Reading with 100 Thousand Poets For Change

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On Saturday, September 24, 2011 a consciousness raising event takes place that unites 95 countries around the globe through the collective voices of poets for change. Readings and performances are held in nearly every language and take place in all time zones around the world-clock.

International poet Ana Elsner participates in the global 100 Thousand Poets For Change marathon at the following venue:

The Beat Museum, 540 Broadway at Columbus, in North Beach, San Francisco, on Saturday, September 24, 2011 beginning at 1PM local time.


The concept of Change encompasses topics that deal with political and social change, with the ills of terrorism, war, racism, ecocide, famine, lack of jobs, housing and affordable medical care, collapsing economies and with many other shared and pressing concerns. Each participating poet and each community group present their own area of focus for change.

The purpose of this sweeping, public event is to actually get together and create, perform, educate and demonstrate, simultaneously and in unison with other communities on all continents. The transformation towards a better world is a global guiding principle for this free and open poetry marathon and its poets and performers from all participating nations.

On this day and occasion Ana Elsner reads from her poems that examine the human condition which manifests in its many tragic flaws but also in its vast potential for bringing about benign and life-affirming progress.

Poet Ana Elsner, along with thousands of activist poets worldwide, is dedicated to making our planet more sustainable and our global civilization more aware, accountable, just and co-operative for the good of all human beings and all life forms on this earth. We are united in the pursuit of this common goal. And on September 24, 2011 we celebrate our unity by making our voices heard around the globe.

Quoting from a recent article on About.com, "The beauty of the concept of 100 Thousand Poets For Change is that it is completely decentralized and completely inclusive."

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Press release on poets.org, The Academy of American Poets
Ana Elsner reads with 100 Thousand Poets For Change

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POEMS MAKE THE WORD GO ROUND (event review)

On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, the typical San Francisco fog was replaced by a torrential downpour, thanks to the capricious weather pattern known as El Niño. Despite this handicap a loyal flock of dyed-in-the-wool poetry fans made their way to the Joe DiMaggio Clubhouse in North Beach to see and hear Ana Elsner perform at her poetry show which she titled POEMS MAKE THE WORD GO ROUND, a library sponsored event featuring poetry and music. They were amply rewarded with a dynamic program where Ana demonstrated the close relationship between these two forms of creative expression.

Poet Ana Elsner is not only a repeat feature at the Library, but she was also the producer and creative director of this powerful artistic dialog, choosing the voice of the oboe to complement her own voice.

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Rather than relying on the Library's graphic artist, Ana Elsner designed the poster for her show herself saying,

"I am essentially a writer, but every once in a while I enjoy dabbling in artwork."

A framed watercolor by Elsner depicting a quote from one of her poems enhanced the setting at the event.

Ana Elsner is known for her animated presentation of her poetry that never fails to captivate the audience. The selective grouping of her poems in four sets did justice to the amazing range of her poetic repertoire. Her invited musical guest, principal oboist of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Laura Griffiths matched the intensity of Elsner's poetry with a masterful delivery of oboe solos, among them works by German Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann and by Benjamin Britten.

This pairing of seasoned performers made for a magical and memorable evening. A special thank you goes to the San Francisco Public Library for continuing to fund Ana Elsner's poetry programs.

See event listing at The Academy of American Poets


Find out about Ana Elsner's favorite musical instrument


Click to find more past events


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Looking back (events)

For the past three years Ana Elsner organized and featured in many public events in her ongoing effort to raise the popularity and status of poetry and to bring it before as wide and diverse an audience as possible.

Archive / Images - Caption: Poet Ana Elsner makes her debut at the San Francisco Public Library on June 12, 2007 with a program she designed and titled THE SOUNDING REED. Her invited guest musician was oboist Laura Griffiths.

POET'S STATEMENT

"Poetry is often overlooked among the literary genres. I believe that if I can give newcomers to contemporary poetry a tantalizing taste of it, I will win them over and make them more receptive to it. Toward this end I will leave no proverbial stone unturned," Ana Elsner

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Here are some highlights from 2008.
For event details please click on the 'press release' links.
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- February 2008

POETRY IN BLACK AND WHITE, TWO COLORS - TWO VOICES: devorah major and Ana Elsner join forces at the San Francisco Public Library
For this program, designed to honor Black History Month, Ana Elsner invited devorah major, former Poet Laureate, to participate in a powerful poetry performance dialog demonstrating the coming together of two colors and two distinctive voices.
An excerpt from Elsner's introductory remarks:

"Good evening. ... We are here on the occasion of Black History month. This is the time we pay attention to the realities and concerns of blacks in American society. This is the time we listen to the voices of legends like Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou. And this year it is the time America prepares to elect the first African American president. This is our time to take a giant step in overcoming racism and prejudice and say with one voice and in unison: Yes We Can! ..."

See press release



- April 2008

OBSERVING NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
Bi-lingual poet Ana Elsner celebrates National Poetry Month with a reading of poems by one of the greatest German language poets, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926). Elsner read her own Rilke translations as well as those of other translators.
See press release



- June 2008

INVADING THE CAFE SOCIETY - THE ANA ELSNER SHOW
Taking a cue from the 19th century European 'café society', Ana Elsner put on a show of poetry and music at one of the cafes in the famous San Francisco North Beach district.
See press release



- September 2008

THE SF PUBLIC LIBRARY PRESENTS: ANA ELSNER SPEAKS WORDS THAT ARE POEMS
Featured poet Ana Elsner presented a diverse selection of her poems, speaking to all who open their hearts and minds to poetry, followed by conversation and book signing.
An excerpt from Elsner's introductory remarks:

"Good evening. ... I could step behind this lectern and deliver a talk on a particular subject matter, lay it out with logic and exactitude, develop it, cite sources and statistics, and wrap it up neatly with an elegant conclusion. And then you would go home, knowing a little bit more about that particular subject and leave it at that.
But this is not what is going to happen here tonight. Tonight is all about poetry. Poetry touches on many different subjects at once. And when I say 'touches on', I mean 'touches us'.
Poetry is not neutral or topical like a lecture, but rather it is variegated and personal, and will affect each individual differently, that is what makes it so magical.
Poetry is intuitive. It is intuitively conceived by the poet, and is intuitively perceived by you, the audience. ... Tonight you will take home not knowledge, but a lasting emotional impression and hopefully a new inquisitiveness that makes you want to further explore contemporary poetry. That is my aim. ..."

See press release


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Click here to see a typical example of Ana Elsner's strategies to attract a diversified crowd

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