A Gathering of Tribes Poetry Reading at Chevalier’s Bookstore
Please join us for A Gathering of Tribes, presented by Brendan Constantine, the author most recently of Dementia My Darling, and featuring:
Derek D. Brown is an author, poet and venture expressionist, and a graduate of CLI’s author training program at USC. He is author of the collection, Articulate Scars.
Mike Sonksen, aka Mike the Poet, is a scholar, author and performance artist, acclaimed for his articles, essays and poems, and for mentoring teen writers. He is the author of Poetics of Location.
Ra Avis is sometimes-poet, a once-upon-a-time inmate, a reluctantly optimistic widow, and an exponential storyteller. She blogs regularly at Rarasaur.com, and is the author of Sack Nasty: Prison Poetry and Dinosaur-Hearted.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004
Website: http://www.chevaliersbooks.com/gathering-of-tribes
Elgin Charles & By the Way at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Elgin Charles discuss and sign his memoir, By the Way. This is a coming-of-age tale of a young man in search of identity and divine purpose. With exquisite lyricism, this story grants access to a world where the quest for love without limits and the ability to achieve access to the opulence that life has to offer is won. Elgin Charles, aka the “Emperor of Hair” lives fearlessly and out loud.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/elgin-charles-discusses-and-signs-way
Kim Brooks & Small Animals at Vroman’s Bookstore
Author Kim Brooks, in conversation with Doree Shafir, joins us to present, discuss and sign her book, Small Animals. This is the story of what happens when the author made a split-second decision to leave her four-year-old son in the car while she ran into a store. What happened would consume the next several years in her life and spur her to investigate the broader role America’s culture of fear plays in parenthood. this book asks us to examine what we most value in our relationships with our children and with one another.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Ally Beardsley & What’s Wrong With Me at the Last Bookstore
Please join us to hear Ally Beardsley read from her diary/ book, What’s Wrong With Me? The author is a comedian and cast member at CollegeHumor, and this book offers an unfiltered look into the mind of an awkward, gay teenager
NOTE: All of our book clubs require a ticket and include a copy of the book, so see website for details.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
Writ Large Press Poetry Readings at Annenberg Beach House
Please join us as Writ Large Press presents the third in its “Icon” series of poetry readings, with features:
Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is a writer and podcaster, and the author of Good Muslim/Bad Muslim.
Alan Nakagawa is a sound artist, interdisciplinary artist who incorporates video, sculpture, drawing, paint, performance, etc. In October 2019 he will have a solo exhibition at the Orange County Museum of Art. He is currently Artist in Residence at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Jenny Yang is a comedian, essayist and actor who has a blog and writes about Hollywood’s abuse and lack of diversity.
NOTE: Please RSVP at website link for this FREE event.
Where: Annenberg Beach House
Date: Tuesday the 28th
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Address: 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., Santa Monica, CA 90402
Website: http://eventbrite.com/e/ or https://annenbergbeachhouse.com/activities/cultural-programs-events-and-tours.aspx
Peter Rader & Playing to the Gods at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Peter Rader discuss and sign his book, Playing to the Gods: Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, and the Rivalry that Changed Acting Forever.
In this book the author tells the riveting story of the rivalry between the two most renowned actresses of the nineteenth century, between the original diva and the mystical actress who popularized the natural style of acting we celebrate today.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Tuesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Nonfiction Book Club & The Women Who Smashed Codes at Pages Bookstore
Please join us at our Nonfiction Book club to discuss author Jason Fagone’s book, The Women Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies, facilitated by Mark Polak.
Where: Pages Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Website: http://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/non-fiction-book-club-august
Claire Naden & Cache Under the Stacks at Vroman’s Bookstore
Author Claire Naden joins us to present, discuss and sign her new book, Cache Under the Stacks: A Cate Wagner Mystery. This is the story of a divorced empty-nester, who is left the ownership of a thriving bookstore in her great-aunt’s will, and sees a chance to make a fresh start. However, Bungalow Books comes with more than she bargained for, and discovers a hidden cache of historical significance and encounters both danger and love as a result.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 28th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Victorian Literary Parlour Book Club at the Last Bookstore
Please join us for our Victorian Literary Parlour Book Club, led by Mr. Walter Nelson. At this meeting we will discuss Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories, by Algernon Blackwood. This book should get us in the right mood for Halloween.
NOTE: All of our book clubs require a ticket and include a copy of the book, so see website for details.
Where: The Last Bookstore
Date: Tuesday the 28th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Website: http://lastbookstorela.com/#events
The Golden Age of Forgery / LA Made at the Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL
Please join us for a performance by author Margaret Russell, the author of Fictions and Fakes, as she retells the most outlandish of these literary forgery and imposter stories and explains why they should not be forgotten.
Where: Los Feliz Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Wednesday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm
Address: 1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/golden-age-forgery-la-made-1
PEN America Los Angeles Book Club at the Edison
Please join us at our August Book Club to discuss How to Survive Summer, by Nick White. “Call it a psychological thriller or a deeply felt chronicle of childhood trauma, or a bold query into an identity crisis, this is a winning debut from a cerebral writer,” states Benjamin Percy, author of The Dead Lands.
NOTE: This is a ticketed event so see website for details.
Where: The Edison
Date: Wednesday the 29th
Time: 6 pm – 8 pm
Address: 108 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Website: http://pen.org/event/los-angeles-book-club-how-to-survive-a-summer/
Laura Van Den Berg & The Third Hotel at Skylight Bookstore
Please join us to hear author Lauran Van Den Berg, in conversation with author Aja Gabel, present and sign her new novel, The Third Hotel.
In Havana, Cuba, a widow tries to come to terms with her husband’s death–and the truth about their marriage—in this surreal, mystifying story of psychological reflection and metaphysical mystery.
Where: Skylight Bookstore
Date: Wednesday the 29th
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Website: http://www.skylightbooks.com/event/laura-van-den-berg-launches-her-new-novel-third-hotel-aja-gabel
Heidi Mastrogiovanni & August McLaughlin at Book Soup
Please join us to hear Heidi Mastrogiovanni discuss and sign her book, Lala Pettibone: Stnading Room Only, and August McLaughlin discuss and sign his book, Girl Boner: The Good Girl’s Guide to Sexual Empowerment.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Thursday the 30th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Marc Ambinder & The Brink at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us to hear Marc Ambinder discuss his book, The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983, the incredible story of the 1983 war game that triggered a tense, brittle period of nuclear brinksmanship between the United States and the former Soviet Union.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Thursday the 30th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Writers’ Block Live at 1888 Center for the Arts
Please join us for Writers’ Block Live, hosted by Mark Gravagno, with Alyssa Matuchniak, Vilayvanh Bender, and Krysada Phounsiri. This reading series is a bi-weekly podcast, and aims to highlight and discuss writers across various genres and fields.
Alyssa Matuchniak is the daughter of an Indian mother and an English-Polish father, who currently works as a secondary English teacher. Her debut book of poetry is titled Small Wars, Little Revolutions (World Stage Press 2018).
Vilayvanh Bender immigrated to America with her family at age seven as a Viet Nam War refugee. She is a private practice registered dietician, passionate about health and wellness .Her work with her daughters in their schools has inspired her first children’s book.
Krysada Phounsiri is a professional dancer, award-winning poet, and an avid photographer. He immigrated to the U.S. at age two from Laos, began writing poetry at age eleven, and at UC Berkeley he was a Physics/Astrophysics double major with a minor in Creative Writing. He debuted his first book of poetry in 2015 titled Dance Among Elephants, a poetic journey of identity, family, homeland, love and dance.
NOTE: Please RSVP, as limited seating available.
Where: 1888 Center for the Arts
Date: Thursday the 30th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 115 N. Orange St., Orange, CA 92866
Open Door Poetry Reading at Battery Books, Pasadena
Please join us for another night of awesome poetry, with our features:
Niki Billingslea is an adjunct assistant professor of English at LA Southwest College, and her journalism and poetry have been widely published. She has performed as a singer with The Voice of U.G.M.A.A., a jazz choir founded by Horace Tapscott, and danced with Abalaye African Dance Ensemble.
Terry Robinson is a multidisciplinary writer and member of the alt-rap collective Dark Leaf. He holds an MA in psychology with an emphasis on mythological studies.
Armond Kinard’s love of acting and writing is what sparks his desire to explore new ways of expressing classical ideas. His work is unpredictable, whether it’s his theatre style improve, or his sensual poetry series.
Where: Battery Books, Pasadena
Date: Thursday the 30th
Time: 8 pm
Address: 26 South Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/206218916918495/
Poetry with Rachelle Cruz at Libro Mobile, Santa Ana
Please join us for a Poetry Reading with local poet Rachelle Cruz, at Libro Mobile in Santa Ana. See website link for details.
Where: Libro Mobile
Date: Friday the 31st
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 220 Fourth St., Santa Ana, CA 92701
Website: http://www.facebook.com/LibroMobile/photos/gm.1749495608479093/1919651621661646/?type=3&theater
Midsummer Night’s Dream in Griffith Park
Bring blankets or low chairs for the Independent Shakespeare Company’s elegant production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 7 pm.
Come at 6:30 pm for music from L.A.’s own La Victoria.
Where: Griffith Old Park Zoo
Date: Friday the 31st
Time: 6:30 pm, music; 7 pm, play
Address: 4730 Crystal Springs Dr., Los Angeles, CA
Website: http://www..iscla.org/calendar
Are You Your Mind? A Conversation at Vroman’s Bookstore
Please join us for Otherwise, a reading series dedicated to supporting the work of outsider artists, who break expectations of form and sentiment.
Heart Berries is a powerful poetic memoir of a woman’s coming-of-age on the Seabird island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma.
As Elissa Washuta makes the transition from college kid to independent adult, she finds herself overwhelmed by calamaties beyond the coping skills of her medications. Her book, My Body Is a Book of Rules, pulls no punches in its self-deprecating look at human fallibility.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore
Date: Friday the 31st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
Website: http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/are-you-your-mind-conversation
TDSB Poetry Open Mic at Fox Coffee House
Please join us for The Definitive Soap Box Open Mic, featuring:
Shy But Flyy is a Blues, Jazz, and spoken-word artist who currently has her own band, Flyy and the Allstarz.
Tommy Domino is a World Stage Press poet, who joined the Stillwater Writers Collective in 2012 and graduated from the CLI Literature Poetry module at USC. His first book is Switches, Hot Wheel Tracks, and Extension Cords.
Where: Fox Coffee House
Date: Friday the 31st
Time: 7 pm – 9:30 pm
Address: 437 W. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90806
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/676157936079886/
Saturday Afternoon Poetry at Santa Catalina Library
Please join us for an Emerging Urban Poets Writing Workshop led by CLS Ferguson.
Curated by: Don Kingfisher Campbell
Where: Santa Catalina Library, Pasadena Public Library
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 3 pm – 5 pm
Address: 999 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
Website: http://saturdayafternoonpoetry.blogspot.com/
Brian Dunlap & Concrete Paradise at Avenue 50 Studio
Please come celebrate the publication of Brian Dunlap’s chapbook Concrete Paradise, published by Finishing Line Press. The chapbook’s 14 poems explore the intersection of race and place in Los Ángeles and includes the 2018 Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry Prize winning poem, “Those Who Came Before Us.”
Also to celebrate this day of Los Ángeles stories, acclaimed friends and Los Ángeles writers Mike Sonksen (Poetics of Location, 2016), Jian Huang (L.A. weekly, Entropy, LA Review of Books, etc.) and Erika Ayón (Orange Lady, 2018) will also read their narratives of L.A.
Join everyone in Highland Park for refreshments, readings and more!
Where: Avenue 50 Studio
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 7 pm; readings at 7 pm
Address: 131 N. Avenue 50, Los Angeles, CA 90042
Website: http://facebook.com/events/269874237116621/
The Living Writers Series Donor Appreciation Reception at the World Stage
Please join the World Stage Press authors and participating teachers in World Stage Press’s Living Writers Series at their Donor Appreciation Performance and Reception, hosted by Community Literature Initiative and The World Stage.
Attire: Formal
Where: The World Stage Gallery
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm
Address: 4321 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/276745916473535/
Poet Quartet & Open Mic Poetry at Gatsby’s Bookstore
Please join Gatsby’s Bookstore for “Poet Quartet & Open Mic” featuring the great L.A. poet Gerald Locklin, author of over 3,000 poems, works of fiction, reviews and articles and has published in excess of 125 books, chapbooks, and poetry broadsides, alongside his friends and fellow poets Wendy Rainey, Todd Fox & Ruthann Kline.
Where: Gatsby’s Bookstore
Date: Saturday the 1st
Time: 7 pm
Address: 5535 E. Spring St., Long Beach, CA 90808
Website: http://gatsbybooks.com/events-2/#/poet-quartet-open-mic-poetry-sat-sept-1st-7pm/
The Portal Performance at the Hammer Museum
Join us for The Portal, as composer/performer Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs assembles Mothers Choir—a group of mothers, including her own—to investigate the complicated tropes and trip-outs of the meanings of mother. Additionally, Von Doog and guests will offer empathetic musical readings in the gallery prior to the performance. This event is performed in collaboration with Jade Gordon & Megan Whitmarsh.
Where: Hammer Museum
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 11 am – 1 pm
Address: 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
Website: http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2018/09/the-portal/
Double Trouble Open Mic at Sunday Jump
Join us on Labor Day weekend, when we highlight duality, togetherness, and the creative journey behind collaboration.
We are featuring special duos: poet, Lady Basco + magician, Dremagix; singers/songwriters, AstraLogik; emcees/poets, Figgy Baby + MaJik; and spoken word artists, Steady.
Resident host Eddy M. Gana, Jr., and resident co-host Janelle Paule on the mic.
Where: Sunday Jump
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 5 pm – 7 pm
Address: 153 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://www.facebook.com/events/655715008134637/
Radical Reading Group at Stories Books & Café
Join us a new book club where we will be reading and discussing publications covering topics like radical feminism, black liberation, environmentalism, art, fiction, LGBTQ+ studies, and more.
At our first meeting we will discuss The Instinct for Cooperation, by Noam Chomsky & Jeffrey Wilson.
Where: Stories Books & Café
Date: Sunday the 2nd
Time: 7 pm – 10 pm
Address: 1716 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Website: http://storiesla.com/?q=h.calevents
Los Angeles Literature 