Author: Melissa Valentine in conversation with writer Amber Butts

Wednesday, 2/17/2021
6:00 - 7:00
Virtual Library
Address

United States


In celebration of Melissa Valentine's book, The Names of All the Flowers, Valentine and Butts will discuss writing and community organizing. 

Set in rapidly gentrifying 1990s Oakland, The Names of All the Flowers, explores siblinghood, adolescence and grief in a family shattered by loss. Published by Feminist Press.

YouTube Live

 

Melissa Valentine is an award-winning writer from Oakland, CA whose work explores themes of race, trauma and healing. Her debut memoir, The Names of All the Flowers, was the 2019 winner of the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize. She is a 2020 artist fellow of the New York Foundation for the Arts in Nonfiction Literature. Valentine has also been a fellow at the San Francisco Writers Grotto. Her writing has appeared in New York Magazine, Guernica, Jezebel and Apogee among others. She is a Visiting Professor at University of California at Santa Cruz. 

Amber Butts is a storyteller, cultural strategist and grief worker who believes that Black folks are already whole. Her work asks big and small questions about how we move towards actualizing spaces that center tenderness, nuance and joy, while living in a world reliant on our terror. Their writing has appeared in NPR, Essence, Zora Magazine and metoo, amongst others. She is currently at work on a speculative fiction novel that writes elders into the future.

Connect

Melissa Valentine - Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Amber Butts - Website | Instagram | Twitter

 


Engage with your favorite writers and discover your next read.

Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Black community.

More Than a Month recognizes important events in Black history, honors community and national leaders and fosters steps towards collective change. Programming features authors, poets and craft classes. 


This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.


Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.


Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.