ORGANIZER: Jessica Wilson
CONTACT: losangelespoetsociety@gmail.com
Celebrating 5 years of change… The moment we stepped together to decide that change was indeed important and it starts within ourselves and expands out into our communities. We are the protectors of the Earth.
LAPS is so excited to bring you 2 shows this year – Friday in the San Fernando Valley city of Sylmar at Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural, and on Saturday, 100TPC Day, at our home in Venice Beach, CA, the literary arts mecca, Beyond Baroque Literary Art Center.
Hosted by Poets and Musicians for Change, Juan Cardenas & Jessica Wilson
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th at Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural! 8pm featuring Luis J. Rodriguez!
All events will be live streamed and broadcast from the POET’S SOAPBOX:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-poet-s-soapbox
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center! 11am to 9pm
September 26: 11 to 9pm
11: Open MIC
11:30 – 1pm: SoapBox Poets presents: The Whale, Brenda Petrakos, Rob Morrow, Norman Molesko, Jessica Wilson, Julio the Conga Poet Rodriguez, Michael Ian Churchman
1 – 2: Antonieta Villamil’s Poesia Festival presents… featuring Antonieta Villamil
2 – 3: Beyond Baroque Fiction Writers presents
3 – 4: Beyond Baroque Green Poets presents
4 – 5: Beyond Baroque Wednesday night workshop presents
5 – 6: Beyond Baroque Saturday Poets presents
6 – closing: Beyond Baroque presents WIDE AWAKE, featuring Charles Harper Webb
Plus guests from: Occupy Venice, the Venice Beachhead, & more!
All events will be live streamed and broadcast from the POET’S SOAPBOX:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-poet-s-soapbox
GUEST BIOS
Luis J. Rodriguez
Luis J. Rodriguez–the official Poet Laureate of Los Angeles. For Luis poetry is soul talk, a prophetic act, a powerful means to enlarge one’s presence in the world. Luis is also a novelist/memoirist/short story writer/children’s book writer as well as a community & urban peace activist, mentor, healer, youth & arts advocate, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He has 15 books in all genres, including the best-selling memoir, “Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.” His latest book is the sequel, “It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing.” He is founding editor of Tia Chucha Press, now in its 25th year, and co-founder/president of Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore in the San Fernando Valley. And he’s co-convener of the Network for Revolutionary Change. Luis is dedicated to a clean, balanced, abundant, cooperative, healing world. No more capitalist private property relations, exploitation, war, or inequities. “In essential things, unity; in nonessential things, liberty. In all things compassion.”
The Whale
“As a child I was told to always tell the truth.
I’ve been in trouble ever since.” The Whale
The Whale is a refugee from the industrial wasteland.
Early influences include a broken home, The Kennedy
Assassinations, Martin Luther King Jr., The Vietnam War,
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Public School
System, The Castle Gardens Gang and Mutually Assured
Destruction, or MAD.
While still a teenager, Whale split that scene and began
a quest of self discovery hitch hiking over 100,000 miles
criss crossing 35 of the lower 48 states. Searching our
great nation for the freedom and liberty that are said to
be the promise of America.
What he found may surprise you.
Later in life, while being crushed beneath the boot heels
of the corporate global hegemony, songs began to poor
out of him like new wine pressed from the grapes of wrath.
The inspiration was so overwhelming that it lifted him
from the downward spiral into the darkness of the abyss
and placed him firmly on a new path with six strings
and a message.
The Whale’s CD “Here In America.” Is available now.
“Give it a listen. I made it just for you.” The Whale
Like the Americans of myth and legend, I endeavor to stand for what I believe is right and true. Challenging the Status Quo with wit and a six string.This album is made Here In America, mostly by Americans. It is inspired by what I see as the American Dream. My Country Tis of Thee. Of Thee I sing.
Rob Morrow
Rob Morrow’s poetic journey is nearly 20 years in the making. He has shared his work at many prominent open mic venues in Los Angles such as the World Stage, Shades Of Africa and Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural and Bookstore, where he’s the co-coordinator of features and substitute host. Mr. Morrow is working on his first book of poetry entitled “In Attendance”, which should be released early next year. He’s been influence by many poetry and hip hop artist like Public Enemy, The Last Poets, X Clan, Langston Hughes, KRS One and Gil Scott Heron.
Norman Molesko
At 85, Normie is a creative, active “L.A. Young Oldie” poet. He has been featured nationally on the SENIOR JOURNAL site, as helping older adults find a new beat in their lives with his poetry show. Normie partners enthusiastically with the Los Angeles Poet Society in “Senior Advocacy”.
Yvonne De La Vega
Poet Yvonne de la Vega was born and raised in Los Angeles and her works embody the very spirit of the city. Her book “Tomorrow Yvonne – Poetry & Prose For Suicidal Egotists” on Punk Hostage Press is epic with poetry written from the 1980’s to 2012. A large book of a unique structure, it’s layout, illustrations and cover designed by de la Vega and finetuned by award winning layout master Chris Yeseta with it’s Foreword written by Ray Manzarek of The Doors who writes, “Read her and delight in a new, strong voice. Let her tell you of the golden days and diamond nights of Los Angeles.”, and, “Yvonne is the lucky little lady in the city of lights.” and, “And let us all warm ourselves with her word, her perceptions, her visions and her knowledge. I promise you one hell of a good time.”
Jessica M. Wilson
photo by Alexis Rhone Fancher (c)2014
Jessica M. Wilson is Navajo Indian Poet from East Los Angeles, CA. She has an MFA in Writing from Otis College of Art and Design and a BA in Creative Writing and Art History from University of California, Riverside. She began the Los Angeles Poet Society as an answer to bring the LA literary ‘scene’ into light — so there would be transparency between Poets and Poetry Venues, Publishers, Musicians and Artists and all creatives. To bring the community together, she is Founder and Host of the Literary Series: Writers’ Row, Writer Wednesday, SoapBox Poets Open Mic, and the Salon @ NoHo. Jessica is a Poet Teacher with California Poets in the Schools, and believes in the power of the word! She is 100 Thousand Poets for Change and Revolutionary Poets Brigade in Los Angeles! She is a Beat Poet and dedicates her words to the freedom of Mohammad ibn Al Ajami and other humans being repressed and denied the right to speak their truth.
Antonieta Villamil
Antonieta Villamil
ANTONIETA VILLAMIL, international award winning bilingual poet and writer, her writing Focuses on the forgotten ones, and honors them with a persistence That compels us to hear Their voices, presents in the end version Arcana DOMAINS Imaginantes personal anthology of poetry, poetic prose and poiesis written from 1972 to 2001 and published Between 1980 and 2012 in limited editions. Poetry and contents Copyright © 2001 Antonieta Villamil.
Michael Ian Churchman
When Michael Churchman was in high school, he spent his time in study hall trying to figure out how to write even one line that could measure up to Gary Snyder’s Myths and Texts, to Kerouac’s Mexico City Blues, to Pound’s Cantos. He got thrown out of high school on the day he bought the first MC5 album, and he’s still trying to write that one good line. In the meantime, he does his best to get by with the words that he can put together, hoping that they at least make entertaining sounds and interesting-looking arrangements on the page.
Julio the Conga Poet Rodriguez
I play my own poetry(social and or political) to different Afro-latino conga rhythms i.e.,guaguanco,merengue,marcha/tumbao,songo,samba and timba rhythms. As a progressive thinker and poet, my job is to entertain and provoke critical thinking.
Julio is part of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade – Los Angeles
No Se Habla Espanol anthology
Get your copy today: $10
http://www.blurb.com/books/6346543-no-se-habla-espanol