Black Bubblegum and William Gonzalez’s Los Angeles
by Mike Sonksen
From: Angel City Review
Salvadoran-American poet William Gonzalez is intimately connected to the streets of Los Angeles. A product of the MacArthur Park, Pico-Union neighborhood, the man is an award-winning author, son, father and friend to all. Born at County USC-General Hospital, Gonzalez is Los Angeles as it gets. His first two books, Black Bubblegum and Blue Bubblegum are innovative works that peer behind the glossy facade of Los Angeles to reveal the blood and bones of the city. His newest book, Red Bubblegum, is set to be published in late Spring 2017.
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When poets Geffrey Davis and F. Douglas Brown first met at a poetry retreat in 2012, they instantly connected in discussing fatherhood and the poetry that sprang from that experience. Over time, that relationship grew, and they began writing poetry that came directly out of their conversations. Soon, they were even borrowing each other’s lines or writing stanzas or whole poems back and forth, as a kind of call and response.
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Stephen Kinzer at Vroman’s Bookstore
Join us as author Gretchen Woelfle discusses her new book Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution. Learn about some lesser known figures of America’s past, and then participate in a craft making silhouette figures after the program.
The Teen’Scape program invites you back to work on the DIY art of writing poetry, drawing mini-comics, collaged illustration, self-publishing, and making zines.
Los Angeles Literature 