#michael warr

[therumpus]

America was born with an immoral race problem and will die with it. The late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan got it just right when she said at a Watergate hearing that “When they wrote the Constitution, I was left out.” All writers face this with varying degrees of consent, creativity, and success, often in direct or indirect collaborations with historians and archaeologists.

Barbara Berman reviews Of Poetry And Protest: From Emmett Till To Trayvon Martin, edited by and compiled by Philip Cushway and Michael Warr and Monticello In Mind: Contemporary Poems on Jefferson, edited by Lisa Russ Spaar.

[michaelwarr-creativework]

I will share 7 minutes of poetry as part of Jessica Presents Events poetry & music series, this Friday, April 3, at 7 PM, featuring poetry by Jessica Loos, Rene Vargas Zamora, Clara Hsu, Michael Warr, music by Will Rogers, plus sculpture and jewelry design drawings by Peter Macchiarini and Dan Macchiarini. It all happens at Macchiarini Creative Design (1544 Grant Ave.). Spread the word.

[michaelwarr-creativework]

Chun Yu and Michael Warr are featured online at the Alameda Island Poets reading series on Wednesday, February 4, 7-9 pm. We will share a few bilingual poems (English and Chinese) honoring Black History Month, and will be joined by youth poets Delilah Roller and Itzel Perez. The reading is hosted by Cathy Dana and Alameda Poet Laureate, Kimi Sugioka. Their "famously friendly" (online) open mic follows the featured reading. To sign up for the open mic, send an email to Cathy Dana at [email protected].

Join Zoom meeting for AIP reading:

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

Meeting ID: 884 8489 3144

Passcode: poetry

[michaelwarr-creativework]

A few of my poetry projects have been awarded major grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission. I will share a couple of works in progress from at least one of those projects as part of my reading at the Potrero Hill Branch of the San Francisco Public Library next Tuesday, January 20, 4:30-5:30 pm. See https://bit.ly/49XCyxu for details.

From my project "Black in San Francisco," I will include a few family photographs that my parents shot using a Polaroid camera. In this project, I return to the location where my parents captured those images and create my own digital photograph. I will recite a few poems that I am writing in response to the original and contemporary photos.

This is the second reading in the Living Poets Society series, which was created and curated by San Francisco Poet Laureate Genevieve Lim. It is an intergenerational series, and I am joining Youth Poet Laureate Delilah Roller and Itzel Perez Alarcon. The event is cosponsored by Youth Speaks and 826 Valencia. Young, old, or in between, bring your poems for the open mic.

The copyrighted image in this post was taken by my father, Alcide Warr. We were at San Francisco's famous Playland, although it's hard to tell from the looks on our faces.

[michaelwarr-creativework]

Please spread the word...

[michaelwarr-creativework]

The first LitCrawl in Merced, CA, happens this Friday, May 9th, 2025. I will recite my poems with poets I've never shared the stage with  -- including Merced's first Poet Laureate Joyce Dale, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, and Patricia Ann Zamora. Yes, PAZ, the love of my life, who writes but does not make appearances. She grew up in Livingston, Merced County, and I grew up in San Francisco. We now live in both towns. Lots of firsts and connections this Friday.

Looking forward to hearing the entire lineup:  Angela Drew, Christina Lux, Mai-Linh Hong, Tanisha McClain, Orlando Taylor, Juan Luzuriaga, Marcy Poe Martinez, Vielka Solano, Shani Campbell, Necola Adams, Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco, Sherre Vernon, and Robin Shepard. Thanks, Kim McMillon, for your curatorial powers. I may debut one of my in-progress SF/Valley poems.

[michaelwarr-creativework]

September 11, 2024 / 447 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA.

FEATURING: - Genny Lim, The New Poet Laureate of San Francisco - Tongo Eisen Martin, San Francisco Poet Laureate (2021-2024) - Chun Yu, Poet/Editor/Translator, San Francisco Public Library Laureate (2023) - Michael Warr, Poet/Editor, San Francisco Public Library Laureate (2017&2023)

Each poet will share poems from the anthology manuscript “Together in Poetry,” a Two Languages/One Community (TLOC) project co-founded by Michael Warr and Chun Yu, who translated the poems into Chinese. She will recite select poems by the featured poets in Chinese. For more info on TLOC: www.twolanguagesonecommunity.com

Supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC). Sponsored by Two Languages / One Community and cosponsored by Cast SF.

[michaelwarr-creativework]

This morning (9/23) at 11 AM (PDT) I will share a few poems, followed by a conversation on the El Puente livestream and podcast with Matt Sedillo and Tolu Agbelusi.