Sunday, August 14, 2022
Yesterday afternoon, on the day after Mr. Rushdie was stabbed ten times in an assassination attempt meant to intimidate every resident (both writers and readers) of the Republic of Literature, the poets of Los Angeles gathered at the behest of Lynne Thompson, the poet laureate of Los Angeles, at the downtown branch of the Los Angeles Public Library to read one poem each. Originally, Lynne’s intent was to start a way of involving poets in raising funds to assist refugees in the Ukraine war, but the shocking violence of the day before ended up amplifying the cultural context. Given the number of poets reading, one can only attribute the self-discipline shown by the poets in keeping to time limits to the admiration we have for our current poet laureate in Los Angeles. My only question for Lynne is: Why didn’t you read a poem, too?
Attendance at this reading was for the most part limited to the poets who were reading and poets (such as Lyn Bronstein) who would have been reading had there been more open slots. For those who want to watch a recorded version of the reading, it is now available at the following link:
It should be noted that another Southern California poet laureate, Grant Hier, as Lynne Thompson’s most important assistant in organizing and presenting this event. Thank you, Grant! And thanks to John Szabo, head librarian for giving the green light to this event.
THE POETS
Luis J. Rodriguez (Los Angeles poet laureate predecessor)
Conney Williams
Michelle Bitting
Janel Pineda
Veneta Flagg
Steve Reigns
Lois P. Jones
Briana Munoz
Amy Shimshon-Santo
Ron Koertje
Donna Spruitj-Metz
Chloe Marinez
Carine Topal
Ron Dowell
Teresa Mei Chuc
Kim Dower
Suzanne Lummis
Shonda Buchanan
Jerry Garcia
Judith Pacht
Angelina Saenz
Rick Lupert
A.K. Toney
Lin Nelson Benedek
Bridgette Bianca***
Donny Jackson
Peggy Dobreer
Dare Williams
Ceci Peri
Peter J. Harris
Mike Sonksen
Victoria Chang
Luivette Resto
George Hammons (“Black Paper, White Ink”)
Sarah Maclay
Clint Margrave
David Judah Oliver
Aruni Wijeshinghe
Eric Morago
Pam Ward
Bill Mohr
Linda Ravenswood (“What is the opposite of a poet?” she asked in her poem.)
October Blu
Rich Ferguson
inda Albertano
Derek D. Brown
Elline Lipkin
Billy J. Burgos
Bart Edelman
Armine Iknadossian
Amaud Jamal Johnson
Alix Pham
Lester Graves Lennon
Laurel Annn Bogen
Iris de Anda
Lisabeth Colman
Jan Wesley
Alicia Vogl Saenz
Brendan Constantine (with a poem that ended the event perfectly!)
ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNEO76Jmkpo
The Eastsider: The poets among us
https://www.theeastsiderla.com/eastsider_on_the_go/arts_and_culture/the-poets-among-us/article_b7b00e10-1f57-11ed-a69a-9fd2c00d4805.html
NBC4: A Day of Poetry in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Public Library photos. (Please add Photo Credit: Los Angeles Public Library, if you share any of them.)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hHyHt56eikTdnCTG8
The entire poetry reading can be found on the Los Angeles Public Library YouTube.
And on the LACityView YouTube channel.
About Bill Mohr