Sat, Nov 15
|Clarion Performing Arts Center
3rd Saturday Poetry in Chinatown
Profound thoughts, occasional rhymes Cookies, tea, and some plum wine Poetry Reading with two features and an open mic.
Time & Location
Nov 15, 2025, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Clarion Performing Arts Center, 2 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA
About the Event
Open mic before and after the featured poets. Sign up at 1 pm.
Charles Curtis Blackwell is a blind African American poet, painter, playwright, and teacher whose work celebrates resilience, music, and cultural heritage.
Born in San Francisco, he grew up in California and Mississippi, where gospel and blues shaped his artistic voice. After losing his eyesight at age 20, he continued creating vivid impressionistic portraits and abstract works inspired by jazz. His art has been featured in the New York Times and PBS, and exhibited nationwide.
His literary and poetic works often explore themes of social justice, African American experience, and human resilience, with several books published, including The Fiery Responses to Love’s Callings, Wrought, If a Pigeon Can’t Fly, and Blind Alley Cats Dream Jazz. He’s also the subject of the award-winning documentary The God Given Talent1
James R Johnson
JJ Rush