Aphasia Book Club of Mid Valley
Aphasia is a language impairment, usually due to stroke, that affects individuals’ ability to speak, understand speech, read and write.
The Mid-Valley Branch is proud to offer a book club designed especially for adults with aphasia, and provides its members with supportive materials to improve their comprehension and ability to discuss complex topics. A single book will be discussed over a period of several weeks.
Our first book will be Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. For more information or to register call Sarah Catheart at (818) 677-4856 or email her at sarah.catheart@csun.edu.
Where: Mid-Valley Regional Library
Date: Monday the 5th
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Address: 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills, CA 91343
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/aphasia-book-club-mid-valley
Poets & Allies for Resistance at the Sidewalk Café
This monthly poetry event, presented by Khadija Anderson, focuses on social justice issues and features a Black Poets Book Giveaway and an Open Mic. Features for Labor Day are: Camari Carter and Sabreen Adeeba.
Bring 1-2 poems about Social Justice or come to listen!
Where: Sidewalk Café
Date: Monday the 5th
Time: 7 pm start (6:45 Open Mic sign-ups)
Address: 2057 N. Los Robles (at Woodbury), Pasadena, CA 91104
Website: http://www.facebook.com/groups/792556747483331/
Dana Johnson at Skylight Books
Join us to hear Dana Johnson read from her new short story collection In the Not Quite Dark. Following her prize-winning story collection Break Any Woman Down, Dana Johnson returns with a collection of bold stories set mostly in downtown Los Angeles that examine large issues like love, class, race and how they influence and define our most intimate moments. This powerful new work feels both urgent and timeless.
Dana Johnson is also the author of the novel Elsewhere, California, and is an associate professor of English at USC.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Tuesday the 6th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/dana-johnson-reads-her-new-short-story-collection-not-quite-dark
Work Author Shola Richards at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us as Shola Richards, author of Making Work Work: The Positivity Solution for Any Work Environment, addresses the issue of transforming the workplace into a space of relentless respect, courtesy, and endless energy. Meant to motivate current and future leaders, Richards aims to start a movement that will banish on-the-job bullying put meaning back into work, and enhance coworkers’ happiness and engagement.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 6th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Author DJ MacHale at Pages Bookstore
Join us to hear DJ MacHale discuss and sign The Library: Curse of the Boggin. This story is the first in a new series by one of the most exciting writers for young people today. The Library series is for ages 8-12 years. Use the Paradox Key to enter a mysterious library that exists between dimensions; a place where restless souls go to write their incredible tales. Each book in the series will follow a different tale of strange doings, as young agents must finish the books before the books finish them!
RSVPs are appreciated. Call (310) 318-0900 or email info@pagesabookstore.com.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 6th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/dj-machale-author-event-0
Viet Thahn Nguyen at Otis Visiting Writers Series
2016 Pulitzer Prize winner for The Sympathizer, Viet Thahn Nguyen, is also the author of Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian-America and Nothing Dies: Viet Nam and the Memory of War. A former fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Nguyen teaches at USC and lives in Los Angeles.
Seating is limited.
Where: Otis College of Art and Design, The Forum, Goldsmith Campus
Date: Wednesday the 7th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 9045 Lincoln Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Website: http://www.otis.edu/calendar/visiting-writers-series-viet-thanh-nguyen
Yvonne Puig at Skylight Books
Yvonne Puig discusses and reads from her debut novel A Wife of Nobel Character, which tells the story of an heiress to the once-might Cally Petroleum fortune, which is now wealthy only in name, and who has been raised to marry a wealthy and respectable man to maintain the extravagant lifestyle she’s accustomed to. The problem is finding the right one. On the way she is faced with inevitable choices and soul searching about what is most important in life.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Wednesday the 7th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/yvonne-puig-reads-her-debut-novel-wife-noble-character
Evening Book Club Discussion at Pages Bookstore
Join us for our evening book club discussion of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead. This magnificent tour de force chronicles a young slave’s adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. Cora, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia, is an outcast even among her fellow Africans, and she is coming into womanhood where even greater pain awaits her. Like the protagonist of Gulliver’s Travels, Cora encounters different worlds at each stage of her journey, and hers is an odyssey through time as well as space. This book is both a kinetic adventure tale and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Dates: Wednesday, the 7th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/evening-book-club-discussion
Teen Poetry and Book Club at Sylmar Branch Library–Teen Event
Teen Poetry and Book Club welcomes all ages. Hear some great poems and book readings and share your own! This monthly event is hosted by English teacher Tom Adams and the Sylmar High School Poetry and Book Club. Come feel the noise!
Where: Sylmar Branch Library
Date: Thursday the 8th
Time: 3:30 pm – 5 pm
Address: 14561 Polk St., Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/teen-poetry-readings-sylmar-high-school-poetry-club
New Kids Book Club at Pages Bookstore–Kids Event
Please join us for the New Kids Book Club (Ages 6 & Up), and join mother/daughter Tracy and Annabella Groisman in a discussion and activity. All participants should read Half Magic, by Edward Eager.
RSVPs are appreciated.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 8th
Time: 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/new-kids-book-club
Olympian Alexi Pappas at ALOUD
Join us to hear Alexi Pappas discuss her far-reaching talents and interests. Beyond representing Greece’s Olympic team in the 10,000 meters race, Pappas writes poetry, essays, and makes and stars in films, including a semi-autobiographical film Trackdown, which recently premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. She will team up with Sharon Ann Lee of @culturebrain, to muse on the life of a runner, training with men, eating pasta, and balancing many forms of self-expression on and off the track.
Check site for reservation policy. Event is free.
Where: Central Library, LAPL, Taper Auditorium
Date: Thursday the 8th
Time: 7:15 pm
Address: 630 West 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://lfla.org/event/tracktown-on-the-run/
Raising an Entrepreneur Author at Diesel Bookstore
Margot Machol Bisnow, in conversation with filmmaker Jon M. Chu, will discuss her new book, Raising an Entrepreneur: 10 Rules for Nurturing Risk Takers, Problem Solvers, and Change Makers. This book of interviews of over 50 of today’s most successful innovators provides ten rules for raising confident and fearless individuals whose ideas and drive will save the world.
Please join us
Where: Diesel Bookstore, Brentwood
Date: Thursday the 8th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/margot-machol-bisnow-discusses-and-signs-raising-entrepreneur
Affinity Konar at Skylight Books
Affinity Konar discusses and reads from her new novel Mischling. Although this book is a paradox, the intangible magic of Konar’s novel is that it is set against the backdrop of one of the most horrific episodes in human history, and based on testimony of survivors of the “Zoo” where Nazi scientist Josef Mengele experimented on hundreds of sets of twins. Although Konar’s language is sonorous and beautiful, it doesn’t spare the reader the dark events playing out on the page.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Thursday the 8th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/affinity-konar-reads-her-novel-mischling
All Lit Up at Chevalier’s Books
Shimmer into September with our monthly offering of literary artists and musicians, and a light selection of Open Mic surprises.
This month we feature the sparkling tunes of Heather Donovan & Steve McCormick, and our featured writers are:
Joe Donnelly, award-winning journalist, editor and writer, was the deputy editor of L.A. Weekly and co-founder/editor of Slake: Los Angeles. His short story Bonus Baby was selected for the prestigious O. Henry Prize Stories of 2016. He is a visiting assistant professor of English at Whittier College.
Tony Barnstone teaches at Whittier College and is the author of 18 books and a music CD. He is also a distinguished translator of Chinese literature, and recipient of numerous literary awards.
Zoe Ruiz lives and writes in L.A., and is also freelance books editor and publicist, and has worked for Kaya Press, Phoneme Press, and Writ Large Press. She most recently edited Nothing Ever Dies by Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thahn Nguyen.
Where: Chevalier’s Books
Date: Thursday the 8th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://chevaliersbooks.com
Norman Harris Memoir at Book Soup
Join us to hear Norman Harris discuss and sign Confessions of a Vintage Guitar: The Memoirs of Norman Harris. In this book the author tells how he became the world’s leading seller of vintage guitars, including sales to George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and many others. Filled with fascinating stories and insights into the entertainment business, this is an intriguing memoir about extraordinary artists.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Friday the 9th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Two Authors at Beyond Baroque
Join us to hear Judith Pacht present Summer Hunger, which won the 2011 PEN Southwest Book Award for Poetry, and B.H. Fairchild present his work. He has received numerous awards and honors, including fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Friday the 9th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Open Mic at Tia Chicha’s
Join us for our Open Mic Night of Music & Spoke Word, a welcoming creative sanctuary where people are encouraged to share thoughts, feelings and talents through various styles of expression. Everyone is welcome to be themselves. It’s FREE and participants sign up upon arrival. Donations are accepted.
Where: Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Date: Friday the 9th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 13197 Gladstone Ave., Unit A, Sylmar, CA 91342
Website: http://www.tiachucha.org/programming
Jolene and Justin Thompson at Children’s Book World
Join us for a reading and launch party to celebrate the publication of Faraway Fox, with a reading and fun activity by local authors Jolene Thompson and Justin Thompson. In this beautifully illustrated picture book, Fox wanders through a strange landscape and would like nothing more than to return to his home, which now seems to be surrounded by cityscape.
Where: Children’s Book World
Date: Saturday the 10th
Time: 10:30 am
Address: 10425 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
Website: http://www.childrensbookworld.com/Calendar/calendar.htm
2016 Southern California Poetry Festival, in Long Beach
The Southern California Poetry Festival is a two-day event offered each year at a different location in southern California. This year it is held at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and events are free with advance ticket reservations available at the website. Check to see ticket availability.
Highlights of Saturday’s schedule include:
A reading by the winner of the Urban Poetry Contest;
SoCal Spoken Word artists Nora Cooper, Mila Cuda, Angelina Dy, Alex Luu, Kyland Turner, Kevin Yam;
A Round-Up of Readers Hosted by Local Journals Muse, the EAR, TAB, Ghost Town/Pacific Review, Cadence Collective;
Inlandia Institute Readers: Judy Kronenfeld, Matt Nadelson, Angelea Penaredondo, Kenji Liu;
Los Angeles Review Readers: Kim Dower, Siel Ju, Jessica Piazza, Charles Harper Webb;
The Offing Readers; Rattle Readers;
Panel Discussion on the Poetics of Southern California, moderated by David Ulin, with panelists Marilyn Chin, Suzanne Lummis, Luis Rodriguez, Ralph Angel;
Presentation by Paisley Rekdal;
Presentation by Robin Coste-Lewis.
Where: Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach
Date: Saturday the 10th
Time: 10:30 am- 8 pm
Address: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: http://www.scpoetryfest.com/
Kimberly Gee at Vroman’s Bookstore
Kimberly Gee will discuss and sign The Class, written by Boni Ashburn, and illustrated by Gee. This children’s book follows twenty young students from nineteen different homes as they get ready for kindergarten.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 10th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/kimberly-gee-discusses-and-signs-class
Children’s Author at Pages Bookstore
Children’s author Sam Sahin will present a special reading of Sam Sense, with magical illustrations. Sam is a seven-year old local author attending Grand View School.
RSVPs are appreciated.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 10th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/sam-shahin-author-event
Psyche Unbound Debut at Skylight Books
Please join us to hear Zenobia Neil read from her debut novel Psyche Unbound. The celebrated beauty of Roman princess Psych has enraged Venus, and as punishment Psyche is left naked on the beach to be sacrificed to a monster. Then Cupid, the God of Love swoops her up and flies her to the monster’s palace, and she mistakenly falls in love.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Saturday the 10th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/zenobia-neil-reads-her-debut-novel-psyche-unbound
Authors at Poetic Research Bureau
Meet poets Rae Armantrout and Martha Ronk, in a poetry reading at the Poetic Research Bureau.
This event is free, and no reservation is required.
Where: Poetic Research Bureau
Date: Saturday the 10th
Time: 7:30 pm – 9 pm
Address: 951 Chung King Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://www.poeticresearch.com
2016 Southern California Poetry Festival, in Long Beach
The Southern California Poetry Festival is a two-day event offered each year at a different location in southern California. This year it is held at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and events are free with advance ticket reservations available at the website. Check to see ticket availability.
Highlights of Sunday’s schedule include:
Writing the Natural World, Workshop led by John Brantingham;
Exposition Review presentation of Bending Boundaries, with readers: Nan Cohen, John Lucas, Sarah Vap;
Beyond Baroque readers: Billy Burgos, Lauren Eggert-Crowe, Griselda Suarez;
Morning Redux readers from morning workshop;
Red Hen Press readers: Brendan Constantine, Nicelle Davis, Douglas Kearney, Amy Uyematsu, Peggy Shumaker;
Presentation by Frank Gaspar;
Presentation by Henri Cole;
Presentation by Amy Gerstler;
Author Book Signings.
Where: Aquarium of the Pacific
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 10:30 am – 8 pm
Address: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802
Website: http://www.scpoetryfest.com/
Kathryn Aalto at Vroman’s Bookstore
Author Kathryn Aalto discusses and signs her book The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest That Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood, a charmingly illustrated book that explores the real landscape of the Ashdown Forest, A.A. Milne’s inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 2 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Embracing Survival Book Launch at Museum of Tolerance
Join us for a special program and book launch for Embracing Survival, a memoir by Dydine Umunyana, a child survivor of the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis. She was four years old when she was separated from her parents and the genocide began.
No charge. Space is limited and RSVP is required. Register at the website, where more information is available.
Where: Museum of Tolerance
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 2:30 pm
Address: 9786 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Website: http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=tmL6KfNVLtH&b=6771093&ct=14921739
Wide Awake Poets at Diesel Bookstore
The anthology Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond offers a group reading hosted by Suzanne Lummis, with Rex Wilder and Marsha de la O.
Suzanne Lummis collection, Open 24 Hours, won the Blue Lynx Poetry Prize. She is editor of Wide Awake and has taught several levels of poetry through the UCLA Extension Writers Program.
Rex Wilder introduced the world to a new form of poetry: the boomerang, a four-line nouveau haiku. He is also the Chief Creative Strategist for Advertising for Humanity, specializing in charities and community foundations.
Marsha de la O is author of two collections of poetry and a former bilingual teacher in Los Angeles and Santa Paula. She publishes the poetry journal Askew with her husband, Phil Taggart.
Where: Diesel Bookstore, Brentwood
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 3 pm
Address: 225 26th St., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Forrest Stuart at Skylight Books
Please join us to hear Forrest Stuart discuss his new book Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row. In his first year working in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, the author was stopped on the street by police fourteen times, usually for doing little more than standing there. At a time when distrust between police and the residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods has never been higher, this book helps us see where we’ve gone wrong, what steps we could take, and how our society can change itself for the better.
Where: Skylight Books
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/forrest-stuart-discusses-his-new-book-down-out-and-under-arrest
All We Can Hold at Beyond Baroque
Join us for a beautiful, necessary anthology, All We Can Hold, where poets turn their lyrical gifts to motherhood. With features: Susan Bernardo, Chanel Brenner, Michal Limburger, Shali Nicholas, Cathie Sandstrom and Jeff Wait.
Hosted by: Charles Brenner.
Where: Beyond Baroque
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 681 N. Venice Blvd.untington DrHuntington , Venice, CA 90291
Website: http://www.beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html
Second Sunday Poetry Series at the Studio Theatre
This Open Mic poetry show, hosted by Alex M. Frankel, happens on the second Sunday of every month. Great poets perform their work, sell and sign books, and mingle with audience members and open mic participants. Our featured poet this month is Lynne Bronstein.
Where: The Studio Theatre at St. Denis Building
Date: Sunday the 11th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 3433 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Website: http://www.secondsundaypoetry.com/upcoming-poets.html
Los Angeles Literature 