Coit Tower Poetry Club

Vibe: Surrealist Nightfall | Candlelit Verse | Telegraph Hill Magic

Join the Coit Tower Poetry Club for a specialized installment of their First Friday residency. This month, the club gathers on the back lawn of Telegraph Hill to read the works of Joyce Mansour (1928–1986), the Egyptian-French author celebrated as the most significant woman poet of the second-generation Surrealist movement.

The Featured Poet: Known for her “convulsive” beauty and unabashed exploration of desire, anatomy, and the macabre, Joyce Mansour’s work challenged the traditional boundaries of Surrealism. Her poetry is visceral, darkly humorous, and intensely psychological—perfectly suited for the atmospheric fog of a San Francisco evening.

I have eaten your desire I have drunk your breath I have slept in your shadow I have lived in your death I have seen the white bird Of your soul in my hand I have heard the low song Of the sea in your land.

From “Cris” (1953)

Joyce Mansour’s work often focused on the subversion of domesticity and the exploration of the “female gothic.” Her writing was a cornerstone of the post-WWII Surrealist movement in Paris, championed by André Breton himself. Reading her work at the base of Coit Tower—surrounded by the night fog and the mechanical hum of the city—highlights the dreamlike, disorienting power of her prose.

The Ritual: The reading takes place outdoors on the lawn behind Coit Tower. Following a long-standing North Beach tradition, poets and attendees pass a book of the featured poet’s work around the circle, with an open invitation for anyone to step forward and read a favorite passage.

The Setting: Perched at the summit of Telegraph Hill, the venue offers a 360-degree backdrop of the city lights and the bay. The combination of Mansour’s surrealist imagery and the quiet, elevated sanctuary of the tower creates a “transformative and magical” experience that feels disconnected from the modern city below.

The Community: This is an unpretentious, grassroots gathering. Whether you are a lifelong scholar of French Surrealism or a passerby who happened to follow the sound of verse up the Filbert Steps, you are welcome to join the circle.