Writing Our Future at ALOUD

Our third annual gathering of students from five Southland graduate writing programs—CalArts, Otis College, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and USC—will read and share recent work and tune our ears to the future of language and writing.

These emerging writers include: Emily Ansara Baines, Bridget Chiao Clerkin, Emily Dorff, Alex Dupree, Howard Ho, Cecilia Latiolais, Niko Nelson, Benjamin S. Sneyd, Casey Taylor, and Jacqueline Young. RSVP to ensure seating. Check site for details and stand by policy.

Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, LAPL

Date: Monday the 2^nd  

Time: 7:15 pm

Address: 630 West 5h St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Website: http://www.http://lfla.org/event/writing-our-future/

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 5/02/16 – 5/08/16”

A COMMUNITY OF SELF-IDENTIFYING L.A. WOMYN WHO WRITE, RIGHT AND RITE. HEAR THEM READ. Continue reading Las Lunas Locas

ANTHOLOGY OF LOS ANGELES POETS. Continue reading At Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore

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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