Latinx Poets of the World Stage Press

By Brian Dunlap

Latinx Poets and Writers of the World Stage Press descended on Village Well Books and Coffee in Culver City last week. The evening was cool and the restaurants in downtown were crowded with dates, families and friends, conversations rising on top of each other, out over the sidewalk. Inside the bookstore, six authors—Lisbeth Coiman, Cynthia Guardado, Alex Petunia, Poet Astrid, Carolina Rivera Escimilla and Andy Sanchez—graced the mic. Six Latinx writers. Six distinct voices. No monolith here.

Brian DunlapJune 1, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/30/22 – 06/05/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Book Talks: Judith Freeman & MacArthur Park, with Barbara Feldon & Getting Smarter via Chevalier’s Bookstore – Online Event

Longtime friends Judith Freeman and Barbara Feldon will discuss their newest books, the novel MacArthur Park and the memoir Getting Smarter, respectively.

Judith Freeman is a novelist and non-fiction writer whose most recent novel, MacArthur Park, is set in Los Angeles and the rural West. Friends Jolene and Verna share complicated ties that have crystallized over time. Beginning when they were girls discovering their needs and desires, their ongoing stories have been inextricably linked. But when Verna marries Vincent, Jolene’s ex-husband, their paths may have finally, permanently diverged. Now, on a trip to their hometown in Utah, they are forced to confront both the truths and falsehoods of their memories of each other and of their early friendship.

Barbara Feldon is best known as “Agent 99” on the 1960’s TV series, Get Smart. She is the author of Living Alone and Loving it! and various essays. Her memoir Getting Smarter relates her dramatic and sometimes zany adventures with a glamorous Frenchman, her initiation into show business, and the fun of working in Hollywood.

NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.

Where: Chevalier’s Bookstore

Date: Monday the 30^th

Time: 4 pm

Address: Online Event (see site)

Website: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VJDEnKimRl6AwuRjBHEuYA

Brian DunlapMay 29, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/23/22 – 05/29/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Luncheon with Emma Straub: Book Launch of This Time Tomorrow at Slay Italian Kitchen – In-Person Event

Pages hosts a luncheon to celebrate the publication of Emma Straub’s’ new book, This Time Tomorrow at Slay’s Italian Kitchen. The author will be in conversation with Janelle Brown, author of I’ll Be You.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?

NOTE: See site for tickets, guidelines, and details.

Where: Pages Bookstore at Slay Italian Kitchen

Date: Monday the 23^rd

Time: 11:30 am- 1 pm

Address: 1001 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Website: https://www.pagesabookstore.com/event/emma-straub-slay

Brian DunlapMay 22, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/16/22 – 05/22/22

Another busy week in the Los Ángeles Literary community featuring both in-person and virtual events. Readings, workshops, open mics, book clubs, etc. Local Writers reading this week are: Linda Ravenswood, Nicelle Davis, Christian Hanz Lozada, Tommy Domino, Luivette Resto, Namrata Poddar, Melissa Chadburn, Noel Alumit and Pete Hsu. Continue reading Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/16/22 – 05/22/22

Brian DunlapMay 15, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 05/02/22 – 05/08/22

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:

May 2: St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell (2007)

May 9: The Last Thing We Need by Claire Vaye Watkins (2010)

May 16: Ken Liu: Selection to be Announced

May 23: The Dune by Stephen King (2011)

NOTE: See site for event details and Zoom link.

Where: West Valley Regional Branch Library, LAPL – Online event

Date: Monday the 2^nd

Time: 10 am

Address: LAPL – Online Event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-36

Brian DunlapMay 1, 2022May 2, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 04/18/22 – 04/24/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

A Celebration of Chicano Culture with Dr. José Ángel Gutiérrez at El Camino College – In-Person Event

Dr. José Ángel Gutiérrez, a primary figure of the Chicano Movement and founder of the Raza Unida Party, will speak on identity and activism.

Dr. José Ángel Gutiérrez, the author of numerous books on Chicano culture, including The Eagle Has Eyes: The FBI Surveillance of Cesar E. Chavez of the United Farmworkers Union of America, 1965-1975 (2019), is a primary figure of the Chicano Movement and founder of the Raza Unida Party. He will speak on identity and activism in an afternoon presentation.

NOTE: See site for event details. Free and open to the public.

Where: El Camino College, Haag Recital Hall

Date: Monday the 18^th

Time: 1:15 pm – 2:45 pm

Address: 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, CA 90506

Website: https://www.elcamino.edu/events/chicano-culture/?fbclid=IwAR0dx-dYqSwBISli5SWXVqcSBVykwbZK3kwb2hwhAdOE88hwoT8K_28UvmQ

Brian DunlapApril 17, 2022April 17, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach

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

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 11^th

Time: 10 am

Address: LAPL – Online Event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/world-literature-book-club-32

Brian DunlapApril 10, 2022January 26, 2023Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 03/07/22 – 03/13/22

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

Book Club Bonanza: Women’s History Celebration via Central Library, LAPL – Online Teen Event

Join us to pick a book to read via Hoopla in celebration of Women’s History Month. We will pitch each other YA fiction, nonfiction or graphic novels, and return on March 14 for read-alikes on the book(s) we’ve chosen, and on March 21 for our book discussion.

NOTE: See site for event detail and to RSVP.

Where: Central LIbrary, LAPL – Online event

Date: Monday the 7^th

Time: 4:30 pm

Address: LAPL Online Event

Website: https://lapl.org/whats-on/events/book-club-bonanza-womens-history-celebration

Brian DunlapMarch 6, 2022March 7, 2022Leave a comment

Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 01/24/22 – 01/30/22

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

Jami Attenberg, with Patricia Lockwood, & I Came All This Way to Meet You via Skylight Bookstore – Online Event

Jami Attenberg, in conversation with Patricia Lockwood (No One Is Talking About This), will present and discuss her new book, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home.

From New York Times bestselling author of urban culture Jami Attenberg (All This Could Be Yours, The Middlesteins) comes a dazzling memoir about unlocking and embracing her creativity—and how it saved her life. Always drawn to a life on the road, and often writing about her travels, the author began to reflect on her youthful experiences—the trauma, challenges, and risks taken. Throughout her journeys she refined her craft and learned to trust her gut and, ultimately, herself.

Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class, and drive, this book is a story of finding one’s way home—emotionally, artistically, and physically—and an examination of art and individuality that will resonate with anyone determined to listen to their creativity.

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

Where: Skylight Bookstore – Online Event

Date: Monday the 24^th

Time: 6:30 pm

Address: Skylight – Online Crowdcast event (see site)

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/live-crowdcast-jami-attenberg-conversation-patricia-lockwood

Brian DunlapJanuary 24, 2022Leave a comment