From: The Los Angeles Times
By Mary Rourke
Carolyn See, an author, teacher
and colorful woman of letters whose scrappy humor and survivor’s wisdom spiced her novels about the disaster-prone fantasyland that was her California, has died. She was 82.
She died Wednesday in Santa Monica of cancer, said her daughter Lisa See.
Continue reading “Carolyn See, award-winning Southern California writer, dies at 82”
From: Los Angeles Review of Books
By Remé-Antonia Grefalda
MOST IMMIGRANT ORAL HISTORY projects are recorded interviews stored on cassette tapes or CDs, and seldom transcribed onto paper, much less published for a general readership. When transcribed, these interviews are compiled, indexed, and filed away to be retrieved only by specialized researchers.
Filipino American oral histories suffer the same fate, with one difference: they are transcribed for organized listening by way of storytelling sessions and, occasionally, included in textbook anthologies. Readings of such personal growing-up-in-the-United-States stories usually find their audiences at ethnic studies conferences, specifically Asian Pacific American academic gatherings.
Poetry Party at Fox Coffee House
Join us for the Cadence Collective Poetry Party and Open Mic featuring Elder Zamora, at the Fox Coffee House, hosted by Sarah Thursday and Murray Thomas.
Elder Zamora is a writer residing in Southern California. He holds a degree in English and is a curator of the San Gabriel Valley Literary Festival. His work has been published in various journals including Left Hook, Barnstorm, Soundings Review, Libertad and others.
Sign-ups at 6:45 pm. Start time at 7 pm.
Where: Fox Coffee House
Date: Monday the 11th
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 437 Willow St., Long Beach, CA
Website: http://www.localendar.com/public/CadenceCollective
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 7/11/16 – 7/17/16”
Here is issue 3 of Angel City Review. So many talented L.A. writers pack issue 3 to the brim. Mike Sonksen, Sarah Thursday, Rebecca Gonzales and Jesse Bliss to name a few. As John Venegas says in the editor’s note, “The Angel City Review exists because we want to see seemingly impossible ideas that threaten our overly comfortable worldviews, because we want to move beyond … Continue reading Angel City Review Issue 3 Release
Afternoon Book Club at Brentwood Branch Library
Join us for a rich discussion of Anita Diamant’s The Boston Girl. Copies of this fiction title may be picked up at the circulation desk. For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Where: Donald Bruce Kauffman-Brentwood Library, LAPL
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 1 pm
Address: 11820 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/afternoon-book-club-3
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 7/04/16 – 7/10/16”
PROVIDING OBJECTS OF LIBERARATION
(BOOKS!) TO GREATER LOS ANGELES
From: Lit Hub
By Michele Filgate
The Feminist Library On Wheels (aka F.L.O.W.) was started by Jenn Witte and Dawn Finley, with the aim of bringing feminist literature and media to the people of Los Angeles, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. I recently spoke with Finley to find out more.
When did you start the library on wheels? Who is behind it?
F.L.O.W. began in July 2014, when Jenn Witte was thinking about how to make a library for the Women’s Center for Creative Work. She brought that idea to the Feminist Reading Group I helped facilitate for the WCCW, and wondered, “Could it be on my bike?” I had recently become a big cycling enthusiast, and the idea sounded absolutely brilliant. We met to chat about it, and before we knew it we were well on our way. It’s all still run primarily by the two of us, Jenn Witte and Dawn Finley.
Continue reading “THE FEMINIST LIBRARY ON WHEELS: A ROAMING TOOL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE”
ZINZI CLEMMONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EDITORS OF COLOR
In 2010, I was part of a group of writers of color that founded Apogee Journal, the literary magazine that serves writers of marginalized identities—including race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. At the time, there were no prominent magazines doing what we were doing. Literary journals that focused on identity were grouped in silos—there were outlets for African-Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ people… but no one publication that engaged each of these communities. We became that journal, first as a publication of Columbia’s MFA program, and then, the larger literary community. I no longer work for Apogee, but serve on its Advisory Board. (As such, the following represents my own opinion, not that of Apogee’s staff.)
Continue reading “WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN INCLUSIVE LITERARY JOURNAL”
Power of the Pen: Creative Writing Workshops for Teens
Do you have a story to tell? Come enjoy an open space to find your voice as a writer. Explore different types of storytelling, poetry, journalism, and more! Attendance at all six sessions is preferred but not required.
RSVP: Please sign up by calling (818) 886-3640. Teens only!
Where: Northridge Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm
Address: 9051 Darby Ave., Los Angeles, CA 91325
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/japanese-culture-culture-taiko-drumming
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 6/27/16 – 7/03/16”
By
From: The New York Times
With her debut novel, “Grace,” Natashia Deón has announced herself beautifully and distinctively. Her emotional range spans several octaves. She writes with her nerves, generating terrific suspense. And her style is so visual it plays tricks on the imagination — did I just watch that scene? Or did I read it?
Ms. Deón is not merely another new author to watch. She has delivered something whole, and to be reckoned with, right now.
“Grace” starts with a murder on a plantation in Faunsdale, Ala. After years of watching her mother submit to supervised, ritualized rape by a fellow slave — it’s her job to breed boys for future sale — 15-year-old Naomi skewers her master with a fire poker. He’d just come to their cabin to announce that Naomi’s sister, Hazel, would be taking their mother’s place. For too many years, their mother had given birth only to girls.
Continue reading “Review: Natashia Deón’s ‘Grace,’ a Tale of Slavery, Its Ghosts and Legacy”
In the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub massacre, Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016
By Luis J. Rodriguez
From: Los Angeles Public Library Blog
Hate becomes death becomes hate.
The world unravels in fear.
Columbine: 13 students and a teacher gone.
Sandy Hook: 20 children and 6 adults murdered.
Charleston, North Carolina: 9 black churchgoers killed.
San Bernardino: 14 men and women destroyed.
Orlando, Florida: 50 patrons of a LGBTQ nightclub slaughtered.
Los Angeles Literature 