Dear friends, strangers, and strange friends,

I hope this finds you all well and gearing up for the romance of next week, or the anti-romance of next week if that's more your thing.

Well, whatever your plans for V-day, you can keep the mood going a little longer by checking out one of my two (or both!) awesome readings next week, where I'm sure I'll read a love poem or two…

Here's the skinny:

Next Wednesday, February 15, I'll be featured at the Hump Readings at Gatsby Books in Long Beach. The Hump Readings also boasts one of the most impressive open mics around with talent galore getting up to share a poem or two, so it's certain to be a grand night. The magic starts at 7 p.m. at 5535 E. Spring St.

Then on Thursday, February 16, I have been invited by California State University, Northridge's Creative Writing Circle to give a reading on their campus followed by a Q&A. This event is free and open to everyone. So, if you're a valley dweller and I don't see you often enough, come out and say hello! The reading begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Oviatt Library (Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room – Ground Level) located at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

Have a great weekend and maybe I'll see you next week!

February 12, 2012  :  Posted by Eric Morago

Antelope Valley College Professor Charles Hood posted an essay on the campus blog that starts as a first-person meditation on how events sometimes appear to have hidden connections, and then segues into a review of Susan Davis' book I Was Building Up to Something, which came out from Moon Tide Press in November. (The essay refers to Moon Tide as "plucky publishers." Not bad words of praise.)

An excerpt from Hood's essay, which can be read by clicking here:

Pyrotechnics in modern writing (as in current painting or even third-generation punk bands) can dazzle, but then (like real fireworks) die out too quickly. Hers is a much quieter voice, a voice of steady, unpretentious wisdom that brings to mind all those still-relevant expressions of my grandmother's, such as "still waters run deep." … In my new architecture book that has the Nazca Lines in it, the authors say that the purpose of the drawings (as they call them) is unknown "but celestial orientation and ritual walks" have "both been suggested." That seems to make the ultimate pairing then: congratulations to Susan Davis on her first book, one that can help us stay oriented to the correct stars as we make our pilgrimages through the decades.

February 11, 2012  :  Posted by Michael Miller

Years ago, when I was a Calendar listings clerk for the Los Angeles Times, Lee Mallory sent me a flier for an upcoming Valentine's Day poetry show along with a photo of himself sitting on a pink bed and grinning lasciviously at the camera. Suffice to say that few of us could match Lee's abilities as a male model. But if you think you can match him as a love poet — and he has been billed over the years as The Love Poet — then you may want to stop by Alta Coffee this evening, where Lee, singer-songwriter Courtney Montgomery and host John Perry will leave room in the program for a short love poetry contest. A pink bed may not be available.

The festivities begin at 8 p.m. at Alta, located at 506 31st St., Newport Beach. Admission is free. Best of luck to all who enter!

February 8, 2012  :  Posted by Michael Miller

The LMU Extension Spring Poetry Series presents Ricki Mandeville and Lee Rossi on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. in University Hall #1857.

Ricki Mandeville's poems have appeared in Comstock Review, Spot Lit, San Pedro River Review, The Raintown Review and other journals. She has edited more than 15 volumes of poetry and is a cofounder of Moon Tide Press, as well as its consulting editor. She is the author of A Thin Strand of Lights (Moon Tide Press) and a chapbook, Beneath My Bed. A speaker for various literary events in south Orange County, she lives near the ocean in Huntington Beach, California.

Lee Rossi's new book is Wheelchair Samurai. His poems, reviews and interviews have appeared in The Sun, Poetry Northwest, Chelsea, The Beloit Poetry Journal and The Southern Poetry Review. He is a staff reviewer and interviewer for the online literary magazine Pedestal. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The LMU Extension Poetry Series takes place on select Thursday nights at 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles. Park free in P2-P3 and turn left as you enter the underground parking area. Take the middle set of elevators to G level (elevator room #2). As soon as you exit the elevator, take an immediate right through the silver doors and curl around behind the elevators. Look for posted signage. (If you go into the Atrium, you have gone too far.) There is a limited open reading (sign-ups at 7:45 for five minutes or two poems).

February 5, 2012  :  Posted by David Slavin