LIVE! From City Lights

City Lights LIVE and Liveright Books celebrate the publication of “Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights” by Dylan C Penningroth, published by Liveright Books, with a discussion between Dylan and Richard Thompson Ford. A prize-winning scholar draws on astonishing new research to demonstrate how Black people used the law to their advantage long before the Civil Rights Moveme...

City Lights LIVE and Beacon Press celebrate the publication of “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (the 10th Anniversary Edition)” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, published by Beacon Press, with a conversation between Roxanne and Manu Karuka Vimalassery. Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million pe...

City Lights LIVE presents investigative journalist Justine Barron, in conversation with Rabia Chaudry, Alex Vitale, Kim Brown and Sierria Warren, to celebrate the release of "They Killed Freddie Gray: The Anatomy of a Police Brutality Cover-Up Hardcover," published by Arcade Books. "They Killed Freddie Gray" exposes a conspiracy among Baltimore leaders to cover up what actually happened to Freddie...

City Lights LIVE presents John Szwed in conversation with Raymond Foye celebrating the publication of “Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith,” published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux. “Cosmic Scholar" follows the life and legacy of Harry Smith, the brilliant eccentric who transformed twentieth century art and culture. He was an anthropologist, filmmaker, painter, folklorist, mystic, and wa...

City Lights LIVE in conjunction with Princeton University Press presents Joanna Moorhead in conversation with Wendi Norris celebrating the newly published book “Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington” from Princeton University Press. An illustrated biography of the pioneering British artist and writer, Leonara Carrington, tracing her life and work through the many places around the...

City Lights LIVE and Verso Books celebrate the publication of “Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination” by Adam Shatz, published by Verso Books. “Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination” dives into the question of what it means to be a politically committed writer. Shatz asks: do writers have an ethical imperative to question justice? Shatz’s work demand tha...

City Lights LIVE and The New Press celebrate the publication of “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” by Norman Solomon, published by The New Press. Solomon is joined in conversation with Kris Welch. “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine” exposes the dynamics between media and politics and how the American Military co...

City Lights LIVE and Dalkey Archive Press celebrate the publication of “small pieces” by Micheline Aharonian Marcom and Fowzia Karimi, published by Dalkey Archive Press. “small pieces” is a collaboration between novelist Micheline Aharonian Marcom and writer and visual artist Fowzia Karimi, pairing Marcom’s short stories with watercolors done by Karimi. The work is a conversation between two artis...

City Lights LIVE and Duke University Press celebrate the publication of “The Williamsburg Avant-Garde: Experimental Music and Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront” by Cisco Bradley, published by Duke University Press. In “The Williamsburg Avant-Garde” Cisco Bradley documents the rise and fall of the underground music and art scene in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn between the late 1980s and...

City Lights LIVE presents Brandon Shimoda and Emily Luan reading from their books,“Hydra Medusa” and “In 回 / Return,” published by Nightboat Books. “Hydra Medusa” by Brandon Simoda takes us through the poet's day-to-day life as he works five jobs and raises his child. His collection of poems and essays touches on the realities of living on the US-Mexico border. Shimoda documents the realities and...

City Lights LIVE celebrates the publication of Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems by Joyce Mansour (Translator: Emilie Moorhouse), published by City Lights Books. Join us as we dive into the works of iconic Surrealist poet, Joyce Mansour, who emerged from Paris in the 1950s. Mansour is best known for her unfiltered poetry and her participation in the post World War II circle of Surrealist poets. “Emer...

City Lights, in conjunction with Heyday Books, presents Jane Smiley in conversation with Steve Wasserman to celebrate the publication of "The Questions that Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom" by Jane Smiley, published by Heyday Books. Smiley’s new book offers essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. She...

City Lights LIVE presents Kirsten R. Ghodsee discussing her new book "Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life," published by Simon and Schuster. "Everyday Utopia" is an exploration throughout the world and history where varying communities challenge the conventional ways in which we live our lives, raise our families, and interact with those around us...

LIVE! From City Lights celebrates author Mircea Cărtărescu and his latest publication, “Solenoid.” Grounded in the reality of late 1970s/early 1980s Communist Romania, Solenoid ruminates on the exchange possible between the alternate dimensions of life and art, as various, monstrous dimensions erupt within the Communist present. Mircea Cărtărescu is a Romanian novelist, poet, short-story writer, l...

LIVE! From City Lights celebrates author Yxta Maya Murray’s publication of “God Went Like That: A Novel.” “God Went Like That” follows the EPA report of federal agent Reyna Rodriguez who examines the ramifications of nuclear reactor meltdowns that occurred across three years. Drawing on an actual 2011 Department of Energy dossier that details the catastrophes and their ensuing public health fallou...

LIVE! From City Lights celebrates author adrienne marie brown on her latest novel “Maroons: A Grievers Novel.” The second installment of the Grievers trilogy, “Maroons” is a tale of survival that bears brown’s background as an activist in Detroit. Amidst the Syndrome H-8 pandemic, she learns the importance of community and connection through an abandoned urban landscape. adrienne marie brown grows...

LIVE! From City Lights celebrates author David Mas Masumoto and his new publication, “SECRET HARVESTS: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm.” This event was hosted in conjunction with Red Hen Press and Wasabi Press. With linoleum block and letterpress artist Patirica Miye Wakida, Masumoto unravels the mysteries surrounding the reappearance of his “lost” aunt Shizuko. In...

LIVE! From City Lights celebrates author Robert Greenfield and his latest publication “True West: Sam Shepard’s Life, Work, and Times.” Much like Greenfield’s previous biographies, “True West” delves deeply into the life of world-famous playwright and actor Sam Shepard, whose work was matched by his equally dramatic life and relationships. Greenfield interviewed dozens of people who knew Shepard w...

LIVE! From City Lights welcomes poet, critic, theorist and McArthur fellow Fred Moten in celebration of his latest poetry collection, “perennial fashion presence falling.” In conversation with award-winning poet Douglas Kearney, Moten shares some pieces from his book, which hold an innate quantum curiosity about the infinitude of the present and the ways in which one could observe the history of t...

LIVE! From City Lights welcomes Ada Zhang, recognized as one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 for her debut book, “The Sorrows of Others.” In conversation with author and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Belinda Huijuan Tang, Zhang touches on her inspirations to write growing up and the Chinese-American experience in her ten short stories exploring personhood, place, loneliness, love an...

LIVE! From City Lights welcomes award-winning author Gina Apostol in celebration of her book “La Tercera” for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In conversation with novelist and poet R. Zamora Linmark, Apostol discusses the role of “La Tercera” as a vision of Philippine history and a narration of how the culture has changed through the newfound understandings of protagonist, Rosa...

City Lights presents Gillian Conoley in conversation with Norma Cole, celebrating the publication of "Notes from the Passenger" by Gillian Conoley, published by Nightboat Books. This live event was held in the Poetry room and simultaneously broadcasted via Zoom. This event was hosted by Peter Maravelis of City Lights. You can purchase copies of "Notes from the Passenger" directly from City Lights...

LIVE! From City Lights welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Héctor Tobar as he celebrates the release of his new book "Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of ‘Latino’". In conversation with John McMurtire, senior editor at Zyzzyva, Tobar discusses the inspiration for his book and how the characterization of ‘Latino’ has changed over the years. "Our...

City Lights presents Meredith Broussard. She celebrates the publication of her book “More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech” published by City Lights Books. This was a virtual event hosted by Peter Maravelis. You can purchase copies of “More Than a Glitch” directly from City Lights here: https://citylights.com/more-than-a-glitch-race-gender-abi/ Meredith Broussard i...

City Lights presents LaTasha N. Nevada-Diggs, Eleni Sikelianos, and Anne Waldman reading new poetry and celebrating their three new books of poetry from Coffee House Press: "Village" by LaTasha N. Nevada-Diggs – "Your Kingdom" by Eleni Sikelianos – "Bard, Kinetic" by Anne Waldman. This event was originally broadcast via Zoom and hosted by Peter Maravelis. You can purchase copies of "Village" direc...