Poetry & Chocolate #3 at Xocolate in Oakland (Rockridge) at Xocolate & Confections – Oakland, CA

Enjoy an evening of delicious chocolate and wonderful poetry at Xocolate & Confections in Oakland (Rockridge), CA. Featuring poets James Morehead, Cael Dueñas-Lara, and Wendy M. Thompson.

James Morehead is Poet Laureate Emeritus of Dublin, California, host of the Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast, and has published several poetry collections including “The Plague Doctor”. “tethered” was transformed into an award-winning animated short film, “Twilight in the Sculpture Forest” won Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Poetry Film Festival, and “gallery” was set to music for baritone and piano. He has been published in the Ignatian, Beyond Words, Citron Review, Ekphrastic Review, Loud Coffee Press, Havik, and others. James has performed in Patagonia’s Poet Laureate Celebration, NPR’s Poetically Yours, and as Guest Poet at the 20th Annual Haiku Festival.

Cael Dueñas-Lara, is a second-generation Mexican-American, born, raised and currently residing in the vibrant and diverse community of East Oakland. Cael, a 2024 and 2025 OYPL Finalist, feels that writing has allowed him to strengthen his voice and take back preconceived ideas of himself and others who may share parts of his identity. He strives to educate and inspire both his elders and peers through writing and to debunk the dominant narrative of black and brown young men living in Oakland whose narrative has often been set forth by societal perceptions. His writing is inspired by his lived experiences in Oakland. He knows that his people and his city are often viewed through the lens of deficit and lawlessness. Within his writing he allows himself to speak on breaking out of preconceived stereotypes and bring awareness to those who want to maintain a system of oppression. It is his goal to move the societal conversation to what the experiences of young males of color who have been damaged by marginalization, racial profiling, and over-surveillance look like, as well as inspiring them to break free from this system. 

Wendy M. Thompson is a poet and Associate Professor of African American Studies at San José State University. Her debut poetry collection Black California Gold (Bucknell University Press, 2025) maps out life in the Bay Area in the 1980s and 1990s as the descendant of black Southern migrants. Her creative work has most recently appeared on the Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast and in Hoxie Gorge Review, Poetry South, and Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora.

My ritual for unwrapping
by james c. morehead for The Xocolate Bar

One. I linger before purchasing
to examine each design and detail
and percentage—no less than 65.

Two. I unseal the wrapper without ripping
to expose and admire the inner foil
always expectant for a flash of gold.

Three. I hold the bar firmly between my fingers
enjoying each snap as I break the squares
and place the readied rectangle down.

Four. I pause, close my eyes, and inhale
the bitter cacao and sweet vanilla
that waits to envelope me.

Five. I delicately unwrap and expose the first square
and then, and then, and then
that wave of chocolate explodes

and I’m a child again watching Willy Wonka—
Wilder’s version, not Depp’s,
my swinging feet not yet able to reach the theater floor
my dad ever ready to pass another treat.