Each week, we offer a roundup of the best literary events in the city. All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Want to submit an upcoming event for consideration? Go here.
Alice Waters (The Art of Simple Food II)
Saturday, December 21, 11 am, at Book Passage SF (1 Ferry Building)
This Saturday's shoppers at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market can get ingredients for the holiday meal and catch up with the doyenne of California cuisine at the same time. Waters, who's had a tough year helping Chez Panisse recover from its fire, has returned with a sequel to her popular 2009 cookbook, which focuses exclusively on fruits and vegetables. Herein, she offers her best advice for planting a kitchen garden (with plenty of advice from the NorCal farmers she works with), and what to cook with the results of the harvest. Waters also appears at the JCCSF on Wednesday, but that event is sold out.
Alejandro Murguía (Stray Poems) & José Hector Cadena
Thursday, December 19, 6:30 pm, at SFPL Readers' Bookstore (Building C, Fort Mason).
As a special holiday treat, Murguía, the San Francisco poet laureate, will be dropping by the SFPL's Thursday poetry reading series to help close out the year. An SF State professor and activist, he's the author of four books, which deal with his Chicano and Latino heritage, the Hispanic history of California, and his efforts on behalf of the Latino community in the Mission District. He'll be joined by Cadena, an up-and-coming poet who doubles as a collage artist.
Phil Cousineau (Burning the Midnight Oil)
Wednesday, December 18, 7 pm, at Book Passage Corte Madera (51 Tamal Vista Blvd.)
Night owls and insomniacs will take pleasure in this lively and eclectic collection, which brings together poems about staying up late, whether it's a choice or a force of habit. The diverse group of writers includes everyone from Jorge Luis Borges to William Blake to Mary Oliver, integrating stories that date back to Biblical times and cover topics from dreams to late-night regrets. A host of readers will interpret passages from the book at this event.
Featherboard Writing Series
Saturday, December 21, 5-7 pm, at Aggregate Space (801 W. Grand Ave., Oakland).
This local writers' salon, which brings together artists and writers in a shared space, is celebrating its second anniversary with a collaborative reading featuring indie writers Stephanie Young, Taylor Brady, Sara Wintz, and Steffi Drewes. The reading will be held in collaboration with the debut of an exhibit featuring Aggregate Space's seven founding artists. More info here.
