Starting Points Open Mic

Where Should We Begin? 

We all need to start somewhere. The Starting Points open mic team is inviting writers of all stripes, whether you’re new to reading in public or you read out every week, to come and share your freshest work with us in 3-minutes-or-less at this open mic event. Meet, mingle, and trade chapbooks with other members of the community. We have a feeling this will be the start of a beautiful friendship.

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Ruth Crossman

Ruth Crossman is a Pushcart-nominated writer from Berkeley, California. She is the author of the auto-fiction collection All the Wrong Places and is currently looking for a home for her debut novella, All My Friends Lie. Her work has appeared in publications including The Fabulist, Litro, Maximum Rock n Roll. You can find out more information about her at https://msruthcrossman.com/

Sara Biel

Sara Biel is a poet, visual artist, and social worker. Her work combines original text with different art materials. She is passionate about collaborative art and performance processes and focuses on art as a community-building medium. Her debut poetry collection, Prescribed Burn, was published by Finishing Line in 2023.

Elisa Salasin

​Elisa Salasin is a writer/poet and educator living in Berkeley, California. Her writing and photography have appeared in a range of online publications including AMP/Always Electric, CounterPunch, sPARKLE & bLINK, and Digital Paper, the online magazine for the Bay Area Writing Project. Her debut poetry collection, She Watches Wild Horses, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2023.

Keith Gaboury

​Keith Mark Gaboury earned a M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College, a M.A. in English from San Francisco State University, and a B.A. in English from Baker University. His poems have appeared in such literary publications as Poetry Quarterly and New Millennium Writings along with chapbooks from Duck Lake Books, The Pedestrian Press, and Finishing Line Press. Keith lives in Oakland, California.

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Leg 1 (4pm -5pm) Venue: ​Feelmore Adult 

Feelmore is the keeper of secrets such as: insecurities, infidelities, and sexual expression. Our ground-floor location represents a twilight zone for unlikely encounters and friendships to crystallize and collisions to occur.

​Conceived and raised in the stomping grounds of Oakland, Feelmore is redefining the retail experience for the city, small business owners, and community residents. Keeping with our tradition, we aim to preserve and build upon the hometown feel Oakland is known for.

​At Feelmore, it’s about more than just sex — it’s personal!

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