Four poets from Sweden will come together at The Bookworm next Thursday (August 27, 7:30pm) in a free reading, touching on memories, identities, personal and philosophical perspectives on life and love. 

The poems will be read in English, with the text projected behind them in both English and Chinese. (more…)

Film Friday returns! Under this month’s theme of contemporary Japanese films, we will be showing Like Father, Like Son, a family drama that is heartbreaking, joyful, and brilliantly acted. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. (more…)

The lineup is set for tomorrow’s poetry event at The Bookworm, which will also feature stunning artwork from Lin Jiayue, a Chinese artist who studied in the US and the UK. (more…)

We go to Shanghai for our next Chinese documentary: Zhao Dayong’s Street Life (Nanjing Lu), which follows trash collectors picking out a living on Shanghai’s famous Nanjing Road. (more…)

Sunday, August 23 marks the Bookworm return of headliner Paul Ogata, the award-winning Japanese-American stand-up comedian and actor known for his edgy, often-improvised shows. His quick, animated delivery of clever material led him to victory in the prestigious 32nd Annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition, and he’s been going strong ever since. (more…)

Ming Di

In the coming two weeks we are honored to host international poets in Beijing, who have made their way here from the Qinghai Lake Poetry Festival, which gathers hundreds of poets from around the world for poetry readings, concerts, and the opportunity to engage in cultural exchange. There will be a free event this Wednesday at The Bookworm (6 pm), and another one next Wednesday featuring poetry in multiple languages. (more…)

WOW is dead. Long live WOW. While our former writing group, Writing on Walls, is no more after the departure of founder Leslie-Ann Murray, a new writing group has risen to take its place. Called The WOW Collective, it seeks to help its participants hone their skills and receive critical feedback on their work. The first meeting is Wednesday, August 26 at 7 pm. We caught up recently with one of The WOW Collective’s principal organizers, Kerryn Leitch, to find out more. (more…)

Our Chinese Documentary Film Series continues this Monday when we show Fortune Teller (Suan Ming), from Beijing director Xu Tong, which follows a handicapped Buddhist fortuneteller, Li Baicheng, as he performs ancient divinations for those on the fringes of society — including many prostitutes — in the outskirts of Beijing. A police crackdown during the winter forces Li and his mentally disabled wife, Pearl, to seek refuge. (more…)

For those who like gin and those who’d like to learn more about it, we have an event for you. On Saturday, August 15 at 6:30 pm, we’re hosting a gin tasting on our rooftop. Not just any gin tasting of course: handcrafted, small-batch gins made in Oregon, one of which is distilled using organic juniper, another of which is fashioned after Holland’s wine genevers, and another developed by master mixologist David Wondrich. All three are eminently sippable — which is what we’ll do first — and great for cocktails. Yes, we’ll throw in a cocktail. (more…)

We’ve obtained three fantastic gins we think you’ll like. All are craft-distilled and small-batch from Oregon, USA, each with an interesting backstory and excellent for sipping or cocktails. They’re so great that we’ve built a special gin cocktail menu around them! (more…)