Our third reading event in The Red Room at KGB Bar on March 10, 2020, was an unforgettable soirée. A day before Coronavirus COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, we hosted a sweet lit-loving and respectful crowd in The Red Room at KGB Bar. In an effort to keep everyone safe, we tried our best to avoid hugs and kisses, our bartender wore rubber gloves, glassware was disinfected, and the mic was wiped down with Clorox wipes by each reader after their performance. Our first reader, Mandy-Suzanne Wong treated us to an excerpt from “Ayuka,” one of the stories included in her debut chapbook, Awabi (Digging Press, 2019). She was followed by Summer J. Hart, who read a suite of dreamscape poetry filled with longing and family lore, and Christine Sloan Stoddard who dazzled the audience with playful poems and a riveting short story. We concluded the evening with a tremendous performance by Roberto Carlos Garcia whose insightful and compassionate poetry imbues social consciousness and personal tragedy with transcendence. Gessy Alvarez capped the night off with a flash fiction piece, “The Dichotomy of Sin.” A short tale of teenage sexual desire between two people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
We had a fantastic evening and we owe much of its success to Lori and KGB Bar. Many thanks for hosting our reading series!
We were sad to learn this week that KGB Bar has closed its doors in response to the COVID-19 crisis, KGB Bar is accepting donations in the meantime and will be distributing a portion of the donations to their employees. Please visit their website for more info.
We are planning to host our next reading on Tuesday, April 14 at 7 PM. This date is subject to change due to the current situation. Please check our Reading Series page for the latest details.
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