Universally recognized as a tireless\, unapologetic advocate for women\, Alix Dobkin has been instrumental in developing global lesbian cultural networks.For the last 25 years as a professional folksinger\, her songs\, albums\, concerts\, lectures and presentations have focused on women in general &\; lesbians in particular\, frequently inspiring the thought-provoking controversy. Producer of the groundbreaking 1973 "\;Lavender Jane Loves Women\,"\; Alix has six additional albums and a songbook to her credit. Alix will join us to read from her memoir\, MY RED BLOOD\: A Memoir of Growing Up Communist\, Coming Onto the Greenwich Village Folk Scene\, and Coming Out in the Feminist Movement. You won't want to miss a moment of this rare and intimate evening with a living legend!
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T040008Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100319T003000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100319T020000Z UID:http://www.charisbooksandmore.com/event/cliterati-open-no-mic-featuring-david-kealii-mackenzie URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.charisbooksandmore.com/event/cliterati-open-no-mic-featuring-david-kealii-mackenzie SUMMARY:Cliterati Open No Mic Featuring David Keali'i DESCRIPTION:Charis &\; Cliterati pair up to present an inviting and fierce open mic &\; reading series on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Hosted by the anarchic spoken wordteam of Karen G and Theresa Davis\, members of the Art Amok Slam Team\, this series cultivates the voices of authors\, novices and an assortment of poets\, songstresses and storytellers. In March we welcome David Keali'i. David has co-hosted the Worcester Poet's Asylum for about 2 years and was recently a member of the 2009 Worcester Slam Team. David has also had peoms published in Bread Crumb Scabs\, 'Oiwi\:' A Native Hawaiian Journal and Full of Crow.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120524T040008Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100320T153000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20100320T170000Z UID:http://www.charisbooksandmore.com/event/akoma-book-club-21 URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.charisbooksandmore.com/event/akoma-book-club-21 SUMMARY:Akoma Book Club DESCRIPTION:The Akoma Book Club (of Women Healing Women) meets on the third Saturday of each month. This book club is open
to any woman seeking camaraderie with like-minded women for fun\,
self-empowerment and growth. Even if you haven't read the book\, but are
willing to talk about the principles in the book\, you can join us for a
lively discussion. March's book pick is The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse\: A Breakthrough Program for Connecting with Your Soul's Deepest Purpose by Debbie Ford. The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse is an invitation to dedicate 21 days to building a profound and
intimate relationship with your highest self. Within each us there
lives a hungry ghost that is always craving more\, whether it′s money\,
fame\, attention or material possessions. Our decisions and behaviors
are too often guided by this ego-driven force that clogs our hearts and
dominates our minds. If unchecked\, it grows stronger and starts
influencing all aspects of our lives. We get stuck in the past\, avoid
the present\, and feel discouraged about our future.
This facilitated group is open to all writers of fiction and creative non-fiction who want a
serious group to provide constructive criticism\, motivational
exercises\, and interpersonal accountability to keep their writing on
track. We do monthly exercises and critiques with an eye towards
individual improvement and the eventual goal of publication. Writers
are encouraged to bring copies of their work to share for critique. The
group meets the second &\; fourth Monday of each month from
6\:30-8\:30pm. Please direct inquiries to elizabeth@chariscircle.org.
This facilitated group discusses books which feature queer
characters/storylines as well as a strong attention to literary craft
and style. March's book is Spinning Tropics by Aska Mochizuki. Spinning Tropics is a lush and evocative story of an intoxicating love affair. Meet Hiro. She's tall\, lanky and awkward—a twenty-something Japanese
woman who has decamped to Vietnam from Tokyo to work as a language
teacher. Meet Dung. She's shy\, beautiful\, and tough—a young
Vietnamese woman studying Japanese\, determined to create a better life
for herself and her family. When Dung becomes one of Hiro's
students\, they are instantly drawn to each other. For both of them\, it
is their first time in love with another woman. But when Konno\, an
older Japanese businessman\, befriends Hiro\, Dung begins to grow
unbearably jealous. What unfolds is a love triangle with very
complicated\, ultimately devastating\, results. Set against the backdrop
of a Vietnam on the economic rise\, debut novelist Aska Mochizuki
vividly brings to life the buzz of motorcycles and the tastes of
Vietnamese coffee and spicy papaya salads\; the confines of the
Vietnamese family\; the lingering effects of long wars\; the rich who
ride the economic wave and the poor who are left behind.
Join us for a discussion with Debra Mazer &\; Cantor Shira Leba Batalion\, as they read from their new book\, Open-Eyed Heart-Wide Haggadah\,
a ritual guide for the Passover Seder. Debra and Shira will talk about
ways to transform your same-old Seder to include new songs and stories\,
new feminist\, queer\, and diverse perspectives\, and some yummy vegan and
raw Passover delights. This is about reclaiming ritual\, &\;
celebrating this newly published work of two longtime local members of
the Charis community.
Integrating the themes of friendship\, mother-daughter relationships\, and aging\, Out of the Pumpkin Shell tells the story of best friends Hat and
Elise who are determined not to take aging in stride. Fortifying their usual outrageous
behavior with a hefty dose of courage\, they delve into the past\, where they
discover truths about Elise's mother\, gain a wider sisterhood\, and new possibilities. Author Nancy Poling will read from her novel and engage us in a humorous and fun conversation about finding oneself and rediscovering friendship after fifty.
Join
queer feminist theorist Lynne Huffer as she presents her recent book\, Mad for Foucault\: Rethinking the
Foundations of Queer Theory\, a reappraisal of Michel Foucault as a founding
thinker of queer theory. Combining personal narrative\, archival history\, and
philosophical argument\, Huffer tells a story about historical modes of
exclusion that produced perversions as forms of madness\, ultimately calling for
new practices of transformation through a political ethic of eros.
As part of our ongoing Faiths and
Feminisms series join us to learn Zentangle - a beautiful and relaxing art form
that anyone can create using simple materials and repeating patterns. In
this workshop we will learn the basics of creating Zentangle as well as many
metaphors for our lives and spirits. Joan Payton and Jeannie Mahood are Atlanta's only Certified
Zentangle Teachers. Please bring $5 to cover materials. www.zentangle.com
Anne Lamott\, the renowned author of many bestselling books
including Traveling Mercies and Grace\: Thoughts on Faith\, visits
us with a tough and touching new novel\, Imperfect Birds.
"\;Heartbreaking and delightful\, moving and hopeful\, the novel reminds us
how our children are connected to and independent of us\, and that no matter how
difficult our struggle is with them\, love underlies it all and saves us. This
novel captures the deepest\, purest\, most terrifying experience of parents
fearing for their children. With great insight and humor\, Anne Lamott shows us
what it means these dangerous days to be a parent\, what it means to be a child\,
and what it means to be a family."\; Sponsored by the Georgia Center
for the Book.