Apr
1
6:30 PM18:30

Poet Laureate Program: MIC DROP

I’ve started an open mic series at the gorgeous Mill Valley Library as part of my Marin County Poet Laureate programming! Doors open at 6:15 for this warm and lively event to give people time to sign up to read and to nibble on the scrumptious refreshments. Please, bring no more than THREE MINUTES of daring, big-hearted material to share, or just come out to listen. Either way, it’s a wonderful way to spend an evening! We appreciate it if you register your attendance on the Mill Valley Library website, so we have an idea of how many people are coming.

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Apr
4
6:40 PM18:40

Sonoma Community Writers Festival

Ives Hall 24

Panel: The Joys of Translating and Being Translated

Czech Petr Hruška, Hungarian Ági Bori, and American Francesca Bell engage the world of translation in different ways. Petr Hruška is primarily a poet and writer who is usually the person being translated. Ági Bori is a Hungarian translator specializing in the work of Miklós Vámos. A long-time citizen of the United States, Bori is fluent enough to translate in both directions. Francesca Bell is a poet and translator who has co-translated from Arabic and translated on her own from German. Her work has been translated into Italian, Hungarian, German, and Czech. Hruška, Bori, and Bell will bring these perspectives together to engage in a lively discussion of the importance of translation and of its many pleasures. The panel will also feature a few brief, bilingual readings. 

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Apr
6
4:00 PM16:00

Trilingual Poetry Reading Celebrating Max Sessner & Petr Hruška

Please, join Angelika Quirk, Gerald Fleming, Petr Hruška, and me at beautiful and beloved Books By The Bay in Sausalito for a reading in honor of new translations of Petr’s poems and the poems of Max Sessner. All poems will be read by native speakers, as originals and as translations, and we will enjoy delectable snacks, a view of the Bay, and a chance to browse the deliciousness of the bookstore! (Easy parking next to store or in public lot just steps away.)

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Apr
9
6:30 PM18:30

free Poet Laureate workshop: Poetry as a way of looking at life

Perhaps you’ve always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you’re already a practicing poet in need of camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and examine some poems. We will discuss what the poems are doing and how they are doing it. What literary devices has the poet employed to make the ideas and emotions of the poem accessible? In what ways can the poem deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by the poems in that class’s handout.

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Apr
16
5:30 PM17:30

free poet laureate poetry publication workshop

  • San Rafael Library, City Hall 3rd Floor Conference Room (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Daring to Fail: How to Begin and Sustain a Poetry Submission Practice

Interested in learning how to get your poems published, individually in journals and as book-length collections? Come and hear from a poet with experience on both sides of the publication equation. Francesca Bell has been avidly collecting rejections (and acceptances) for more than twenty years. She has served as the poetry editor of River Styx, a guest editor for B O D Y, and is a current translation editor for Los Angeles Review. She'll share what she's learned about the importance of researching your target publishers, how to format submissions, how to write a cover letter, how to choose which poems go together, how to interact with editors, and, most importantly, how to manage the inevitable disappointments along the way and use failure to your advantage. She will even share some of her voluminous submission logs so you can check out her vast rejection history firsthand. 

Space is limited. Please, register at the San Rafael Library’s website in order to save a spot.

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Mar
25
5:00 PM17:00

University of Chicago

I've always wanted to see Chicago, and now I get to read at the University of Chicago with two wonderful international poets, Petr Hruška of the Czech Republic and Rob A. McKenzie of Scotland. If you're in the area, come out and hear us read our work and talk about being a poet and about translation. 

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Dec
12
6:30 PM18:30

WORKSHOP: POETRY AS A WAY OF LOOKING AT LIFE 12-12-2023, POEMS IN SEARCH OF GOD

Perhaps you've always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you're already a practicing poet in need of some camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and closely examine a selection of poems. We will discuss what the poems are doing and how they are doing it. What literary devices have the poets employed to make the ideas and emotions of their poems accessible? In what ways can the poems deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by that class's poems or another prompt.

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Nov
19
3:00 PM15:00

Poetry Flash, November 19: Anders Carlson-Wee & Francesca Bell

  • ART HOUSE GALLERY & CULTURAL CENTER (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Poetry Flash presents an exciting reading by ANDERS CARLSON-WEE and FRANCESCA BELL,


Visit Poetry Flash (http://poetryflash.org) for reviews, interviews, literary events, and more. See our readings on the Poetry Flash YouTube channel. Thank you for continuing to support the Poetry Flash reading series. The featured books will be available at the event, and  also at http://bookshop.org/shop/poetryflash

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Nov
14
6:30 PM18:30

WORKSHOP: POETRY AS A WAY OF LOOKING AT LIFE 11-14-2023, POEMS OF GRATITUDE AND THANKSGIVING

Perhaps you've always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you're already a practicing poet in need of some camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and closely examine a selection of poems. We will discuss what the poems are doing and how they are doing it. What literary devices have the poets employed to make the ideas and emotions of their poems accessible? In what ways can the poems deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by that class's poems or another prompt.

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Nov
3
7:00 PM19:00

Poetry Reading, Mill Valley Library

Join Anders Carlson-Wee and Douglas Manuel as they read from their new collections, Disease of Kings and Trouble Funk. The reading will be followed by an in-depth conversation moderated by Marin County Poet Laureate Francesca Bell centering on disparities of income and opportunity, living with deprivation, and how artists can survive late-stage capitalism in America.

Registration highly recommended.
Adults and high school students only! Free wine reception at 6:30pm for pre-registered guests. Waitlist line opens up at 6:45 on a first come, first served basis.. 
Register here: https://millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/11139544?hs=a

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Oct
10
6:30 PM18:30

WORKSHOP: Poetry as a Way of Looking at Life 10-10-2023

Perhaps you've always wondered what people see in poetry. Maybe you're already a practicing poet in need of some camaraderie and outside inspiration. Either way, this free, generative, welcoming poetry workshop is for you. Each session, we will read and closely examine one poem. We will discuss what the poem is doing and how it is doing it. What literary devices has the poet employed to make the ideas and emotions of the poem accessible? In what ways can the poem deepen our understanding of ourselves and others? How can looking through a poetic lens help us to better understand our own lives? Each discussion will be followed by a timed free-write inspired by that class's poem or another prompt.

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Sep
3
2:00 PM14:00

Zoom Poetry Workshop – Singing in Another’s Voice: The Uses and Pleasures of Writing in Persona

11:00am - 1:00pm PT | 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST

I'm thrilled to be teaching an online class for the wonderful Jacar Press!

In this generative workshop, you will be introduced to the practice of writing persona poems, poems written in the imagined voices of others—real people, conjured people, animals, even inanimate objects. We will look at some examples of the use of persona and will discuss how to navigate the ethics of using other voices to say what you want to say. There will be time for generating material for new work using a wide assortment of provided prompts.

See website to sign up and pay (just $100 for all 5 workshops):
https://jacarpress.com/the-gathering/

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Jul
7
12:00 PM12:00

Daring to Fail @ Kinsale Arts Weekend in Kinsale, Ireland

Interested in learning how to get your poems published? Thinking of expanding your reach into the vast American literary market? Come and hear from an American poet with experience on both sides of the publication equation. Francesca Bell has been avidly collecting rejections (and acceptances) for more than twenty years. She has served as the poetry editor of River Styx, a guest editor for B O D Y, and is the current translation editor for Los Angeles Review. She'll share what she's learned about the importance of researching your target publications, how to format submissions, how to write a cover letter, how to choose which poems go together, how to interact with editors, and, most importantly, how to manage the inevitable disappointments along the way and use failure to your advantage. She will even share some of her voluminous submission logs so you can check out her vast rejection history first-hand.

Go to Kinsale Arts Weekend website for full schedule.

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Jul
6
4:00 PM16:00

Scavenging for Inspiration @ Kinsale Arts Weekend in Kinsale, Ireland


I've pinched myself hard multiple times to be sure it's true: What Small Sound and I are going to Ireland!

Scavenging for Inspiration: Looking for Poems in All the Weird Places

In this two-hour, generative workshop, Francesca Bell will discuss the pleasures and power of writing poems sparked by news articles and science. We will go over some sample poems together, and participants will be provided a generous handout full of seriously strange prompts. There will be time for a free-writing exercise, so bring writing materials and your imagination!

Go to Kinsale Arts Weekend website for full schedule.

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Jun
15
6:00 PM18:00

What Small Sound Book Launch in Sausalito!

The official book launch for What Small Sound is coming to Sausalito! Douglas Manuel, Joe Zaccardi and I will read from our brand new Red Hen Press collections in this gorgeous, beautifully-stocked bookstore in downtown Sausalito. There is plenty of parking, some of it free, and we will enjoy delicious refreshments and celebrate poetry and in-person readings! And I will bake you all some most excellent treats!

Sausalito Books By the Bay Website:
https://www.sausalitobooksbythebay.com/

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Jun
7
12:00 PM12:00

Daring to Fail @ @ Kinsale Arts Weekend in Kinsale, Ireland

Interested in learning how to get your poems published? Thinking of expanding your reach into the vast American literary market? Come and hear from an American poet with experience on both sides of the publication equation. Francesca Bell has been avidly collecting rejections (and acceptances) for more than twenty years. She has served as the poetry editor of River Styx, a guest editor for B O D Y, and is the current translation editor for Los Angeles Review. She'll share what she's learned about the importance of researching your target publications, how to format submissions, how to write a cover letter, how to choose which poems go together, how to interact with editors, and, most importantly, how to manage the inevitable disappointments along the way and use failure to your advantage. She will even share some of her voluminous submission logs so you can check out her vast rejection history first-hand.

Go to Kinsale Arts Weekend website for full schedule.

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