Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Poet Laureate emeritus Jack Hirschman, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco Public Library present the second biennial San Francisco International Poetry Festival, July 23-26, 2009. The SFIPF takes place at the Palace of Fine Arts, public libraries and various venues throughout San Francisco. All events are free and open to the public.

This year’s landmark event will be co-hosted by Hirschman, California Poet Laureate Carol Muske-Dukes and San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima. San Francisco Poet Laureate emeritus Lawrence Ferlinghetti will be presented with a special honor. Robert Mailer Anderson and Nicola Miner are the Honorary Chairs of theSFIPF.

The festival honors San Francisco’s great legacy of hosting and encouraging cross cultural dialogue. In 2007 the first ever SFIPF, a four-day extravaganza, drew thousands of people from the Bay Area and beyond to venues and celebrations throughout the City, including a street party in North Beach, youth events, book signings, translation workshops and more.

Since the 2007 Festival, Friends of the SFPL has presented smaller poetry festivals in a variety of languages, such as the Iranian Literary Arts Festival, Vietnamese Poets of the Diaspora and Flor y Canto en el Barrio: A Celebration of Latino Poetry, in their ongoing effort to continue to build cultural bridges, celebrate the literary arts and foster international dialogue.

• Translation Colloquy

  Two-time winner of the American Book Award Alejandro Murguía joins poets Olivia Sears, Stephen Kessler, Judith Ayn Bernhard and Kareem James Abu Zeid in a conversation about the art and craft of translation in today’s works.

  12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Mission Branch Library

• Children’s Story Time

  Join host Sarah Menefee and poets/authors Ámbar Past (Mexico), Jorge Argueta (El Salvador), Tony Robles (The Philippines), Cletus N. Nwadike (Sweden, translated by Agneta Falk) for a children’s story time and book reading, and a book giveaway.

  with Ámbar Past, Cletus Nelson Nwadike

  12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Richmond Branch Library

• Youth Poet Event

  Join host Anne Wintroub of Friends of the Library for a youth poetry reading with WritersCorps, moderated by California State Poet Laureate Carol Muske-Dukes.

  with Carol Muske-Dukes

  12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Western Addition Branch Library

• Workshop: Writing a Love Poem

  Join Syrian/French poet Maram al-Massri and Friends Executive Director Donna Bero to explore this ancient and universal art form.

  with Maram al-Massri

  12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Alliance Francaise

• Poetry Reading at Richmond Library

  Featuring Zhai Yongming (China) reading with Jamie Proctor-Xu, Alexander Skidan (Russia) reading with Rebecca Bella and Nguyen Qui Duc (Vietnam) reading with Isabelle Pelaud.

  with Zhai Yongming, Alexander Skidan, Nguyen Qui Duc

  2:30 pm - 4:30 pm at Richmond Branch Library

• Poetry Reading at North Beach Library

  Featuring Roy Arad (Israel) reading with Neeli Cherkovski, Menna Elfyn (Wales) reading with Maketa Groves, Paul Flores (USA) and San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima.

  with Roy "Chicky" Arad, Menna Elfyn, Paul Flores, Diane di Prima

  2:30 pm - 4:30 pm at North Beach Branch Library

• Poetry Reading at Western Addition Library

  Featuring Ignatius Mabasa (Zimbabwe) reading with Michael Warr, Maram al-Massri (Syria) reading with Tina Tarnoff and California State Poet Laureate Carol Muske-Dukes.

  with Ignatius Mabasa, Maram al-Massri, Carol Muske-Dukes

  2:30 pm - 4:30 pm at Western Addition Branch Library

• New Voices

  Readings by 2008 Poets 11 selected poets Melba Abela, Marty Campbell, Aja Couchois Duncan and David Menendez Alvarez.

  1:00 pm - 2:00 pm at North Beach Branch Library

• Reading and Q & A with Francis Combes

  Join French poet Francis Combes at the Alliance Francaise for a reading and Q & A session.

  with Francis Combes

  2:00 pm - 3:30 pm at Alliance Francaise

• Poetry Reading at Mission Library

  Featuring Anna Lombardo (Italy) reading with Olivia Sears, Daisy Zamora (Nicaragua) reading with George Evans, Cletus Nelson Nwadike (Nigeria) reading with Agneta Falk.

  with Anna Lombardo, Daisy Zamora, Cletus Nelson Nwadike

  2:30 pm - 4:30 pm at Mission Branch Library

• Main Stage Poetry Reading

  Join us for a wide variety of international poetry readings.

  with Francis Combes, Ziba Karbassi, Georges Castera/Joj Kastra, Taslima Nasrin, Al Young, Ámbar Past,Tarek Eltayeb, Agneta Falk, Sasha Pimentel Chacòn, Ferruccio Brugnaro, Carla Badillo Coronado,