Three writers, three radical visions of healing in America today. Decorated, award-winning poets and journalists Morgan Parker, Carvell Wallace, and sam sax’s recent transformative works reimagine the conventions of self-love in a world that wasn’t built for you. Whether it's Parker’s investigation of racial consciousness and its effects on mental well-being (You Get What You Pay For), Wallace’s irresistibly made case for life in his excavation of growing up Black and queer and homeless (Another Word for Love), or sax’s kaleidoscopic coming of age novel (Yr Dead)—all these writers present profoundly original meditations on healing, told through the lenses of justice, sex, family, gender, protest, and death. Moderated by The Stacks podcast founder and host, Traci Thomas. Doors at 6:30PM.

‍

‍

The Stacks is a podcast about books and the ways they shape our cultural understandings. Hosted by Traci Thomas (@thestackspod), a Black millennial woman who is asking the questions that provoke meaningful and thought provoking conversations. Created in 2018, the show has over 3 million downloads, and has been featured in Elle Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Buzzfeed, and more.

‍

‍

‍

Morgan Parker (@morganapple0) is a poet, essayist, and novelist. She is the author of the young adult novel Who Put This Song On?; and the poetry collections Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night, There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, and Magical Negro, which won the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, winner of a Pushcart Prize, and has been hailed by The New York Times as “a dynamic craftsperson” of “considerable consequence to American poetry.” Parker’s debut book of nonfiction, You Get What You Pay For, comes out March 12, 2024.

‍

‍

‍

Carvell Wallace (@carvell_wallace) grew up between Southwestern PA, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. He attended Tisch School for the Arts and worked as a stage actor before spending fifteen years in direct service youth non-profits. He has covered arts, entertainment, music, culture, race, sports, and parenting for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Slate, GQ, Pitchfork, MTV News and others. As a podcast host, he has been nominated for a Peabody and won a Kaleidoscope Award and was the Slate parenting advice columnist. He is the co-author of the New York Times best-selling basketball memoir The Sixth Man with Andre Iguodala. He lives in Oakland and has two adult children, a comfortable couch, and a lot of plants.

‍

‍

‍

Sam Sax (@samsax1) is the author of Yr Dead, and the poetry collections Pig, Bury It, and Madness. They've received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Yaddo and are currently an Italic Lecturer at Stanford University.

‍

‍

This program is co-presented with Litquake, San Francisco’s Literary Festival. In celebration of 25 years, their 2024 Festival runs from 10/10 - 10/26 with 140+ events taking place all over the Bay Area and featuring 500+ authors and performers. The full schedule is available on at litquake.org.

‍

‍