EVENT LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/id-rather-be-lightning-book-launch-reading-tickets-673200038437

You are invited to a book release reading for I'd Rather Be Lightning, debut poetry collection by Nancy Lynée Woo.

This book launch celebration will be held Sunday, August 6, 2023, from 5-8 pm at Wrigley Coffee, 437 W. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90814.

About the Event

Opening Reception: The main program will begin at 6:00 pm, but you are invited to come as early as 5:00 to partake in some pre-show activities, including a poetry prompt, letter from the future, and conversation starters. Coffee, tea and snacks will be for sale. 1 free raffle ticket if you arrive before 6, and additional raffle tickets for sale that will benefit the Sunrise mutual aid fund.

Main Program: Author will read selections from the book and share her personal journey dealing with the existential threat of the climate emergency.

Also co-featuring some very special guests:

• Heidi Miller, longtime close friend of the author and professional child cargiver will share some very special selected readings

• Terri Niccum, longtime patron, friend and poetry peer will read a selection of poems

• Susannah Lodge-Rigal, sister pressmate with Gasher Press's first run of books will share selections from her book that came out this year

• Claire Beeli, our first ever Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate will read a selection of poems about environmental issues in Long Beach

Local environmental leaders will also be spotlighted, and they will share a little about what is going on in Long Beach - including the fight to end oil drilling and urbanist car-lite initiatives.

Closing Reception: Book signing. Stay afterward to buy books, chat and create community connections.

You might like this event if:

• You like poetry

• You love connecting with community

• You want to live in harmony with nature and end extractive systems

• You’re interested in learning what Long Beach community groups are doing to build a more equitable, sustainable future

• You like coffee

• You like air conditioning

Event is free to attend. Option to pre-purchase a special book ticket through Eventbrite for $25, which will get you a signed copy of the book and contribute to a mutual aid fund for the local Sunrise Movement hub, of which Nancy is the hub coordinator. The Sunrise Movement is a nationwide youth climate movement advocating for good jobs and a livable future.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to our first print run selling out faster than expected, there will be a limited number of books available for sale on a first-come basis at the event. If you would like to reserve a book ahead of time, you can do that here on Eventbrite by selecting the appropriate ticket. If you would like to order a book online, you can do that and bring it to the event to be signed - this will also help me try and make the bestseller's list at SPD!

About the Venue

Wrigley Coffee is a special place to the author! Back when it used to be Fox Coffee, Sarah Thursday and G. Murray Thomas would host monthly poetry readings there for many years. Definitive Soapbox also hosts readings there. It's a very special place for poetry community.

Space is limited in the venue, so please RSVP with an Eventbrite ticket if possible so we can get a head count. If you can no longer make it, please un-reserve your ticket.

The venue has no dedicated parking, so please be prepared to find street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods if you are driving.

There is air conditioning and seating.

The venue is wheelchair accessible.

About the Book

I’d Rather Be Lightning is a love song to the earth, celebrating what we stand to lose. These poems are “throwing a tantrum” about the climate crisis, written by a “child / of imperialism whining about freedom / from the bondage of stuff.” Nancy Lynée Woo transmutes anxiety into dynamic and playful poems, writing into the absurdity of the global crises facing humanity with a soft wit, enduring hope, and deep love for the more-than-human world. Eco-feminism moving at lightspeed, I’d Rather Be Lightning captures a Millennial’s despair over environmental destruction with bolts of humor, compassion, and formal experimentation.

PRAISE FOR I'D RATHER BE LIGHTNING

"Nancy Woo's I'd Rather Be Lightning is a necessary invocation. It's a handbook, spellbook, and remembered lucid dream to guide us in and through these times. Clear-eyed about the climate crisis while brimming with love for humans and more-than-humans, this debut collection is a powerful force of language and hope." Tamiko Beyer

"I read the collection with care, afraid I’d miss a single gem about our planetary crisis, along with Woo’s wise and kind eye towards us flawed humans (“Everyone you disagree with//is right in some way”), and the joie de vivre and optimism she offers us, alongside the great existential dread so beautifully depicted, in the playfulness of her poems." Elizabeth J. Coleman

"Nancy Lynée Woo’s I’d Rather Be Lightning is a riotous and candid collection of ecopoems that traverse landscapes and species to tell the story of our changing world. She reports 'Earth’s problems are not getting/ any smaller.' While hope for humanity is ever-present in her work, Woo is in search of the 'eye of life' and isn't afraid to examine the irreparable damage to the Earth and its non-human inhabitants. Using bold language and body-level perceptions, Woo frankly reminds us, 'Just because you want to survive doesn’t mean you will.' Jessica Gigot

About the Author

Nancy Lynée Woo is a poet, writer, organizer, and climate activist who harbors a wild love for the natural world. Her debut poetry collection is called I’d Rather Be Lightning (GASHER Press, March 2023). Nancy has received fellowships from Artists at Work, PEN America, Arts Council for Long Beach, and Idyllwild Writers Week. Her work has been published in The Shore, Tupelo Quarterly, Stirring, Radar Poetry, and other journals and anthologies. Nancy has an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University and a BA in sociology from UC Santa Cruz. Find her cavorting around Long Beach (Tongva land) in California, and online at nancylyneewoo.com or @fancifulnance on social.

I’ll be reading at 4:20 on March 26 under Tree #2.

https://www.ladiesofcourage.com/

This Valentine’s Day, Nancy Lynée Woo will lead a generative writing workshop using biophilia, or love for life, as a guiding principle. This eco-feminist workshop will invite participants to write a love poem to a place, lifting up beauty and wonder while facing the tension of what is “burning” inside or around it. Considering the global crises facing humanity, what does it mean to have a relationship with the land?

You’re invited into a world of dynamic nature poetry for the 21st century. Paying attention to Mother Nature’s intricacies can help us become more astute writers, and caring about the world around us, including the more-than-human world, can be considered super hopepunk in a time of apathy and nihilism.

We will do a little bit of research to discover ecological language to use in our poems, while centering our unique personal viewpoints. All writers are welcome to join us regardless of experience. Example poems will be provided to spark our inspiration, with time to write and share.

Sliding Scale $4-25

REGISTER

Poetry reading and art opening at Whittier Art Gallery.

Join us virtually during National Poetry Month to hear local and national poets share poems about their diverse and rich cultural heritages.

About this event

Join us virtually during National Poetry Month to hear local and national poets share poems about their diverse and rich cultural heritages representing everyday people who live, work and build America from its past to its present and future. Alixen Pham, poet/writer/artist, hosts this four-week series with poets: Michaelsun Stonesweat Knapp, Bunkong Tuon, Joan Kwon Glass, Andres Cordoba, Dana Kinsey, Nancy Lynée Woo, Kim Malinowski, Dania Ayah Alkhouli, Marjorie Maddox and Yeva Johnson.

Register in advance for this program. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining.

For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.

Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.

April: Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Midweek Feast is a monthly virtual writing workshop hosted by AGCC and sponsored by the Artist At Work in LA County program, using recipes and poems as our inspiration to cook and write together in community.

The famous author Virginia Woolf once said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well—if one has not dined well.” Let’s follow her lead and dine well together while also digging into our imagination on the page!

This monthly series combines two of our favorite things: cooking and writing.

Each month, we’ll be cooking and writing together (virtually on Zoom). Each time, we’ll follow one of the recipes from the anthology Feast: Poetry & Recipes for a Full Seating at Dinner (Black Lawrence Press, 2015). Book purchase is not necessary to participate, however registered attendees will receive a discount code from the publisher. In this anthology, poets share their original poems alongside tried-and-true recipes, from appetizers to full course meals. We’ll be cooking and writing using the recipes and poems as inspiration. All levels welcome!

April will feature a recipe called "Roasted Brussel Sprouts." This is an absolute, easy beginner recipe with just one main ingredient. If you're cooking along with us, feel free to pair with a main course. Join us for a fun and casual midweek feast for both our taste buds and the writer within us.

REGISTER HERE

How It Will Work:

This workshop is free to attend. You will need to sign up for a free Zoom account ahead of time.

Participants who register will receive the recipe ahead of time so they may shop for the ingredients in advance of the workshop if they wish. (NOTE: You do not need to cook in real-time with us, but you can if you want, it is up to you.)

Then, on the day of the workshop, our facilitator will read the poem associated with the recipe and lead us in a casual at-home cooking demonstration and discussion via Zoom. Next, she will give a writing prompt based on the recipe and poem, and we will have time to write.

This is an all-levels cooking and writing class so no experience necessary! Just come to have a good time and hang out with some good food and poetry camaraderie. This workshop is designed to form a link between the nourishment of the body, mind, and soul.

There will be time to share what we have written at the end in a safe and supportive space.

About the Book:

You do not need to purchase the book to participate. However, if you are interested, Feast: Poetry & Recipes for a Full Seating at Dinner can be purchased online. Registered attendees will be provided with a coupon code to purchase.

About the Facilitator:

Nancy Lynée Woo is a poet, community organizer, and 2022 Artists at Work fellow. She has received fellowships from PEN America, the Arts Council for Long Beach, and Idyllwild Writers Week. Her work has been published in The Shore, Tupelo Quarterly, Stirring, Radar Poetry, and other journals and anthologies. Nancy has an MFA in creative writing, poetry, from Antioch University and a BA in sociology/environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz. She has published two chapbooks and a poetry CD. Her work is largely inspired by the magic and power of the natural world. Find her cavorting around Long Beach (Tongva land) in California, and online at nancylyneewoo.com or @fancifulnance on social.

Artists At Work (AAW) is a workforce resilience program designed to support the rebuilding of healthy communities through artistic civic engagement. THE OFFICE performing arts + Film has partnered with the LA County Department of Arts and Culture to implement the AAW initiative in Los Angeles with the goals of supporting local cultural organizations, paying participating artists a living wage, and building healthy communities through partnership. Angels Gate Cultural Center is partnering with Wilmington-based organization SBCC (Strength Based Community Change, information at sbcc.community) and Long Beach Poet/Community Organizer Nancy Lynée Woo, to deliver free and engaging programming to the local communities in the South Bay Port region of Los Angeles. More information about the program is available at www.artists-at-work.org.

PANEL DISCUSSION F144. Workshops for the Working Class: How We Build Learning Spaces outside Academia. (Marcus Omari, Nancy Lynee Woo, Alyesha Wise, Hiram Sims, Danielle Mitchell) 118BC, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 100 Level.
How do learning spaces rally in service of their community members and bridge the access-gap between art literacy and class? In this panel, four diverse LA area workshop founders open a dialogue on their community outreach, operating practices, and pedagogies. Each panelist will outline achievements and challenges they’ve encountered in their work to uplift, mentor, teach, and advocate new models that center multiculturalism and deny systems of domination and white supremacy in the classroom.

The old Fox Coffee where Cadence Collective and The Definitive Soapbox spent so many good years is now called Wrigley Coffee, and thanks to the poetically energized Danielle Mitchell and Antonio PazOne Appling, there will be a REAL LIVE POETRY READING happening there this Friday!

And I’ll be reading a few poems, along with other guest features. This will be my first IRL reading in 2 years since the start of this darn pandemic! So I’m excited. Come through if you’d like to hear some great poets back up on the stage. (Not an open mic.)

And I’m making little tiny cute chapbooks.

Feel free to come by! It’s FREE!