “heart and soul” of one of San Francisco’s greatest punk bands, the Avengers, and who wrote and played […]

Book Release: Neeli Cherkovski’s ‘Ferlinghetti: A Life’

Neeli Cherkovski’s first-ever biography of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, originally published in 1979, has been republished in a newly revised and expanded edition by the illustrious Black Sparrow Press! Poet, publisher, bookseller, activist. This is the story of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the bookshop he made a San Francisco landmark, and a long life beautifully lived. In the mid-1950s, […]

Specious Species #9 Release

“Specious Species is a magazine dedicated to the preservation of disciplined individual minds in an era of spiritual stagnation, cultural nihilism and pay-per-view warfare. Species is looking for soul. Let’s have art that not only disturbs but inspires.” Join us as we celebrate the release of the latest Specious Species with an evening of performances […]

Fanny Renoir Book Release

Join us for the release of Fanny Renoir’s latest book, Pussy Cat at the Coconut, featuring the following readers: Terry Tarnoff Keith Felton Nathan May Scott Lettieri Marsha McGovern Rita Bond Lisa Keith Giovanni Munoz Aliko Jessica Loos Doral Conrad, well-known Elvis impersonator, will open the show.

Kerouac Centennial Open House

Open House on Kerouac’s Centennial Birthday March 12, 2022 Noon – 7pm The Beat Museum, 540 Broadway, SF Last week, we announced we’re holding an Open House event all day at the Beat Museum, in honor of Jack Kerouac’s centennial year. Festivities on Saturday, March 12th will include musical performances and live readings from Kerouac’s […]

100 Years of Stand-Up Comedy with Nina G

San Francisco, and North Beach in particular, holds a special place in the history of the performing arts—and comedy in particular. From the early days of Beat poetry readings, gatherings which themselves were frequently underground, clandestine activities, to the days of drag shows and the topless revolution, perhaps it’s San Francisco’s “anything goes” reputation that’s […]

Womxn Reading at the Beat Museum – All Day Marathon

For the last year the Beat Museum has been hosting a monthly event called “Eves at The Beat” which is an all womxn’s event focused on poetry and spoken word. The response has been beyond our expectations and the thing we really appreciate about it is we see an audience much different than the ones […]

Bob Dylan & Me: 50 Years of Adventures by Louie Kemp

Louis Kemp’s memoir, Dylan and Me: 50 Years of Adventures Set for August 15th pub date Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan’s Best Friend Louie Kemp Breaks Silence With New Book Dylan and Me Longtime Bard bestie book presale to coincide with Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Thunder Revue documentary. He was twelve years old and he had a […]

Alan Kaufman, Joe Clifford, and Joshua Mohr – New Fiction at the Beat Museum

Alan Kaufman Alan Kaufman is a novelist and memoirist known for his storytelling power and who’s been not only praised by everyone from Dave Eggers, Etgar Keret and Sapphire to David Mamet, Hubert Selby Jr. and Thane Rosenbaum but has been compared by critics to such prose masters as Henry Miller, I.B. Singer and Jack […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at the Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. This months Eves at the Beat is curated by Lisa Wenzel. With MCs Elaine Brown/Poet […]

MONDAY – A Journal of Poetry, Prose, and Art

Launch party and reading event for a legendary underground literary publication founded in 1999 in the back of Covered Wagon Saloon, San Francisco. Contributors Read and Perform Works by: Suzanne Day Kenneth MacKillop Vlad Pogorelov Jane 69 Eric Robertson Tim Donnelly Morgan Reilly Monique Marquisa de Magdalena Stephen Elliot James A. La Croix, Jr. Cleveland […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at the Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. This months Eves at the Beat is curated by Lauren Ito Readers for this event: […]

‘Heartbeat’, a Film by Will Combs featuring Bob Kaufman, Jack Micheline, ‘Hube the Cube’ and others

As a young film student immersed with the works of Godard and cinema verite’, Will Combs barged into the backyard of the remaining Beats in San Francisco’s North Beach in the mid-1970’s. Using surplus film stock and a spring-wind Bolex, he began to capture the temperament of the Era, kabuki style. HEARTBEAT features rare and […]

Fanny Renoir Variety Show

Join Fanny Renoir and friends for an evening of poetry, music, performance, and films! Featuring: Dominic Angerame Howard Munson Jeff Giordano Anthony Buchanan Jessica Loos Nathan May Rosemary Manno Katz Forsman Jean Forsman Jerry Ferraz Bascia Rayner Selen Osturk Peter Daniel Webster

Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal Vol. 35

featuring K.R. Morrison and featuring readers: Raina Hunter Maya Khosla Cesar Love Karen Melander-Magoon Colleen McKee Dan Richman Alice Rogoff Peggy Schimmelman Amy Smith William Taylor Jr.

Mk Chavez, Alexandra Kostoulas, Poet E Spoken (Elaine C. Brown), Georgina Marie, Hollie Hardy, Vida E. Felsenfeld, RJ Equality Ingram

During Women’s History Month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. This month’s Eves at the Beat is curated by the fabulous K.R. Morrison MC: Aqueila […]

Vic Ruggiero + Lauren Napier

Join Vic Ruggiero and Lauren Napier as they return to the Beat Museum for an evening of melodies. This event is free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

A World Without Wars – Part 2

in celebration of the publication of the 6th Overthrowing Capitalism Anthology Nina Serrano Arnoldo Garcia Julie Rogers Diego De Leo Jeanne Powell Carol Denney Niloufar Talebi Hilton Obenzinger Agneta Falk Lapo Guzzini Sarah Menefee Mauro Fortissimo Maria Cristina Gutierrez Genny Lim Martin Hickel Lisbit Bailey Adrian Arias Pauline Craig Karen Melander Magoon Jack Hirschman

Shirley Huey, Grey Rosado, Yeva Johnson, Charlie Amore, Tanea, Lunsford Lynx

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. This months Eves at the Beat is curated by the fabulous Dena Rod and MC’d […]

A World Without Wars – Part 1

in celebration of the publication of the 6th Overthrowing Capitalism Anthology Mahnaz Badihian Jim Normington John Curl Barbara Paschke Nellie Wong Rafael Jesus Gonzalez Lynne Barnes Cathleen Williams Gregory Pond Judith Bernhard Gaylin West Scott Bird Victoria Brill David Volpendesta Yolanda Catzalco Hai Pham Kristina Brown Doreen Stock Neeli Cherkovski Kim Shuck Jenny Wade Bob […]

Gone in October: 50th Anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s Passing

The bus roared on. I was going home in October. Everybody goes home in October. Jack KerouacOn the Road Fifty years ago, Jack Kerouac died on October 21st, 1969 in St. Petersburg, FL, at age 47. In a sense, he too “went home in October.” In memoriam of this bittersweet milestone, please join us for […]

Midnight at Crossroads: Lit Crawl Eve Extravaganza!

New Orleans in San Francisco and Poetry Jambalaya! The Beat Museum presents a cross country Lit Crawl Eve Extravaganza!! From the French Quarter to the foothills to the Dock of the Bay, some of the best poets in America throw everything in the poetic gumbo pot for one night. Laissez les bons temps rouler. Let […]

Isis Savant, Idhaz Fatima Zehra, Nick Lovett, K.R. Morrison, Demi Vera, Indya McGuffin, & Nia Lundkvist

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. This months Eves at the Beat is curated by the fabulous Aishwarya Vardhana And MC’d […]

All Errata: Charlie Getter, Dan Wright, Marc Pedersen, & Niko Van Dyke

Several people will be reading their always questionable and sometimes insightful works. These things happen. Readings by: Charlie Getter Dan Wright Marc Pedersen Niko Van Dyke

The Junkyard – 3rd Annual Release

The Lowell High School Creative Writing Club returns to the Beat Museum for the release of the annual anthology, The Junkyard. Students will read selections from the book, and copies will be available. Come check out some local talent from a new generation of young writers! Hosted by Nicole Henares

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at The Beat Museum

This months Eves at the Beat is curated by the fabulous Melissa Jones! And MC’d by @Thea Matthews Melissa Jones was born and raised in Oakland CA, where she was inspired by art, culture, music, and poetry. She is the author of Pineapple Grenades, a book of poems about war and relationships and Black Girl […]

In Memoriam: Ronald Sauer

Fanny Renoir will host a memorial reading for our dear departed friend Ronald Sauer. Featured readers include: Robert Anbian Terry Tarnoff Michael Koch Fanny Renoir Jerry Ferraz Agneta Falk Dominic Angerame

Beat Up & Beat Down: William Taylor, Jr., Mahnaz Badihian, Youssef Alaoui, and Manouchehr Ghanbari

An evening of poetry and music with: William Taylor, Jr. Mahnaz Badihian Youssef Alaoui Manouchehr Ghanbari

Gregory Corso: The Gold Standard

Tate Swindell, record producer and founder of Unrequited Records, will join George Scrivani in conversation about the stories behind the record. This record was compiled from the recently discovered Scrivani Tapes. George Scrivani, Corso’s longtime friend, traveled with Gregory in the late 1970s throughout Europe. Having cut his bootlegging chops at various operas in Europe, […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at The Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. This month curated by: Kimi Sugioka and MC is Ruth Crossman. Readers are as follows: […]

‘Landlords’ by Mia Stageberg – Novel Release

Mia Kirsi Stageberg’s novel Landlords resurrects a creatively explosive 1990s San Francisco, when edge-defying artists and outlaw activists battled side by side for their freedom. A must-read for Millennials, Landlords points to choices outside the box: art, love, non-conformity and most of all, comradeship.” Alan Kaufman Author of Drunken AngelEditor, The Outlaw Bible of American […]

Laborfest: Workers and Voices Against Fascism

presented by World Poetry Movement and the Revolutionary Poets Brigade Join poets, musicians, and artists, who will speak and sing out against fascism. The growing racism, immigrant bashing, xenophobia, Islamophobia, homophobia, and anti-Semitism are a threat not only to working people but all humanity. The rise of fascism is also a threat to unions and […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at the Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat”. Join us for our July event, curated by Nicole Noel, Thursday July 11th, 2019 at […]

‘Lawrence Ferlinghetti: Live’ Photo Exhibition by Chris Felver

On Exhibit No other photographer has documented the life and times of Lawrence Ferlinghetti in such exquisite detail as Christopher Felver. His images of the poet, painter, and legendary publisher have appeared in Ferlinghetti Portrait (1998), Beat (2007), and a great many other books and publications; his work has been exhibited in numerous galleries, libraries, […]

Calling All Anti-Fascists

presented by The World Poetry Movement & The Revolutionary Poets Brigade Featuring Readers: Mahnaz Badihian Lisbit Bailey Kristina Brown Pauline Craig John Curl Diego De Leo Agneta Falk Lourdes Figueroa Cristina Gutierrez Jack Hirschman Jessica Loos Karen Melander Magoon Rosemary Manno Sarah Menefee Barbara Paschke Gregory Pond Kim Shuck David Volpendesta Cathleen Williams

Brian Hassett, George Walker, John Allen Cassady: A Beat Prankster Party

Brian Hassett and George Walker return to the Beat Museum, performing their “Jack & Neal Ride Again” show, plus lots of other legerdemain, featuring John Allen Cassady on stories and guitar, and the West Coast debut of the new “Holy Cats! Dream-Catching at Woodstock”—with lots of special surprises! The evening will also be an epic […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at The Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat.” You’re in for a treat! Join us for our third event! This month curated by: […]

Galileo High School & 826 Valencia: ‘We Belong Here’ Book Release

Reflections about borders from the students of Galileo High School Join us for readings, book signings, and a celebration of our student authors. 826 Valencia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at The Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born, “Eves at the Beat.” Featuring: Shelley Wong Thea Matthews Jenny Qi Rosa De Anda Jennifer Hasegawa Aishwarya Vardhana Curated […]

Women’s National Book Association – Reading and Mixer

3pm: Poetry readings for about 90 minutes, and celebration with noshes and beverages afterward to 6pm. Celebrate National Poetry Month with the Women’s National Book Association Bay Area chapter in the heart of North Beach with some of the finest female writers around. Wild Women Poets will gather at the landmark venue, The Beat Museum […]

Eves at the Beat: Womxn Reading at The Beat Museum

During Women’s History month a constellation of events brought together a group of fabulous womxn+ writers. The meeting of these hearts and minds exploded into something powerful and a new monthly reading series concept was born—Eves at the Beat. You’re in for a treat! Join us for our first event, featuring the powerful writers and […]

Ferlinghetti: His Life & His Work

In honor of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s 100th birthday, join poet and Ferlinghetti biographer Neeli Cherkovski, SF Poet Laureate alumnus Jack Hirschman, poet and artist Agneta Falk-Hirschman, photographer and filmmaker Chris Felver, and Beat Museum director Jerry Cimino for a panel discussion on Ferlinghetti’s life and work.

In Memoriam: Peter Sherburn-Zimmer

Join us in remembrance of our dear departed friend, poet Peter Sherburn-Zimmer. Bring a poem of Peter’s, or one for or about Peter, to read.

Book Release: ‘The Ronaldist’ by Fanny Renoir

Fanny Renoir releases her newest collection, The Ronaldist and Other Poems. Featuring readings by Ronald Sauer and Terry Tarnoff.

Jack Kerouac Birthday Bash!

Join Beat Museum Founder and Director Jerry Cimino as he reads the poetry and prose of Jack Kerouac. Musical accompaniment with personal accounts and stories by John Allen Cassady. John Allen Cassady is the third child of Neal and Carolyn Cassady and just happens to be named after his father’s two best friends, Jack Kerouac […]

A World Without Walls

presented by The World Poetry Movement and the Revolutionary Poets Brigade Thomas Antonic Mahnaz Badihian Lisbit Bailey Judith Ayn Bernhard Charles Curtis Blackwell Kristina Brown Pauline Craig Aja Couchois Duncan Tongo Eisen-Martin Agneta Falk Mauro Fortissimo Rafael Jesus Gonzalez Martin Hickel Jack Hirschman Karen Melander Magoon Rosemary Manno Sarah Menefee Alejandro Murguia Gregory Pond Kim […]

A Night of Poetry with the Telegraph Hill Dwellers

Join us as we kick off the new year with our friends and neighbors reading their latest poems and works in progress. Featured readers include: Christopher Bernard (with Mark Weiman) Mark Bittner Kate Greene Lucy Johns Richard Slota Dylan Tweney

LaborFest Anthology – ‘Giving Voice’

Join us for a reading celebrating the release of Giving Voice, a LaborFest anthology spanning 2005-2017. Readers: Nellie Wong Jerry Path Margaret Cooley Keith Cooley Alice Rogoff Phyllis Holliday Adele Kearney We are involved in the struggles to have our voices heard, our outsider voices. Even though our writing appears in the same anthology, please […]

‘Extreme’ Anthology Release

Vagabond Books presents Extreme: An Anthology for Social and Environmental Justice. Featuring: Dee Allen John Curl Gary Hicks Nico Nelson Adrian Arias Notty Bumbo Anaid Cerreno Jack Hirschman Neeli Cherkovski Mahnaz Badihian Karen Melander-Magoon Hosts: Mark Lipman and Antonieta Villamil

2nd Set: ‘Overthrowing Capitalism’ Anthology Release

By popular demand, we’ve added a second night of readings from the newly released Overthrowing Capitalism: Volume Five. Featured readers: Lincoln Bergman William Crossman Anita Odena Cruz Romeo Cruz Carol Denney Arnoldo Garcia Lapo Guzzini Dan Katz Karen Melander Magoon Janice Mirikitani Alejandro Murguia Jeanne Powell Stephen Schur Nina Serrano Cathleen Williams Nellie Wong Andrena […]

Gerd Stern @ 90

Gerd Stern joins the circle of Beat nonagenarians this year, and we’re hosting a gathering to celebrate! Gerd has worn many hats over the last 90 years, from Beat poet to psychedelic media artist, and most recently, was vindicated as the poet who did not lose the Joan Anderson Letter over the side of his […]

‘Overthrowing Capitalism’ Anthology Release

Join the Revolutionary Poets Brigade for the release of their latest anthology, Overthrowing Capitalism Vol. 5. Readings by contributors, and books available for sale. Featured readers: Robert Anbian Mahnaz Badihian Judith Ayn Bernhard Charles Curtis Blackwell John Curl Diego De Leo Lisbit Bailey Kristina Brown Bob Coleman Pauline Craig Agneta Falk Rafael Jesus Gonzalez Martin […]

Neeli Cherkovski, Tate Swindell, Thomas Antonic and Michael Fischer

Neeli Cherkovski Neeli Cherkovski is the author of many books of poetry, including Elegy for My Beat Generation and In The Odes: Confucius and Ezra Pound. He was the coeditor of Anthology of L.A. Poets (with Charles Bukowski) and Cross-Strokes: Poetry between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Cherkovski also wrote biographies of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and […]

Book Launch: ‘Vexation, Amplitude’ by Tom Stolmar

Join Tom Stolmar and friends in celebrating the release of his new poetry collection, Vexation, Amplitude. Long overdue, this collection of Tom Stolmar’s poems bottles his impulse-driven barely containable talent for stringing words together that convey unexpected emotional truths laced with comedy of the highest and lowest orders. In some poems, Stolmar appears to have […]

The Dylan-Kerouac Connection

with Michael Goldberg and Johnny Harper Veteran music journalist Michael Goldberg is a former writer and editor for Rolling Stone and numerous other publications. His brilliant essay “Bob Dylan’s Beat Visions” appears as a chapter in the new book Kerouac on Record, which explores Jack Kerouac’s relationship to music—the music he was inspired by, and […]

PW Covington – Reading & Workshop

Join us for a reading and poetry workshop with PW Covington. PW Covington‘s writing is fueled by the Beat tradition of the American highway and the lives of the men and women surrounding him on the edges of society. His poetry comes from war-ravaged Somalia airfields and from south Texas ranches, from homeless Tenderloin alleyways […]

Misti Rainwater-Lites, Jon Bennett, John Dorsey, Victor Clevenger, & William Taylor, Jr.

Misti Rainwater-Lites is the author of Bullshit Rodeo. Discounted, her most recent full-length poetry collection, is available on Paroxysm Press. Indio is her favorite beer. Jon Bennett writes and plays music in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. You can find more of his work on Pandora and Spotify, or by connecting with him at https://www.facebook.com/jon.bennett.967. John […]

11th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival

in association with 100 Thousand Poets for Change Two days of poetry and music, produced by Fred Dodsworth, Paul Corman-Roberts, and Marguerite Munoz. Kim Shuck Marguerite Munoz Paul Corman-Roberts Bill Gainer MK Chavez Raina De Leon Preeti Vangani Amelia Alvarez Maw Shein Win (F) Terry Adams Diane Mooney Dale Jensen (SAT) Alexandra Naughton Anne Cheliek […]

Lowell High School Creative Writing Club Anthology Release

The Lowell High School Creative Writing Club returns to the Beat Museum for their annual anthology release. Students will read selections from the book, and copies will be available. Come check out some local talent from a new generation of young writers! Hosted by Nicole Henares

Vic Ruggiero and Lauren Napier In-Store Performance

Vic Ruggiero (frontman of The Slackers) makes a last-minute stop on his West Coast tour with an in-store performance at the Beat Museum, with Lauren Napier! Hope you can make it out!

Return to the Peoples

presented by World Poetry MovementMedellin, Colombia The Revolutionary Poets BrigadeSan Francisco Corporatism is the fascism that is manifesting in governments throughout the world by producing nationalist and populist leaders of negation and powerful military forces bent on war. Like students murdered en masse in schools in the U.S., like the tsunami of women jailed as […]

Starting from San Francisco: The Baby Beat Generation and the Second San Francisco Renaissance

Join Third Mind Books to celebrate the release of Starting from San Francisco: The Baby Beat Generation and the Second San Francisco Renaissance, a Beat literary reunion and reading with: Thomas Rain Crowe Neeli Cherkovski Kaye McDonough Jack Hirschman Philip Daughtry Sharon Doubiago Clive Matson B. Alexandra Szerlip Anne Valley-Fox Jim Dallesandro and Joe Provenzano […]

ruthFest

Celebrating ruth weiss at 90 and the Women of the Beat Generation ruth weiss just turned 90, and we’re gathering a few of her friends together for a very special performance to celebrate! Join us for a Saturday afternoon featuring: Cathy Cassady Eldest daughter of Carolyn Cassady and editor of Carolyn’s newly published book Travel […]

Laborfest: Revolutionary Poets Brigade

The dystopian world we live in will be challenged by words and music that will bring solidarity and unity of all working people. Poets: Mahnaz Badihian Lisbit Bailey Kristina Brown Pauline Craig John Curl Diego De Leo Agneta Falk Maria Cristina Herrera Martin Hickel Jack Hirschman Karen M. Magoon Rosemary Manno Sarah Menefee Barbara Paschke […]

Opening Reception – ‘The Beat Scene’: Photographs by Burt Glinn

The Beat Scene: Photographs by Burt Glinn $39.95 Preorder Now! Don’t miss the opening reception of The Beat Scene: Photographs by Burt Glinn, at the Beat Museum! These brilliant images, captured by Magnum photographer Burt Glinn in New York and San Francisco in 1959 and 1960, offer an intimate look into the lives and times […]

Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal

The Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal celebrates its 2018 edition. Featuring readers: Andrena Zawinski Eileen Malone Kim Shuck Alice Rogoff Cesar Love K.R. Morrison Stephen Kopel Rocio Ramirez

Long Shot & Works by Danny Shot

appearing with Jack Hirschman Jessica Loos and Niko Van Dyke Works honors the longtime Long Shot magazine, credo of “Writing from the Real World.” This collection of poems traverses a course from the swamps of New Jersey to the endless possibilities of the open road, with rest stops along the way to visit with family […]

Cathy Cassady: Travel Tips for the Timid

Travel Tips for the Timid by Carolyn Cassady $17.99 Add to cart Join us for an afternoon with Cathy Cassady, eldest daughter of Neal and Carolyn Cassady, and editor of the newly published Travel Tips for the Timid, written and richly illustrated by Carolyn. For many years, and somewhat unbeknownst to her children until after […]

‘Nearing the Exit’: Poems by Herbert Gold

Novelist, memoirist, essayist, Herbert Gold returns to his earliest form of literary expression, poetry—here in a publishing first, Nearing the Exit. In these poems 94-year-old Gold visits his past and future, with a tip of the hat to the theme of his recent book Still Alive: A Temporary Condition (2008, republished as Not Dead Yet, […]

Half Past the Unlucky: A Friday the 13th Reading

& drawing for Poems Under the Dome On Friday the 13th, join us for an auspicious evening of poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month. This event will also include the only drawing for a guaranteed spot to read at the 13th Annual Poems Under the Dome at City Hall! Daphne Gottlieb Daphne Gottlieb stitches […]

William Taylor, Jr. Book Release: ‘From the Essential Handbook on Making it to the Next Whatever’

Join us as we celebrate the release of William Taylor, Jr.’s latest book, From the Essential Handbook on Making it to the Next Whatever, published by Pedestrian Press. William will be reading from the book, along with Bay Area authors: Cassandra Dallett Colleen McKee MK Chavez Laura Zink

Capo’s Celebrating Jack Kerouac’s Birthday

* This event is happening at Capo’s restaurant in North Beach, NOT at the Beat Museum.

Book Release: ‘Word Cave’ by Tamsin Smith

Celebrating the release of Tamsin Smith’s latest verse collection, Word Cave. Published by Risk Press, this beautiful book features a cover portrait by Emilio Villalba, back cover collage detail by Matt Gonzalez, and photographs by Josh Smith, in addition to 96 heart-crafted poems from me to you. All proceeds from the sale of the book […]

Release of ‘Overthrowing Capitalism’ Vol. 4

Join the Revolutionary Poets Brigade for the release of their latest anthology, Overthrowing Capitalism, Volume 4. Featuring the following readers: Robert Anbian Lisbit Bailey Judith Ayn Bernhard Kristina Brown Neeli Cherkovski Pauline Craig Romeo Alcala Cruz Diego De Leo Agneta Falk (Co-Emcee) Randy Fingland Mauro Fortissimo Arnoldo Garcia Rafael Jesus GonzalezPoet Laureate of Berkeley Stephen […]

Memorial for Joe Pachinko

Hosted by William Taylor, Jr. Joe Pachinko was born 1960 in Oakland, California. In 2003, through his Superstition Street Press, he republished Beat icon Lenore Kandel’s groundbreaking work The Love Book, which was banned and suppressed upon its original release in 1966. He is the author of the novel SWAMP!, and two poetry collections: The […]

The Wild Poets of Telegraph Hill

A Reading from Three Works-in-Progress featuring Phil Cousineau, Terry Tarnoff, & Mark Bittner In the tradition of old North Beach, when it was common for writers to share their current works, Phil Cousineau, Terry Tarnoff, and Mark Bittner read from their latest novels and discuss what it’s like to live in—and write about—one of the […]

10th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival

Hosted by Terry Adams, Leah Lubin & Fred Dodsworth For the 10th year running, we feature the living poets, poets laureate, former Stegner Fellows, local published poets, as well as brilliant old and new-timers, plus musicians and performance artists from all over the Bay Area (including Europe this year). Diverse voices will resonate with the […]

‘Huncke & Louis’ Film Screening with Laki Vazakas

Filmmaker Laki Vazakas returns to the Beat Museum for a screening of his film Huncke & Louis, shot in 1993, and offering a tender, candid glimpse into the lives of seminal (if under-acknowledged) Beat Generation writer Herbert Huncke, and his longtime friend and companion Louis Cartwright. Tate Swindell will be joining Laki in a discussion […]

Three Distinguished Poets: Al Young, Floyd Salas, & Andrena Zawinski

An evening of poetry featuring Al Young, Floyd Salas & Andrena Zawinski. Al Young’s many books include poetry collections, memoirs, and novels. His honors include Wallace Stegner, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, the Glenna Luschei Distinguished Poetry Fellowship, and the Richard Wright Award for Excellence in Literature. He has twice received […]

100 Thousand Poets for Change

Hosted by Karen Melander Magoon & Philip Hackett Join us for an open mic, featuring the following readers, under the banner of “100 Thousand Poets for Change.” Featured readers: Dee Allen Dan Brady Mahnaz Badihian Pauline Craig John Curl Diego De Leo Ana Elsner Agneta Falk Nahid Fattahi David Giesen Q R Hand Najia Karim […]

An Evening with Gerd Stern

Join Gerd Stern as he returns to the Beat Museum for a night of poetry and storytelling. Gerd Stern is a poet and multi-media artist. He has a number of published books of poetry and his Oral History was published by ROHO, University of California at Berkeley in 2002. Stern was a founder of the […]

In Conversation with SF Poet Laureate Kim Shuck

SF’s 7th Poet Laureate Kim Shuck in conversation with special guests, including former San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman. Join us for a reading, and participate in a discussion and Q & A about the state of poetry, and its importance in present times. Kim Shuck embraces the fool and jester qualities of being a […]

Jack Micheline ‘Cockymoon’ Book Release

Join The Beat Museum and Zeitgeist Press for the release of Cockymoon, the first new collection of poems by Jack Micheline in a decade, edited by SF poet William Taylor, Jr. This collection includes such Micheline favorites as “Rock Song,” “Zero is Nothing,” “Imaginary Conversation with Jack Kerouac,” and “Ballad of Benny Roads,” among others. […]

Laborfest

Not Our Brothers and Sisters! Against Deportations and Racism presented by the Revolutionary Poets Brigade and The Juana Briones Cultural Committee Part of the 24th Annual Laborfest Capitalism uses racist attacks on African-Americans and threats of deportation on Latinos and Muslims to divide the working-class revolution in this country. The Revolutionary Poets Brigade and the […]

CWP Collective

CWP Collective Press (“Cringe-Worthy Poets”) is a small chapbook press on the West Side of Buffalo, New York. They have been producing handmade chapbooks of fine poetry since 2016. In this short time, they have published nearly 20 chapbooks of poetry by poets from New Jersey to Texas. CWP is also a small band of […]

The Beats and Beyond

Come and experience the poetry of the Beat Generation with musical accompaniment. Featuring the works of Herbert Huncke, Michael McClure, Diane di Prima, John Weiners, Alden Van Buskirk, and others, read by younger poets influenced by their works. Clive Matson Andy Halsig Martine Algier Antonio the Rapper Kwesi the Dreamer Bob Booker and Cori Hartwig […]

Janet Hamill & Camille O’Grady

Mister WA is kickstarting a new series of cultural explorations with pioneer artists Janet Hamill and Camille O’Grady, presenting a rare blend of poetry, spoken word, music, and performance. O’Grady and Hamill have been friends and collaborators since they first met in the creatively rich and vibrant NYC that gave us Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, […]

Brian Hassett’s Beat Cafe

Author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac and keynote essayist in The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats, Brian Hassett performs a comical collage of original and Beat works including a nobody’s-ever-done-it-before chapter from Kerouac’s final novel Pic. Longtime friend of Edie Kerouac-Parker, Carolyn Cassady, Henri Cru, and numerous other Beat and Prankster luminaries, […]

Chien Lunatique: Rabid Poet Confronts Modernity

Christopher Bernard Reads from New Collection + Open Mic …poems of diamond-like brilliance, filled with despair, passion, and surreal beauty. The poet…in an act of intellectual courage, climbs up on the rubble of western culture to speak truth to both power and powerlessness. – Mary Mackey author of Sugar Zone and The Village of Bones […]

‘Trane to Africa

Celebrating National Poetry Month featuring Charles Curtis BlackwellJazz Poet Extraordinaire Victor MavedzengeSpoken Word Artist from Zimbabwe Greer RockettTrumpet Douglas Stewart Wanda Sabir and special guests More details coming soon…

Rise: An Anthology of Power and Unity

VAGABOND is very happy to announce the launch of our new publication, Rise (an anthology of Power and Unity) Featured readers include: Jack Hirschman Dorothy “Dottie” Payne Nina Serrano Mahnaz Badihian Karen Melander-Magoon Fred Dodsworth Dee Allen Tim Kahl Isaac J Torres Hosts: Mark Lipman and Antonieta Villamil. Advanced review of Rise (an anthology of […]

North Beach Stories with Ray Hanna

Ray Hanna Returns for another Comical & Musical JourneyThrough San Francisco’s Golden Age North Beach Stories is Ray Hanna’s searing comical and musical journey through the nightlife of the West Coast. Master storyteller, musician, and shameless name-dropper, Ray Hanna has seen it all, on the streets of North Beach and beyond—all the sleaze, drugs, trailblazing […]

Beat Poetry with Larry Beckett

This is the poetry of the San Francisco Renaissance of the 50s, reconsidered as literature: Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s lyrical cityscapes, Jack Kerouac’s blues and haikus, Allen Ginsberg’s saxophone prophecies, Gregory Corso’s obsessive odes, John Wieners’ true confessions, Michael McClure’s physical hymns, Philip Lamantia’s surreal passions, Gary Snyder’s work songs, Philip Whalen’s loose sutras, Lew Welch’s hermit […]

Toby Lurie & Friends

The Lost Coast Word Music Ensemble, featuring: Toby Lurie Toni Orans Nancy and Brian Lewis Toby Lurie has created a truly unique form of spoken word music, having composed 13 spoken-language symphonies, some of which are created on canvas as large as 120 sq. ft. Mr Lurie’s poetry is profoundly exciting to me as a […]

Tribute to David Meltzer

David Meltzer (1937-2016) departed the world on December 31st. A great, prolific poet beloved by many, Meltzer was an important figure of the San Francisco Beat scene. He authored over 40 volumes of poetry, among them Arrows: Selected Poetry 1957-1992, Name: Selected Poetry, 1973-1983 and Beat Thing (2004), David’s Copy (2005), When I Was a […]

‘Further On Down the Road’ with Terry Tarnoff & Phil Cousineau

Join us for a reading, book signing, and short video presentation with Terry Tarnoff, author of The Reflectionist, with special guest Phil Cousineau It was a different time in a different world. Terry Tarnoff spent eight years during the 1970s traveling throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. It was the early days of exploring what were […]

Celebrating Black History with Poetry & Jazz

Join us for some poetry and jazz in celebration of Black History Month, and to share and discuss the importance of Black History in these challenging times. featuring: Charles Curtis Blackwell Wanda Sabir The Soulful Creators Jim & Linda Martin Douglas Stewart Charles Edward Marion Mary Loughran J.J. Rush Lucho Cubano (saxophone)

Outlaw Bible of American Art

reading and discussion with Alan Kaufman The Outlaw Bible of American Art is a 700-page revolutionary art world shocker: a Who’s Who alternative canon of marginalized or famed audodidactic paint-slinging loners who followed their own outrageous, sometimes catastrophic visions to the heights of fame or the depths of Hell. Documenting movements from the post-war to […]

12th Annual Neal Cassady Birthday

‘Captain Trips: A Biography of Jerry Garcia’ by Sandy Troy, and ‘Dead Heads’ by Linda Kelly – Booksigning and Discussion

Sandy Troy Sandy Troy is an attorney, author, musician and producer of films. Born in NYC, he pursued the musical arts as a youth, studying jazz guitar at the New School in NYC. During this time, Troy went to numerous jazz concerts in Greenwich Village, seeing such notables as Miles Davis and McCoy Tyner. In […]

Celebrating the Holidays with Poetry & Jazz

Ring in the holidays with a swingin’ evening of poetry and jazz, featuring: Charles Curtis Blackwell Jazz Poet Extraordinaire Lucho Cubano Saxophonist …and a lineup of poets and musicians from both sides of the Bay.

Ambush Review Five

Book release of the new Ambush Review Five, with readings from the following contributors: David Beckman Sharon Coleman Grace Marie Grafton Jose Luis Gutierrez Ken Saffran Kim Shuck …and others

Haight Ashbury Literary Journal 40th Issue

Alice Rogoff & Friends Come celebrate the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal‘s 40th issue, featuring Joanne Mallari. The issue also includes Olivia Soule, Ed Mycue, Will Walker, and Nancy Davenport, and Nancy Wakeman.

great weather for media book release

great weather for media is excited to announce the August 8 2016 publication of our latest anthology, The Careless Embrace of the Boneshaker. The Careless Embrace of the Boneshaker is a fearless and dynamic collection of contemporary poetry and short fiction by established and emerging writers. This is essential reading for everyone looking for the […]

‘Overthrowing Capitalism’ Book Launch

The Revolutionary Poets Brigade celebrates the launch of their new anthology, Overthrowing Capitalism. Hosted by Jack Hirschman, with readings from poets contained therein.

Evidence: Philip T. Nails Record Release

Phillip T. Nails’ latest project Evidence, takes the form of a live performance as well as a vinyl record produced, recorded and designed in collaboration with musicians (Way Jose, Feather Bright, Rusty Miller) and artists Iju Chiang and James Shaff. Nails has been called “a lightning bolt in brown polyester pants.” The Evidence tour performance […]

World Poetry Movement

with the Revolutionary Poets Brigade Jorge Argueta Mahnaz Badihian Lisbit Bailey Judith Ayn Bernhard Lidija Canovic Neeli Cherkovski Pauline Craig John Curl Diego DeLeo Agneta Falk Francisco Herrera Jack Hirschman Rosemary Manno Sarah Menefee Shirin Sadeghi Toshi Washizu Cathleen Williams Sponsors:Revolutionary Poets BrigadeJuana Briones Cultural Committee

Breathe Between the Beats with Amos White

A Night of Beat Poetryand the Zen of Haiku Hear award winning Haiku poet Amos White’s breathless interpretations and vivid haiku read and recount those of Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac and more. With Featured Guest Poets: Clive Matson Jack Foley Mary Holman Andrew O. Dugas

North Beach Stories with Ray Hanna

A Comical & Musical JourneyThrough San Francisco’s Golden Age North Beach Stories is Ray Hanna’s searing comical and musical journey through the nightlife of the West Coast. Master storyteller, musician, and shameless name-dropper, Ray Hanna has seen it all, on the streets of North Beach and beyond—all the sleaze, drugs, trailblazing strippers, and punks acting […]

100 Thousand Poets for Change

Hosted by Bob Booker and Philip Hackett Open Mic (signup begins at 10am) Featured Poets Virginia Barrett Charles Curtis Blackwell Diego DeLeo EK Keith Jessica Loos Lucho (saxophone) Charles Marion Stormin’ Norman (saxophone) Wanda Sabir Peter Sherburn-Zimmer Richard Voorhees

9th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival

Hosted by Terry Adams and Fred Dodsworth Avotcja Blake More Bob Dickerson Carri Hechtman Carl Macki Chris Olander Clive Matson Dale Jensen Esther Kamkar Judy Wells Lee Rossi Peter Neil Carroll Leah Lubin (series founder) Gary Horsman Gwynn O’Gara Jack Foley (with Helen Wendy Loo) Joe Cottonwood Jym Marks Kim Shuck Gaetana Caldwell-Smith q.r. hand […]

The Living Theatre

Harold Norse Centennial

ruth weiss

performing live with jazz at Monroe | 473 Broadway, SF 21 and over only Purchase tickets: There are two options for purchasing tickets. Both members and non-members can purchase from either option. Right here at Kerouac.com Kerouac.com » If you’re a Beat Museum Member, log in to your account at checkout to claim your discount. […]

PW Covington, E.K. Keith, and SB Stokes

PW Covington‘s writing is fueled by the Beat tradition of the American highway and the lives of the men and women surrounding him on the edges of society. His poetry comes from war-ravaged Somalia airfields and from south Texas ranches, from homeless Tenderloin alleyways and forsaken southern prison cells, from the wilderness of Northern New […]

A Celebration of Haiku

This special event, hosted by Lean Frog & Mother’s Hen Publications, will both inform and entertain you about the birth of the San Francisco Bay Area haiku movement of the 1950s. Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and others, through their avid interest in Zen Buddhism, adapted this unique Japanese form to the new free-verse […]

Poet, Performer, and Playwright Genny Lim and Composer/Pianist Jon Jang

Part of Celebrating the Beats at Top of the Mark Genny Lim is a noted poet performer who’s collaborated with the late Max Roach and bassist, Herbie Lewis. Lim has performed at numerous jazz festivals and venues coast to coast, including the SF Jazz Poetry Festival and World Poetry Festivals in Venezuela, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy. Her poetry […]

Charles Curtis Blackwell, Vincent Kobelt, and the All Star Revue

Part of Celebrating the Beats at Top of the Mark Charles Curtis Blackwell, jazz poet, painter, and playwright, was born in San Francisco in 1950. His lifelong love for jazz and blues has helped him overcome the obstacle of near-blindness. He is published both nationally and internationally in a variety of magazines and publications including […]

wordWind Chorus

Part of Celebrating the Beats at Top of the Mark q. r. hand, jr. (voice and poetry), moved to the SF Bay Area from NYC about forty years ago. Originally published in the 1968 classic, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro American Writing, edited by Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) and Larry Neal, which has recently […]

‘To Break the Heart of the Sun’ – William Taylor Jr. Book Release

William Taylor, Jr. and friends return to the Beat Museum for the release of Taylor’s new collection of poems, To Break the Heart of the Sun. Featured readers include: Zarina Zabrisky and Simon Rogghe Writers Simon Zabrisky and Zarina Rogghe are Siamese twins separated at birth many lifetimes ago and still trying to get over […]

COPUS

Part of Celebrating the Beats at Top of the Mark Royal Kent’s love of poetry goes back to his formative high school years. Originally inspired by the legendary Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, he has performed with dancers, theatrical troupes, poets, and many bands including the Vancouver-based Band of Angels and Czech Republic-based Pseudo Pseudo. […]

Everybody’s Improper Maps: Mark Gurarie, Alex Crowley, Keara Driscoll, with Charlie Getter and Miguel Pereira

New York City poets Mark Gurarie, Alex Crowley, and Keara Driscoll are on tour, supporting the release of Gurarie’s new book Everybody’s Automat and Crowley’s Improper Maps. They are joined by San Francisco poets Charlie Getter and Miguel Pereira. Originally of Cleveland, Ohio, Mark Gurarie currently splits time between Brooklyn, New York and Northampton, Massachusetts. […]

Mavericks & Fools: Poetry of a Different Beat

Bringing the flavor and style of world famous 16th and Mission Street Poets to The Beat Museum: Charlie Getter 16th & Mission Thursdays Rusty Rebar James Zealous E K Keith Poems Under the Dome Norman Zelaya Mission poet Paul Corman-Roberts Beast Crawl, Oakland Missy Church Naked Bulb, Fruitvale Curated by Justice Morríghan Poetry haters welcomed. […]

The Art & Life of Jean Varda

featuringElizabeth Leavy Stromanand Herbert Gold Join us for a special celebration of the book release, with film and discussion and special guests including SF writer and Varda friend Herb Gold. Refreshments will be served. Jean Varda was a legendary iconoclast in the 20th century art world. Acclaimed in Europe for his “Byzantine-Cubist mosaics,” fashioned from […]

Jack Kerouac Birthday

Join us as we celebrate what would have been Jack’s 94th birthday. This event will feature readings, storytelling, and music by The Dharma Bums. Just added: Geoffrey Pond is an actor, musician and artistic director for the Bay Area’s Subterranean Shakespeare Theatre. He will be presenting an excerpt from his upcoming solo show SAN FRANCISCO: […]

On Fire! Women of a Different Beat

Curated by Justice Morríghan In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re proud to present some of the Bay Area’s best women poets: E.K. Keith Mk Chavez Daphne Gottlieb Kim Shuck Natasha Dennerstein Anna Wolfe Valerie Ibarra

Celebrating Black History with Poetry & Jazz

Celebrate Black History Month with poetry and jazz, featuring the following poets and musicians: Charles Curtis Blackwell – Jazz Poet Wanda Sabir – Poet and Professor Gail Mitchell – Poet q.r. hand jr. – Poet Jaroba – Sax, Bass Clarinet J.J. Rush – Poet and Performer Lucho – Saxophone …and other surprises!

11th Annual Neal Cassady Birthday Bash

It’s that time of year again! Join us as we celebrate Neal Cassady—the enigmatic personality at the center of the Beat Generation. Featuring music, stories, readings, and more. Further details soon…

Haight Ashbury Literary Journal

The Haight Ashbury Literary Journal was started in 1979 by Indigo Hotchkiss and Cliff McIntire. It has since expanded from a local journal to include national and international writers. Many of the Journal‘s writers have become Poets Laureate. The Journal has had several editors over the years, who have continued to print varied and often […]

Neeli Cherkovski & Friends: ‘The Crow and I’ Book Release

Celebrating the release of Neeli Cherkovski’s newest book, The Crow and I, featuring: Cassandra Dallett Paul Corman-Roberts William Taylor Jr. S.B. Stokes …and of course, Neeli Cherkovski Neeli Cherkovski continues his poetic exploration started with his PEN Award winning Leaning Against Time, followed by From the Canyon Outward and now with The Crow and I. […]

Celebrating the Holidays with Jazz & Poetry

Join jazz poet Charles Curtis Blackwell and the All-Star Revue for an evening of poetry and jazz, just in time for the holiday season! More details forthcoming…

Bob Holman: “Ginsberg’s Karma” – Allen Ginsberg in India

When poet Bob Holman was invited to represent the US at the 2008 Kolkota Book Fair, he was at last able to take up the offer of his friend, Ram Devineni, to collaborate on a film. The result is the half-hour documentary, Ginsberg’s Karma, in which Holman and a gang of young Indian poets go […]

Toby Lurie’s Lost Coast Word Music Ensemble

Toby Lurie’s Lost Coast Word Music Ensemble returns to the Beat Museum, performing new work. Hear the spoken word as you have never heard it before. Think of the Beats, Pop, Experimental Spoken Word with a Dada sensibility. Lurie’s language experiments are truly transcendent. Poet, composer and painter Toby Lurie performs with special guests, Marylyn […]

Going-Away Party for Ezekiel Tyrus

The Beat Museum’s own Ezekiel Tyrus has succumbed to the allure of the tropics, and will soon be leaving us for new adventures on the sunny beaches of Costa Rica. To bid him a fond farewell, we’re throwing him a going-away party, featuring readings from a few of E.T.’s many talented literary friends: William Taylor, […]

‘Before Passing’: Great Weather for Media Anthology Release

Richard LorangerMaster of Ceremonies Great Weather for Media presents their latest anthology, Before Passing, featuring stunning poetry and short fiction by national and international writers from across the United States and beyond. It also includes an in-depth interview with Anne Waldman conducted by Aimee Herman. Contributors include: Aleph Altman-Mills, Penny Arcade, Amber Atiya, Toni La […]

UPDATED: Love Potions & Illuminations

Join us for an evening of poetry and music, featuring the following artists: Poets Bill Berkson Neeli Cherkovski A. D. Winans Al Young Cara Vida Steven Gray Sarah Page Mòng-Lan Dave Brinks Andrea McNaughton A. Razor Musicians world renowned alto saxophonist Loren Pickford award-winning bassist Lucas Pickford pianist & vocalist Mòng-Lan guitarist Steven Gray Additional […]

Short Film Debut: ‘The Ferlinghetti School of Poetics’ with Joan Gelfand & Dana Walden

Join poet Joan Gelfand and Dana Walden, creator of the short film “The Ferlinghetti School of Poetics,” for a screening of the film, a reading of Gelfand’s poem of the same name, followed by a discussion of the film.

8th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival

with Hosts Terry Adams & Fred Dodsworth We are working poets, from all over the Bay Area, one to two generations younger than the original “Beats.” New voices, in a new, and no less troubled cultural crucible, invoking the “Muse” of the Beat heritage, on the generous stage of The Beat Museum. This year we […]

Open Mic: 100 Thousand Poets for Change

Join us for an afternoon/evening of poetry, part of 100 Thousand Poets for Change. Bring your poems—this is an all-open mic event. Sign up at 3:30. Readings begin at 4pm. What does “change” mean to you? “Change” means something different to everyone. What kind of change do you want to see in the world?

COPUS Album Release with Royal Kent & Wendy Loomis

Join us for an evening of poetry, music, scintillating conversation, and general revelry with COPUS, celebrating the release of their latest album, Aspects. Aspects includes 10 original compositions exploring the creative, emotional, financial, spiritual aspects of our lives. Also included is an arrangement of “1983 A Merman I Should Turn to Be,” a poignant anti-war […]

Alejandro Murguía, Michael Koch, and Cara Vida

Ye culture vultures of refined disposition, you’re not going to want to miss this one, at the Beat Museum: three very original voices from out the depths and breaths of poetry will deliver unto the public altar the treasures and jewels they have ferreted out of the soil and mists of human complexity. Cara Vida […]

Andy Clausen, Pamela Twining, and A.D. Winans

Woodstock, NY poets Andy Clausen and Pamela Twining hit the road, venturing off on a “Beat Revival Tour,” destination: San Francisco. Joining them is San Francisco poet A.D. Winans. Events at the Beat Museum are free of charge, made possible by Friends of the Beat Museum. Andy Clausen Andy Clausen was raised in Oakland California […]

‘Clouds Running In’ by Kim Shuck – Book Release

Kim Shuck and friends celebrate the release of Kim’s latest collection of poems, Clouds Running In. This event will feature readings by: Avotcja Gail Mitchell Linda Noel Sherry Wilson Angelica Segura-Brandi Ed Dang

ruth weiss and Company

Herb Caen called her “The Beat Generation Goddess”—ruth weiss performs with Doug O’Connor (acoustic bass), Rent Romus (saxophone), and Hal Davis (percussion). ruth weiss STATE MEANT for me poetry is teacher, healer & disciplinarian. poetry is the messenger of language, the tuner that vibrates the communication chord. this is my chosen path & assignment ruth […]

From San Francisco to Europe & Back

Former San Francisco Poet Laureate, painter & translator, Jack Hirschman performs with Swedish-born San Francisco poet, Agneta Falk and special guest, George Long on saxophone. Jack Hirschman is a poet and painter and has translated over two dozen books from German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Albanian, and Greek. He is an assistant editor at the […]

Charlie Getter Extravaganzer

Charlie Getter presents an evening with Ed Bowers, Brandon Loberg, and music by Goddamnit Jonny. Poetry readings, after which Charlie will attempt his best James Lipton, interviewing Bowers and Loberg on poetry. We’ll also hear from EK Keith, Val Ibarra, and the legendary Diamond Dave, talking about Poems Under the Dome, now in its 10th […]

wordWind Chorus

The wordWind chorus performs with q.r. hand jr. (poetry, voice), Lewis Jordan (saxophone, poetry, voice), and Brian Auerbach (poetry, voice). q. r. hand, jr. voice and poetry, moved to the SF Bay Area from NYC about forty years ago. Originally published in the 1968 classic, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro American Writing, edited by […]

Narcisa: Our Lady of Ashes by Jonathan Shaw

Live readings and spoken word performance by Jonathan Shaw, with music by Gregg Foreman of CAT POWER, Brandon Burkart of THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY, and special guest artists. From Johnny Depp and Infinitum Nihil, in partnership with Harper Perennial, comes the first trade edition of Narcisa: Our Lady of Ashes, a subterranean cult classic by […]

Michelle Tea presents RADAR

Michelle Tea presents RADAR: An Evening of Edgy Literary Performance from San Francisco’s Underground. Michelle Tea is the author of five memoirs, most recently How to Grow Up, published by Penguin/Plume. She has written three novels, including a Young Adult fantasy trilogy currently being released by McSweeney’s, and her poetry chapbooks have been collected into […]

COPUS Spoken Word/World-Beat Ensemble

COPUS, spoken word/world-beat ensemble featuring San Francisco poet Royal Kent, and composer Wendy Loomis. Royal Kent‘s love of poetry goes back to his formative high school years. Originally inspired by the legendary Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, he has performed with dancers, theatrical troupes, poets, and many bands including the Vancouver-based Band of Angels and […]

“Peoplescapes” with artist Nancy Calef and Jody Weiner

Join Nancy Calef and Jody Weiner for a presentation of their collaborative book, Peoplescapes—My Story from Purging to Painting, featuring Nancy’s unique paintings. From the book: “This transformational journey in words and pictures chronicles Nancy Calef’s evolution from child model, suffering anorexia and bulimia, through recovery and maturation into a multi-disciplined artist renowned for her […]

The Word Party

Poetry & Jazz featuring poets and musicians from The Word Party series and the Nova Jazz Band, including Jennifer Barone (poet and host), Daniel Heffez (saxophone), and Ingrid Keir, Cara Vida, and Natasha Dennerstein. Jennifer Barone is an author of three books of poetry, her most recent titled Saporoso – poems of Italian Food & […]

Beat Remix with Michelle Tea & RADAR

Featuring… Lil Miss Hot Mess Raquel Gutiérrez Kate Schatz Lauren Wheeler Bucky Sinister Ben McCoy Lil Miss Hot Mess bedazzles audiences in San Francisco and beyond with a unique blend of camp, critique, and choreography. Known for throwing elaborate extravaganzas like her “Bat Mitzvah x2” and roller skating parties, as well as her use of […]

Poetry Through the Generations

San Francisco Poetry Through the Generations with San Francisco poets A.D.Winans, Neeli Cherkovski, William Taylor, Jr., and Cassandra Dallett. A.D. Winans is a native San Francisco poet and writer. He is the author of over 60 books and chapbooks of poetry and prose. His work has been translated into nine languages. He edited and published […]

Jack Kerouac 93rd Birthday

It’s that time of year again! Jack Kerouac would have been 93 this March. Join us in celebrating his life and work with special guest Al Hinkle (“Big Ed Dunkel” from On the Road), sharing his reminiscences of his adventures with Kerouac and Cassady. Featuring music from The Dharma Bums, performing with Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth), come […]

Charles Curtis Blackwell & Vincent Kobelt

Jazz poet, painter & playwright Charles Curtis Blackwell and poet Vincent Kobelt perform with The All-Star Revue from their new CD release, Catch the First Thing Smokin’ and other works. Charles Curtis Blackwell, jazz poet, painter and playwright, whose art work has been featured in the New York Times and on PBS television; born in […]

Alejandro Murguía

San Francisco Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía, The Voice of the Mission performs with jazz accompaniment. Alejandro Murguía is the author of This War Called Love (winner of the American Book Award) and The Medicine of Memory: A Mexica Clan in California (University of Texas Press). Currently he is a professor in Latina/Latino Studies at San […]

Psychedelic Tales with Rhoney Stanley

Rhoney Stanley, author of Owsley & Me: My LSD Family, returns to the Beat Museum. With musical accompaniment by David Gans. Also featuring a discussion between Stanley and author Jay Williams, regarding whether (or to what extent) the Grateful Dead were in the lineage of the Beat Generation.

Celebrating Black History Month

Join us for an evening of poetry and jazz in celebration of Black History Month, featuring performances by: Charles Curtis Blackwell Maketa Groves q.r. hand, jr. Gail Mitchell Chokwadi Ramu Aki James Martin Linda Steele & special guest, Stormin’ Norman on sax This is a free event sponsored by the Foundation for Creative Expression

10th Annual Neal Cassady Birthday Bash

with special guest Jim Canary Keeper of The Original Scroll, Jack Kerouac’s testimony of his travels with Neal Cassady. Jim will show photos of his travels around the world the last ten years setting up the 120 foot long scroll in places like Paris & London in addition to dozens of cities across the USA. […]

Herbert Huncke Centennial

Presented by the Beat Museum and Unrequited Records Herbert Huncke has long been a marginal figure among marginal figures. A Times Square hustler whose writings shone a naked bulb upon the gritty urban underworld, peopled with dispossessed characters scraping an existence from the fringes of society, Huncke not only inspired the Beat Generation—he gave it […]

The Joan Anderson Letter: Gerd Stern & Mike McQuate

The man who saved the Joan Anderson Letter meets the man whose reputation he saved. For sixty years, Gerd Stern was the guy who ‘lost’ the Joan Anderson Letter. Allen Ginsberg said he gave it to Gerd for publication by Ace Books and when Ace rejected it, Gerd never gave it back. Jack Kerouac, in […]

An Evening with Zeitgeist Press & Manic D Press

A Reading by Authors and Editors of Two Seminal SF Small Presses The Beat Museum is proud to present an evening by two influential San Francisco small presses, Manic-D Press and Zeitgeist Books.  Zeitgeist grew out of the infamous Cafe Babar reading series of the 80’s and 90’s, spearheaded by Bruce Isaacson both in voice […]

William Taylor Jr. – Book Release – ‘The Blood of a Tourist’

Join us for the release of William Taylor’s new book, The Blood of a Tourist, published by Sunnyoutside Press Featuring: Ezekiel Tyrus Joel Landmine Cassandra Dallet Hollie Hardy A.D. Winans Neeli Cherkovski William Taylor Jr. plus a musical performance by Kitty Chow

Howard Luck Gossage: “The Socrates of San Francisco”

Writer and filmmaker Steve Harrison, author of Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man, discusses the life and times of Howard Luck Gossage, “America’s most innovative, influential and irreverent advertising genius” with a multimedia presentation featuring rare footage of Gossage and company, followed by a booksigning. Changing the World is […]

Great Weather for Media – Book Release

I Let Go of the Stars in My Hand is a fearless, dynamic collection of contemporary poetry and short fiction by established and emerging writers from across the United States and beyond. The anthology also includes an interview with John Sinclair, the legendary jazz/blues poet, former manager of the MC5, radio host, and activist. Hosted […]

“Catch the First Thing Smokin'” – CD Release

with jazz poet, playwright and painter Charles Curtis Blackwell – vocals Brian Kendricks – drums Phillip Bailey – horn Ruth Britten – horn Carolyn Kendricks – violin Vincent Kobelt – poet/vocals There will also be a display of Jazz & Abstract Paintings by Charles Curtis Blackwell.

A Night of Poetry and Performance

Ramu Aki – This African-American poet, artist, and social critic, is riddled with originality in everything he does and touches. A true revolutionary of the spirit he brings to mind with depth and continuity that sublime conviction of Che Guevara’s when he said, “At the expense of seeming ridiculous, I believe that all true revolutionaries […]

7th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival

World of Change: Jack Kerouac Is Alive and Well! MCs: David Madgalene & Terry Adams Gor Yaswen * The Word-Music Continuum * Margo van Veen * Bill Vartnaw * Peter Sherburn-Zimmer * Jonah Raskin * Jeanne Powell * Gwynn O’Gara * Jim Miller * Andrew Mayer * Clive Matson * Jym Marks * Kirk Lumpkin […]

Remembering Carolyn Cassady

The Cassady family will be hosting a 1 year memorial to celebrate Carolyn Cassady’s life. The event will be held in San Jose, California, from noon to 4pm, September 20th, 2014.  They  will be posting highlights and pictures of the memorial on the Neal Cassady Estate website in October, so please return for a summary of […]

Toby Lurie’s ‘s Lost Coast Word-Music Ensemble

Toby Lurie’s Lost Coast Word-Music Ensemble returns to The Beat Museum for an encore performance. Hear the spoken word as you have never heard it before. Think of the Beats, Pop, Experimental Spoken Word with a Dada sensibility. Lurie’s language experiments are truly transcendent. Poet, composer and painter Toby Lurie performs with special guests, Marylyn […]

Open Mic – (Not) Washed Up in North Beach

Event organized by Noémie Sornet There’s been a major resurgence of interest in the Beats—particularly among young people. More and more new poets, writers and artists are discovering—or rediscovering—the Beat Generation, finding their ideas profoundly relevant in today’s uncertain and rapidly changing world. On Friday, July 18, 7pm, we’re hosting an open mic night at […]

Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments

Tony Trigilio brings together for the first time all of the poems and fragments in Elise Cowen’s surviving notebook, recovering the work of a postwar female poet whose reputation had been submerged for more than a half-century. Remembered dismissively as the woman who dated Allen Ginsberg for a brief time in the early 1950s, she […]

Books, Beats and Blues with Terry Tarnoff, P.A. Slim, and Ned Boynton

Updated: Now with special guest, guitarist Ned Boynton The earliest days of the Beat Generation, further travels “on the road,” and the music that provided the soundtrack for a generation of wanderers The Beat Museum announces a reading/performance by San Francisco writer Terry Tarnoff on Friday, June 27, 2014, from 7:30-9:30 PM. Tarnoff, whose groundbreaking […]

Linda King: Loving and Hating Charles Bukowski

There are many books about Charles Bukowski, but none like this one. Linda King’s Loving and Hating Charles Bukowski looks at Bukowski from the other side of the mirror. It is raw, it is raucous, it is a no-holds-barred account of their five-year on-again off-again relationship, a relationship so intense and passionate, so deep and […]

Howl for Ginsberg

Celebration on Allen Ginsberg’s 88th Birthday Neeli Cherkovski Alan Kaufman George Scrivani John Landry A.D. Winans Marina Lazzara Robbie Sugg Dee Allen William Taylor, Jr. others to be announced…

Jerry Kamstra: The Frisco Kid Returns

presented by Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts Jerry Kamstra is the well-known author of the top-selling books Weed: Adventures of a Dope Smuggler and The Frisco Kid, among many other literary achievements as a poet, editor and publisher. He is a designer, artist, lecturer and educator. He lives in Santa Cruz, CA. Upon its release, the […]

National Poetry Month Open Mic

Join us as the Beat Museum celebrates National Poetry Month with an open mic night. If you’re interested in reading, please arrive at 6:30pm, before the show, to sign up.

Remembering Bob Kaufman

An evening featuring the life and poetry of Bob Kaufman, with Poet & Biographer Neeli Cherkovski reading from “Elegy to Bob Kaufman,” and special guest Jack Hirschman. Bring a favorite Bob Kaufman poem to read!

Ambush Review #4 Launch

Celebrating National Poetry Month Ambush Review #4 Launch & Reading Hosted by Editors Bob Booker & Patrick Cahill with contributors: David Beckman Sharon Coleman Ed Coletti Katherine Hastings Jack Hirschman klipschutz Jami Proctor-Xu Gerald Fleming Linda E. Norton Lissa Tyler Renaud

‘World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down’ by Christian McEwan

 West Coast book launch presented by The Beat Museum and Literary Cadences …When a thought comes a-springing from afar with its held- forth figure of image, you spoof it out, you spuff it off, you fake it, and it fades… Jack Kerouac, from “How to Meditate” Christian McEwen, author of World Enough & Time: On […]

Rhoney Stanley Returns ‘Owsley & Me: My LSD Family”

Reading and booksigning, with David Gans on guitar. “OWSLEY ‘BEAR’ STANLEY met her in Berkeley in 1965, when LSD was still legal and he was the world’s largest producer and distributor of LSD. Rhoney found herself working in an LSD laboratory, and the third corner in a love triangle. We have all heard the stories […]

Women of the Beat Generation

Publisher, editor & writer Brenda Knight & friends present an evening celebrating the writers, artists, and muses at the heart of a revolution. Joanna McClure has been writing poetry since the 1950s and worked for 35 years in early childhood development. The author of several poetry collections, she continues to give readings and publish her […]

Jack Kerouac’s 92nd Birthday

Join us at the Beat Museum as we celebrate the life and work of Jack Kerouac. Event will feature a talk about Jack prepared by Brandon Loberg, and live performance by The Dharma Bums. Purchase the poster »

Celebrating Black History

with jazz poet Charles Curtis Blackwell, Gail Mitchell, Q.R. Hand Jr., James Martin, Ramu Aki, Brian Johnson, Larry Ware & Friends, with jazz accompaniment by Luis Cardenas (sax) & Toku Woo (guitar).

Burroughs@100

RE/Search Publications with V.Vale presents “William S. Burroughs at 100.” Join us as we celebrate William S. Burroughs on what would have been his 100th birthday. V.Vale will show rare slides, talk about his times with “Old Bull Lee” Bill Burroughs and there will be a surprise “presentation” too secret to reveal in advance.

9th Annual Neal Cassady Birthday Bash

Our annual tribute to Neal Cassady, the “secret hero” of “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg and the inspiration for Jack Kerouac’s character ‘Dean Moriarty’ in On the Road. This event will feature his son, John Allen Cassady, sharing reflections and reminisces of his father, Neal, and his recently departed mother, Carolyn, and special guest Al Hinkle […]

Owsley & Me Booksigning

“OWSLEY ‘BEAR’ STANLEY met her in Berkeley in 1965, when LSD was still legal and he was the world’s largest producer and distributor of LSD. Rhoney found herself working in an LSD laboratory, and the third corner in a love triangle. We have all heard the stories from the ’60s—but never from the point of […]

Re-Invent the Scroll

On Saturday, October 27th, The Beat Museum will be hosting guests from all over the world for an induction ceremony of the “Reinvented Scroll” of Jack Kerouac. Above: Kerouac’s original scroll. The ‘scroll’ being inducted into the Museum is an homage to Kerouac’s original, assembled from the contributions of Kerouac fans the world over. This […]

PASSPORT 2012 – North Beach

For the first time, The Beat Museum will be one of the stops on PASSPORT, an annual DIY art-collecting event benefitting the SF Arts Commission Galleries. PASSPORT places Bay Area artists in select locations, and invites participants to embark on an afternoon art-walk through North Beach, collecting stamps created by each of the featured artists […]

5th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival

Two days of poetry, presented in conjunction with100 Thousand Poets for Change Saturday, Sept. 29th: Beat Spirituality Featured presenters to include Mark Eckert, Raging Granny Vee, David James Randolph, Leah Lubin, Andrew Mayer, Marcia Moonstar, Gaetana Caldwell-Smith, Joan Gelfand, and others to be named. Hosted by David Madgalene 3-5pm Sunday, Sept. 30th: Psychedelic Sunday Featured […]

READ ‘TIL THEY BLEED! – Suzi Kaplan Olmsted, Peter Marti & friends

Sparring With Beatnik Ghosts, Round 42 Celebrating the publication of Marti’s Elephants I Didn’t Ride & Kaplan Olmsted’s Electra’s Mouth. Spar hosted by Marc Olmsted. Plus: Open mic lottery. Suzi Kaplan Olmsted has appeared in The Sun, Blue Satellite, 51%, F.T.S, Big Scream, poetrysuperhighway.com, M.A.G., Lummox Journal, getunderground.com, and Napalm Health Spa. Suzi recently read […]

PRANKSTER GIRL – Anne Murphy and Lynn Rogers

Sparring With Beatnik Ghosts, Round 41 A woman’s view of Neal and the Beats from two generations, featuring Anne Murphy and Lynn Rogers, plus speacial guests. Spar hosted by Daniel Yaryan. Plus: Open mic lottery. Anne Murphy has written the most controversial memoir on her adventures as the companion of Beat legend Neal Cassady and […]

Revolutionaries en passant

A booksigning party featuring: “Al The Pirate” Havassy Copies of his novel will be available for sale and signing. Jessica Loos Poetry Momo Poetry and Art Paul K. Bach Reading from his novel Mark Schwartz Poetry Linsley Bock Poetry Art Exposé Please join us as these North Beach writers and artists share their work.

Woody & Jack – A Conversation About Two American Heroes

2012 marks Jack Kerouac’s 90th Birthday and Woody Guthrie’s 100th. Our good friend Steve Edington (author of The Beat Face of God and past President of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac) will be in California in the next few weeks. Steve just completed a new book on Woody Guthrie and will be sharing his latest passion for […]

The Painted Word at Meridian Gallery

The Painted Word, on display at Meridian Gallery until July 14th, is an exhibition comprised of over 80 artworks by some of the Bay Area’s foremost poets and writers. This very special exhibition provides a rare glimpse into additional modes of reflection used by these individuals – whether drawing, painting or photography. Anne Trueblood Brodzky, […]

Shig Murao Anniversary + Allen Ginsberg’s 86th Birthday

Soon after Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin opened the City Lights Pocket Book Shop in 1953, they hired Shigeyoshi “Shig” Murao as their first clerk. Shig was young and charismatic, with an infectious geniality that became as integral a part of the bookstore’s culture as the paperbound volumes on its shelves. Shig Murao was born […]

Matt Theado: On the Road to Hollywood

It’s no secret we’re excited about the imminent release of On the Road in theatres. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been reading along as we’ve done our best to provide you as many details as possible (you’re welcome), concerning the journey Kerouac’s beloved classic has made from book to film. That journey, however, is […]

Marc Olmsted & Jonah Raskin

Marc Olmsted (author of What Use Am I a Hungry Ghost?) and Jonah Raskin (author of American Scream) welcome the Beat Studies Association and its participation in the American Literature Association Annual Conference in San Francisco with a poetry reading at the Beat Museum, hosted by “Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts.”

The Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel Book Release

North Atlantic Books presents the first-ever publication of The Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel. You really don’t want to miss this one. Readers will include: Peter Coyote ruth weiss Brenda Knight (Women of the Beat Generation) Lindy Hough (poet, Wild Horses, Wild Dreams) Dan Langton (SF Poetry Center) Lenore Kandel (1932-2009) was a member of […]

The Lost Coast Spoken-Music Ensemble

Back by popular demand, the Lost Coast Spoken-Music Ensemble returns to the Beat Museum. Join us for this unique performance with very special guests Toby Lurie, Toni Orans, and Motherbear. This new form of spoken music and improvisation needs to be experienced. Come prepared to participate in orchestrations. “When language becomes music, becomes poetry, becomes […]

National Haiku Poetry Day

The Beats introduced the English-language haiku to much of America. What better place to celebrate the haiku poetry form than the Beat Museum! During National Poetry Month! The history of the Beat poets’ interest and experiments in haiku, and how the traces of their work manifests itself in poetry today will be provided. Notable Bay […]

Dharma Bums: An Evening of Beat Zen with Mel Ash

This three-hour participatory workshop with Zen teacher and Beat Spirit author Mel Ash is an entertaining and enlightening introduction to our rich local Zen history and heritage, as introduced by the Beat Generation. Wear confortable clothing, bring your original mind, a notebook/sketchbook, pen/pencil, and cushion (Zafu or pillow) if desired. A perfect way to meet […]

Tony Serra’s Prison Camp Chronicles

Tony Serra will be reading from his new book, Prison Camp Chronicles published by Grizzly Peak Press. The book is a collection of poems, prose and essays written while doing time in Lompoc Prison Camp for refusal to pay taxes during the second Bush administration. Liv Zutphen will be performing poems about Los Angeles and […]

Frank Albers, author of Beatland

Frank Albers, Belgian Professor of literature and author of the book

Sparring With Beatnik Ghosts: Round 34

The reading series that packs a punch returns to the Beat Museum, with performances by both established poets and talented newcomers. JERRY KAMSTRA was born in a mining camp in a shack buried under thirty-five feet of snow. His father, a Dutch immigrant, made his living as a hard-rock miner. His mother was the daughter […]

Jack Kerouac Birthday Bash

Brenda Knight, (author of Women of the Beat Generation) & Cleis Press present the Jack Kerouac Birthday Bash—a celebration of the eternal spirit of the birthday boy himself on this, what would have been his 90th birthday. More details to be announced.

Jack Hirschman Presents: “A Leap Forward”

The Beat Museum, in solidarity with the World Poetry Movement presents A Leap Forward, a leap-year’s day open mic to celebrate all that’s going on all over the world. Readings by the following poets: Jimmy Mankind Sharon Doubiago Agneta Falk Bobby Coleman Gary Hicks Yolanda Catzalco Dottie Payne Jack Hirschman Everyone is welcome to participate. […]

Gerald Nicosia: One and Only – The Untold Story of On the Road

Beloved by both Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, Lu Anne Henderson’s story has never been told. Lu Anne was a beautiful 15-year-old girl in Denver in 1945 when she met Neal, a fast-talking hurricane of male sexuality and vast promises. The two married, and soon they were hanging out with a group of would-be writers, […]

Alan Kaufman: Drunken Angel Booksigning

Son of a French Holocaust survivor, Alan Kaufman was an alcoholic so mauled by his indulgences it’s a marvel he was alive enough to get into recovery. Drunken Angel, published in November 2011 by Viva Editions, is the story of how he climbed up from the abyss of a life pickled in self-pity, self-loathing and […]

ruth weiss: can’t stop the beat

Beat Poet ruth weiss returns to the Beat Museum to celebrate the release of her newest book of poems, can’t stop the beat. Percussionist Hal Davis will join her. ruth weiss is one of the last living poets of the Beat Generation. Born to a Jewish family during the rise of Nazism, she eventually made […]

The Revolutionary Poets Brigade Presents: In Your Face Again

The Revolutionary Poets Brigade presents passionately engaged and provocatively attuned poems of and for our challenged and challenging times. Readers include: Jorge Argueta, Mahnaz Badihian, Virginia Barrett, Kristine Brown,Giancarlo Campagna, Bob Coleman, Edward Frank, Richard Gross, Jessica Loos, Jimmy Mankind, Sarah Menefee, Francisco Orrego, Arthur Sheridan, with music by George Long and hosted by Jack […]

Henry Miller Slept Here: The Ping-Pong Anthology Release Party

Ping-Pong is a journal of art and literature published annually by the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur, CA. The event will feature MC Maria Garcia Teutsch, with readings by recent contributors. Two films from the Verruckter Schwanz cinepoetry festival will be shown. Come by and plant yourself at the intersection of film and […]

Voices of North Beach: A Literary Tour

Join us for a literary walking tour of North Beach, starting at The Beat Museum on Broadway. Along the way, we’ll hear famous, (or would that be infamous?) voices in passages embodying what San Francisco means to its denizens. The tour ends at Tosca just in time for the Mean Streets event. Please note: Comfortable […]

Queer North Beach and Beyond 1930 – 1965

Michael Flanagan will trace the history of queer North Beach from its beginnings to the period in the 60s when the community moved (in large part) to other parts of the city and answer these questions. By reading from the biographies and memoirs of Jack Spicer, Sam Steward, Elsa Gidlow, Allen Ginsberg, James Broughton and […]