Book Reading with Alan Lessik at San Francisco
Alan Lessik is a part of the Berlin Queer Writers Circle, a Zen practitioner, an amateur figure skater, and a passionate LGBT activist.
His first novel, The Troubleseeker was nominated for the Publishing Triangle’s 2017 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction.
Alan has written extensively on how novels can maintain queer culture, and his work has been featured in Lambda Literary, the Bay Area Reporter, and Advocate.
In 2013, Alan was acknowledged with jukai by Kikū Christina Lenherr at the San Francisco Zen Center, and he has been a devoted participant of SFZC’s Queer Dharma group.
Additionally, he acted as a guest teacher at the SF LGBTQ Sangha for two years. He currently practices Zen meditation with the Black Mountain Zen Center in Belfast.
Alan is set to read from his upcoming novel, Make the Dark Night Shine, published by Rebel Satori Press. The story is inspired by his Aunt Nina Uchida’s family history and serves as a tribute from a father to the daughter he never got to meet.
It takes place in Constantinople, Paris, Japan, New York, and London, and follows a gay diplomat-turned-Zen priest who was introduced to Dogen’s “Genjo Koan” by Rinso Ed Sattizahn.
Alan has been captivated by the imagery and poetry of the koan ever since, and this novel is his own interpretation of it, set during the tumultuous period between the two world wars.
References
- Book Reading with Alan Lessik at City Center
- Amazon: The Troubleseeker by Alan Lessik
- Amazon: Make the Dark Night Shine by Alan Lessik
- Alan Lessik: Novelist and Storyteller
