In Honor of National Poetry Month
By Brian Dunlap
When the calendar turns to 
April it’s National Poetry month. Around the country the literary community emphasizes poets and poems that too often get left in the shadows of the literary world in favor of novels and memoirs or just narrative writing in general. Here at Los Angeles Literature, I’ve highlighted some talented Angeleño poets for Black History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Months, etc. along with talented narrative writers.
Since this month celebrates poetry, I’ll be highlighting some of the talented Angeleño poets that capture their L.A., and that speak to the diversity of voices found in Los Angeles Literature. In a city that produced the likes of Charles Bukowski, Luis J. Rodriguez, Amy Uyematsu, Kamu Daaood and Eloise Klein Healy, there are plenty to enjoy and not enough time to highlight them all. Plus, if anyone attends one of the over 30 plus open mics in the Los Angeles area, from Whittier, to Venice, to Sylmar, to Santa Ana and Pomona and all points in-between, one will find that Luis J. Rodriguez’s words ring true. “[Los Angeles] is a great poetry town.”
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH FEATURED POET: CHIWAN CHOI
From: Entropy Magazine
In honor of National Poetry Month, we’re interviewing several poets and asking them a few questions about poetry. Our second featured poet is Chiwan Choi! Stay tuned all month for more featured poets.
Continue reading “NATIONAL POETRY MONTH FEATURED POET: CHIWAN CHOI”
The challenge and joy of poetry by Robin Coste Lewis and Adrian Matejka
From: Los Angeles Times
Perhaps the great (however obvious) lesson of the last several years — the waves of police violence against black men, the bitter and hate-fueled rise of Trump and worldwide xenophobia — is that we have not transcended and learned from history nearly as well as we might have thought. Maybe we need reminding. In two recent books, “Map to the Stars” by Adrian Matejka and “Voyage of the Sable Venus,” the 2015 debut by Robin Coste Lewis, black poets jog our collective memories, facing the distant and recent history of black Americans, asking us to try to see ourselves in their mirrors.
Continue reading “The challenge and joy of poetry by Robin Coste Lewis and Adrian Matejka”
Los Angeles Literature Events 4/03/17 –4/09/17
Phenomena, with Annie Jacobsen at Santa Monica Library
Join us to hear author, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and Santa Monica resident Annie Jacobsen for a discussion and signing of her fourth book, Phenomena, a history of the U.S. government’s secret investigations into extrasensory perception and psychokinesis.
Free program. Seating is limited and on a first-arrival basis.
Where: Santa Monica Main Library, Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium
Date: Monday the 3rd
Time: 7 pm – 9 pm
Address: 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
Website: http://calendar.smgov.net/library/eventsignup.asp?ID=23473
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 4/03/17 –4/09/17”
Los Angeles Literature Events 3/27/17 –4/02/17
A Colony in a Nation, with Chris Hayes at The Grove
Join us to hear author and Emmy Award-winning news anchor Chris Hayes for a discussion and signing of A Colony in a Nation, in which he argues that there are really two Americas: a colony and a nation. America likes to say it inhabits a post-racial world, yet nearly every measure reveals that racial inequality has barely improved since 1968. Chris offers a book of wide-ranging historical, social and political analysis.
This is a wrist-banded event. For more information and event guidelines please visit www.facebook.com/BNEventsGrove or call (323) 525-0290.
Where: Barnes and Nobel, The Grove
Date: Monday the 27th
Time: 6:30 pm
Address: 189 The grove Dr., Suite K 30, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Website: http://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780061839921-0
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 3/27/17 –4/02/17”
Bound and Determined
By Lena McGee
From: UCLA Magazine
A Bruin family has kept Caravan Book Store successful for more than 60 years.
When Morris Bernstein ’47 and his wife, Lillian, opened Caravan Book Store on downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Avenue in 1954, he had no idea how much impact he’d have on the local community. At a time when the streetcar was the main source of transportation and people dressed up to go downtown, Caravan — once adjacent to the former “Bookseller’s Row” — was the place to go. To book lovers, it was Disneyland, a place where you could find old, rare and curious manuscripts you couldn’t get anywhere else.
V. Kali Reads At The Word Stage
Los Angeles poet V. Kali reads at the release party for her book love poems Hymn, published by World Stage Press. Continue reading V. Kali Reads At The Word Stage
Los Angeles Literature Events 3/20/17 –3/26/17
The Idiot at ALOUD Reading Series, Central Library
Join us to hear author and New Yorker staff writer
, in conversation with author Steve Hely, read from and discuss her delightfully refreshing coming-of-age story, The Idiot. Batuman is also the author of The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, and this debut novel begins in 1995, when email is new and Selin, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, arrives for her freshman year at Harvard. The author discusses this off-kilter journey into adulthood and her recent reporting from Turkey with Steve Hely, comedic author, TV writer and co-host of the podcast The Great Debates.
FREE / Reservations recommended.
The reading and Q&A starts at 7:15 pm; stand-by seating at 7 pm.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library
Date: Monday the 20th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/the-idiot-a-novel/
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 3/20/17 –3/26/17”
READING ACROSS AMERICA: HOW TO CREATE ‘LIVE LITERARY JOURNALS’
WENDY C. ORTIZ ON LESSONS LEARNED PROGRAMMING THE SERIES RHAPSODOMANCY
By Wendy C. Ortiz
From: Lithub.com
Between 2004 and 2015, I was the curator and host of the Rhapsodomancy Reading Series in Los Angeles. For the first two years I shared this role with Andrea Quaid, until she moved away; after that, I counted on my romantic partner-turned-roadie and the loyal audience members I had to keep the series afloat.
Continue reading “READING ACROSS AMERICA: HOW TO CREATE ‘LIVE LITERARY JOURNALS’”
Los Angeles Literature Events 3/13/17 –3/19/17
Ocean Vuong at ALOUD Reading Series, Central Library
Join us to hear award-winning poet Ocean Vuong, in conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, read from and discuss his debut full-length collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds. Hailed by critics for its powerful emotional undertow, sincerity and candor, Vuong’s poems navigate the overarching worlds of history, sexuality and humanity with startling precision. Reflecting on what it means to write as a Vietnamese refugee in the contemporary space, he reads and discusses his work with Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose writing also often explores the Vietnamese American experience.
FREE / Reservations recommended.
The reading and Q&A starts at 7:15 pm; stand-by seating at 7 pm.
Where: Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library
Date: Monday the 13th
Time: 7 pm
Address: 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/night-sky-exit-wounds
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events 3/13/17 –3/19/17”
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