Cementing Her Reputation
Naomi Hirahara joins an exclusive club — Vroman’s Walk of Fame.
By J.K. Yamamoto
From: Rafu Shimpo
PASADENA — The atmosphere in front of Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena last Saturday afternoon was reminiscent of a Hollywood paparazzi fest.
With dozens of well-wishers taking photos and videos, local mystery author Naomi Hirahara placed her hands in cement and signed her name to become a part of Vroman’s Walk of Fame.
Literary History: Los Ángeles’ Nisei Literary Community Before WWII
By Brian Dunlap
On the night of October 7, 1934, in Los Ángeles, “11 Nisei writers and poets, seven women and four men,” gathered to discuss the creation of a literary organization for second generation Japanese Americans. Prolific columnist and poet Mary Oyama said, “for the first time ever, creative Nesei writers sat down together at one table.”
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Los Angeles Literature Events 11/19/18 –11/25/18
Author Program: Cleo & Cornelius at Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL – Kids Event
Meet Cleo, Cornelius and two of their creators, Elizabeth Nicholson and Janine Pibal. Children and their families will follow along with courageous Cleo and “couch slouch” Cornelius from the children’s book, Cleo and Cornelius: A Tale of Two Cities and Two Kitties. The book is published on the occasion of the exhibition, Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World at the Getty Center.
Where: Eagle Rock Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 19th
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Address: 5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/cleo-and-cornelius-library
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An Open Letter to Ken Brecher and the Library Foundation of Los Angeles
By Jen Hofer and Antena
FROM: L.A. Review of Books Blog
To Ken Brecher and the Staff and Board Members of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles:
The two collectives I co-founded, Antena and Antena Los Ángeles, recently received an invitation to participate in the upcoming Mobile Museum Fair that the Library Foundation of Los Angeles is organizing at the Los Angeles Public Library in January 2019. In the wake of the unjust and as yet unexplained firings of Maureen Moore and Louise Steinman from their positions as Associate Director and Director of the ALOUD series respectively, and the unanswered calls for accountability on the part of Ken Brecher and the LFLA Board, I am writing to inform you unequivocally that neither Antena nor Antena Los Ángeles will work with LFLA until this matter is resolved in an ethical, respectful and transparent way — as not just Maureen and Louise but also the many communities who love both the ALOUD series and the amazing beloved Los Angeles Public Library deserve.
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Los Angeles Literature Events 11/12/18 –11/18/18
Workshop: Humor Writing with Lydia Oxenham at 1888 Center for the Arts
Humor Writing: Where to Begin is a workshop that teaches you how to turn a funny idea, joke or experience into something others can read (and Laugh at!). You’ll leave with tips for finding inspiration, strategies for getting the most out of your idea, and the motivation to finally go home and write with humor. Instructor Lydia Oxenham is a writer and studied comedy writing at UCLA and the Upright Citizens Brigade.
NOTE: The cost is $10 for the workshop, and you may purchase tickets at website link.
Where: 1888 Center for the Arts
Date: Monday the 12th
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Address: 115 N. Orange St., Orange, CA 92866
Website: http://www.1888.center/calendar/workshop-humor-writing-where-to-begin/
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An interview with Daniel Acosta Regarding His Young Adult Novel, “The Iron River”
by Daniel A. Olivas
FROM: La Bloga
Daniel Acosta was born in Monterey Park, California, and grew up in Iron River’s Sangra neighborhood, across the street from the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks until his teens. After graduation from San Gabriel Mission Grammar School, he spent his high school years in Compton, California, at the Catholic Claretian Junior Seminary.
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Los Angeles Literature Events 11/05/18 –11/11/18
Annie Leibovitz & Annie Leibovitz at Work at Book Soup
Join us to hear acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz discuss and sign her book, Annie Leibovitz At Work. Originally published in 2008, this revised and updated edition brings her bestselling book back into print. She will explain how her pictures are made and her process in developing one of the richest bodies of work in the photographic canon. Please check website for signing line guidelines and details.
Where: Book Soup
Date: Monday the 5th
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Address: 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website: http://www.booksoup.com/event/annie-leibovitz-signs-annie-leibovitz-work
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Los Angeles, City of Poets
by Sesshu Foster
FROM: LARB
ONE DAY, when my brother Paul was 12, he came home wearing a shirt made from the American stars and stripes. My uncle caught him — my uncle owned the East L.A. house we lived in at the time and he reminded us of this fact regularly. He beat Paul to the floor and tore the shirt off. That same year, they put Paul on a Greyhound bus at the old terminal on Sixth and Los Angeles Streets and sent him up to Northern California to live with our dad. After a couple years, Paul was out on his own, moving through a series of hippie communes, Big Sur cabins, and foster homes, where he started reading Allen Ginsberg and the Beats.
Los Angeles Literature Events 10/29/18 –11/04/18
Page Turner Book Club & Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore at Encino-Tarzana Branch Library, LAPL
Please join us for our monthly Page turner Book Club, where we post our selections for the upcoming months so you can plan ahead. For this month, October, we are reading Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.
Where: Encino-Tarzana Branch Library, LAPL
Date: Monday the 29th
Time: 5 pm
Address: 18231 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356
Website: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/page-turners-book-club-0
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Speaking up for ALOUD at the Central Library
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the reopening of the Los Angeles Central Library after a cataclysmic fire and phoenix-like rebirth. It is also the 25th anniversary of ALOUD, the library’s landmark program of conversations and performances that has played a crucial role in reviving the image of the city center as a cultural destination Continue reading “Speaking up for ALOUD at the Central Library”
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