Los Ángeles Writers Publish in 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, it’s been another year of publishing success for Los Ángeles writers and the Los Angeles literary community. As the months went by, writers published novels, essay collections, poetry collections, edited anthologies or announced their books had been accepted for publication in 2019 and even 2020. Congratulations to all these scribes and for penning important works. Some of these books, such as Erica Ayón’s Orange Lady, which recounts the author’s experience as an immigrant growing up in South Central Los Angeles, where her family sold oranges on the street in order to survive, and Lynell George’s essay collection After/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame, focused on Los Angeles beneath-the-surface, both the past and the here-and-now, explores who and what L.A. is from different personal lived experiences. Showing how the political is personal.
When Kima Jones, an independent publicist based in Los Angeles, agreed to help the poet Tyehimba Jess with his publicity campaign for his second collection, “Olio,” she knew it would be a breakout work.
Since her abrupt firing on August 27, former ALOUD director Louise Steinman has mostly been quiet. She declined to comment for the media, and did not seek press attention. Meantime, the Library Foundation issued a series of statements and hired a new director of public programs.
Joseph Rios’s debut collection, Shadowboxing: poems and impersonations, published last year by Omnidawn, is a middle finger to the institution in both form and content. This isn’t to say that Rios isn’t well-versed in tradition, as Rios steps into the ring exchanging blow after blow with poetic tradition. Rebellion bobs and weaves on each page. Rios throws combinations of playwriting, lyric, narrative, and experimental techniques that often have a Romantic ring to them.
Santa Monica Public Library
Matt Sedillo is a Chicano poet, writer, creative director, and public intellectual called “the poet laureate of the struggle” by Dr. Paul Ortiz and “the best political poet in America” by investigative journalist Greg Palast. He has been featured in over 80 colleges and universities and various media outlets including All Def Digital, Los Angeles Times, and C-SPAN.
Workshop: Writing From Experience at 1888 Center for the Arts
Living room floricantos fill a home with gente and arte for a few memorable hours, the perfect way to celebrate friends, community, culture, a whole lot of good things. For liz gonzález, Saturday afternoon celebrated the publication of her recent collection, Dancing in the Santa Ana Winds: Poems y Cuentos New and Selected.
Joshua Rivkin & Chalk: The Art and Erasure of Cy Twombly at Book Soup
