Incantations to Open Portals
Sunday, June 1 | 11:30 AM - 11:45 AMPoetry Stage, Harold Way and Kittredge
- Community
- Poetry
We begin with invocation—of memory, of resistance, of radical possibility. Incantations to Open Portals is the ceremonial opening of the poetry stage at the Bay Area Book Festival, co-sponsored with the Berkeley Poetry Festival, where poetry becomes spell, speech becomes spellwork, and presence becomes protest.
This opening event features incantatory offerings by Aya de León, Berkeley Poet Laureate, celebrated poet, activist, and author, who will bring her fierce, truth-telling lyricism to this moment of collective gathering. Her work bridges the personal and political, and her incantation sets the stage for a festival rooted in justice, joy, and imagination. MK Chavez, Co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival, will introduce the legacy of amplifying the voices of writers who change the world. Together, they will open the portal—with words, intention, and fierce love.
Book signing information: The Nomadic, right by the stage.