A 100-day counternarrative through art
Barber, an artist and teacher, pointed out that in that same week “there were probably a half dozen other gatherings, exact same idea — maybe not artistic necessarily, but just brainstorming, political; what are we going to do; how are we going to react.”
The group has formed organically, with each person contributing skills toward the project and helping to define its vision.
Whereas the Trump plan is written to be vague and to just electrify people and flatten out meaning, art is already something that does that:
The core began to meet weekly; among its 15 members are an activist, an elementary school teacher, a neuroscientist and a software designer.
An open meeting is scheduled for noon Saturday, Jan. 14, at Royal Nonesuch Gallery, where the project is in residence through Feb. 15.
The gallery will also host the 100 Days Action Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20; anyone can take the oath of office over the book of their choice.
Why There Are Words celebrates its seventh anniversary with readings by Tamim Ansary (“Road Trips”), Rebecca Foust (“Paradise Drive”), Joan Frank (“All the News I Need”), Kate Milliken (“If I’d Known You Were Coming”), Joshua Mohr (“Sirens”), Naomi J. Wiliams (“Landfalls”) and Olga Zilberbourg, author of several books of fiction in Russian, and music by Turk & Divis (7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, Studio 333, 333 Caledonia St. Sausalito, $10).
Diesel, A Bookstore presents its Fresh and Best Poetry series, with Tongo Eisen-Martin (“Someone’s Dead Already”) and Wendy Trevino (“Brazilian Is Not a Race”) (7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 5433 College Ave., Oakland, free).
Writers With Drinks features Sara Benincasa (“Real Artists Have Day Jobs”), Jeff Chang (“We Gon’ Be Alright”), Antonio Garcia Martinez Chaos Monkeys:
Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, Wendy C. Ortiz (“dreamoir”), Aya de Leon (“Uptown Thief”) and comedian Jennifer Dronsky, with guest host Baruch Porras Hernandez (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St., $5-$20). www.writerswithdrinks.com.
Bay Area Writers Resist, in concert with an international movement and co-presented by nearly a dozen local organizations, presents an evening of readings with a lineup that includes Jane Hirshfield, Bich Minh Nguyen, D.A. Powell, Ishmael Reed, Kevin Simmonds and many others, a benefit for International Institute of the Bay Area, Southern Poverty Law Center and Transgender Law Center 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, Starline Social Club, 2236 MLK Jr.