Kearny Street Workshop's bi-monthly reading series celebrates new poetry releases by Michelle Peñaloza and Đỗ Nguyên Mai.

On Friday, November 22nd, KSW Presents “A History of Our Naming” featuring poets Michelle Peñaloza, author of Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire, and Đỗ Nguyên Mai, author of Battlefield Blooming. This reading is a celebration of their new collections of poetry. Their poems ask us to look at—and not away—from the histories, hauntings, and presences of colonialism, conquest, and imperialism. These poets find power in the work of gathering fragments and fractures, and in what emerges from this naming for their families, for their communities, and for themselves.

The title of this event is inspired by a line from Michelle Peñaloza’s titular poem “Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire."

For tickets, go here.