Lyrics & Dirges 6th Anniversary at Pegasus Bookstore

Pegasus Books (2349 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) is celebrating six years of creating community for authors in the East Bay through its monthly reading series, Lyrics & Dirges. On Wed., August 17, from 7:30–9 p.m., some of the organizers’ local favorites (and our favorites, too!), including Virgie Tovar, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Cyrus Armajani, and Giovanni Singleton, will be back. Virgie Tovar will, as always, shed some light on body positivity and the ways that body acceptance is constantly challenged. Tongo Eisen-Martin, an educator, poet, and activist will share work that exposes and attempts to lighten the impact of institutional discrimination against Black people. Cyrus Armajani, a teacher who works with young men in the juvenile justice system, and Giovanni Singleton, an experimental poet, will share some socially conscious poems. Overall, it should be a night packed with careful words coming from diverse perspectives.