Black Ocean @ 20

About this event

Join City Lights and Black Ocean for an online celebration of 20 years of Black Ocean, the independent press that has spent two decades publishing adventurous poetry, translation, and genre-defying work from the edges of contemporary literature. The evening will bring together writers, translators, editors, and musicians from across Black Ocean’s history for conversation, readings, and live music, featuring Paige Ackerson-Kiely, Anaïs Duplan, Sadie Dupuis, Elisa Gabbert, Johannes Göransson, Richard Hell, Jennifer Jean, Jake Levine, Zachary Schomburg, Janaka Stucky, and Michael Zapruder. From Schomburg, whose seven poetry collections have all appeared with Black Ocean, to punk icon and writer Richard Hell, Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis, acclaimed poet and critic Elisa Gabbert, and the poets and translators behind Black Ocean’s influential international series, the program celebrates the unruly constellation of artists who have shaped the press—and looks toward what comes next. Black Ocean exists to foster a community where innovative voices in contemporary poetry and literature can thrive, offering access to boundary-pushing, transformative works that challenge conventional narratives. As a nonprofit, Black Ocean seeks to uplift underrepresented authors and create a platform for meaningful literary engagement that resonates with readers around the world. Drawing inspiration from early silent films to early punk rock, Black Ocean brings together a spectrum of influences to produce books of exceptional quality and vision. Beyond publishing, they extend their aesthetic into the world through gatherings and celebrations across the country. Black Ocean believes in the fissures art creates in consciousness—those brief, electric moments that awaken us to a more vital way of being. Through them, it seeks deeper, more expansive modes of existence and invite others to do the same. Through their books, programs,, and events Black Ocean amplifies the voices of artists they believe in, sharing their work with a global audience in the hopes of sparking something lasting and luminous.

Venue

CCSF North Beach / Chinatown Bookstore

CA

Venue website

All events at CCSF North Beach / Chinatown Bookstore · All venues in San Francisco