A Testimony To The Strange Times We Are Living In

Witness 2017-2020 chronicles four years of troubles, shootings, wildfires, racial reckoning, planetary murder, plague, monumental lies, crazy delusions, me-too, an uprising for justice, and more. But a failed far-right insurrection had to be the capstone of these terrible times, and the nation is not done yet. What was once unfamiliar and strange ("flatten the curve") has become common, even banal, demanding a poem. Language has to keep up, and Hilton Obenzinger presents a powerful testimony.

Hilton Obenzinger writes poetry, fiction, history, and criticism. His books include This Passover or the Next I Will Never be in Jerusalem, which received the American Book Award. His autobiographical novel Busy Dying recounts, among other things, his participation in the student revolt at Columbia University in 1968. Recent works include How We Write: The Varieties of Writing Experience and Treyf Pesach [Unholy Passover]. Born in Brooklyn, he graduated Columbia University in 1969, taught nursery and elementary school, ran an offset press at a community print shop in San Francisco's Mission District, worked as a commercial writer for business and industry, and taught writing, literature and American Studies at Stanford University. He is currently Associate Director of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford.

Attendance is limited. Masks and vaccination cards required.