By Mike Sonksen
FROM: L.A. Taco

In a year where Los Angeles lost leviathans like P-22, Art LAboe, Vin Scully, and Mike Davis, there’s never been a better time to take solace in reading. As it is every year for me, this list of fiction, poetry, urbanism, memoir, and musicology books is Los Angeles-centric, but there are a few outliers. On the lines below are libros from 2022 with one or two that came out at the end of 2021. Have fun diving in, and Happy new year, everyone.

Divine Blue Light By Will Alexander

Born in Los Angeles in 1948, Will Alexander authors alternative cartography with cosmic poetry that’ll make you run for a dictionary. Considered one of the top surrealist poets alive, he was shortlisted for the Pulitzer for Refractive Africa earlier this year. His newest book, Divine Blue Light is dedicated to John Coltrane, which is appropriate because Alexander’s poetry uses “inter-dimensional kindling” like Trane’s saxophone.

My Life in the Sunshine By Nabil Ayers

Nabil Ayers meditates on music, race, class, family, identity, inheritance, and what it’s like to be the illegitimate son of legendary vibraphonist Roy Ayers. Though he’s only met his dad a few times, this memoir shows him searching for his roots, finding his own place in the music industry, and grappling with the missing pieces only to find he was complete all along. The narrative sweeps from New York to Utah, Seattle to Los Angeles, and back to NYC as Ayers celebrates “his life in the sunshine.”

What’s Good: Notes on Rap & Language By Daniel Levin Becker

Composed like a literary mixtape, Becker’s adept lyrical analysis is one of the most erudite hip-hop exegesis I have ever read. His register mixes vernacular and academic grammar as he explicates bars by a whole cavalcade of MCs: Tupac, Tribe, Jay-Z, Biggie, Queen Latifah, dead prez, Meek Mill, Public Enemy, Kanye, Mos Def, Rakim, Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang, YG, Lil Wayne, NWA and dozens more. His command of language, hip-hop history, and intertextual threads to how it connects to America, other genres of music, and popular culture are something to behold. Read Rest of Article Here