Misha Glenny at Chevalier’s
Join author and journalist Misha Glenny, in collaboration with the LA Review of Books, to hear him discuss and sign “.” This is the story of an ordinary man who became the king of the largest slum in Rio, the head of a drug cartel and perhaps Brazil’s most wanted criminal. Spanning rain forests and high security prisons, filthy slums and glittering shopping malls, this is also the story of how change came to Brazil.
Misha Glenny is an award winning author, and as a BBC Central Europe correspondent he covered the fall of Communism and the wars in the former Yugoslavia. He lives in London.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Monday, the 1st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://chevaliersbooks.com/
Speakeasy Open Mic
Our monthly Open Mic offered on the first Monday of the month, and it’s happening! Starts at 8 pm. Sign up at 7:45. Come early to get a good spot in line!
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Monday the 1st
Time: 7:45 – 10:45 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Ground Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
39th Annual Writers Week at UCR
Join the 39th Annual Writers Week, the longest-running free literary event in California. US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera will be among the long list of authors participating, and will be featured on the first day, Tuesday, February 2nd.
Cory Doctorow is the opening keynote speaker on Tuesday, February 2nd and Walter Mosley the closing keynote speaker on Wednesday, February 3rd. The Lifetime Achievement Award will go to John Rechy on the evening of Thursday, February 4th.
Please consult the lengthy schedule and list of authors participating, as well as the numerous co-sponsors of this wonderful event!
Information: (951) 827-3245, performingarts@ucr.edu or www.creativewriting.ucr.edu
Where: University of California, Riverside, CHASS Interdisciplinary Building, South – Screening Room, INTS 1128
Dates: Tuesday the 2nd through Thursday the 4th
Time: Times vary; check schedule
Address: 900 University Ave., Riverside, CA 92521
Website: http://www.writersweek.ucr.edu/schedule
Black History Matters: Keynote Speaker Dr. Josh Sides
Dr. Josh Sides is Professor of History and author of L.A. City Limits: African American Los Angeles from the Great Depression to the Present.
In his talk, Dr. Sides will explain how South Central Los Angeles became the center of black Los Angeles during much of the twentieth century, and how the recent Latin Americanization of South Central portends even great regional demographic shifts.
Where: Cal State University Northridge’s Oviatt Library Ferman Presentation Room
Date: Tuesday the 2nd
Time: 2 pm – 3:30 pm
Address: 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330
Website: http://www.csun.edu/calendar/library/events/black-history-matters-keynote-speaker-dr-josh-sides
Jim Krusoe at Vroman’s
Jim Krusoe discusses and signs “The Sleep Garden.” (Paperback)
In an underground apartment building called the Burrow, purgatory twilight souls inhabit the space between life and death. Interwoven with their stories are those of inhabitants of the living world. Through all of their stories, and the ways in which their lives intertwine, Krusoe creates a poignant story about what constitutes a life, what remains when we die, and what we might carry with us to the next world. (Tin House Books)
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/Jim-Krusoe-Feb-2016
Requiem for Sandra Bland at Art Share
The second installment of the Requiem for Sandra Bland series at Art Share L.A. features:
Invocation & Reflections by: F. Douglas Brown and Mike “the Poet” Sonksen.
Featured readers: Dexter Booth , Jessica Ceballos, Chiwan Choi (founder of L.A. based Writ Large Press), Jen Hoffer, Elisabeth Houston, Tonya Ingram, Ashaki Jackson, Kima Jones, Rachel Kaminer, Douglas Kearney, Lynn Thompson, Aaron Samuels, Nancy Woo.
Musical Meditations provided by: Malik Moore, Peter Woods.
$5 at the door
FREE PARKING across Hewitt St in the lot up the ramp.
Where: Art Share L.A
Date: Wednesday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 801 E. 4th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://www..pw.org/calendar
Darryl Pinckney at Chevalier’s
In collaboration with the L.A. Review of Books, Chevalier’s hosts Darryl Pinckney for a reading and discussion of his new book “Black Deutschland.” An intoxicating, provocative novel of appetite, identity, and self-construction, this novel tells the story of an outsider, trapped between a painful past and a tenebrous future in Europe’s brightest and darkest city.
Darryl Pinckney, a longtime contributor to the New York Review of Books, is the author of “High Cotton,” a winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and two works of nonfiction. He lives in New York.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Wednesday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.http://chevaliersbooks.com/
Maile Meloy at Otis
The Graduate Writing Program Reading Series presents Maile Meloy, the author of the novels “Liars and Saints” and “A Family Daughter,” and the story collections “Half in Love” and “Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It,” which in 2009 was named one of the Ten Best Books of The New York Times Book Review. Her book for young readers, “The Apothecary,” won the 2012 E.B. White Award. Her stories have been published in many prestigious literary journals and she has won many awards for excellence. She lives in Los Angeles.
Where: Otis College of Art and Design, Ahmanson Hall Forum
Date: Wednesday the 3rd
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 9045 Lincoln Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.otis.edu/calendar/otis-books-reading-maile-meloy
A Mic And Dim Lights
The warm vibrations a this open mic make this a favorite of not only locals in Pomona, but poets from all across Southern California. DJ JB spins records between poets. Hip hop lives here, but the lineup also includes political poets, spoken word artists, and page poets. Besskepp is open to all, and he is also known for mentoring hundreds of teen poets from high schools across the San Gabriel Valley. $5 cover charge
When: 1st Thursday of each month
Date: 9:15 pm
Where: A Mic & Dim Lights
Address: 300 2nd St., in Pomona’s Art Colony
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Mic-And-Dim-Lights/134971316564113
Harry Potter Book Night – Children’s Event
CALLING ALL HARRY POTTER FANS! February 4th marks Harry Potter Book Night! It’s a worldwide celebration of the world of the most famous kid wizard of all time, and we’ll have games, crafts and more! Wizards and muggles alike invited! For more information, please call the library at (310) 834-1082.
Where: Wilmington Branch Library
Date: Thursday the 4th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 1300 N. Avalon Boulevard
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/harry-potter-book-night
Laila Lalami Reading at Cal Tech
Born and raised in Morocco, Laila Lalami is the award-winning author of numerous essays and books, including “Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits” (2005), “Secret Son” (2009), and “The Moor’s Account” (2014), a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Lalami’s work navigates past and present Arab worlds, exploring questions of belonging, displacement, history and identity. She is the recipient of numerous awards, and her work has appeared in many esteemed publications. She teaches creative writing at UC Riverside.
This event is free and open to the public.
Where: California Institute of Technology, Dabney Hall Lounge
Date: Thursday the 4th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm
Address: 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125
Website: http://www.hss.caltech.edu/content/james-michelin-seminar-laila-lalami-reading
The Poetry Lab
The Poetry Lab is a space for writers to write, read, workshop, and collaborate with other artists in their community in a relaxed atmosphere. Hosted by Danielle.
Where: WeLabs
Date: Thursday the 4th
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 235 E Broadway, 8th Floor, Long Beach, CA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ThePoetryLab/timeline
Mark Weingarten and Nina Revoyr at Skylight
Mark Weingarten discusses his new book “Thirsty: William Mulholland, California Water and the Real Chinatown” (Rare Bird Books) with Nina Revoyr.
Where Marc Reisner’s seminal 1986 book “Cadillac Desert” starts, is where Mark Weingarten’s “Thirsty” continues. This is a gripping tale of Los Angeles’ epic battles for water, the larger-than-life characters that shaped a city’s destiny, and the man-made tragedy that killed four hundred and forever changed the way water would be harnessed and allocated.
Marc Weingarten is the author of “Station to Station” and “The Gang That Wouldn’t Write Straight; the author of two anthologies, and producer of two films. He lives in Malibu.
Nina Revoyr is the author of five novels, the recipient of numerous awards, and is most recently the author of “Lost Canyon,” She lives and works in Los Angeles.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Friday the 5th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/marc-weingarten-discusses-his-new-book-thirsty-nina-revoyr
Rod Norland at Vroman’s
Rod Norland discusses and signs “The Lovers: Afghanistan’s Romeo and Juliet, the true Story of How They Defied Their Families and Escaped an Honor Killing.”
This is a real-life equivalent of “The Kite Runner” an astonishing, powerful, and profoundly moving story of a young couple willing to risk everything for love, that puts a human face on the ongoing debate about women’s rights in the Muslim world.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Friday the 5th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Library Adult Book Club
This month’s book club selection is “Lila” by Marilynne Robinson. New folks are always welcome to the discussion.
Where: Los Feliz Branch, LAPL
Date: Saturday the 6th
Time: 11 am
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.lapl.org/branches/los-feliz
Saturday Afternoon Poetry
Ever thought about writing poetry? Are you interested in writing poetr about the urban world around you? Then come join Saturday Afternoon Poetry for their twice monthly poetry writing workshops and poetry critique workshops respectively.
Also, the 2nd Planning Meeting for the 2016 San Gabriel Valley Poetry Festival will take place.
Where: Santa Catalina Branch of the Pasadena Public Library
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Date: Saturday the 6th
Address: 999 E. Washington Blvd.
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Animo Pat Brown Reading at Last Bookstore
As part of a PEN in the Community residency poet Brandon Jordan Brown spent the fall of 2015 working with students form Animo Pat Brown Charter High School. 32 students will read from their recently completed poetry anthology, featuring reflections on their community, and their hopes, fears and thoughts about the American Dream..
Where: The Last Bookstore
Time: 8 pm
Date: Saturday the 6th
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Ground Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Janice Lee Hosts Poets at Poetic Research Bureau
Join us to hear Janice Lee host poetry readings at Poetic Research Bureau at The Public School. Featured poets include: Jason Snyder, Amina Cain and Harold Abramowitz.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Saturday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 951 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://lalitscene.entropymag.org/
Ron Brooks at Central Library
Please join us for an adult workshop on the art of the book, when the Art Department introduces Ron Brooks’ award-winning, illustrated children’s books from the collections of the Art and Children’s Literature Departments.
Where: Central Library, Meeting Room A, LAPL
Date: Saturday, the 6th
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.lapl.org/branches/central-library
Author Jeri Westerson at Vroman’s
Jeri Westerson discusses and signs “The Silence of Stones.” In London, 1388, the mythical Stone of Destiny disappears form the throne of England during mass in Westminster Abbey, and the populace takes it as a sign to side with King Richard II’s rebellious barons. After his army suffers a crushing defeat against a Scottish uprising, the king calls in Crispin Guest to find the missing stone. (Seven House Publishers)
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 6th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/jeri-westerson-discusses-and-signs-silence-stones
First Sunday Open Reading
Our popular monthly open reading is hosted this month by Steve Goldman. Features this month TBD.
Sign-ups begin at 4:45 pm; five minute limit.
Suggested donation $5.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday, the 7th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Los Angeles Literature 