Workshop: Poetry and Meditation with Shabnam Piryaei

Wednesday, 3/11/2026
6:00 - 7:00
West Portal Children's Area
West Portal
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190 Lenox Way
San Francisco, CA 94127
United States

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Poetry reading and guided meditation with poet, filmmaker and artist Shabnam Piryaei. Shabnam is Iranian American, and the author of four books, most recently the poetry collection all children.

Described by the San Francisco Book Review as “a force to be reckoned with in literary circles,” Shabnam Piryaei is an award-winning poet, filmmaker, and artist. She’s written four books: all children. (Diode Editions, 2024), Nothing is Wasted (The Operating System, 2017), Forward (Museum Books, 2014) and Ode to Fragile (Plain View Press, 2010). She’s written and directed films that have screened at film festivals, art galleries, and public installations around the world. Her documentary film No Separate Survival won Best Documentary Film from San Diego Film Week. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and teaches at San Francisco State University. She is the founder and curator of the online art and interview journal MUSEUM, and the founder of Feather Portal Healing. Her art has been exhibited at the Unlike Art Gallery, Elysium Art Gallery, New Gallery London, Youyou Gallery, Jotta, Galleria Perelà, Kala Art Institute, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. She wants everyone to be, and to feel, free.

Connect: Shabnam Piraeyi - Website


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

This program honors the diverse cultures, traditions and histories of Southwest Asian and North African heritage.


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.


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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.