Tag: Poetry

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 01/31/22 – 02/06/22

Wajahat Ali & Guests & Go Back to Where You Came From via Skylight Bookstore & Writers Bloc – Online Event

Wajahat Ali will present and discuss his book, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, with his special guests:

Maz Jobrani is a comedian/actor/author and is noted for his book I’m Not a Terrorist But I’ve Played One on TV.

Rabia Chaudry is an attorney, advocate, and author of The New York Times bestseller Adnan’s Story, about the wrongful conviction of Adnan Sayed.

Tonya Mosley, moderator, is an NPR journalist.

“Go back to where you came from, you terrorist!”

This is just one of the many warm, lovely, and helpful tips that Wajahat Ali and other children of immigrants receive on a daily basis. Go back where, exactly? Fremont, California, where he grew up, but is now an unaffordable place to live? Or Pakistan, the country his parents left behind a half-century ago?

Growing up living the suburban American dream, young Wajahat devoured comic books (devoid of brown superheroes) and fielded well-intentioned advice from uncles and aunties. (“Become a doctor!”) He had turmeric stains under his fingernails, was accident-prone, suffered from OCD, and wore Husky pants, but he was as American as his neighbors, with roots all over the world. Then, while Ali was studying at University of California, Berkeley, 9/11 happened. Muslims replaced communists as America’s enemy #1, and he became an accidental spokesman and ambassador of all ordinary, unthreatening things Muslim-y.

Now a middle-aged dad, Ali has become one of the foremost and funniest public intellectuals in America. In Go Back to Where You Came From, he tackles the dangers of Islamophobia, white supremacy, and chocolate hummus, peppering personal stories with astute insights into national security, immigration, and pop culture. In this refreshingly bold, hopeful, and uproarious memoir, Ali offers indispensable lessons for cultivating a more compassionate, inclusive, and delicious America.

Expect a lively discussion of racism, xenophobia, white supremacy, and good food.

NOTE: See Site for RSVP, book purchase, and event details.         

Where: Skylight Bookstore & Writers Bloc – Online Event

Date: Monday the 31st

Time: 6 pm

Address: Skylight – Online Event (see site)

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-books-and-writers-bloc-present-go-back-where-you-came-evening-wajahat-ali-and-others or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/go-back-to-where-you-came-from-an-evening-with-wajahat-ali-and-others-tickets-22559844000  

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Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 01/10/22 – 01/16/22

Many/Most Events Are Online/Virtual DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Tween Book Club & Escape from Mr. Lemoncillo’s Library via Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Kids Event

Join the Tween Book Club for kids ages 9-12 to meet monthly and discuss and share books you’ve read and recommend. The titles are all available through Libby/Overdrive, or check out a copy from your local branch.

Our selection for January 10th is titled Escape from Mr. Lemoncillo’s Library, by Chris Grabenstein. This book asks the question:Can 12 twelve-year-olds escape form the most ridiculously brilliant library ever created?

NOTE: Contact Jennifer Murphy at jmurphy@lapl.org for Zoom link and event details.         

Where: Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Zoom online

Date: Monday the 10th

Time: 4 pm

Address: LAPL – Online event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/tween-book-club-0

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Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 12/13/21 – 12/19/21

Many/Most Events Are Online/Virtual DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Tween Book Club & Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library via Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Kids Event

Please join our Adult Book Club to read and discuss author Chris Grabenstein’s book, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.

This story is about twelve 12-year-olds who escape into a futuristic brilliant library after a night of nonstop fun.

NOTE: See site for book event details. Contact Jennifer Murphy at jmurphy@lapl.org to join via link.          

Where: Palms Rancho Park Branch Library, LAPL – Online Event

Date: Monday the 13th

Time: 4 pm – 5 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/tween-book-club-0

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 12/13/21 – 12/19/21”
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Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/22/21 – 11/28/21

Many/Most Events Are Online/Virtual DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Book Club Bonanza: Indigenous Voices via LAPL Teen Event – Online Event

Join Los Angeles Public Library for a Teen Book Club Bonanza reading and discussion of two indigenous voices and their books:

The Ghost Collector by Allison Mills, is a tale of lives that may be haunted by grieving. Shelley has inherited her family’s ability to catch ghosts in her hair and help them along, both animals and people. But what happens if we can’t have what we want – our loved one to stay?

A Girl Called Echo: Volume 1, by Katherine Vermette, features compelling illustrations and a female main character who is caught in the foster care system. She discovers her Metis heritage first-hand, while slipping back and forth through time.

NOTE: See site to for details. Email teens@lapl.org from your school email address at least one hour before the program to request the link.

Where: Los Angeles Central Library, LAPL – Online Event

Date: Monday the 22nd

Time: 4:30 pm – 6 pm

Address: LAPL Online Event (see site)

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-indigenous-voices

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/22/21 – 11/28/21”
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Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/15/21 – 11/21/21

Many/Most Events Are Online/Virtual DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Moira First Press Reading Series: Jose Hernandez Diaz & Open Micvia Woodbury University/ Microsoft Teams & In-Person – Hybrid Event

Join Woodbury University for the next Moira First Press Reading & Open Mic event, offered both virtually and in-person, to hear featured artist, Jose Hernandez Diaz.

Jose Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Fellow, and the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020). His work has been published or featured in The American Poetry Review, Boulevard, Crazyhorse, Georgia Review, Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, LitHub, The Nation, Poetry, and in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He has been a finalist for The Andres Montoya Prize, The Colorado Prize, The Akron Prize, and the National Poetry Series. Currently he is an Associate Editor a Frontier Poetry and a Guest Editor at Palette Poetry. He teaches creative writing online for Litro Magazine, Frontier Poetry, and other venues.

NOTE: See site to complete online RSVP form, to receive meeting link & details.

Where: Woodbury University – Hybrid Event

Date: Monday the 15th

Time: 4 pm – 6 pm

Address: 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91510

Website: https://www.moriaonline.com/first-press-reading-series

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 11/15/21 – 11/21/21”
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