BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME:www.indybay.org
PRODID:-//indybay/ical// v1.0//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:Indybay-18884932
SEQUENCE:19061733
CREATED:20260312T005800Z
DESCRIPTION:POETRY AS RESISTANCE\n\nCity Lights and Beacon Press celebrate the 
 publication of\n\n"Common Sense (1776) Addressed to Today’s Citizens of 
 America: An Erasure"\n\nA new poetic work that calls out the contradictions 
 in one of the foundational texts of American democracy.\n\nBOOK TALK: Poet 
 & author, Crystal Simone Smith, in conversation with Tongo 
 Eisen-Martin\n\nWednesday, March 25, 2026, 7:00 pm PT\n\nCome to store to 
 join in-person, or RSVP at Eventbrite for a Zoom link to join online\n\n\nA 
 revolutionary work of erasure poetry that exposes the contradictions in 
 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense—calling for a new definition of citizenship 
 that embraces all Americans\n\nIn his famous cry for inhabitants of the 13 
 colonies to seek independence from Britain, Thomas Paine claims to call for 
 total freedom and equality, yet his arguments are directed only at white 
 men, excluding women and people of color. \n\nCrystal Simone Smith, known 
 for writing poetry about the human condition and social change, offers a 
 new poetic work that calls out the contradictions in one of the 
 foundational texts of American democracy.\n\nBritain’s oppressive rule, 
 while strongly criticized throughout Paine’s text, was subsequently 
 repeated by the founding fathers who, when forming our nation, established 
 laws that oppressed racial groups and women. Smith uses the power of 
 redaction to revise Paine’s approach, inviting readers to critically 
 engage with the text and reimagine it anew. \n\nRetaining the original text 
 as a translucent background, Smith highlights specific words and phrases to 
 reveal new meanings that reflect not only the totality of America’s 
 founding, but the ensuing fragile, if not failing, democracy of our present 
 times.\n\nPerfect for students and US history buffs alike, this highly 
 interactive collection functions as a textual reveal of historical biases 
 and makes a case for a new, inclusive definition of citizenship that 
 recognizes all Americans.\n\nCrystal Simone Smith is a poet, 
 indie-publisher, and educator. She is the author of Dark Testament (Henry 
 Holt, 2023)and the author of 3 poetry chapbooks. In 2019, she won the North 
 Carolina Poetry Society Bloodroot Haiku Award. Her work has appeared in 
 numerous journals, including Prairie Schooner, POETRY Magazine, Crab 
 Orchard Review, Frogpond, and Modern Haiku. Her latest book, RUNAGATE: 
 SONGS OF FREEDOM BOUND, a collection of Japanese forms of poetry written in 
 response to slave artifacts including ads for runaway slaves, will be 
 published by Duke University Press in Spring 2025.\n\nTongo Eisen-Martin is 
 the former Poet Laureate of San Francisco, California. He is the author of 
 Heaven Is All Goodbyes (City Lights Books, 2017), which was shortlisted for 
 the Griffin International Poetry Prize, received the California Book Award 
 for Poetry, an American Book Award, and a PEN Oakland Book Award. He is 
 also the author of someone’s dead already (Bootstrap Press, 2015). Blood 
 on the Fog, his newest collection of poems, was published as volume 62 in 
 the City Lights Pocket Poets Series in September 2021.\n\nThis event is 
 made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation.\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2026/03/11/18884932.php
SUMMARY:"Common Sense (1776) Addressed to Today’s Citizens of America: An Erasure" Poetry Talk
LOCATION:HYBRID EVENT\n\nIn-person: \nCity Lights Bookstore\n261 Columbus Ave\nSan 
 Francisco, CA 94133\n\nOnline:\nZoom RSVP: 
 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crystal-simone-smith-in-conversation-with-tongo-eisen-martin-tickets-1979876751661
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2026/03/11/18884932.php
DTSTART:20260326T020000Z
DTEND:20260326T030000Z
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR