FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jess Young, Director of Communications
& Community Engagement
415-863-1414 x112 • jess@somarts.org

SOMArts Cultural Center Presents
FEAST OF WORDS: A LITERARY POTLUCK

 
San Francisco, CA, March 14, 2013— SOMArts Cultural Center presents Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck, an intimate monthly dinner party where writers and foodies come together to eat, write, and share. Head to Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck on the third Tuesday of each month to discover local chefs and writers, bring a dish on the monthly theme and share your on-the-spot writing to be entered in a drawing for edibles, books and other prizes!

On Tuesday, April 16, 7 to 9pm, Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck features a reading and writing exercise led by Raquel Gutiérrez, founder of several queer women of color, community-based art and literary projects. Culinary guest Jenn Hartman anchors the evening’s potluck. As always, guests can bring a dish, take part in a writing exercise and share the work they have created for a chance to win literary and culinary prizes.

The evening’s theme “Only Connect” is inspired by an E.M. Forster quote and by Dial Collect, a group exhibition of interactive installations in the SOMArts Main Gallery bridging people and stories, April 5–26, 2013. Guests may wish to arrive early to visit the exhibition, which is open 12pm to 7pm on the day of the event. More information about Dial Collect can be found at http://www.somarts.org/dialcollect.

House opens at 6:30pm on Tuesday, April 16, and space is limited. Tickets are $10 in advance, $5 with a potluck dish, or $12 at the door, cash bar. Purchase tickets online at feastofwords.eventbrite.com.

About Raquel Gutiérrez
Raquel Gutiérrez is a performer, writer, actor, curator, playwright, and cultural organizer. She has written on queerness, music, film, performance and community building in addition to creating original solo and ensemble performance compositions. Gutiérrez has studied and graduated from both community and university settings, but really got her art education at Jabberjaw, an all-ages punk rock venue in Los Angeles that she has written about, as well as  at Highways Performance Space, where she interned and house managed in the year 2000.

Gutiérrez is a co-founding member of the performance ensemble, Butchlalis de Panochtitlan (BdP), a community-based and activist-minded group aimed at creating a visual vernacular around queer Latinidad in Los Angeles. Gutiérrez also co-founded other queer women of color projects and Los Angeles-specific projects: Tongues, A Project of VIVA and Epicentro Poetry project. Gutiérrez has published work, most recently in "Ambientes: New Queer Latino Writing," edited by Lázaro Lima and Felice Picano. Currently, Gutiérrez is working on a few essays about her favorite performance artists and the state of art and community-building as well as a novel. Formerly the Manager of Community Partnerships for Cornerstone Theater Company, a leader in community-based theater making in the United States, Gutiérrez now calls the Bay Area home. She now manages a program in arts community engagement for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

About Jenn Hartman
Jenn Hartman is a self-taught baker, musician, and writer living in Oakland. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Hartman’s cooking is influenced by punk ethics of accessibility, shared resources, making things from scratch, and beauty in simplicity. Hartman focuses on seasonal eating, demystifying food-making processes, and vivid flavor combinations. When not in the kitchen or on a bike, Hartman plays drums in an indie punk band called Salt Flat, operates a D.I.Y. record label under the name Most Gross Cassettes, and self-publishes zines.

Calendar Listing
What: Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck (Theme: Only Connect)
Where: SOMArts Cultural Center (934 Brannan St, between 8th and 9th)
When: Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 7:00pm–9:00pm, house opens 6:30pm
What else: Tickets are $10 advance, $5 with a potluck dish, and $12 at the door. For more information visit http://feastofwords.somarts.org or write feastofwords@somarts.org
 
Feast of Words host Jess Young coordinates outreach and serves as the social media voice of SOMArts Cultural Center in her role as Director of Communications & Community Engagement. From 2009–2012 she conducted and edited interviews for Aorta, a radical arts magazine featuring a diversity of emerging and established female, queer and transgender artists, and previously hosted the reading series Tales of the Sissy. She recently shared a true story at The Worst, a reading series created by Brooklyn based author Cassie J. Sneider.
 
About the SOMArts Studio Series
The SOMArts (South of Market Arts, Resources, Technology, and Services) Studio Series is an informal assemblage of arts classes and events designed to encourage the production of contemporary work by artists of all ages and skill levels in San Francisco.
 
About SOMArts Cultural Center
SOMArts (South of Market Arts, Resources, Technology, and Services) was founded in 1979 and operates the South of Market Cultural Center, one of four city-owned cultural facilities in San Francisco. SOMArts supports exhibitions, performances, classes and other collaborations that serve its mission: to promote and nurture art on the community level and foster an appreciation of and respect for all cultures.
 
For more information about upcoming events, space rentals and technical services, visit www.somarts.org or call 415-863-1414. SOMArts programs are supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program, with funding from Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and The San Francisco Foundation.