Tag Archives: open mike poetry

Don’t Miss Writers Row in the Downtown Art Walk on Thursday, June 9th

Made possible by the collaboration of Harlem Place Café, the Los Angeles Poet Society, and the Downtown Art Walk, Writers Row is the only spot at the downtown Art Walk that celebrates the Written Art!

Hear work from featured writers. Participate in the Open Mic. Enjoy the vibes of a modern-day Speak Easy and grab a glass of wine.

Listen to the written art of Featured Writers and have the opportunity to meet them and learn what is going on in their worlds. Join in on the action yourself and step up to the Open Mic. Open Mic participants have the option to go heads up against each other for a chance to be invited as a Featured Writer during the next Writers’ Row!

Where?
Writers’ Row is held at the Harlem Place Cafe – 124 W. 4th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 — literally down the alley located on 4th and Main St. in downtown LA.  Early arrival is suggested as the downtown Art Walk brings in thousands of people! Parking may be tough. You can park at a meter, or for safe no-worry parking, bring $3-$10 cash for parking in one of the public lots. Need directions?

When?
Thursday, June 9th from 8-10 pm
Writers’ Row is free to the public and a continuing event that will be held each 2nd Thursday of the month, same time and place.

Who?
Featured writers, selected in advanced by The Los Angeles Poet Society, take the stage from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
DJ A-Ski will be spinning between sets.

Schedule of events

8pm: Jessica Wilson introduces Writers’ Row, Introductory poem for the night

8:15pm: Matt Sedillo
Matt Sedillo is a two-time national slam poet and published author. He has been published in anthologies alongside Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Hirschman, Amiri Baraka, Luis Rodriguez and many others. He has performed at colleges across the country.

8:30pm: Frank Mundo
For 14 years, Frank Mundo worked as a graveyard-shift security guard in Los Angeles, a job which allowed him to write and publish hundreds of stories, poems, essays, book reviews, author interviews, and his award-winning novel in verse, The Brubury Tales – a modern version of The Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles.

8:45pm: Jayson Pida
Jayson Pida is a Poet and a native of the San Fernando Valley. He has had a decorated career as an Air Force Pilot and as a sincere educator for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Jayson holds his MFA in Writing from Otis College of Art and Design.

9:00pm: Luivette Resto
Luivette Resto was born in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico but proudly raised in the Bronx. Her first book of poetry Unfinished Portrait was published in 2008 by Tia Chucha Press and was named a finalist for the 2009 Paterson Poetry Prize. She is also a contributing poetry editor for Kweli Journal, and she is the new hostess of a monthly poetry reading series called La Palabra located at Avenue 50 Studio in Highland Park.

9:15pm: AK Toney

9:30pm: Open Mic
Open mic participants take the stage from 930 to 10pm. 
Participants are eligible to compete for a spot in the next Writers’ Row. Please let the MC know that you would like to be considered to be a Featured Writer at the next Writers’ Row.

Would you like to be a Featured Writer at Writers’ Row?
Please email Jessica Wilson at venicesoapboxpoets@gmail.com and send a sample of your work.

Join Writers’ Row on Facebook

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This Week in Books: March 20 through March 26

The LA Books Examiner is your place for books articles, poetry videos, author interviews and local book events scheduled each week from LA to Hollywood, the Palisades to Pasadena. Check out some of the great local events in this week’s Books Calendar from Frank Mundo, the LA Books Examiner.

Sunday March 20

Meredith Baxter discusses and signs Untied at Diesel Books (Brentwood), Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26th Street, Santa Monica. 3 p.m. Free. 310-576-9960.

Cara Black discusses and signs Murder in Passy at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 5 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

Sammy Hagar signs Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock at Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 5 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110.

Monday March 21

Lisa Catherine Harper and Cristina Nehring present and sign their respective titles A Double Life: Discovering Motherhood and Vindication of Love: Reclaiming Romance for the Twenty-First Century at Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson discuss and sign Hellhole at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 7 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

Tuesday March 22

Laurel Ann Bogen’s UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Student Poetry Reading at Diesel Books (Brentwood), Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26th Street, Santa Monica. 7 p.m. Free. 310-576-9960.

Mario Garcia and Sal Castro discuss and sign Blowout! Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 7 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

Joe Matthews and Mark Paul present and sign California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It at Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110.

Open poetry reading plus Jack Bowman at the Cobalt Cafe, 22047 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. Opens 8:30 p.m. Sign-up for open reading before 9 p.m. when reading starts. One drink minimum (no alcohol). Event Hosted by LA poet Rick Lupert.

Wednesday March 23

Terri Cheney presents and signs The Dark Side of Innocence: Growing Up Bipolar at Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110.

Gary Vaynerchuk discusses and signs The Thank You Economy at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 7 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

Mario Garcia and Sal Castro discuss and sign Blowout! Sal Castro and the Chicano Struggle for Educational Justice at Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles. 7:30 p.m. Free. (323) 660-1175.

Thursday March 24

Frank Mundo (the LA Books Examiner) reads and signs The Brubury Tales, a modern version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles at The Amsterdam Café, 10905 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood at 8:30 pm. Free. (818) 506-1938. Hosted by Angel Uriel Perales and Cindy Weinstein, this Feral Fusion event is followed by an open mic. Feral Fusion encourages experimentation in the spoken word: lyric poetry, prose poetry, free verse, hip hop, slam, storytelling. Sign-up at 8pm.

James Brown and Victoria Patterson discuss and sign This River & This Vacant Paradise at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 7 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

Mike Bara discusses signs The Choice: Using Conscious Thought and Physics of the Mind to Reshape the World at Bodhi Tree Bookstore, 8585 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. Free. (310) 659-1733. www.MikeBara.com

Dan Savage and Terry Miller discuss and sign It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living at the Renberg Theatre, 1125 N McCadden Place Hollywood. 8 p.m. More info at Book Soup (310) 659-3110.

Friday March 25

Eleanor Brown discusses and signs The Weird Sisters at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 7 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

Candace Walsh, Laura Andre and various contributors present and sign Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write About Leaving Men for Women at Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 7 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110.

Students from the Master of Professional Writing graduate program at USC will read their work, joined by USC faculty member and acclaimed poet Amy Gerstler at Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles. 7:30 p.m. Free. (323) 660-1175. This reading’s theme is “Road Trip–Get Me Outta Here!” and the student readers are: Erin La Rosa, Sarah Lowe, Justin McFarr, Breene Murphy, and Russell Nakamura.

Saturday March 26

Village Books in the Palisades presents: Maisie Dobbs Literary Adventure (3:30 pm – 8:30 pm): Climb aboard a comfortable, touring coach bus and take a cruise up the coast and back in time to a vintage English pub in Ventura, where you will enjoy an authentic English dinner with Jacqueline Winspear, bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs series, to celebrate the publication of the 8th book in the series, A Lesson in Secrets. For more information and tickets, visit Village Books’website or call (310) 454-4063.

Brett Battles presents and signs The Silenced: A Novel at Book Soup, 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 4 p.m. Free. (310) 659-3110.

JA Jance discusses and signs Fatal Error at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 5 p.m. Free. (626) 449-5320.

*All events and speakers are subject to change without notice. Always confirm with the bookstore before attending any event.

If you’d like to announce your Los Angeles area book events on LA Books Examiner, or the release of an upcoming book, send info at least 10 days prior to the email address under my bio. While you’re there, sign up for my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See), which is available on Amazon.com in paperback and in eBook. The Brubury Tales is a finalist for Reader View’s 2011 Reviewer’s Choice Award for poetry.

LA Books Examiner’s Author Interview Series

LA Books Examiner’s Five Favorite Books Feature

LA Books Examiner’s Pause for Poetry Profiles

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