Voices at the Center of American Literature will feature readings and conversations by and with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authorsDetails and DescriptionApril 8, 20234:00pm PT1540 Lincoln AvenuePasadena, CA 91103Official Description:Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Voices at the Center of American Literature will feature readings and conversations by and with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors to discuss visibility, community, and navigating multiple identities, plus the “own voice” and personal narrative. Award-winning poets Afaa M. Weaver and Douglas Manuel will speak on these topics in a conversation moderated by Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson, joined by jazz musician Dr. Ray Briggs of the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. This event will also be paired with a brand new photography exhibition, featuring photographs by Alfred Haymond of the 2020 George Floyd/#BlackLivesMatter protests around Pasadena.Please join us for what will undoubtedly be a powerfully moving experience.ASL interpreting services will be provided. This event will take place in-person at the Hen House Literary Center in Pasadena, California, and will also be livestreamed on Red Hen Press’s website at redhen.org/virtual, Red Hen’s YouTube Channel, and Red Hen’s Facebook Page.This event is free, but all events taking place at the Hen House Literary Center Read More ...

Join Pete Hsu as he speaks with New York Times Editor’s Choice and bestselling author Kevin Chen on his recent novel GHOST TOWN.GHOST TOWN has been described by Booklist as “excellent” with “multidimensional characters, a beautifully realized setting, and an apposite surprise ending.” Keith Chen, the second son of a traditional Taiwanese family of seven, runs away from the oppression of his village to Berlin in the hope of finding acceptance as a young gay man. The novel begins a decade later, when Chen has just been released from prison for killing his boyfriend. He is about to return to his family's village, a poor and desolate place. With his parents gone, his sisters married, mad, or dead, there is nothing left for him there. As the story unfurls, we learn what tore this family apart and, more importantly, the truth behind the murder of Chen's boyfriend. Told in a myriad of voices, both living and dead, and moving through time with deceptive ease, Ghost Town weaves a mesmerizing web of family secrets and countryside superstitions, the search for identity and clash of cultures. This is an event you won’t want to miss! Presented to you in partnership with the Read More ...

Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Voices at the Center of American Literature features BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors.Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Voices at the Center of American Literature will feature readings and conversations by and with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors to discuss visibility, community, and navigating multiple identities, plus the “own voice” and personal narrative. Award-winning poets Brenda Cárdenas and Phuong T. Vuong will speak on these topics in a conversation moderated by Letras Latinas editor Francisco Aragón. Please join us for what will undoubtedly be an incredible evening of poetry and discussion. ASL interpreting services will be provided. This event will take place in-person at the Hen House Literary Center in Pasadena, California, and will also be livestreamed on Red Hen Press’s website at redhen.org/virtual, Red Hen’s YouTube Channel, and Red Hen’s Facebook Page. This event is free, but all events taking place at the Hen House Literary Center require proof of vaccination prior to entry. Please have your vaccination cards and IDs at the ready! Francisco Aragón is the son of Nicaraguan immigrants. He is the author of Puerta del Sol and Glow of Our Sweat, as well Read More ...

Voices at the Center of American Literature: Richard Blanco, C. Bain, and Michelle ChiharaFunded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Voices at the Center of American Literature will feature readings and conversations by and with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors to discuss visibility, community, and navigating multiple identities, plus the “own voice” and personal narrative. Presidential inaugural poet, poet laureate of Miami-Dade County, and recent recipient of the National Humanities Medal Richard Blanco will join gender liminal multidisciplinary artist C. Bain in a conversation, moderated by Los Angeles Review of Books Editor-in-Chief Michelle Chihara, on their identities as queer men, as a Latino immigrant and a gender nonconforming performer, and on finding their space in the literary world and celebrating what makes them unique.Please join us for what will undoubtedly be an incredible evening of poetry and discussion.ASL interpreting services will be provided. This event will take place in-person at the Hen House Literary Center in Pasadena, California, and will also be livestreamed on Red Hen Press’s website at redhen.org/virtual, Red Hen’s YouTube Channel, and Red Hen’s Facebook Page.Michelle Chihara was a reporter, editor, and freelance writer and then went back to graduate school and became an academic. Read More ...