(Second Tuesdays with Litquake and fourth Tuesdays with MoAD)

Sharing works that delight, provoke, inspire and rouse, the twice monthly Poetic Tuesdays series runs from May through August, turning lunchtime into an oasis of creative expression. Lighting up the Gardens with a fabulously curated line-up of poets and musicians, Poetic Tuesdays offer a vivifying midday breather for neighborhood groups, students, office workers on break and even out-of-towners looking for respite from The City’s hustle and bustle.

About the Artists

Tony Aldarondo has performed music and poetry in venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, overseas and once while standing up on a Jet Blue airplane! He is also an actor and voice-over artist. Tony is the author of two published books Big Heart Poet and his latest WE ARE POETS! Both on HummingWord Press.

Aileen Cassinetto is a Filipino American poet, cultural organizer and community mentor. Born and raised in the Philippines, she draws on her roots and immigrant experience to amplify the role of poetry in the context of social justice movements. An Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, she served as poet laureate of San Mateo County from 2019–2022. She is also the author of two poetry collections and the founder of the independent literary press, Paloma Press. She is currently a Commissioner on the Status of Women for San Mateo County and a member of KQED’s Community Advisory Panel. She has been selected as a YBCA 100 honoree in 2023 for her contributions in building regenerative and equitable communities through poetry.

Gamal Chasten is a playwright, poet, actor and songwriter, co-founder of Universes theater ensemble and co-founder of The Breath Project which is a national initiative that supports and advocates for BIPOC theater artists. Gamal’s theatrical writing credits include: The Black Mann Act Trial of Jack Johnson Vaudeville Show (2021 Colorado New Play Festival), Crawfish / We The Invisible (2020 Workshop Production, 6th Street Playhouse), The Last Word (2005, PS 122), God Took Away His Poem (2000, Lab theaters Barn series), Let Bygones Be (2010, Humana Festival 10-minute play), The Wall (2011 New Orleans Fringe) , The Ride (1999, P.S. 122, Universes), Slanguage (2001, Universes, NYTW), Ameriville (Humana Festival, 2007, Universes), Party People (2014 Berkely Rep, Universes), Americus (2020, CPIP, Universes).

Alie Jones is a self-care advocate, writer, artist and Creole mermaid. She is Co-founder and Director of Black Freighter Press, a revolutionary press committed to the exploration of liberation, using art to transform consciousness. Alie graduated with her MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Mills College. She is the host of the podcast called Chit Chat with Aliecat , a platform to explore self-care practices and journeys of self-love in community.

Tennessee Reed is the author of seven poetry collections, a memoir and a novel. She has read her work around the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, England, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Israel and Japan. Her seventh poetry collection, Califia Burning, was published on November 3, 2020. Her most recent readings include the Whitney Biennial in New York City and Write America. She attended an artist residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida in October of 2021 and at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in Temecula, California in November of 2022. She is the chairperson of PEN Oakland and the managing editor of Konch Magazine.

Litquake Curator:

Karla Brundage is author of two books of poetry, including Swallowing Watermelons and co-author of Mulatta–Not So Tragic. Her work as editor and publisher for Pacific Raven Press has included authors in the Bay Area, Hawaii, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya in the following anthologies: Sisters Across Oceans, Our Spirits Carry Our Voices and Black Rootedness: 54 Poets from Africa to America. Media credits include Sister Power on ThinkTech Hawaii, C-SPAN, LitSeen, Wanda’s Picks and Chills at Will Podcast. Her poetry, essays and short stories can be found in Konch, Literary Magazine, sPARKLE & bLINK, MiGoZine, Black Fire This Time, Essential Truths and A Gathering of Tribes: Black Lives Matter Issue and her upcoming book Blood Lies: Race Trait(d)or (Finishing Line Press 2024). A graduate of Vassar College, Mills College MFA Program and San Francisco State Clinical Schools Project, Karla is founder of West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange.

Co-Presented by: