### **Anne Waldman reads from new work** City Lights and the Penguin Poets Series celebrate the publication of ### _Mesopotopia_ By Anne Waldman Published by Penguin Books From “one of the most important and irreducible living American poets” (Poetry Foundation) comes a powerful and prophetic collection of epic scope and vision _Mesopotopia_ explores the vast sweep of our accelerating, precipitous world. From the cradle to the grave, from the mysterious poetic origins of Mesopotamia to our own dystopias of the twenty-first century, Anne Waldman crafts a singular, radical investigation into the syncretic layers of quantum space and dreamtime. She invokes “studying” as the most compelling ritual and tool for evolution and travels to various fellaheen worlds, treading metabolic pathways and ancient “antitheses realities,” and gleans sacred texts that speak urgently through the transports and telepathies of poetry. Troubadour dawn songs, pyramid texts, Buddhist mantras, canonical hours of Judeo-Christian tradition, Persian prayers, Druid sorcery, and the wild, gnarly syntax and modal structure of Waldman’s particular performative passion and wit are all conjured here. What emerges is a meditation on the salient words of the French poet Antonin Artaud contemplating the destruction and rubble post–World War II: “We are not yet born, we are not yet in the world, there is not yet a world, things have not been made, the reason for being has not yet been found.” _Mesopotopia_ —mythic maelstrom, rhythmic rite of passage, protolanguage trance dance—moves toward release and gnosis. **Anne Waldman** is a revered poet, performer, professor, editor, and cultural activist. She is the author of more than forty-five books, including _Gossamurmur, Manatee/Humanity, Structure of the World Compared to a Bubble,_ and the feminist epic _The Iovis Trilogy_ , which won the 2012 PEN Center USA Award for Poetry. The recipient of the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Memorial Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Before Columbus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Waldman makes her home in New York City and in Boulder, Colorado, where she is a Distinguished Professor of Writing and Poetics and artistic director of the Summer Writing Program at Naropa University. ##### Anne will also be appearing at **The** **Roxie Theater, 3125 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103** on**Saturday, December 6, 2025, 12:15 pm** for a film screening of _OUTRIDER_ (directed by Alystyre Julian) – Visit this**LINK** to learn more. Advance Praise for the work of Anne Waldman “To understand the radiance of the poetry world you have to look at Anne. In _Mesopotopia_ I’m struck by the fact she is such a good writer, her tone so rich & embodied, so frank you could hang anything on it and she does—in a moment when nobody knows what to do Anne extends us this canny oracular, a streaming prayer cobbled from every direction – in a grown up in NYC way, _Mesopotopia_ is today’s lucky read, gorgeous and full.” —Eileen Myles, author of _A Working Life_ “The poem as an archive of histories and myths, an outlet for political rage, an inscape of universal compassion, a score for performance, an account of things touched and seen and dreamed, an atlas of the natural world, the language of a tribe: for sixty years, Anne Waldman has been taking us to what poetry was meant to be.” —Eliot Weinberger, author of _The Life of Tu Fu_ “Anne Waldman’s _Mesopotopia_ unfolds in layered, palimpsestic compositions, forming potent murmurations of language: coordinated, shape-shifting, and spectacular. With an epic vision, these poems address complex themes, dreaming and unraveling threads of history and myth. It’s an enveloping performance, an urgent invocation. An utterly astonishing collection.” —Hoa Nguyen, author of _A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure_ “Shattered light in search of sprung lyric: with boundless energy, Anne Waldman has forged an epochal poem in the seams and veils of hermetic unfoldings. _Mesopotopia_ is a restless, wrestling, rousing, terracotta (earthen) anti-war warrior.” —Charles Bernstein, author of _The Kinds of Poetry I Want_ This event made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation

An exploration of the how, why, whom and ongoing influence of the ground breaking organization that helped to birth today's LGBTQIA community and initiated the movement for our cultural and political freedoms. Using images, conversation and even a John Wayne movie excerpt, we’ll tell the story of the brave visionaries who started it all back in November of 1950. Speakers include Joey Cain, Devlyn Camp, Will Roscoe and Jim Van Buskirk.

OASIS offers an unforgettable LGBQT San Francisco experience with top cabaret acts, nightclub parties, dancing and drag shows.

An exploration of the how, why, whom and ongoing influence of the ground breaking organization that helped to birth today's LGBTQIA community and initiated the movement for our cultural and political freedoms. Using images, conversation and even a John Wayne movie excerpt, we’ll tell the story of the brave visionaries who started it all back in November of 1950. Speakers include Joey Cain, Devlyn Camp, Will Roscoe and Jim Van Buskirk.

Our most cherished tradition is back. The Dandelion Chocolate Advent Calendar sells out long before the holiday season, so don’t wait. Join us for a moonlit celebration of artistry, craft chocolate, and connection: 25 exclusive confections — each hand-crafted by one of North America’s most inspired chocolatiers — are tucked into ornament boxes illustrated by Belgian artist Lina Kusaite. Together, they honor 25 of our Solar System’s moons.

San Francisco drag queen Hilary Rivers has been released from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and is back home in San Francisco after being granted asylum in the United States on September 20. In an exclusive interview, Rivers spoke to _El Tecolote_ and _48 Hills_ about the violence she endured in detention and the long legal fight that brought her back to San Francisco. _Lee esta historia en español_ “A few days before my court date, friends warned me not to appear because people were being picked up,” said Rivers. “But I wanted to do things right. I knew if I didn’t show up, I could get an automatic deportation order. So I went to court with my lawyer.” * **Fundraiser:** Help Hilary Rivers rebuild her life and cover medical costs On June 26, just a day after being named runner-up at the 30th Annual Miss & Mr. Safe Latino pageant, an HIV/AIDS awareness event created by Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Rivers was detained by ICE outside of immigration court. Born in El Salvador and raised in Guatemala, Rivers fled to the United States in 2023 to seek asylum after surviving an assassination attempt and repeated attacks for being openly gay. ### Become a member of El Tecolote: Meet the moment for immigrant, working-class Latinos Join Now! “I survived an assassination attempt and many attacks. I left for Mexico first, hoping to stay there, but violence followed me,” said Rivers. “Eventually, I moved to San Francisco for work. Here, I finally felt accepted for who I am.” What she thought would be a regular check-in appointment became an immigrant’s worst fear when she got detained by ICE. This came after the judge said they would need more time to review the case on June 26. That’s when ICE agents came up to her. “Officers asked my name. I stayed quiet. My lawyer also didn’t answer. They seemed to understand I was the person they wanted.” said Rivers. “They grabbed me, pushed me against the wall and shackled me. My lawyer tried to intervene, but they pushed him aside. They put my hands and feet in chains. I’ve never been arrested before. It was terrifying.” Rivers was taken first to the San Francisco ICE Field Office and then transferred to the Golden State Annex detention center in McFarland, California, where she spent nearly three months. She described being held in freezing, overcrowded cells. “We had to stand for hours because there was no space to sit, no air, and we were freezing,”she said. Last month, a coalition of immigrant-rights organizations filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging courthouse arrests of asylum-seekers and the conditions inside ICE’s San Francisco Field Office. The lawsuit alleges that immigrants are sometimes held there for days in “punitive and inhumane” conditions while awaiting transfer to detention centers. Despite informing staff that she was part of the LGBTQ community, Rivers said there was no protection from harassment or sexual violence. “Staff didn’t protect me. One person came into my room when the door was locked, and another time I woke up to someone touching me,” she said. “I reported it using the tablet system and spoke to staff. They told me there would be an ’investigation,’ but nothing changed. Later I saw paperwork that didn’t match where I actually was housed, as if units were mislabeled.” After months in detention, Rivers was granted asylum and released on Saturday, September 20th. Since returning home, she’s been recovering from the physical and emotional trauma she endured. “I learned I’d lost almost everything, housing and belongings. Some documents were missing. I’m starting from zero. Physically, I still need surgery on my leg, which got worse during detention. But I’m free, and that gives me strength.” An online fundraising campaign has been launched to help Rivers rebuild her life and cover medical costs. Despite everything, Rivers said she refuses to give up. “We have to fight for our dreams. I paid a high price, but nothing is impossible. Don’t let them break you. Don’t sign things you don’t understand. Know your rights. We all have the same worth, no matter where we’re from.” El Tecolote _reached out to ICE for comment, but officials said they could not respond without personal case details that Hilary declined to share for safety reasons._

DOLL FEST w/ Frightwig, Skip The Needle, Hot Laundry, The Furious Tits and Half Rotten Goddess Hey Doll Fest Fam! Join us in a night of music celebrating f...

The widely loved curator and connector of people in the Bay Area art scene died on Oct. 18, 2025.