Performances
Between 1977 and the mid-1980s, the Waterfront Writers and Artists regularly performed their work in front of live audiences across the Bay Area, California, and further afield. These readings, held in union halls, bookstores, cafés, and community centers, were central to the group’s identity. Blending poetry, storytelling, and discussion, the performances gave longshore workers a space to interpret their own experiences of change on the waterfront.(Please note that these audio files are large and may take time to load.)
Title: The WWA's second group reading, on November 12, 1977 at Mandala Folk Dance Center, on Taraval Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Dave Ramet, George Benet, Robert Carson, Herb Mills, Ken Fox, Lee Olds, and a guest.
Duration: 2 hours 39 minutes 9 seconds
Title: The WWA's third reading, on February 26, 1978 at Mandala Folk Dance Center, on Taraval Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Ken Fox, George Benet, Asher Harer, Gene Vrana, Robert Carson, and Herb Mills.
Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes 3 seconds
Title: A WWA reading on July 1, 1978 at Fanning's Bookstore, on Judah Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Ken Fox, Gene Vrana, Robert Carson, Herb Mills, George Benet, Brian Nelson, and others.
Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes 37 seconds
Title: A WWA reading in October 1978 at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, on De Haro Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Gene Vrana, Ken Fox, Robert Carson, and George Benet.
Duration: 1 hour 23 minutes
Title: A WWA reading in August 1979 at Rahda's Bookstore in San Francisco, CA
Performers: George Benet, Ken Fox, and others.
Duration: 49 minutes 59 seconds
Title: A WWA reading on May 20, 1979 at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, on De Haro Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Herb Mills, Ken Fox, Robert Carson, Gene Vrana, and George Benet.
Duration: 1 hour 4 minutes 3 seconds
Title: A WWA reading on June 8, 1979 at the New College of California, on Valencia Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Ken Fox, George Benet, and others.
Duration: 31 minutes 4 seconds
Title: A WWA reading at on April 5, 1981 at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, on De Haro Street in San Francisco, CA.
Performers: Gene Vrana, Robert Carson, the Bay Area Labor Theater, and others..
Duration: 1 hour 34 minutes 34 seconds