The Racket #24 : AFTER LIFE w/ Nona Caspers
Poster by Jon Donaghy
november 29 - adobe books - 7pm
It's a celebration.
A couple of years ago a friend of ours asked us if we wanted to do a pop-up reading series at Adobe Books to support his bookstore-related art show. We'd been mulling the idea for a while, dreaming about the nights we could plan with the deep bench of the San Francisco literary community, putting out the subconscious vibes of wanting something reading related to happen. Something to help us fill a hole that only just recently burrowed its way into us.
And then it did. And then it did again. And again, and again.
And now at The Racket #24: AFTER LIFE with Nona Caspers we're going to celebrate our two year anniversary. We aren't shocked that The Racket has managed to cling to the cliff wall for as long as it has (provide free alcohol and knock-out writers and you to can host a successful reading series), but we are surprised at just how fast the years have ticked by. How two years ago this month we stood outside an empty Adobe Books, stomach clenched, chain smoking cigarettes believing our venture to be a failure from the get go. How life has stormed along, for good and for bad, and how gathering six people in a tiny bookstore once a month has become the touchstone for everything we do.
We've hosted friends and strangers. We've discussed grief and darkness, food and pets. We've consumed a good amount of chilled Tecate and a handful of cookies.
And we're lucky. Lucky to have to friends who've supported us, a community of readers and writers of immense talent willing to bare their souls to an often times crowded room of people they've never met before. We have been lucky to have Adobe Books - as supportive and helpful a group of people one could muster - as our venue. We are lucky for the handful of people that continue to help us find our way, to recommend us readers, to tell us we're doing good when it's the furthest thing from our minds.
Most of all, we are lucky that you, our audiences, continue to fill the room, continue to laugh and cry and applaud and sometimes snap and create an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance that we always hoped for but never knew could feel so good.
So, thank you. All of you - readers, writers, supporters. We can't tell you how much it means to us.
There's more in the awnings - a website, a podcast, maybe an actual publication - and as we continue to test the limits of how far we can go, we hope you join us. It just wouldn't be the same without you.
But for now, maybe you'll join us on November 29th for our two year celebration. We'll have cake and booze and some really great writing. We sincerely hope to see you.
