Meet Ron L. Dowell Author/Activist
FROM: Soutout LA
We had the good fortune of connecting with Ron L. Dowell and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ron L., what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have an undergraduate business degree in accounting from CSUDH. I passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination in the mid-80s. At the time, I worked in public service as a program auditor and wanted to mesh the best of public and private business approaches while preparing to leave public service for the private sector. Working for the public sector was viewed by the private sector as a disadvantage during the 80s. I was never employed by private, public accounting firms that could offer the experience I needed. I experimented with private sector business strategies while working for L.A. County healthcare and later public safety (law enforcement), such as performance measurement, specific goal attainment, best practices, and team building successfully.
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Two Idiots Peddling Poetry
By Brian Dunlap
After all these years, I finally attended Two Idiots Peddling Poetry. I finally got to the Ugly Mug in historic downtown Orange. I’ve always respected and appreciated the space they hold for people to express their reality, a place where writers can share their work in the Southland’s expansive literary scene.
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Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/11/22 – 04/17/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
World Literature Book Club: Story Selections via Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for a spirited discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (New York, 2021) ed. John Freeman. This month’s selections are:
April 11: Water Child by Edwidge Danticat (2000)
April 18: The American Embassy by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2003)
April 25: The Conductor by Aleksandar Hemon (2005)
NOTE: See site for event details and Zoom link.
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online event
Date: Monday the 11th
Time: 10 am
Address: LAPL – Online Event
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-32
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/11/22 – 04/17/22”
Charles Bukowski’s Lush Life: “Post Office” and the Utopian Impulse
“In fact, Bukowski cannot be understood apart from his midcentury Los Angeles milieu.” Continue reading Charles Bukowski’s Lush Life: “Post Office” and the Utopian Impulse
City on the Second Floor
“Many compare him to Amiri Baraka, Jose Montoya, and so many other fiery or political poets. To me, his work is a cross between Allen Ginsberg and Wanda Coleman.” Continue reading City on the Second Floor
Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/05/22 – 04/10/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here
Mac Barentt & Marla Frazee Present The Great Zapfino via Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Zoom Event
Two bestselling and popular children’s book creators, author Mac Barnett and illustrator Marla Frazee will present their sweet, inspiring story, The Great Zapfino, for children ages 5 and up, about a runaway circus performer.
When The Great Zapfino climbs to the top of the circus platform, all eyes are on him, waiting for his incredible leap. But Zapfino is afraid of heights! He can’t take the pressure and flees, boards a plane, and runs away to start a new life.
In the city, Zapfino starts work as an elevator operator in a tall building but soon learns you can never really outrun your fears. When disaster strikes, can Zapfino find the strength to be great?
NOTE: See site for RSVP, link and details.
Where: Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Kids Event – Zoom Online
Date: Tuesday the 5th
Time: 5 pm
Address: Once Upon a Time Bookstore – Online Zoom Event (see site)
Website: https://www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/great-zapfino
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/05/22 – 04/10/22”
Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/28/22 – 04/03/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events
Vroman’s Local Author Day, Kids Edition: Eshelle Williams & Brian Carmody at Vroman’s – Online Kids & YA Event
Dr. Eshele Williams is the author of But Mommy, Our Last Name Isn’t Foster, which explains the feelings behind the words that help children understand a unique way of being a family — a foster family. With warm words and poignant pictures, Dr. Williams uses her lived experience to shine a sensitive light on this unique way of being a family.
Brian Carmody is the author of My Magic Summer; With the Moon Maidens. This story is set in summer of ’94, and Connor Whelan is excited to spend the last three months before his senior year with his uncle in Texas. Aware this trip is due to his mom’s cancer treatments, he still hopes this will be a season of magic.
NOTE: See site for RSVP and event details.
Where: Vroman’s Bookstore – Online Crowdcast Event
Date: Monday the 28th
Time: 6 pm
Address: Vroman’s Online (see site)
Website: https://www.vromansbookstore.com/vromans-live-presents-local-author-day-kids-edition
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/28/22 – 04/03/22”
Pamela Shea Passes the Laurels to ST 10th Poet Laureate Alice Pero on April 9, 2022
“Alice Pero will be inducted as Sunland-Tujunga’s new Poet Laureate,” a program established in 1999 “to honor the legacy of John Steven McGroarty who served as California State poet laureate form 1933-44.” Continue reading Pamela Shea Passes the Laurels to ST 10th Poet Laureate Alice Pero on April 9, 2022
Susan Straight Releases New Novel, ‘Mecca’
In UC Riverside Professor Susan Straight’s 10th novel, “Mecca,” it “has fictional characters — but all are inspired by true stories or events that have occurred in the Inland Empire.” Continue reading Susan Straight Releases New Novel, ‘Mecca’
Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/21/22 – 03/27/22
NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events
World Literature Book Club: Story Selections via Central Library, LAPL – Online Event
Join us for a spirited discussion of the world’s best short stories! All selections are from The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (New York, 2021) ed. John Freeman. This week’s selection is:
March 21: A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri (1998)
NOTE: See site for event details and Zoom link.
Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online event
Date: Monday the 21st
Time: 10 am
Address: LAPL – Online Event
Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-28
Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/21/22 – 03/27/22”




