Catamaran

02/23/2025

In our Special Garden Issue 2025 edition, we invite you to enter our pages consisting of literary works with settings that span from public gardens to imaginary gardens, themes of flowers, plants, and the organic world, in a narrative accompanied by a range of visual artworks exploring gardens from landscape and still life paintings to abstraction and realism.

https://catamaranliteraryreader.com/the-garden-issue-2025

02/08/2025

Thank you to friends who came out on a chilly Friday evening to celebrate poetry at our First Friday Lit Chat. It was a lovely reading by Jackie Berger…and great discussion too, she was so inspiring!

01/30/2025

Join us to celebrate Jackie Berger's new poetry collection "Left at the Ruin" on Friday, Feb 7th! This event is part of the First Friday art walk at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz. Reception: 6:00pm | Reading: 6:30pm | Book signing: 7:00pm
https://catamaranliteraryreader.com/events-2025/2025/2/7/lit-chat-with-jackie-berger

Of the book, Alberto Rios writes, “These poems, these words, they are quiet fires every one. ‘All of my ages swarm / against the mismatch of time.’ We may know that sensibility ourselves intellectually, but in these poems we are made to truly feel it.”

01/23/2025

Come on over and follow us on BlueSky for all the latest Catamaran updates about new issues, events, workshops, and more! We are especially excited to share the upcoming garden-themed issue soon... 👀💚
https://bsky.app/profile/catamaranlit.bsky.social

12/14/2024

We’re open today at the Tannery Arts Center’s winter art market festival. It’s on now until 5pm. It’s the perfect thing to do on a rainy day…visit our warm, cozy studio! We have a special today too…buy a gift subscription and get two free back issues of Catamaran! We have cookies too ;)

12/14/2024

Thank you to the readers and poetry fans who attended our event to launch Jeanne Wagner's book One Needful Song, winner of the 2024 Catamaran Poetry Prize for West Coast Poets. It was a treat to be surrounded by the special exhibition on Lawrence Ferlinghetti at the San Francisco Historical Society Museum too. A magical evening!

11/27/2024

We are thrilled to congratulate our Pushcart Prize nominees! 🥳 Juhea Kim, Amethyst Loscocco, Michael Spence, Kate Blakinger, AJ Francia, and Melissa Sojourner. 🥳

11/27/2024

Join us Dec. 7th at the San Francisco Historical Society for the launch of Jeanne Wagner's book "One Needful Song," winner of our 2024 Catamaran Poetry Prize!
5-6pm - Reception featuring Equinox Champagne and appetizers, a tour of the special Lawrence Ferlinghetti exhibit, and ongoing San Francisco history collection.
6-7pm - Poetry reading by Jeanne Wagner and book signing.
Your $20 ticket includes the book.
Get your tickets here: https://poetryprize2024.bpt.me

11/20/2024

Thank you to everyone who attended our fall issue launch event at the Mechanics Institute Library in San Francisco. We very much appreciated the enthusiasm for literary arts from a standing room only crowd!

11/13/2024

Congratulations to Khaled Juma on the Pushcart Prize special mention for his stunning poem "When the War is Over" featured in the Spring 2023 issue of Catamaran! Here's a preview but you can read the full piece here:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50a3e7b0e4b0216a96954b82/t/6733ba82c46a402d63a40268/1731443331799/Juma_When+the+war+is+over.pdf

11/08/2024

Thank you to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History for hosting our fall issue launch event. The readings were all inspiring! We were grateful to be surrounded by so many nice and appreciative fans of art and literature.

11/05/2024

It was a treat to celebrate Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s wonderful new biography "Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb" at our First Friday Lit Chat! The first chapter Iris wrote for the book originally appeared as an essay in Catamaran. And now it’s a fascinating book about an under appreciated female author writing about displaced farmers during the Dust Bowl era. We highly recommend grabbing a copy!

11/03/2024

Join us Wednesday, November 13th for live readings from contributors to the Fall 2024 issue of Catamaran at the Mechanics Institute in San Francisco. Featured writers include Joseph Francia, Jason Friedman, Tobey Hiller, Charles Hood, Robert Hutchinson, Kathryn Jordan, Joe Johnson, and Addie Mahmassani. Use code CATAMARAN to register for free. Details here: https://www.milibrary.org/events/fall-catamaran-launch-party-nov-13-2024?fbclid=IwY2xjawGUnOBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWb0h5hYN2TdwyAoKEZqz7dXE3QBWtqnR5VnUtf2OcBwcZlPCT3nHi8DRA_aem_HMT666KMy_UHj7P7nAztBw

11/01/2024

We're thrilled to share that Anuradha Kumar's essay "The Things We Lost: Memories of India in 1971" from Catamaran's Summer 2023 issue was named a notable in this year's Best American Essays! Congratulations, Anuradha! 🎉
Read it here:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50a3e7b0e4b0216a96954b82/t/66803c0ea20be947b7e484df/1719680016165/Kumar_The+Things+We+Lost.pdf

10/23/2024

If you're in Santa Cruz, join us on Friday, Nov 1st, to celebrate Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s groundbreaking new biography "Riding Like the Wind." It tells the incredible story of Sanora Babb whose interviews and notes informed Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and led to the cancellation of Babb's own novel. Join us to chat with Dunkle about this fascinating story. Details here:
https://catamaranliteraryreader.com/events-2024/2024/11-1-lit-chat-with-iris-jamahl-dunkle

10/12/2024

We are pleased to announce the Fall 2024 edition of Catamaran, our 46th issue! This issue includes eight creative nonfiction pieces, eight literary short stories, poems by eleven poets, an interview with Jeanne Wagner, the winner of the 2024 Catamaran Poetry Prize, and a stunning selection of fine art from thirteen visual artists. We hope you enjoy!
https://catamaranliteraryreader.com/fall-2024

10/10/2024

https://www.andranorrisgallery.com/artist/stephen-namara

Our fall issue features African American artist Stephen Namara on the cover! Learn more about him at Andra Norris Gallery

African American artist Stephen Namara is known for still-life painting, portraits, figures and landscapes, with a low-key moody character, that are often “snap shots” of moments in his life. His images that mysteriously speak of isolation offer space within which we can experience our own menta...