Press
Illustration by Sarah Carpenter, From "Vanishing Point" in the Laney Tower
“(EXCERPT OF ARTICLE)
In June of this year, she found out, after six months of attending Keeping Space workshops, that she also couldn’t apply for any of the grants. Like many artists in Oakland, Goldblatt lives where she works — disqualifying her outright.
”I’m disappointed by the focus on commercial real estate because so many people are not there yet,” she says, “but for the ones that are there… you know, there’s people at every level, and they all need help.”
Ultimately, Goldblatt came around. She thinks CAST is “doing a lot of really good work.”
As for what the City of Oakland is doing: “I think it’s pretty disgusting,” she says. ‘They could be doing a lot better. We have a lot of private sources of funding, a lot of big donors, but Oakland is a very unique situation, and there’s a lot of people, and certain artists and areas are prioritized over others.”
Goldblatt admits that it’s a blessing that developers have, so far, ignored her part of Oakland, but hates that “people say, ‘Oh, it’s East Oakland,’ but there’s so many artists here just trying to survive.””
QUEENS, CHIMPANZEES, AND GUT-BEARING MEMOIRISTS: LIT PICKS FOR FEB. 8 – 21
FEBRUARY 7, 2016
Saturday, Feb. 13: One Year Anniversary Party at Liminal, Oakland.
Mg Roberts reads at Liminal’s One Year Anniversary on Feb. 13.
Gina Goldblatt founded Liminal, a feminist writing space in Oakland, as a place where those who feel excluded from the mainstream literary establishment might find community, workshops, and support for the often difficult writing life. Deviance: Inhabit the Liminal Space celebrates the first year of life for this crucial space, and features readings by Daphne Gottleib, Alexandra Naughton, Lauren Traetto, Annah Anti-Palindrome, Lake Lady, Indira Allegra, Alexandra Kostoulas, Liz Green, Brenda Usher-Carpino, Jezebel Delilah X, Chani Bockwinkel, Mk Chavez, Maw Shein Win, Hanna Pesha and Mg Roberts, Joy Elan and Aquelia M. Lewis.
A Poetry Reading with Nellie Wong
About the intersection of art and feminism, at Liminal.
By Sarah Burke
Event Details
Sat., Jan. 23, 3 p.m. $11.24–$21.49. TheLiminalCenter.com
Nellie Wong was born in Oakland Chinatown to Chinese immigrants. She worked at her family’s restaurant and graduated from Oakland High School. In the 1970’s, as a student at San Francisco State University, she began publishing her poetry, which speaks to race, sex, and class discrimination. Now, she is a well-recognized feminist poet, and recently released her fourth book of poetry, entitled Breakfast Lunch Dinner. Wong will be at Liminal, a feminist writing space in Oakland (3037 38th Ave.), on January 23 at 3 p.m. to read from her latest release and discuss the intersection of art, politics, and feminism. She will be joined by performance artist and writer Jezebel Delilah X, who is also co-managing editor of Everyday Feminism, co-host of the queer feminist open mic Culture Fuck, and on the board of popular blog Black Girl Dangerous.
New East Bay Lit Scene Develops
Budding East Bay writers have new local places to explore to share their latest works.
By Julia Park Tracey
"Liminal: Gina Goldblatt, 29, is a New York transplant who to California to get her MFA in writing at Mills College and stayed. Goldblatt sought a shared writing space that felt comfortable to her as “a platform for feminist voices. I was hard-pressed to find a place in the Bay Area that was conducive to writing. I found that the majority of them were male-dominated.” So she started one herself, calling the loft space on 38th Avenue, “Liminal,” which was unrelated to former Oakland arts venue known as Liminal Space. The writing space is airy with wallspace and work tables. The arty room works well for intimate readings, for writing workshops, and even for trapeze work, as witnessed at a recent reading event. Women and men are welcome; the open loft space echoes the openness of Liminal’s ethos: A writing space engaged with feminism of all types. Check into the Liminal calendar for upcoming classes and readings." 3037 38th Ave., Oakland, 510-298-7541, www.TheLiminalCenter.com.
“Vivamus pellentesque vitae neque at vestibulum. Donec efficitur mollis dui vel pharetra.”