Author: Alejandro Murguía Book Release Party

Thursday, 1/29/2026
7:00 - 9:00
Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery

3036 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
United States

Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery

Book release party for Alejandro Murguía's new book, The Other Barrio: New and Collected Stories. Opening the festivities, will be invited guest poet María Esquínca, reading from her 2024 Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize Winning collection of poems, Where Heaven Sinks. 

Alejandro Murguía, the San Francisco Poet Laureate from 2013-2017, is the author of a poetry collection, Stray Poems (City Lights Books, 2014); two story collections, Southern Front (Bilingual Review/Press, 1990) and This War Called Love (City Lights Books, 2002), both winners of the American Book Award; and a non-fiction book, The Medicine of Memory (University of Texas Press, 2002). He is the co-editor of Volcán: Poetry from Central America (City Lights Books, 2001). The founder of The Roque Dalton Cultural Brigade, he is a founding member and the first director of The Mission Cultural Center. He is a professor emeritus in Latina/Latino Studies at San Francisco State University.

Connect: Alejandro Murguía - Website

María Esquínca is a Xicana fronteriza and an abolitionist. She was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and grew up in El Paso, Texas. She received her MFA from the University of Miami. Her poetry has appeared in Waxwing, Michigan Quarterly Review, South Carolina Review, Best New Poets, and more.

Connect: María Esquínca - Website

Author Readings & Lectures

Engage with your favorite writers and discover your next read.

¡VIVA!: Latinx Interest

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

¡VIVA! at the Library is a celebration of Latinx heritage, cultures and traditions. San Francisco has a rich Latinx heritage that is highlighted in a diverse array of exciting programs for all ages, from Spanish/bilingual storytimes to cooking classes, author talks to art and cultural presentations.

Poetry

Programs designed to celebrate the art of the poem, including readings and talks.

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.