Author: Kim Shuck's Poem Jam Celebrates the Beast Crawl

San Francisco Poet Laureate emerita Kim Shuck invites writers associated with Oakland's Beast Crawl to read at SFPL’s monthly poetry reading. Featured readers include Richard Loranger, Sprinkle Rodgers, Nazelah Jamison and Ryan Nakano.

The Beast Crawl is Oakland's premiere festival for literary arts & performance. The Beast Crawl Lit Fest is not a singular event, place or time. It is a confluence of writers, performing artists, musicians and other like-minded souls, dreaming transformation into life on the streets, sidewalks and community spaces of our beloved Oakland. The Beast will crawl this coming July 22nd in downtown Oakland. The Beast is privileged and honored to crawl and read on native Ohlone-Chocheny-Karkin land. 

Connect: Beast Crawl Literary Festival - Website

Kim Shuck was San Francisco’s seventh Poet Laureate. Her poetry draws on her multiethnic background which includes Polish and Cherokee heritage, and her experiences as a lifelong resident of San Francisco. Her most recent book of poetry, What Unseen Thing Blows Wishes Across My Surface?, a collaboration with visual artist LisaRuth Elliott, and her new book of essays, Noodle, Rant, Tangent, were published in 2022. In her term as Poet Laureate, she hosted scores of free poetry and art workshops for all ages at neighborhood libraries and schools and worked closely with San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco Arts Commission to launch major citywide initiatives to honor Native American Indigenous Peoples' heritage.

Richard Loranger is a multi-genre writer, performer and all-around squeaky wheel currently residing in Oakland. His upcoming collection of poetry and flash prose, Mammal, is due out from Roof Books in the fall of 2023. You can find more about his work and scandals at his website.

Connect:  Richard Loranger – Website

Sprinkle Rodgers was born and raised in the Midwest, always near rivers—St. Croix, Chicago, Mississippi. A public-school educator of 13 years, lover of biking, ukulele and digging in the dirt, she has joined the Beast Crawl as one of our primary organizers. Sprinkle is a shy poet who loves to close her eyes and listen to the voices and rhythms of the Bay Area.

Nazelah Jamison is a Bay Area-based performance poet, author, actor, vocalist and emcee. Her first book of poetry, Evolutionary Heart, was released on Nomadic Press in 2016. Her work can also be found in The Racket Journal: Issue Fifteen (2020), Culture Counts Magazine (2021), La Raiz Magazine (2022), Better Ancestors, Sparkle + Blink 115 (Quiet Lightning 2022) and others. In her spare time, Nazelah enjoys writing horror screenplays and saving the day. She hosts Thee Virtual Open Mic every 1st & 3rd Friday on Zoom, and gives the best hugs in the Bay Area.

Ryan Nakano is an Okinawan/Japanese American poet and journalist living in Huchiun, on the unceded lands of the Lisjan Ohlone (Oakland) with my wonderful partner and cat. His poems have been published in riksha magazine as well as Voicemail Poems.