Nina Serrano hosts a showcase of Piri Thomas’ work. Piri Thomas’ creative impact is not limited to the written word. As seen in EVERY CHILD IS BORN A POET, Thomas’ poetry can take the form of storytelling, a spoken word performance, a musical "word song" – or all of the above.
Since the 1967 publication of his breakthrough novel Down These Mean Streets, Thomas has dedicated himself to education and activism. His prose and poetry about struggle, survival and identity have continued to impact and inspire audiences around the world.
Thomas is also well-known as one of the pioneers of spoken word poetry, a form of poetry performance that has its roots in hip hop, performance art and the Beat poetry movement. By performing aloud, spoken word artists succeed in taking poetry out of the academia and onto the streets, breaking down barriers and making it accessible—both in its creation and its consumption – by the poor, the young and by other marginalized communities. Thomas mixes his spoken word poetry with Latin jazz, Caribbean music, salsa, rhythm and blues and gospel music.
Piri Thomas’ message of "unity among us" reinforces tenets of peace and social justices through prose, poetry and performance.
He will be reading from his latest book, Stories From El Barrio in the Bay Area :
BERKELEY
BLACK OAK BOOKS
Tuesday, December 5 at 7:00pm
1491 Shattuck Ave.
510.486.0698 | www.blackoakbooks.com
JAZZ EVENING AT BIRD & BECKETT
Joined by The Jimmy Ryan Quartet
w/Max Perkoff, Scott Foster & Bishu Chatterjee
BIRD & BECKETT BOOKS AND RECORDS
Friday, December 8 at 6:30pm
2788 Diamond St @ Chenery
415.586.3733 | www.bird-beckett.com