By Suset Laboy

From: Centro Voices

by Olga García Echeverría

From: La Bloga

Once a week, I venture south on the 110 towards San Pedro. My destination: Gulf Elementary School in Wilmington, California. My mission: creative writing workshops with 5th graders.

On the days I visit the 5th graders, I rise before the roosters crow. I sip on strong coffee in the shifting morning light. I pack energy snacks and a hearty lunch. It’s an hour-plus drive from my home to Wilmington. On some parts of the commute, traffic clears and I fly. On others, the highway’s arteries are clogged. I nudge forward like a slug, past downtown, the 10, the 105, the 405.

Continue reading “All That and a Bag of Poetry: Creative Writing with 5th Graders at Gulf Elementary”

Youth Poet Laureate Workshop at Memorial Branch, LAPL

Are you a poet or spoken word artist between the ages of 13 and 19?

In honor of National Poetry Month, the library is hosting workshops to help take your poetry to the next level and enter the Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Contest (which offers the chance to win a book deal and more).

During this second workshop we will work on building your poetry portfolio and resume, along with instructions on entering the contest for those who are interested.

Where: Memorial Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 25^th

Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm

Address: 4625 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019

Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/youth-poet-laureate-poetry-workshop-0

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 4/25/16 – 5/01/16”

By Joe Jiménez

From: Cultural Weekly

I heard once from the author Elaina Ellis that we are “poem-makers.” Making poems, yes, that speaks directly and with bright accent to the task of the collection Bird Float, Tree Song: dis•articulated poems by Los Angeles poets, edited by Terry Wolverton, a collaboration of poets exploring the exercises of “dis-articulation.”

By definition, the dis-articulationists’ task is “…to take apart a body, or rather a skeleton, to separate the joints.” Wolverton tells us, “I borrowed the term because I am taking apart bodies of writing—the passages of fevered writing— and separating them into their component parts of speech, nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.” Comprised of a sampling of exercises Wolverton completed with LA poets, the dis-articulation project demonstrates the process of engaging four writing prompts a partner gives, writing, then, with “fever,” taking the “fevered writing” and separating it into its parts (parts of speech), and then sharing these to allow newness to emerge in poem drafts.

Continue reading “REVIEW: BIRD FLOAT, TREE SONG: DIS•ARTICULATED POEMS BY LOS ANGELES POETS”

By Terry Wolverton

From: Cultural Weekly

Most of the time a poet begins with an idea rooted in an experience, a memory, a feeling, or a response to something we’ve encountered in the world.. Then we set out to search for the right words—the best words, the best form—to capture that elusive, yet pressing idea.

But sometimes for poets, that process can break down. Ideas feel wedged in a familiar rut, language and images start to seem repetitive. We may fear we’re not surprising anyone, even ourselves. We grow tired of our minds and search for ways to reactivate, even transform our thought process when we sit down to write.

Continue reading “Bird Float, Tree Song: dis•articulated poems by Los Angeles poets”

Slam in the Stacks at Bethune Regional Brach, LAPL

Slam in the Stacks is expression through poetry performance, offered in a two-part combined writing workshop and performance workshop. Turn your passion into words, rhymes, and rhythms. Learn from Writ Large Press writers how to compose your work into a final piece.

It starts off with performances by: Peter J. Harris, Gia Scott-Heron, Rebecca Gonzales, Mike Sonksen, and Ashaki M. Jackson. It will be followed by Slam in the Stacks Writing Workshop on Wednesday the 20^th and Slam in the Stacks Performance Workshop on Friday the 22^nd. This will be followed by events at the Mark Twain Library in Vernon.

Some of the other poets and artists that will be taking part include: Donny Jackson, Conney Williams, F. Douglas Brown, Rachel McLeod Kaminer, Rocio Carlos, Teka Lark, Iris De Anda, Traci Akemi Kato-Kiriyama, Jen Hofer, Vickie Veriz, Sesschu Foster, Karineh Mahdessian, etc., etc.

NOTE: Must attend Writing Workshop to participate in Performance Workshop.

Where: Exposition Park, Bethune Regional Branch Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 18^th

Times for 3 events:

Poetry: 4 pm -5:30 pm on MONDAY the 18^th;

Writing Workshop: 4 pm -5:30 pm on WED the 20^th;

Performance Workshop: 3 pm –4:30 pm on FRI the 22^nd.

Address: 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062

Website: http://www.lapl.org/branches/exposition-park or http://grandperformances.org/Poetry  or https://www.facebook.com/events/1703319309925624/

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The World at Large podcast has now uploaded episode 3. From This is the City and and L.A.’s own Writ large press. They are a podcast about the art of poetry, storytelling and the creative life of Los Angeles. For episode 3, they return to the Instant from the Ham and Eggs Tavern. This episodes readers are:

Continue reading “The Word at Large EP: 3”

by ROSIE FLORES

From: Cultural Weekly

NOTE: Rosie Flores is this week’s feature on “Tomorrow’s Voices Today”, a series curated by poet and educator Mike Sonksen.

It all started when my granny crossed over
To be in the U.S to celebrate the Passover
And one day she’d be the next crossover
So, watch out for the low riders jumpin’ over her corners
Life was hard according to her memory
Spending anniversaries and birthdays at the cemetery
Chicanos tried to keep the culture alive
Because of the scary “vatos en la calle killing their own kind”

Continue reading “DIFFERENCE”

By Michael Sedano

From: Labloga

AWP 2016 launched in a storm of controversy. Writers from the disability caucus protested their exclusion from the program. Writers from raza caucuses felt the sting of rejected panels and raised their voices in unison. Then a Los Angeles publisher, poet Kate Gale, wrote a Dick Cheney-like screed telling the protestors to get over it. A chastened Gale subsequently deleted the post.

That not only failed to bring the dissident writers to heel, Gale’s “I’ve got mine” attitude fanned the flames. One writer, Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo found publisher Gale’s screed offensive beyond tolerance  such that Bermejo withdrew her book–her first publication–from Gale’s Red Hen Press. The courageous Bermejo has a new publisher, release in the Fall. La Bloga’s Michael Sedano has offered to host the launch in a backyard floricanto for the principled poet.
Continue reading “AWP Part II: Huge Spaces, Good Stuff When You Look For It”

After Abel, and Other Stories at CSUN

Mical Lemberger, finalist for the National Jewish Book Award Goldberg Prize for debut fiction, will discuss her award winning book, After Abel, and Other Stories. In her book she creatively explores the lives of famous, infamous, and little-known women of the Bible and presents the reasons behind their actions.

Lemberger holds an MA and PhD in English from UCLA and a BA in English and Religion from Barnard College. She teaches at American Jewish University.

All are invited to this FREE event. Call or email to reserve a seat.

Where: Jerome Richfield Hall 215, California State University, Northridge

Date: Monday the 11^th

Time: 11 am – 12:15 pm

Address: 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge CA 91330

Website: http://www.csun.edu/humanities/jewish-studies/events/after-abel-and-other-stories

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 4/11/16 – 4/17/16”