Susan Davis wrote one of the best books of recent years. That's what Poetry Quarterly says (see their review of I Was Building Up to Something on page 97), and there's no reason to doubt their judgment. So if you'd like to hear an American master in person, come to Tebot Bach's reading tonight at Golden West College, Community Room 102, where Susan will share the bill with poet Tina Yang. I haven't heard Yang before, but according to her bio, she's the daughter of a Buddhist nun and works as a docent at Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, which ought to provide fascinating subject matter for poetry.

The reading starts at 8 p.m. and there's an open reading, as always. Hope to see you there!

January 27, 2012  :  Posted by Michael Miller

The next Poets Cafe show on KPFK 90.7 FM is at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and will be archived a day after the program airs. Iif you like this program, check out other archived programs hosted by Lois P. Jones and Myrenna Ogbu!

Wednesday's host is Jaimes Palacio and guests are sisters Lily Greenberg Call and Avalon Greenberg Call.

Lily Greenberg Call is on the verge of fourteen years old. She placed first in the Laguna Beach Library Poetry Contest for eight consecutive years. In first grade, Lily won first place in the Capistrano district-wide Reflections contest for her poem and multi-media artwork "If the Statue of Liberty Were a Person." In 2007, she received an award for Excellence in Reading in the 4th grade accelerated APAAS program through the Irvine Unified School District. A merit scholar at her current school, she is a philanthropist at heart and dedicates her spare time to world hunger, child trafficking and disappearing honeybees.

Avalon Greenberg Call is ten years old, and for six consecutive years placed first in the annual Laguna Beach Library Poetry Contest. In 2007, Avalon received an award for Excellence in Creative Writing and Art in first grade at Eastshore Elementary, Irvine Unified School District. She has been a featured poet at various readings in Orange County during National Poetry Month, and was a finalist in the Barnes & Noble 2006 Poetry Contest. She plays original piano jazz compositions for various recitals and festivals, and received the California Music Teacher’s Association Certificate of Merit in 2010.

January 24, 2012  :  Posted by Jaimes Palacio

Friends!

I'm incredibly stoked to be a part of this awesome reading sponsored by Orange County High School of the Arts next Tuesday night, January 24th at the Symphony Hall in Santa Ana at 6:30 p.m. I will be joined with the amazing Brendan Constantine & the uncanny Jeremy Radin. Opening for us will be the OCHSA Vocal Poetry Team. It's going to be a great night! I hope you'll consider joining us!

"An Evening of Slam Poetry" begins at 6:30 p.m. at Symphony Hall, 1010 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door and can be purchased through OCHSA's online box office.

January 22, 2012  :  Posted by Eric Morago

Moonday East begins the new year of poetry with Wanda Coleman and Douglas Kearney at Flintridge Bookstore on Sunday afternoon, January 15th, at 2 p.m.

Coleman, a seminal figure of L.A.’s poetry underground, has shared the stage with such cultural icons as Timothy Leary, Alice Coltrane, Allen Ginsberg, Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos and Richard (Louie Louie) Barry. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, Zyzzyva, Obsidian and Best American Poetry and has been featured in Writing Los Angeles (Library of America), Poet’s Market (2003), Quercus Review VI, the Los Angeles Review, the Burnside Review and online at MS. Coleman has been an Emmy-winning scriptwriter and columnist for Los Angeles Times magazine; a nominee for poet laureate of California, and for the USA artists fellowship. She has published 18 books of poetry and fiction.

Kearney's first full-length collection of poems, Fear, Some, was published in 2006 by Red Hen Press. His second manuscript, The Black Automaton, was chosen by Catherine Wagner for the National Poetry Series and published by Fence Books in 2009. It was also a finalist for the Pen Center USA Award in 2010. His chapbook-as-broadsides-as-LP, Quantum Spit, was released by Corollary Press in 2010. He has received a Whiting Writers Award, a Coat Hanger award and fellowships at Idyllwild and Cave Canem. Kearney has performed his poetry at the Public Theatre, the Orpheum, the World Stage and others.

Flintridge Books is at 1010 Foothill Blvd., La Canada. Click here for more information on the reading.

January 11, 2012  :  Posted by Alice Pero