Event Title:

Organization:

  Literary

  San Francisco

Start Date:

  1/18/2026

End Date:

  1/18/2026

Start Time:

  12:30 PM

End Time:

  5:00 PM

Event Info: 

  A transformative in-person event blending the power of Yoruba spirituality with cultural exploration and collective healing. Featuring Hugo and Nebula Award winning author Tomi Adeyemi, a keynote by acclaimed author and Yoruba Priestess Luisah Teish and panels with renowned writers and scholars like Sakena Young-Scaggs, Ayize Jama-Everett and Clarence A. Haynes.

The afternoon conversations will discuss divine forces in African spirituality, their enduring influence across the African diaspora and how these spiritual entities serve as cultural anchors and guides for healing and transformation.


Program Schedule

12:45 PM "Black Diasporic Religions" Sakena Young-Scaggs in conversation with Ayize Jama-Everett and Luisah Teish. Moderated by Dr. Stanford Carpenter.

How the worship and understandings of Black Diasporic Religions have evolved across the African diaspora, focusing on cultural continuity, folk ways, popular understandings, media representation and transformation.

1:45 PM: "Orishas Reborn: West African YA Fantasy"
A forward-looking discussion with Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning writer Tomi Adeyemi, author of the Legacy of Orisha series, on the role of Orishas in contemporary literature, particularly YA, and their potential for personal and community healing. Moderated by Isis Asare.
2:30-3:15PM Book Signing with Tomi Adeyemi

2:45 PM PM
"Black Spiritual Traditions in Contemporary Literature" Clarence A. Haynes, author of The Ghosts Of Gwendolyn Montgomery and Kemi Ashing-Giwa, author of The King Must Die are in conversation

3:30 PM
Keynote: "The Orishas: Guardians of Culture and Spirit"

Luisah Teish, Yoruba Priestess, Author of A Calabash of Cowries: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

An exploration of the Orishas, their origins in Yoruba spirituality, and their significance in African diasporic cultures.

Visit the Marketplace in the Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room from 12:30 - 5 p.m.

https://sfpl.org/events/2026/01/18/celebration-divine-forces-exploring-power-orishas

Location:

  San Francisco Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Meeting Rooms A and B

Room:

Address:

  100 Larkin St

Phone:

  415-557-4400

City:

  San Francisco

State/Province:

  CA