Performance: Michael Koch & James Cagney: Against the Tide / Contra Corriente 

National Poetry Month
Thursday, 4/17/2025
6:00 - 7:15
Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A
Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room B
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

Two Bay Area poets read from their works: Michael Koch and James Cagney, committed to linguistic alchemy and the struggle for justice, two sides of a coin rolling down a crowded sidewalk.

Michael Koch is a San Francisco poet and visual artist whose Jamaican-Slavic heritage only partially explains his passion for syncopation and absurdity. His books include Street Theology and Ramshackle Detour. 

James Cagney is the author of Black Steel Magnolias In The Hour Of Chaos Theory, winner of the PEN Oakland 2018 Josephine Miles Award, as well as Martian: The Saint of Loneliness, the winner of the 2021 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. His third collection, Ghetto Koans: A Personal Archive, will be published this year from Black Lawrence Press.  

Connect: James Cagney – Website 

Author Readings & Lectures

Engage with your favorite writers and discover your next read.

Poetry

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

Performance

Events featuring theater, music, art and dance.

Spotlight

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

Attending Programs

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This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

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