We at Beast Crawl Literary Festival dearly miss our friend J. de Salvo. He was the founder and editor of The Bicycle Review & Pedestrian Press which published many great works. J was a prolific writer and exemplary performer. He had a profound understanding of literature and knew how to read it. For that, he saw the highest good in the writers in his midst and did his best to promote them. In his memory, we created the J. de Salvo Open Mic.

This year, we have a special guest writer, performer, and all-around excellent gentleman Charlie Getter hosting the group reading. Charlie is the author of four poetry collections, and his work has appeared in numerous anthologies, journals, zines, and other publications. He’s a founding member of the Collaborative Arts Insurgency (CAI), the group of artists, poets, emcees, and musicians responsible for the genesis of the ongoing 16th & Mission street arts workshop that takes place every Thursday on the street corner at 16th & Mission in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Show up for this open mic on time at the spot on the map and Charlie will manage sign-ups! The location is a basketball court with sculptures on 12th street, behind 1111 Broadway and WeWork. Questions? Check with us at the Information Table.

Leg: 1 4:00PM Venue: "Sculpture Basketball Court"

Beast Crawl Literary Festival created the Reginald Lockett Memorial Open Mic to commemorate the life and contributions of poet Reginald Lockett. Reginald was a founding member of the Black Students Alliance at San Francisco State University. He would later return to teach creative writing there, as well as at City College of San Francisco, Laney College and College of Marin. He was a tenured instructor of Language Arts at San Jose City College for the last 20 years.

A dedicated teacher, Mr. Lockett was best known as a poet. He was also the owner and publisher of Juke Box Press, which published many other poets and raised thousands of dollars for Hurricane Katrina victims with the publication of "Words upon the Water."

Reginald was the author of "Where the Birds Sing Bass," which won a PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award in 1996, "Good Times & No Bread," "The Party Crashers of Paradise" and "Random History Lessons," published by Creative Arts Books in 2003. (Source)

Where the Birds Sing Bass
SF Gate

This year's host is Nazelah Jamison, a world-class poet and performer based in Oakland. She is a talented and energetic performance poet, actress and vocalist based in Oakland CA. Born in Bamberg, SC, Nazelah had a love of performance from a very early age, taking her first dance lessons at the age of 4.

Nazelah discovered Poetry Slam in 1999 and began to compete, subsequently going to the National Poetry Slam Competition 5 times on various Bay Area teams. She produced the Oakland Poetry Slam & has coached Team Oakland to Nationals. Since 2000, she has been hosting many Bay Area spoken word events as well. (Source.)

Poem: "Last Resort"
Book: Evolutionary Heart

Venue: District Oakland Leg: 2 5:30PM

RichOak Events is a spoken word and literary arts organization based in the SF Bay Area dedicated to providing equitable platforms for self expression to underserved and intentionally silenced communities both through virtual media and in person interactive engagements. Our top priority at RichOak Events is to facilitate a space to empower people of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities, abilities and ages to tell their own stories in ways that will produce positive change on a local, national, and global level. Learn more about us at richoakevents.org.

The Oakland Poetry Slam is one of the longest running poetry shows in the Bay Area. Founded in 1993, the Oakland Poetry Slam is now a part RichOak Events. Join us for an evening of poetic excellence, featuring the most prominent voices to have touched Oakland Poetry Slam, including Reggie and Collin Edmonds, Caleilia, Bambi, D'mani Thomas, Prophet, and Tino V.H. Jr.

The Wonder Twins

D'mani Thomas is a queer, Black visual theorist, horror enthusiast, and writer from Oakland, California (Ohlone territory). D’mani has received fellowships from The Watering hole, Foglifter literary journal, and Bakanal de Afrique via Afro Urban Society. His work has been published by The Auburn Avenue, The Ana, Youth Speaks, MARY: A Journal of New Writing, and shortlisted for the 2020 Penrose Poetry Prize. His current work obsesses over what it means to create intimacy under total surveillance. Look out for his new collection of poetry with Nomadic Press in 2023.

Caleilia is a 25 year old trans femme who attempts to pretend to be a poet. She has been writing down words to formulate thoughts since she had the ability to do so and she has pursued her art ever since. Caleilia was an organizer of The Berkeley Poetry Slam from 2015-2020 and was a member of the Oakland Slam team in 2017. Much of her writing has dark themes and intense emotions, so she hasn’t always put her well-being before her desire to create art. When the pandemic struck, she took a step back from her writing in order to focus on healing herself. Now she has returned! She tries her best to convince the scramble of a mind that possesses her to find the will to live and help others who struggle like she does. Each poem is a performance for the audience, but they are the schematics of Caleilia’s road to a healthy, happy, and helpful life.

Bambi is a black, queer writer from Atlanta, Georgia. They identify as a person who “sometimes can put words together well enough to win slams, write books and just generally talk their shit”. They double as the menace dancing by themselves at the club yelling “Get into iiiit” and the author of “Accidentally Ordered an Espresso”.

Prophet

Tino V. H. Jr. is a Mexican-American spoken word poet born and raised in Oakland, CA. He attended UC Santa Cruz, pursuing a degree in Literature. At UCSC he participated as a part of the school’s CUPSI team between the years of 2014-2015, and coached the 2017 team. He was also a part of the Legendary Collective in Santa Cruz in 2018, where they traveled to Southwest Shootout in Albuquerque, NM and won. His work explores im/migration, indigeneity, the hood, queerness, feminism, and decolonial frameworks. He currently organizers with RichOak Events in the East Bay (co-curating 4 shows: Alchemy Open Mic, Poetry Garden, the Oakland Poetry Slam and the Berkeley Poetry Slam) and is one of four members of FDK (Fuck Dem Kids!) with D’mani Thomas, Collin and Reggie Edmonds. In his spare time he constantly updates his “Best Tacos in East Oakland” list, plays too many video games and writes pre-colonial high fantasy. Check out his self published chapbook: The Deep East: And Other Places I’d Never Catch You In.

The Oakland Poetry Slam is part of RichOak Events. Join us at other affiliating shows, including Berkeley Slam, the Alchemy Open Mic, and the Poetry Garden. For more information, find us at richoakevents.org

Venue: Oakland Street Food Leg: Two 5:30PM

West Oakland to West Africa connects members of the African diaspora and Africa through the exchange of renshi poetry. Through sharing narratives of the diaspora, we create a safe place for transparent healing and growth. Our readings and books facilitate the Sankofa journey, a return to retrieve what has been forgotten or lost. This year's exchanges included Oakland, Hawaii, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. https://westoaklandtowestafrica.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/westoakland_westafrica/. Twitter: @WOakland2Africa. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WO2W

WO2WA (West Oakland to West Africa) is happy to represent both the East and West sides at the 2022 Beast Crawl. Reading selections from our upcoming book Black Rootedness: 54 Poets from Africa to America. This year WO2WA partnered with Patrice Lumumba Writing Collective, located at Eastside Arts Alliance, Cultural Intellectual Association in Lagos, Nigeria and Kistrech Poetry Festival in Kisii, Kenya. Poets exchanged writing on themes of identity, connections to the ancestors and experimented with forms such as narrative and renshi poetry.

Venue: The Damel Leg: Two 5:30PM

Venue: Summer Lounge Leg: Two 5:30PM

A tribute to iconic, bubble-blowing Berkeley poet Julia Vinograd featuring an excerpt from an in-progress documentary on her life and work, followed by readings of her most cherished poems.

CURATOR: Ken Paul Rosenthal makes visually innovative documentaries that explore the intersection of art, madness and the spectrum of difference. His films have screened widely at national and international film festivals. He is the recipient of numerous festival awards, a Kodak Cinematography Award, and a University Film & Video Association Award. His website is  www.kenpaulrosenthal.com/

Jan Steckel’s book Like Flesh Covers Bone (Zeitgeist Press, 2018) won Rainbow Awards for LGBT Poetry and Best Bisexual Book. Her poetry book The Horizontal Poet (Zeitgeist Press, 2011) won a Lambda Literary Award. Her fiction chapbook Mixing Tracks (Gertrude Press, 2009) and poetry chapbook The Underwater Hospital (Zeitgeist Press, 2006) also won awards. www.jansteckel.com

Richard Loranger is a multi-genre writer and all-around squeaky wheel currently residing in Oakland, CA. He is the author of Unit of Agency, Be A Bough Tit, Sudden Windows, Poems for Teeth, The Orange Book, and ten chapbooks, and has work in over 100 magazines and journals. You can find more about his work and scandals at www.richardloranger.com

Paul Corman-Robert’s 2nd full length collection of poems, Bone Moon Palace (Nomadic Press 2021) has been nominated for a CLMP Firecracker Award. He currently teaches workshops for the Older Writer’s Lab in conjunction with the San Francisco Public Library as well as the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute.

Venue: Chapter 510 Leg: One, 4:00PM

Curated by Natasha Dennerstein, out trans poet, assembles a group of the best Bay Area trans/gender non-conforming writers to sear your ears.

Natasha was born in Melbourne, Australia and has an MFA from San Francisco State University. She has had 5 books of poetry published and her work has appeared in many journals in the USA and internationally. She is an editor at Nomadic Press in Oakland and works for St James Infirmary, a clinic for sex workers in SF.

lynn breedlove is an award winning under achiever, writer, performer, activist, and transportation entrepreneur. he’s fronted Tribe8, The Homobiles and COMMANDO, founded the queer nonprofit ride service, Homobiles, and authored Godspeed, a novel, on st Martin’s press, and Lynnee Breedlove’s One Freak Show, and 45 Thought Crimes, on Manic D press. he looks forward to fucking shit up globally and locally.

Mason J. (he/they) is a Black-Indigenous historiographer, multidisciplinary artist, and cultural worker born and residing in San Francisco. They are co-editor of Still Here San Francisco and author of the 2022 Lambda Literary Nominated [trans poetry] book, Crossbones on My Life. Mason's creations can be found anywhere they need to be.

Avren Keating is a poet, artist and host of the trans poetry podcast Waves Breaking. They live in Oakland, CA.

Cal Calamia (they/he) is a bilingual queer trans educator, activist, and poet. His performative work has been featured at many spoken word series across The Bay, and his first book, San Franshitshow, was published by Nomadic Press last year. They are a secondary Spanish and Health educator in the city and are currently pursuing their MFA at the University of San Francisco.

Jasper Jay has been writing poetically since he was a little past knee high in Appalachia. As a Queer, Disabled, Trans, long-time Bay-Area transplant, he relishes work that lets him engage in intersectional social change. Thankfully, preparing to revisit Beastcrawl has encouraged him to dive back into his love for twisting words.

Venue: Summer Lounge Leg: Three 7:00PM

THE THROWBACK presents THE THROWBACK SPECIAL: A reading featuring five stellar poets. The Throwback was a low-tech literary journal edited and distributed by Dan O’Connell. Several issues were put out in the early 2000s. It will be reborn for this reading.

Dan O’Connell (aka Dan O.) is a four-time award winning poet, and multiple finalist and honorable mention. His poems have appeared over eighty times. He is the author of two full-length collections of poetry, Different Coasts, and Theory of Salvation, and the chapbook State of the Union. www.danoconnellpoetry.com

Barbara Saunders writes poetry with mythological, historical, and biographical themes. Her poetry has been published by Highland Park Poetry and won prizes and honorable mentions from the Bay Area Poets' Coalition and the Ina Coolbrith Circle. Barbara has featured at Saturday Night Special, a Virtual (formerly East Bay) Open Mic.

Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem is an award-winning writer and illustrator, recently selected for fellowships and awards from the Center for Book Arts in New York City and Disquiet International Literary Program. Cassandra founded a reading series at the Beat Museum in San Francisco. Her collection, Hot Thicket, was released by Nomadic Press in 2022; IG: cassandrarockwoodghanem; FB: facebook.com/cassandrarr

Mae Yway is a Burmese poet, scriptwriter, and publisher. She has published her writing in periodicals and collections since 2010. The first volume of her poetry, Courier, appeared in 2013; You & I appeared in 2016; Fish and Shrimp was published in 2021.  In 2017, Mae founded the poetry publishing house 90/91

Keith Mark Gaboury earned a M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. His chapbooks were released through Duck Lake Books and The Pedestrian Press. He has a forthcoming chapbook from Finishing Line Press. Keith is also the Vice President of the Berkeley Branch of the California Writers Club.  www.keithmgaboury.com

Venue: Radio Bar Leg: Three 7:00PM

Paper Press Books & Associates Publishing Company is a small press of poetry and fiction directed by author Youssef Alaoui.
Find out more at: paperpressbooks.org

Harmonies of the Sun Join us for a reunion of Paper Press authors and special guest Tureeda Mikell. This will be a powerful lineup you will not want to miss!

Tureeda, story medicine woman, poet, educator, activist for holism, is a U. C. B. BAWP Fellow, author of Synchronicity: The Oracle of Sun Medicine; released in 2020, coauthor and curator of EastSide Arts Alliance’s, Patrice Lumumba Anthology, released 2021, both by Nomadic Press, and MoAD 2022 poet in residence.
Synchronicity: The Oracle of Sun Medicine
Patrice Lumumba
Metro Film and Arts
Tree of Life Foundation
Cpits.org - Mikell Tureeda Poet
Trmk7@aol.com

MK Chavez is an Afro-Latinx writer and educator. She is the author of Mothermorphosis, and Dear Animal (Nomadic Press), and the lyric essay chapbook A Brief History of the Selfie. Chavez curates the reading series Lyrics & Dirges and is co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival. She is a recipient of the Alameda County Arts Leadership Award, the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, and the 2021 San Francisco Foundation/Nomadic Press literary award. Her most recent work can be found in the Academy of Poets Poem-A-Day series and at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco with the Voice of Trees projects. mkchavez.org

Sharon Coleman's a fifth-generation Northern Californian with a penchant for languages and their entangled word roots. She co-curates the reading series Lyrics & Dirges and co-directs the Berkeley Poetry Festival. She’s the author of a poetry chapbook Half Circle (Finishing Line), and a book of nano-fiction, Paris Blinks (Paper Press).
sharoncolemanpoetry.com

Missy Church is a death doula and educator living in California. She has created a curriculum to help young children understand death through story, poetry, observation, and personal experience.
Missy is the host of the seasonal open mic, Naked Bulb, in Oakland. Along with Andrew J. Thomas, she publishes local writers through Naked Bulb Press. She also publishes anthologies and has a book of poetry available from Paper Press- Church: Retrospective. paperpressbooks.com/store
Her poetry book, “deathaiku” is available from Collapse Press.

You can follow Missy:
Instagram @deathaiku
 Missy the Death Doula:
 missychurchdoula.com

While she’s currently on a writing sabbatical in a hideaway she calls “Mermaid Town,” K.R. Morrison is a San Francisco based moon witch, poet, drummer, and high school teacher who has been teaching English and Creative Writing for 18 years. Her first chapbook Cauldrons was recently published by Paper Press Books.

Purchase her book here:
Cauldrons-K-R-Morrison
FB: K.R. Morrison
Insta: @krmorrisonpoet

Paper Press Books heartily thanks Joyce Gordon Gallery for hosting our reading at Beast Crawl Literary Festival. Joyce Gordon Gallery is a fine art gallery located midtown Oakland, CA. It exhibits art that reflects the social and cultural diversity of the Bay Area and international artists.

Joyce Gordon Gallery Offers an experience to the public through the Arts Community Building The Bay Area's Cultural Renaissance. Centrally Located in Downtown Oakland near the 12 St. Bart Station the Gallery is easily accessible to visit from all over the Bay. The Gallery offers you some of the most cutting edge Art produced primarily by Black/African Artist from around the globe in all original mediums. Witness the Amazing creativity at our Gallery openings on First Fridays and Celebrate Life through the Arts. When you're here check out our Gallery's gift shop that has an array of locally made Crafts,prints and other fine Art goods representing Oakland's Culturally enriched Arts Community.

Joyce Gordon Gallery is also an Events Destination for Culturally creative activities and on going festivities. Our Gallery is available for Rental for your event needs from wedding receptions to performing arts recitals and more. Please inquire about what we may offer you. Make Joyce Gordon Gallery your Destination Stop when in Oakland.

Venue: Joyce Gordon Gallery Leg: Three 7:00PM

Colossus Press is focused on gathering artists and writers in the spirit of resistance, mobilizing and giving voice to our passion for social justice. We create virtual and concrete spaces where we combine activism and art. We take the direct actions of publicizing pressing issues and making monetary donations to local organizations working on the ground. 
-Colossus: Published in 2017 and focused on the immigration crisis, included the work of 13 writers on the theme of immigration, proceeds from readings and book sales were donated to Freedom for Immigrants.
-Colossus:Home, published in 2019, included the voices of 68 writers on the theme of Home and donated all funds collected from sales of this book and from readings are donated to Moms 4 Housing.
 -Colossus:Freedom will be published in the summer of 2022. This anthology includes the writing and visual art of 48 individuals responding to the theme "freedom". This anthology includes the voices of currently incarcerated people, their family members, and victims of crime. We have also included writers who haven’t experienced a direct impact from crime or incarceration. All funds collected from sales of this book will be donated to support California Coalition of Women Prisoners.

Home:Free is a reading featuring Tony Aldarondo, Elisa Salasin, Poet E. Spoken, Georgina Marie and Fred Dodsworth. These fantastic spoken work artists will read their powerful work and poems from Colossus:Home and our latest anthology Colossus:Freedom. Join us and celebrate the unstoppable combination of poetry and social justice.

Venue: Chapter 510 Leg: Two 5:30PM