Self-care is a radical act.The ARC - Respite Deck, West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC), 8750 El Tovar Place, West Hollywood, CA 90069Come lounge with a poet at our inaugural Poetry Spa Day at the respite deck of the new West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center. From 6 - 7:30 p.m., guests will receive a menu of services and tokens to have individual, one-on-one experiences with former West Hollywood Poet Laureates and special guests, ranging from cucumber poetry facials to poetry speed dating. At 7:30 p.m., we gather at the steps at sunset to hear all the poets share their words in a ritual closing and celebration of National Poetry Month. Kim Dower has published four highly acclaimed collections of poetry, including the Gold Ippy Award winning collection Sunbathing on Tyrone Power’s Grave. She has been nominated for four Pushcarts, is widely anthologized, and teaches writing workshops for Antioch University, the West Hollywood Library, and UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. Charles Flowers graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University and received his MFA in Poetry from the University of Oregon. His poems have appeared in Puerto Del Sol, Barrow Street, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, and Assaracus. Steven Reigns is a Read More ...

We consider motherhood–joys, hardships, challenges, graces–and the role they play in shaping ourselves and future generations.The panel will feature readings from authors that write about motherhood: Mothers and writers from diverse backgrounds writing stories about the often underrepresented parenting experience. We’d spend time considering our experience of motherhood and reflecting on how that understanding has changed and informed us, impacted us as writers, while considering how we portray motherhood in our work.Amber Flame is an interdisciplinary creative, activist and educator whose work has garnered residencies with Hedgebrook, Vermont Studio Center, and more. Gerda Govine Ituarte, Ed.D., poet, art curator, columnist and CEO of G. Govine Consulting, was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and emigrated to New York City in the mid 50's and California in the early 80's. Luivette Resto is a mother, teacher, poet, and Wonder Woman fan was born in Puerto Rico but proudly raised in the Bronx. 2022-2024 Altadena co-poet laureate, Carla Sameth is the author of the memoir, One Day on the Gold Line and the poetry chapbook, What Is Left, and teaches creative writing to a variety of ages. Colette Sartor’s linked short story collection, Once Removed, won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Read More ...

Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month! We share our light and illuminate possibilities for living proud, safe, and free.This online reading and panel discussion creates a safe space for writers who use their personal lives and literary careers as means to contribute to and strengthen their communities especially during LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. In collaboration with Lambda Literary, this event shines a light on and basks in the glow of talented writers with exceptional stories and ideas to share with the world.K-Ming Chang is the author of Bestiary, Gods of Want, and the forthcoming novel Organ Meats. Golden is the author of A Dead Name That Learned How to Live (Game Over Books) and the photographic self-portraiture series On Learning How to Live. They currently live in Brooklyn, NY (Lenapehoking land). Kamden Hilliard is the author of MissSettl (Nightboat Books, 2022), their debut collection of poems, and a member of the Faculty at Choate Rosemary Hall. Natalie Wee a queer creator and the author of two poetry collections, Our Bodies & Other Fine Machines and Beast at Every Threshold. Born in Singapore to Malaysian parents, Natalie is currently a settler in Tkaronto.The event is free and you can watch via YouTube Live on Read More ...

Explore optimistic futures through the words of science fiction authors.We've been through a few storied years, nationally, globally, scientifically. As we forge forward writing in a new, complexly shifting age, how do we approach subjects with new eyes? How do we keep ourselves afloat and find purpose in our writing against a constantly changing world narrative? Could certain narratives, (such as the zombie apocalypse/every man for himself scenario) be dangerous to societal thinking? Is it the responsibility of the author to create stories with all these ideas in mind?To discuss these questions, we’re gathering science fiction and speculative fiction authors who’ve written utopian and dystopian stories. Host Kate Maruyama will lead a roundtable discussion with award-winning authors, including Cecil Castellucci, Matthew Kressel, PJ Manney, Nisi Shawl, and Sherri L. Smith. The event is free and you can watch via YouTube Live on the WeHo Arts channel. Learn more at www.weho.org/wehoreads/WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events at www.weho.org/wehoreads. BookSwell, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities, is producing the WeHo Reads 2023 season. Additional support is provided by UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Read More ...

Coming to West Hollywood: 4 authors, 3 judges, 2 finalists, 1 champion, and all kinds of hilarity in between. The City of West Hollywood and WeHo Reads are partnering with Literary Death Match for what promises to be a blazingly-bright night of lit, wit, silliness and belly laughs, to boot. This is Literary Death Match's first-ever show in West Hollywood! Our brilliant lineup is set to ensorcell and inspire with judges Rasheed Newson (TV writer, showrunner and author of My Government Means to Kill Me, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist) and Pickle (West Hollywood’s Drag Laureate), and readers R.K. Russell (former NFL player and author of The Yards Between Us), Melissa Chadburn (activist and author of A Tiny Upward Shove), Jessamyn Violet (drummer and author of Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar) and Kyle Siebel (veteran and short story scribe). There will be a special bonus reading by West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng, and other talent to be announced. This in-person event is free to attend. Please RSVP here to attend. More info at www.weho.org/wehoreads. Book Soup will be at the event selling books written by the readers and judges, and an after event gathering will take place from Read More ...

Featuring a panel of civil rights leaders, Palabras Literary Salon, a reception, and shopping with arts vendors. Join West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng for an afternoon celebrating civil rights heroes:   1:30pm-3pm: A panel of civil rights leaders speak about building coalitions. Rudy Ortega Shonda Buchanan Ronna Magy Miya Iwataki Marth Gonzalez 3:30pm-5pm: an edition of Palabras Literary Salon featuring BIPOC poets and writers sharing around the theme “visionaries.” Before, after and between these sessions enjoy a reception and shopping with arts vendors. The event is free admission, but we request that you RSVP here. For more information about the event, visit: https://go.weho.org/poet

We explore authors’ creative inspirations and intersections during Black History Month. How do breakthrough writers pave the way for a more inclusive publishing landscape? How do contemporary writers want their work to be received? Where do literary legacies and ambitions intersect? The series opener for WeHo Reads 2024 will feature authors celebrating their inspirations and examining how their work intersects with literary luminaries during Black History Month. Participating writers will include Rachel Howzell Hall, the bestselling author of multiple crime novels, including What Never Happened (Thomas and Mercer, 2023); Lisa Teasley, author of Fluid: Stories (Cune Press, 2023) and librettist of The Passion of Nell, commissioned by the Long Beach Opera; Jervey Tervalon, an award-winning poet, screenwriter, lecturer, and dramatist, who is the author of Monster’s Chef (Amistad/HarperCollins, 2014) and All the Trouble You Need (Atria Books/Washington Square Books, 2002); and Tamika Thompson, a writer, producer, and journalist, who is the author of the speculative fiction collection Unshod, Cackling, and Naked (Unnerving, 2023). The event is free and you can watch via YouTube Live on the WeHo Arts channel. Learn more at www.weho.org/wehoreads/ WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events Read More ...

Self-care is a radical act.The ARC - Respite Deck, West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC), 8750 El Tovar Place, West Hollywood, CA 90069Celebrate National Poetry Month and lounge with a poet at the City’s 2nd annual Poetry Spa Day!This is an in-person event that will refresh and renew your soul through creative intersections with poetry, poets, and poetic “treatments.”Join the fun and relaxation at the Respite Deck of the City of West Hollywood’s Aquatic and Recreation Center at West Hollywood Park. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., explore poetry at “spa stations” such as Feng Shui Poetry, Poemaroma (essential oils), Lotus Poetry (origami), and other poetic experiences. At 7:30 p.m., gather at the steps to hear all the poets share their words.Poetry Spa is a concept created by Brian Sonia-Wallace during his term as 2020-23 West Hollywood City Poet Laureate. This year’s event is curated by current West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng, and the spa stations and poets include:Terry Wolverton, author of eleven books, including her latest, Season of Eclipse, hosts the Poemaroma spa station.A. K. Toney is a griot, writer, musician, and educator who hosts the Listening Libations spa station where attendees get to mix poetry Read More ...

Hear from a panel of poets and writers as they share their stories and discuss what it means to be Asian American during AAPI Heritage MonthWeHo Reads: Asian Diaspora Talk StoryWednesday, May 8, 2024 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.6:30 reception, 7 pm start, 8:30 endWest Hollywood Library Community Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.Hear from a panel of poets and writers as they share their stories, connect across the diaspora, and discuss what it means to be Asian American during May Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Musical guest Jett Kwong opens this event by celebrating the panel of Asian/Pacific American authors, including Ryka Aoki, Curtis Chin, Jasmin Iolani Hakes, Angela Peñaredondo, and Fariha Róisín, and hosted by West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng.WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events at www.weho.org/wehoreads. BookSwell, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities, is producing the WeHo Reads 2024 season. Additional support is provided by UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and Poets & Writers as well as media partnerships with Book Soup and Los Angeles Review of Books.

In celebration of National Coming Out Day, we gather authors and poets to discuss coming out and creating queer families and communities.In celebration of National Coming Out Day, we gather authors and poets to discuss coming out and creating queer families and communities. Participants will reflect on the evolution of coming out with the rise in equality and visibility of LGBTQ+ individuals and families. Our conversation will address giving and receiving love in the families we build or choose, pathways to LGBTQ parenting, as well as the power of being out, the power of community, and the power of storytelling for families and folks in the margins.Our guests include Meliza Bañales, poet and author of the 90s coming-out/coming-of-age novel Life Is Wonderful, People Are Terrific (Ladybox Books 2015), which was a 2016 Lambda Literary Finalist; Lane Igoudin, author of the foster-adoptive memoir A Family, Maybe (Ooligan Press, Portland State University 2024); and Hazel Kight Witham, author of the memoir-in-verse The Truth About Secrets (Strikethrough Press 2024).WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events at www.weho.org/wehoreads. BookSwell, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities, Read More ...

Some authors are taking a hard look at society IRL and virtually, pinpointing the ways we come up short in connecting with each other.Some authors are taking a hard look at society IRL and virtually, pinpointing the ways we come up short in connecting with and loving each other. Featuring Ryane Nicole Granados (author of The Aves), PJ Manney (author of the bestselling and Philip K. Dick Award nominated Phoenix Horizon trilogy, (R)EVOLUTION, (ID)ENTITY, and (CON)SCIENCE), and Sarah Rafael Garcia (author, community educator, and performance ethnographer and founder of LibroMobile).WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events at www.weho.org/wehoreads. BookSwell, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities, is producing the WeHo Reads 2024 season. Additional support is provided by media partnerships with Book Soup and the Los Angeles Review of Books.