Poets & Allies for Resistance and Monthly Open Mic
A monthly poetry event focusing on social justice issues, featuring an open mic and book giveaway, and hosted by: Khadija Anderson.
Features: Karimah Tennyson-Marsh and Xternal Mind. More info: Khadija Anderson 206-381-2567. Bring 1-2 poems about Social Justice or come to listen!
Where: The Sidewalk Cafe
Date: Monday the 4th
Time: 7 pm – 8 pm (6:45 open mic sign-ups)
Address: 2057 N. Los Robles (at Woodbury), Alta/Pasdena, CA 91104
Website: http://www.facebook.com/groups/792556747483331/
Speakeasy Open Mic
It’s the first Monday of the month, and we’ve got our open mic night happening! Sign up is at 7:45 pm. Come early to get a good spot in line.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Monday, the 4th
Time: 7:45 pm – 10:45 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Ground Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Red Hen Press at Amory Center for the Arts
Red Hen Press invites you to join us at the Armory Center for the Arts, whose mission is to build on the power of art to transform lives and community through creating, teaching and presenting the arts. This organization has been at the forefront of arts education for more than 60 years.
This event for an LA Fiction anthology features: Dibakar Barua, Michael Buckley, Judith Freeman, Kathy Hall, and Grant Hier. Moderated by: John Brantingham. This is a FREE event.
Where: Armory Center for the Arts
Dates: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://redhen.org/events/rhp-at-the-armory-center-for-the-arts/
Red Hen Press Authors at Annenberg Beach House
Red Hen Press celebrates poetry and culture at this site overlooking the ocean, featuring:
Shonda Buchanan, poet, memoirist, fiction writer, and Assistant Professor in the Dept. of English at Hampton University, is the author of Who’s Afraid of Black Indians?, which was nominated for multiple awards.
Teri Youmans Grimm is the author of two poetry collections, Becoming Lyla Dore and Dirt Eaters, and her writing appears in many publications. She teaches in the low-res MFA program at University of Nebraska.
Randall Mann’s poems are often set within the landscape of Florida or California, He is the author of Complaint in the Garden (2004) winner of the Kenyon Review Prize in Poetry, and Breakfast with Thom Gunn (2009) finalist for the Lambda Literary Life Award for Gay Poetry.
Jim Tilley earned a doctorate in physics and worked on Wall Street for twenty years. His poetry collections include Lesson from Summer Camp (2016) and In Confidence (2011), his work has appeared in numerous publications, and he has been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes.
Where: Annenberg Community Beach House
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://redhen.org/events/rhp-at-the-annenberg-beach-house/
Sari Wilson at Vroman’s
Sari Wilson discusses and signs Girl Through Glass, which tells the story of a young woman’s struggles to conquer the romantic, highly competitive world of New York City ballet. Told in interweaving narratives that move between past and present, we see how sacrifices we make for an ideal can destroy or save us.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/sari-wilson-discusses-and-signs-girl-through-glass
Sarah Thursday and Larry Duncan! at the Coffee Cartel
Coffee Cartel Redondo Poets present two stars of Long Beach’s Cadence Collective Sarah Thursday and Larry Duncan. This is the last in their dual release reading tour.
Sarah Thursday is a music obsessed, Long Beach poetry advocate, who has been writing poetry since she was very young. In 1992, she made her very first chapbook and continued with four more up through 2001. For about 10 years, she took time off poetry and focused all her creative energy into teaching. After a series of major life twists, she began writing again and for the first time, connected with the local poetry community.
Larry Duncan currently lives in Long Beach, CA. He recieved his BFA in Creative Writing from Chapman University and his MFA from California State University, Long Beach. Very little about the world, outside of writing, makes any kind of sense to him.
Where: Coffee Cartel
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 1820 S. Catalina Ave. #102, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Website: http://sarahthursday.com/2016/03/29/redondo-poets-at-the-coffee-cartel-on-april-5th/
Hammer Conversations: Rev. James Lawson & Kent Wong
In 1960 Reverend James Lawson helped launch the Nashville sit-in campaign that successfully desegregated the Woolworth’s lunch counter, inspiring a new generation of civil rights activists. Lawson has for decades supported campaigns for labor rights as a dimension of human rights and remains one of the most important social justice leaders of our time. He is joined by Kent Wong, social justice activist and director of the UCLA Labor Center, to discuss their new book Nonviolence and Social Movements: The Teachings of Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.
A book signing with complimentary coffee, tea and cookies will follow the conversation.
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2016/04/reverend-james-lawson-kent-wong/
Anthony Ervin and Constantine Markides at Book Soup
FINIS presents Anthony Ervin and co-author Constantine Markides, discussing and signing Chasing Water: Elegy of an Olympian. This book tells the surprising and sometimes provocative path that Anthony Ervin has taken to become one of those captivating Olympic swimming heroes who has overcome many personal obstacles. Ervin won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney games at age nineteen. He then resurfaced in 2012 to swim faster than ever, and is now training for 2016 in Rio.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Naomi Munaweera at Vromans
Nayomi Munaweera, the award-winning author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors, discusses and signs What Lies Between Us. In the idyllic hills of Sri Lanka, a young girl must seek safety by immigrating to America after tragedy strikes. The story of a woman, driven by the demons of her past, who confesses to committing a single and possibly unforgivable crime.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/nayomi-munaweera-discusses-and-signs-what-lies-between-us
Geneva Chao at Otis
Geneva Chao will read and discuss her new poetry collection, one of us is wave one of us is shore, as part of the Visiting Writers Series. Chao’s poems and translations have appeared in Boxkite, Can We Have Our Ball Back?, and elsewhere. Her translations have appeared in [lx] press, where she is an editor. She lives in Los Angeles.
Where: Otis College of Art and Design
Date: Wednesday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm (seating is limited; arrive early)
Address: 9045 Lincoln Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: http://www.otis.edu/graduate-writing/visiting-writers-series
Red Hen Press Authors at Flintridge Books
Join Red Hen Press for a Los Angeles Review reading featuring: Melissa Chadburn, Erika Garza, Lisa Locosio, Martin Ott, and Jessica Piazza. Moderator: Keaton Maddox.
Where: Flintridge Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 7th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 1010 Foothill Blvd.untington DrHuntington , La Canada, CA 91011
Website: http://redhen.org/events/?uuid=EDE548BC-29DB-362C-C370-CE99FE4151EE
CSULB MFA Creative Writing Reading Series
CSULB MFA Creative Writing Reading Series presents live poetry and short stories form their best and brightest students, including: Lisa Ciarfella, Devin Falk, Sarah Davis, Laura Picklesimer, Allyssea Carver, Eddie Shea, and Nick Johnson.
Where: Gatsby’s Books
Date: Thursday the 7th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/book-signings/
All Lit Up at Chevalier’s
All Lit Up is a collaborative effort by owners Bert Deixler and Darryl Holter, with hosts/authors Rich Ferguson and Stephanie Barbe Hammer and Chevalier’s Liz Newstat. This event features:
Toni Ann Johnson, whose short fiction, articles and essays can be found in the Los Angeles Times, The Movement, Soundings Review, The Emerson Review, and Hunger Mountain. As a screenwriter she has twice won The Humanitas Prize and the Christopher Award for the ABC film Ruby Bridges and the Showtime film Crown Heights.
Zoe Ruiz’s writing has appeared in numerous publications. She is a freelance book editor and publisher, and has worked for Kaya Press, Phoneme Media, and Writ Large Press. She has curated several reading series and events.
Tom Rossi is a composer, producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who released his world music debut record, Salma Har in 2005.
Conney D. Williams is a poet, actor and performance artist, who has released two acclaimed CDs of poetry accompanied by music: Unsettled Water and Rivers & Moan. He is artistic director of the World Stage Performance Gallery and facilitates Anansi Writers Workshop.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Time: 7 pm
Date: Thursday the 7th
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://chevaliersbooks.com/
Angela Morales at Vroman’s
Angela Morales discusses and signs The Girls in my Town, an unforgettable portrait of a family in Los Angeles portrayed through autobiographical essays. This is both a coming-of-age story and an exploration of how a writer discovers her voice.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/angela-morales-discusses-and-signs-girls-my-town-essays
Open Mic at Tia Chucha’s
Please join us for our Open Mic, a welcoming, creative sanctuary where people can share their thoughts, feelings and talents through various styles of expression. It’s FREE and participants sign up upon arrival. Donations are accepted.
Hosted by Jeffery Martin.
Where: Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Date: Friday, the 8th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 13197 Gladstone Ave., Unit A, Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: http://www.tiachucha.org/calendarevents/
Laurel Ann Bogen at Beyond Baroque
Join the festivities as we celebrate the publication of Psychosis in the Produce Department, with Los Angeles native and poetry evangelist Laurel Ann Bogen.
Regular admission.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 8th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 691 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90
Website: http://www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
LA Times’ ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF BOOKS, LOS ANGELES, 4/09 – 4/10/16
The Annual LA Times Festival of Books will offer many discussion, reading, and performance events at the University of Southern California (USC) campus, which are open to the public and FREE of cost. Events are held in multiple auditoriums and class rooms and on outside stages. Inside events require tickets, outside stages do not.
Some of the big names speaking this year include: Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Connelly, Anna Quindlan, Stan Lee, Anne Enright, Jane Smiley, Kwame Alexander, Susan Orlean, Pico Ayer, Arianna Huffington, T.C. Boyle, etc., etc.
A few of the FOB poetry highlights are included below:
At the Poetry Stage: See all three of our current Poet Laureates during one afternoon, at the same stage, for FREE:
Dana Gioia, Poet Laureate of California, will read his work at the Poetry Stage at 11:30 am on Saturday the 9th;
Juan Felipe Herra, Poet Laureate of the USA, will read his work at the Poetry Sage at 2:30 pm on Saturday the 9th;
Luis J. Rodriguez, Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, will read his work at 4 pm on Saturday the 9th.
At Wallis Annenberg Hall: See National Book Award Winner Robin Coste Lewis discuss “Race, Justice, and Poetry” at 1:30 pm on Sunday the 10th. (This is a ticketed event, so arrive early to ensure seating).
Check the entire two-day schedule for details on all events, (fiction, non-fiction, and poetry) on both days, at the website below. Enjoy!
Where: University of Southern California (USC)
Dates: Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th
Times: 10 am – 6 pm on Saturday the 9th and
10 am – 5 pm on Sunday the 10th – (All day, both days)
Address: University Park, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Website: http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/the-festival/info/
6th Annual Poetry Contest Reading
The winners of the 6th Annual Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest Reading will read their works. Regular admission.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Saturday the 9th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Soapbox Open Mic at Beyond Baroque
This is your home, share your words. Original acoustic music welcome as well. Sign-ups at 1:45 pm. Hosted by: Jessica Wilson.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 10th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Los Angeles Literature 