More stuff happening! If you want to schedule me for a virtual or in-person reading, please use the contact form at betsyaoki.com!

October 12 12 PM EDT (not PDT!) Fall for the Book

“Video Games and Coding Poetry” presentation

In her “techno-lit” poetry collection, Breakpoint, game designer Betsy Aoki leads readers into a world of Halo, Japanese folklore, robot factories, and code as poetry. Attendees will use their own tech to generate poetry in this interactive event. Breakpoint blends technology and the Asian-American experience in what poet Colleen J. McElroy calls, “an evocative mixture of sensual experiences, and mathematically infused linguistic patterns.” Aoki makes machines speak, while also giving voice to the women who are part of the technological future.

Location: Johnson Center, 3rd Floor, Meeting Room C, 4477 Aquia Creek Lane, Fairfax.

Our panel accepted for AWP 2023! (Date TBD, but the conf is March 8-11)

Race to Machine: Asian-Americans Write Tech, Colonialism, and Dystopia (Shankar Narayan, Franny Choi, Betsy Aoki, Neil Aitken, Margaret Rhee)

In-person event

The tech tsunami transforming our world isn’t new—but change is accelerating.  Tech may feed into intersectional crises in race, environment, disinformation, and intolerance, amplifying inequity and colonialist tropes. Five Asian-American voices tackle all of the above, drawing on roots in the tech space and in their race, gender, immigrant, and sexual identities.  We’ll explore the challenges of writing about tech with courage and authenticity, while exploring humanity’s love affair with tech.

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March 24 AWP panel and book signing at terrain.org booth

March 12 Writers with Drinks, The Makeout Room, San Francisco.

April 1 Virtual Reading with Erin Malone and Aby Kaupang, for Elliott Bay Books (Video)

April 25 5 p.m. Pacific Virtual Reading with Joe Wilkins and Scott Edward Anderson hosted by Terrain.org on Zoom.

April 29 5 p.m. Pacific Virtual 580 Split’s “Fever Dreams” reading

May 10 7 p.m.- 8 p.m. PDT In-Person Kundiman’s FREE reading at Hugo House (Full writers’ bios and registration here.)

June 4 1-2 pm PDT “The Language of Machines” hosted by Seattle Public Library and Open Books. Featuring Betsy Aoki, Neil Aitken, Margaret Rhee.

July 8 7 p.m. PDT In-Person In conversation with Cookie Hiponia (Author of We Belong), at Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA

REGISTER: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/betsy-aoki-cookie-hiponia