A Whole Ecosystem: Collective Effervescence in Los Angeles Poetry
Mike Sonksen documents the history of L.Á. Poetry venues and the evolution of spoken word. Continue reading A Whole Ecosystem: Collective Effervescence in Los Angeles Poetry
Author: Brian Dunlap
Brian Dunlap is a native Angeleño capturing the city’s stories hidden in plain sight. He’s the author of the chapbook Concrete Paradise (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and the winner of a Marvin Bell Memorial Poetry Prize from december magazine judged by former Los Ángeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez. He's also the Editor-in-Chief of Los Angeles Literature, an independent online magazine covering the Greater Los Ángeles literary community.
Eso Won Books Writes Its Closing Chapter
L.Á.’s oldest Black-owned bookstore, Eso Won, is closing at the end of the year. The owners want to retire. Continue reading Eso Won Books Writes Its Closing Chapter
Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/13/22 – 06/19/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
Tween Book Club via Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Tween Event
Kids ages 9 to 12 are invited to a monthly book discussion, to share other books they have read and to get new reading recommendations.
In June, we’ll discuss Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick. The book should be read in advance of the meeting. Find a copy to borrow at the library site link.
NOTE: See site for Zoom link and details.
Where: LAPL Online event
Date: Monday the13th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/tween-book-club
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/13/22 – 06/19/22”
The Forgotten Noir Detective
“Leslie Turner White served as inspiration for Chandler’s Marlowe, and whose autobiography, Me, Detective (1936), played a pivotal if largely forgotten role in the formation of American noir.” Continue reading The Forgotten Noir Detective
Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/06/22 – 06/12/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
World Literature Book Club via West Valley Regional Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join this Book Club for a spirited and engaging discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (New York, 2021), ed. John Freeman. This month’s selections are:
- June 6 – The Great Silence by Ted Chiang (2015)
- June 13 – The Midnight Zone by Lauren Groff (2016)
This group meets every Monday morning (excluding holidays).
NOTE: See site for Zoom link and details.
Where: LAPL Online event
Date: Monday the 6th
Time: 10 am
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-40
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/06/22 – 06/12/22”
Letter to L.A.: The Light at the End of the Tunnel by Mike Sonksen
Some people “have been turning to public art, books, poetry and our creative community in Los Angeles for some light,” during these difficult times of the pandemic, protests and mass shootings. Continue reading Letter to L.A.: The Light at the End of the Tunnel by Mike Sonksen
Latinx Poets of the World Stage Press
By Brian Dunlap
Latinx Poets and Writers of the World Stage Press descended on Village Well Books and Coffee in Culver City last week. The evening was cool and the restaurants in downtown were crowded with dates, families and friends, conversations rising on top of each other, out over the sidewalk. Inside the bookstore, six authors—Lisbeth Coiman, Cynthia Guardado, Alex Petunia, Poet Astrid, Carolina Rivera Escimilla and Andy Sanchez—graced the mic. Six Latinx writers. Six distinct voices. No monolith here.
Continue reading “Latinx Poets of the World Stage Press”
Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/30/22 – 06/05/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
Book Talks: Judith Freeman & MacArthur Park, with Barbara Feldon & Getting Smarter via Chevalier’s Bookstore – Online Event
Longtime friends Judith Freeman and Barbara Feldon will discuss their newest books, the novel MacArthur Park and the memoir Getting Smarter, respectively.
Judith Freeman is a novelist and non-fiction writer whose most recent novel, MacArthur Park, is set in Los Angeles and the rural West. Friends Jolene and Verna share complicated ties that have crystallized over time. Beginning when they were girls discovering their needs and desires, their ongoing stories have been inextricably linked. But when Verna marries Vincent, Jolene’s ex-husband, their paths may have finally, permanently diverged. Now, on a trip to their hometown in Utah, they are forced to confront both the truths and falsehoods of their memories of each other and of their early friendship.
Barbara Feldon is best known as “Agent 99” on the 1960’s TV series, Get Smart. She is the author of Living Alone and Loving it! and various essays. Her memoir Getting Smarter relates her dramatic and sometimes zany adventures with a glamorous Frenchman, her initiation into show business, and the fun of working in Hollywood.
NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.
Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore
Date: Monday the 30th
Time: 4 pm
Address: Online Event (see site)
Website: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VJDEnKimRl6AwuRjBHEuYA
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/30/22 – 06/05/22”
On How People – Like Fish – Absorb Their Surroundings Through Skin
By Jonah Meyer
FROM: Mud Season Review
An Interview with Christian Hanz Lozada.
Continue reading “On How People – Like Fish – Absorb Their Surroundings Through Skin”“It’s like the dude on the dance floor whose arms are flailing to their own beat. Yeah, we’re looking, but not because they’re cool – it’s because we don’t want to get randomly smacked.”
Christian Hanz Lozada
Navigating the In-Between: A Review of Luivette Resto’s “Living on Islands Not Found on Maps”
A book review of San Gabriel Valley resident, poet, mother and teacher, Luivette Resto’s new collection “Living on Islands Not Found on Maps,” written by Compton writer Jenise Miller. Continue reading Navigating the In-Between: A Review of Luivette Resto’s “Living on Islands Not Found on Maps”
