Nafas Reading Series: Zoe Tuck, Miriam Saperstein, and Francesca Lisette, Thursday, November 20, 2025, 7pm
Please join us on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 7pm at Counterpath (7935 East 14th Ave.) for readings and performances by Zoe Tuck and Miriam Saperstein, who are staying at Nafas Residency in Denver. They will be joined by local writer Francesca Lisette. All Readers will be doing presentations of works-in-progress.
Miriam will be doing a ritualistic performance from Demon Bowl, a manuscript-in-progress and performance practice rooted in the demon bowls of ancient Babylonia to the healing exorcisms of opshprekherkes in the Pale of Settlement.
Zoe will be reading from her manuscript-in-progress on reading as a social and spiritual practice.
Francesca will be reading from their ongoing PhD dissertation which explores the connections of astrology, movement and language.
Nafas Reading Series, curated by writer and translator poupeh missaghi, hosted by Nafas Residency and Counterpath, brings together guests at the residency with local writers and artists for presentations of their work and conversation.
Nafas Residency is a new solitary residency in Denver, CO, offering space to writers, translators, artists, and humanities scholars. Priority is given to marginalized communities and/or projects. The space is pay-as-you-wish and has a simple application process so that it can stay accessible to a wide range of our community. You can find more info about the residency at: https://nafasresidency.org
Zoe Tuck was born in Texas, became a person in California, and now lives in Massachusetts. She is the author of Bedroom Vowel (Bunny Presse), Terror Matrix (Timeless, Infinite Light), and the chapbooks Vape Cloud of Unknowing (Belladonna*) and The Book of Bella (DoubleCross Press). Zoe is the co-editor of Hot Pink Magazine and Demon Mommy Press. She teaches literature and creative writing classes through her school, Threshold Academy.
Miriam Saperstein is a writer and visual artist, co-editor of Demon Mommy Press, and member of the disabled artist collective Hook+Loop. Their work has been exhibited at the Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center and published by Blue Bag, Syllabus, and BathHouse. Find them online at miriamsaperstein.com
Francesca Lisette is a poet, astrologer, and interdisciplinary performing artist from south London. They are the author of two collections of poetry: Teens (Mountain, 2012) and sub rosa: The Book of Metaphysics (Boiler House Press, 2018). Francesca’s work has been widely published and anthologized, including most recently, a version of their Master’s dissertation on John Wieners, in the first book of criticism on his work, Utter Vulnerability: Essays on the Poetry of John Wieners (2025). Francesca is a PhD candidate at the University of Denver, where they are working on a creative dissertation which explores the connections of astrology, movement and language.