How L.A. Writer Ben Loory Came to Write His Odd, Beloved Fables

by Agatha French

From: Los Angeles Times

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There was a time when Ben Loory lived at night.

That’s how he puts it, as if night isn’t a stretch of empty hours to endure, but a place to enter, to discover whole worlds inside. After dark, the grocery stores are empty and the streets are quiet and still. The city at night is a city through the looking glass, perfect for writing, as Loory does, short stories so imaginative — and yet so perplexingly familiar — they could have formed in a dream.

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Los Angeles Literature Events 9/04/17 –9/10/17

20953688_10211840245976260_5001280615734902299_nPoets & Allies for Resistance at Sidewalk Café

Join us for a LABOR DAY poetry event by Poets & Allies for Resistance, hosted by Khadija Anderson, with an Open Mic and featuring:

Regina Higgins is a writer, audiobook and performance artist.

Marvin Dorsey is a member of the writing group, Emerging Urban Poets, in Pasadena, and is a member of the reading ensemble The Inner Four. He has produced six chapbooks over the years and is included in several anthologies highlighting poets of the San Gabriel Valley.

Bring 1-2 poems about social justice or come to listen!

Where: Sidewalk Café HTS

Date: Monday the 4th

Time: 7:30 pm

Address: 2057 N. Los Robles Ave., Altadena, CA 91104

Website:   http://www.facebook.com/events

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Big Blend Radio: A Toast to The Arts – Poetry & Art, Music & Entertainment

From: Blog Talk Radio

downloadIn this Podcast From Blog Talk Radio Los Angeles poet Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo talks about an exciting new adventure she is undertaking taking this month. Bermejo was selected for the first ever National Parks Poetry Residency in partnership with National Parks Arts Foundation, Poetry Foundation, and Gettysburg National Military Park. Starting September 15th she’ll be living in a log cabin in Gettysburg for three weeks writing resistance poetry.

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A Drunken Reading Series Fosters Community in Los Angeles

Drunken Masters, which is part of the larger series of cultural events 90x90LA, invites writers to present their work to a group of sauced professionals who provide instant critique.

by Robin Grearson

From: Hyperallergic

GREARSON-DM-1-1080x1315 (1)LOS ANGELES — On my way to Drunken Masters earlier this month in downtown Los Angeles, I imagined the reading series would be a sort of scaled-down American Idol: several writers present their work to a group of sauced professionals in the same genre who provide instant feedback and critique. The relevance and quality of feedback depends, however, as much on each master’s wisdom as their capacity to hold liquor. And, unlike the talent show, Drunken Masters isn’t a tournament, so there’s no voting or elimination. The distinction creates an event that feels like an inclusive and informal (very informal) writing workshop, minus the school desks and bad lighting.

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H&S Faculty Rocío Carlos: Poet, Teacher, Camp Counselor

by Anna Macaulay

From: ArtCenter College of Design

 

CarlosThis Summer, poet, girls’ rock band camp counselor and Humanities and Sciences faculty member Rocío Carlos participated in a panel, Poetry as Witness, at the Allied Media Conferencein Detroit. We caught up with Carlos shortly after her trip to find out a little more about her role at ArtCenter, her work as a poet and teacher, and her experience presenting at the conference.

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Luis Rodriguez – Angry at Injustice, Hungry for Change

From: The Soul of California

 

headshotIn this 65-minute interview, writer Luis Rodriguez discusses his nine lives, going from being a barely pubescent gang member in East LA and the San Gabriel Valley, to being shot at, doped up and finding redemption through the arts, literature and his own writing. After all this, he sets an example to others facing the same temptations and challenges that he faced.

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Los Angeles Literature Events 8/28/17 –9/03/17

T. Jefferson Parker at Vroman’s Bookstore

cover-room_white_fireJoin us to hear T. Jefferson Parker discuss and sign The Room of White Fire, a stirring new thriller from the bestselling and award-winning author, who is admired by fans of Michael Connelly and C.J. Box. In this new book a P.I. must hunt down a soldier who is damaged by war, dangerous, and on the run. Roland Ford—a former cop, then a marine, and now a private investigator—is good at finding people. But when asked to locate Air Force veteran Clay Hickman, he realizes he’s been drawn into something deep and dark. Why does a shroud of secrecy hang over Hickman’s disappearance, and why is Ford getting a different story from everyone involved? What begins as just a job becomes a life-or-death obsession for Ford, forcing him to contend with chilling questions about truth, justice, and the American way.

Where: Vroman’s Bookstore

Date: Monday the 28th

Time: 7 pm

Address: 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101

Website:   http://www.vromansbookstore.com/event/t-jefferson-parker-discusses-and-signs-room-white-fire

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A Letter to My “Academic Mama”

by Irene Sanchez

From: Inside Higher ED

Irene Sanchez pays tribute to the person who saw something in her on the days when she couldn’t see it in herself.

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Dear Academic Mama,

I am here. I am still here. I said this today after thinking about how hard life has been after I finished my Ph.D. I emailed you to ask you for a letter of recommendation again today and remembered how many times, for many years, I would come to your office for a meeting and how I wish you were here.

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Los Angeles Literature Events 8/21/17 –8/27/17

solar-eclipseSolar Eclipse Viewing Parties at Various LAPL Libraries–Family Event

Join us to watch the 2017 Solar eclipse with a number of Solar Systems Ambassadors at your local Los Angeles public libraries. Free solar viewing glasses provided. Children, teens and families are welcome.

Check LAPL website for all locations.

Where: Various LAPL Branch and Regional Library Locations; for example, Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library

Date: Monday the 14th

Time: 10 am

Address: 7771 Foothill Blvd., Tujunga, CA 91042

Website:   http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/solar-eclipse-2017-0

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