2024 Events
JAN 27 Woodland Pattern Poetry Marathon fundraiser. Featured poet in #ALeetleMoment segment. Watch here.
FEB 6-9 SWWIM poet residency at The Betsy Hotel, Miami FL. Feb 7, Meet the Artist + Reading at The Betsy. 6, 7:30.
FEB 16 UCR 47th annual Writers’ Week. Panel with Cindy Yuyoung Ok & Prageeta Sharma, in person and via Crowdcast 6:30pm PT
FEB 19 Scripps College Poetry Reading.
FEB 29 CSU Chico, Featured Writer, “The Writer’s Voice.” 6pm.
MAR 21 Triptych Visiting Reader Series, University of Detroit, Mercy. 6:30pm ET Virtual
MAR 28 HERstory Celebration, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, 705 Front St. 5:30-8pm.
APR 6 Poetry for Peace in Palestine, a benefit for Middle East Children’s Alliance. Carmel, CA. 3pm. Recorded here.
APR 10 Inaugural Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate Celebration. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz. 6pm.
APR 13 Sierra Poetry Festival, Featured Poet. Center for the Arts, Grass Valley, CA. All day.
Workshops and Classes
2024
APR 13 Freedom Inside Form(s). Sierra Poetry Festival workshop. Grass Valley, CA.
FEB 29 Advanced Poetry Workshop, Campus visit, CSU Chico.
FEB 3 Women’s History Month: Writing Poems to Honor Women. Workshop with Youth-Led Leadership Alliance, Santa Cruz County. County Office of Education.
JAN 31 Poetics of Space. Reading, conversation and workshops with 4th-5th grade class. Avenues School Silicon Valley, CA.
PAST
OCT 24, 2023 Visiting Writer, Eagle Pond Authors’ Series, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH.
OCT 4 Campus Vist, Kirby School, Santa Cruz, CA.
JULY 17, 2023 Book talk and reading; life as a Persian learner, citizen of the diaspora, and Iranian American poet. University of Maryland Persian Language Institute.
JUNE & JULY Six workshops for youth ages 6-18. Santa Cruz Public Libraries (multiple branches, multiple ages). More info about this series here.
APR 29, 2023 Generative poetry class for high school students at the Westchester Poetry Festival.
APR 6, 2023 Class visit (Zoom): Amherst College Poetry Workshop.
MAR 2, 2023 Guest lecture on revision in the Inkubator with Dilruba Ahmed.
FEB 21, 2023 Campus visit: California College of the Arts.
FEB 11, 2023 Where I Was, Who I Am: Language, Place, Memory. Zoom workshop at Hudson Valley Writer’s Center. 12:30-4:30 ET. Postponed.
OCT 2022 Class Visits: The Ohio State; Miami University of OH; Stegner Fellows, Stanford University, Zoom.
OCT 17-21 Workshop, Wick Poetry Center, Kent State University.
SEPT 19 Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, “Language, History, Identity: Poetry at the Intersections.” Virtual panel + workshop with Leonora Simonovis and Cynthia Parker-Ohene. Free. Register here.
JUNE 27 Class lecture and reading to University of Maryland Summer Persian Institute (via Zoom).
Past Events
2023
NOV 4 Poets in Conversation with Lisa Ortiz. Zoom, 4pm PDT
NOV 18 Broadsides: Pairing Artwork with Poetry from the Morton Marcus Community of Poets. Opening reception & Reading. m.k. contemporary art 703 Front St.. 4-6pm.
DEC 1 First Friday reception for Broadsides, m.k. contemporary art
OCT 5 WRITERS OF COLOR - SANTA CRUZ, Museum of Art & History, 6-9pm. In person.
OCT 14 Poetry Reading with Osama Esber, Pacific Grove Library, 550 Central Ave, Pacific Grove. 5:30-6:30. Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium. .
OCT 24 Visiting Writer, Eagle Pond Authors’ Series, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH. Public reading 7pm, Smith Recital Hall.
OCT 26-28 Mizna+RAWI Fest Panel with Yasmine Ameli, Persis Karim, Saba Keramati & Leila Mansour. Minneapolis, MN.
SEPT 28-NOV 4 The Voice in the Hand: Book Arts & Printmaking. Poem/broadside of “Untranslated” included in show. Petaluma Arts Center, 230 Lakeville St, Petaluma. Reception 9/28 & Curator walk-through October 28.
SEPT 19 Storyknife Writers Retreat reading. Hosted by 49 Writers, 7pm AKDT. Via Zoom.
AUG 4 Poet-in-Residence, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Opening Night Poem, performance.
AUG 4 First Books Panel, Napa Valley Writers’ Conference.
JUNE 4 Poetry in the Park with Victoria Bañales & Billy Butler. 1pm.
JUNE 3 Poetry & Music in the Garden, Chadwick Garden, UCSC. 12-2pm.
JUNE 1 Featured Reader, Watsonville Poet’s Circle. Watsonville Public Library, and virtual. 5-7pm.
MAY 27 Hair in the Wind virtual reading to support Women & Men protesting in Iran. 3pm PT; inquire for link.
MAY 23 Featured Poet, Inter|Act Spoken Word Open Mic. Abbott Square, Santa Cruz. 7pm
MAY 21 2nd Sundays Reading Series. 3pm. Registration Required.
APR 29 Westchester Poetry Festival. 1-4pm. Reading with Ilya Kaminsky, Katie Farris, Jennifer Franklin & Tina Cane.
APR 28 A Novel Idea Bookstore with Sham-e-Ali Nayeem. 6pm. Philadelphia, PA.
APR 23 Get Lit! Panel, time tba with Sindya Bhanoo and Vanessa A. Bee. Ella’s Theater, 1017 W. First Spokane, WA 99201.
APR 22 Get Lit! 25th Anniversary. Poetry Salon, 2:30-3:30. Ella’s Theater, CMarie Fuhrman (moderator). 1017 W. First Spokane, WA 99201.
APR 20-23 Get Lit! 25th Anniversary.
APR 18 Community Salon: An artist sharing series in conjunction with the play, English. Berkeley Rep. 7pm.
APR 13 World Languages Poetry Showcase. Harbor High School. 5:30-7:30.
MAR 14 Second Tuesday Poetry Series, with Rooja Mohassessy. 7pm. Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center. Zoom.
MAR 10 NO IRRITABLE REACHING reading. Seattle/Santa Cruz poets. Gallery 110. 110 3rd Ave. Seattle. 7-9pm.
MAR 9 Panel, Rhizomatic Literary Communities: From the Local to the National. Seattle Convention Center. 1:45-3pm. Room 332, Summit Building.
MAR 4 Al-Mutanabbi St. Starts Here Reading. 4pm. Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA. Rm 322. FEB 23 Poet Laureates Reading. 6:30pm. Two Birds Bookstore. 881 41st Ave.
FEB 17 Reading/reception. 5-8pm. Minnow Gallery. 204 Locust St. Santa Cruz. With Melody Overstreet.
DEC 14 Grolier Poetry Book Shop. With Matt Donovan & Vincent Katz. 7pm. Cambridge, MA.
DEC 9 Beyond Baroque with Lisa Ortiz and Leonora Simonovis. 7pm. 681 Venice Blvd. Venice, CA. In person and via YouTube.
DEC 8 Winter Poetry in the Hay Barn with Kelly Cressio-Moeller, Aideed Medina & David Sullivan. 5-7pm. Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden. Hay Barn, UC Santa Cruz. Register at link.
DEC 1 Cervena Barva Press reading series. Recording available. 4pm PT/7pm ET.
NOV 5 Woman. Life. Freedom. A Poetry Reading to Benefit Amnesty International's Work in Iran. 3-5pm. 2727 California St, Berkeley.
NOV 4 Lit Chat with Catamaran Literary Magazine. 6-7:30pm. Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz.
NOV 1 Literati Bookstore with Carlina Duan and Jihyun Yun. 6:30pm. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
OCT 30 Sundress Reading Series, with Brandi Augustus, & Sara Mae Henke. 1-3pm. Pretentious Beer Company. Knoxville, TN.
OCT 26 Reading. Miami University of Ohio. 7:30pm. Bachelor Reading Room (377). Oxford, OH.
OCT 25 Reading. The Ohio State University. 12:30-1:30 (open to public). 311 Denney Hall (164 Annie & John Glenn Ave, Columbus, OH 43210).
OCT 20 Stan & Tom Wick Poetry Prize Reading with Tracy K. Smith. 7pm. Kiva Auditorium, Kent State University. More here.
OCT 16 Sunday Reading Series: Poetry, Prose, & Cocktails, with Stacy Gnall & Kathleen Rooney. Hungry Brain, Chicago. Doors 6:30, Readings 7pm.
OCT 12 With Zeina Hashem Beck, reading and in conversation. 6-7:30pm.Humanities 512, San Francisco State University, Poetry Center SFSU, co-presented by The Poetry Center and the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. Also livestreamed here.
OCT 8 Litquake, Poetry World Series, with Derrick Austin, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Rebecca Foust, sam sax, Shelley Wong. 111 Minna Gallery, SF, CA. 7:30pm.
OCT 6 Writers of Color, Santa Cruz, an evening of poetry, music and art; 6:30-9pm. Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St. Santa Cruz, CA. Free, register here.
SEPT 18 Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA, with artists Christine Meuris & Kristina Nobleman.
SEPT 6 The Hive Live! at Bookshop Santa Cruz, joined by Frances Hatfield, Danusha Laméris, Ingrid LaRiviere, and Lisa Allen Ortiz for local launch of Sister Tongue زبان خواهر .
SEPT 1 Launch. Sister Tongue زبان خواهر in conversation with Leonora Simonovis. Skylight Books, Los Angeles 7:30PM
AUG 18 A Hundred Pitchers of Honey featuring Shelley Wong, Joan Kwon Glass & Farnaz Fatemi. Online, 7:30 ET
AUG 9 Cobalt Poets Featured Reader. Via Zoom 7:00 PT
FEB 12 Reading with poets and translators from Essential Voices: Poetry of Iran and its Diaspora, sponsored by the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies & SFSU Poetry Center
JAN 19: Virtual Poetry Reading with current Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate, David Sullivan. Co-sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz and Wellstone Center in the Redwoods.
2021
Dec 16: Catamaran Literary Reader, Issue 35 Launch event on Crowdcast. My poems @ 47:14.
2020
Nov 8 at 1pm PT—composer Alexandra Gardner set my poem, “Song-Spattered Sky” to music, and it will premiere along with an impressive program produced by the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra. More info here.
May 23: Moderator, Book Talk for My Shadow Is My Skin, with contributors online.
May 9: Reading for My Shadow Is My Skin, with four contributors.
March 27: (Postponed due to Covid). Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA, for My Shadow Is My Skin.
2019
March: Celebration of the Muse, Cabrillo College.
2018
November 8: Gabriella Café, Salon. 6pm. In Conversation with Michelle Bitting.
October 27: Marble House Project, Art Seed: Open Studios and Reading, 2-5pm.
October 7: I-Park Foundation, Open Studios, 2-5 pm. Reading at 4pm.
August 1: Catamaran Literary Reader, Summer Issue Launch Reading, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 7pm.
May: Community Writers’ Series, Porter Library, Soquel, CA. Featured Reader.
2017
January 15: Writers Resist Santa Cruz. 5-7pm. Reading with Ellen Bass, Gary Young, and others. Veterans' Memorial. Santa Cruz, CA
February 18: Friend-raiser for PLAYA residency. California College of the Arts, SF. Artist talk with Becca Lawton and Deborah Ford
April 22: Women Writers Talk Environment. Earth Day reading with Lillian Howan, Becca Lawton, and others. Copperfield's, Santa Rosa, CA.
September 14: Phren-z Issue 21 release reading, Bookshop Santa Cruz. With Danusha Laméris, Lisa Allen Ortiz, Ingrid Lariviere, Frances Hatfield. Phren-z.org linked here.
2016
October: Writers on the Verge. Litquake's Poetry Contest Winner (for "The Woman in the White Chador"). Makeout Room, San Francisco, CA.
September: Voices of the River. San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz, CA. Inaugural reading for Santa Cruz Poet Laureate, Robert Sward.
July: Women writers on the environment. Pepperwood Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA. See link for info to attend.
2015
Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz Poets, December
Celebration of the Muse, March