Josiah Luis Alderete's poetry speaks for a people devastated by gentrification and colonization.

In this podcast, Josiah traces his life back to his parents' union at a club in North Beach roughly 50 years ago. He moved around the Bay Area a bit, from various spots in the Mission to Marin and back. He tells stories from the back room at Cafe Babar, including his first time to read poetry in front of people, and the connections he made as a result. Josiah reflects on how he finds representation and expression in poetry. He and other poets formed a group called Molotov Mouths that toured the country doing readings, which he'll talk more about in Part 2.

Josiah ends this podcast describing the world of artists in the Mission in the late-'80s and early-'90s and the influence that Bucky Sinister had on him.

To hear more from Josiah, including some of his poetry, check back Thursday for Part 2.

​We recorded this podcast on Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in July 2020. Special thanks to Cassandra Dallett (this season's Ep. 1 storyteller) for introducing us to Josiah.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather