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the line-up features renowned contemporary dada artists including mariam ahmed, santiago amaya, mona jean cedar, rich ferguson, kathleen florence, s.a. griffin, mark hoefer, tom laichas, marie c lecrivain, bibiana padilla maltos, bronwyn mauldin, richard modiano, mike m. mollett, harry e. northup, travis richardson, neal skooter taylor, jimmy vega, voxx voltair, silvia wagensberg, dig wayne, and daniel yaryan. three Rooms press co-founders and maintenant editors peter carlaftes and kat georges will host the evening.
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welcoming what books press and their imprint, giant claw, at beyond baroque, join us for an evening showcasing the release of four new collections. readings from authors stephen cooper, patty seyburn, suzanne lummis, and jimmy vega in the wanda coleman theater.
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join us for no fest: poetry marathon fundraiser, a full day of poetry, books, and community in support of beyond baroque’s mission to sustain literary and artistic experimentation in los angeles and beyond!
this year’s fundraiser is especially vital. following the loss of our nea grant earlier this year—which has limited our programming and canceled the southern california poetry festival—we are calling on our community to help us continue providing a home for writers and artists. for 57 years, beyond baroque has stood as a hub for creativity, dialogue, and connection between writers, artists and their readers and audiences. with your support, we can keep that spirit alive.
the day begins at 12 pm with a book fair, featuring independent presses, booksellers, and local creatives. this portion of the event is free and open to the public.
from 12–1 pm, we’ll also have an open mic, hosted by maestro gamin, an open invitation to share your voice and celebrate the power of poetry!
at 1 pm, the festivities move into the wanda coleman theater for a marathon-style reading featuring poets and supporters from the beyond baroque family. each segment will spotlight a different theme reflecting our values and community spirit. tickets are available for individual segments—or you can experience the full day of readings with an all-day no fest pass.
be part of this crucial moment for the arts. come celebrate the enduring spirit of poetry and community at 681 venice boulevard, and help us keep the arts alive in venice!
featured presses
errant press, riot of roses, world stage press, larb (los angeles review of books), santa monica review, women who submit, 826la, what books press, daxson publishing, dstl arts, beyond baroque books.
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centered around loss and death of individuals, relationships, and ways of communicating, the poems of zirconium ash drive at intensified high speed, physically and psychically mapping the geography of the city of los angeles. weaving and zigzagging, mingling grief, sorrow, and lament, the poems haunt and are haunted by the living and dead. the culture of the city and family history often blur in these poems, which can feel in conversation with themselves as well as others-fragmented ghost narratives that lyrically confront history, poetics, and the crimes and unjust actions of government.
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altadena poets laureate present fire & ice reading + open mic
a celebration of the altadena poetry review now available online
featuring neelanjana banerjee, teresa mei chuc, hazel clayton harrison, & jimmy vega. hosted by sehba sarwar & lester graves lennon.
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join us for the launch of what books press and giant claw press' fall slate!
authors will join to read from their work and engage in scintillating conversation!
featuring eric soto, john colburn, judith pacht, & jimmy vega.
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harry northup’s poetry hour with giovan alonzi & jimmy vega on zoom.
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come celebrate the movies and poetry at the iconic sunset boulevard bookstore, book soup! Featuring editor suzanne lummis, and readings from poets brendan constantine, jeremy ra, susan rogers, and jimmy vega! poetry goes to the movies (pacific coast poetry series/ beyond baroque books) is an anthology that brings together 101 poets responding to film—its myths, influence, and deep entanglement with personal and collective memory. join us in celebration!
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discover the new stories behind the words at our upcoming poetry and prose reading event, these pages are so long: part ii. featuring a diverse lineup of talented local authors, this event delves into the themes of discipline, effort, consistency, and the arduous yet necessary tasks that shape our creative and personal lives.
featuring sabrina o'reilly, aidan dick, bree wernicke, brendan sweeney, emily woods, and jimmy vega.
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after more than a decade at beyond baroque—and six years as executive director—quentin is stepping down. on friday, august 1, he’ll host one final event, gathering poets, friends, and collaborators together to mark the occasion.
the evening will feature readings by just a few of the many, many writers who have helped build beyond baroque’s community with quentin, and whose work reflects the depth and range of beyond baroque’s literary life.
after the readings, we’ll have a special reception & party in the poets’ garden and share food and drinks together.
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me&mine launch at the pop-hop with giovan alonzi, jian giannini, mark galez, carolina hicks, and agustin morales, and jimmy vega.
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poet film stage is coming to beyond baroque! experience a night of poetry with moving images beyond the page and dynamic performances by multi-talented los angeles authors. featuring phil abrams, michelle bitting, brendan constantine, nicelle davis, kathleen florence, rich ferguson, s.a. griffin, susan hayden, eric morago, harry e. northup, abbi page, jeremy ra, amy raasch, david a. romero, lynne thompson and jimmy vega.
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reading by moonrise at los angeles state historic park with will alexander, kayla ephros, sarah yanni, and jimmy vega. organized by clockshop, curated by ivana baranova, food by gu grocery.
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trenches full of poets at page against the machine with rhiannon cielos chavez, genesis perez, and jimmy vega + open mic.
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dunce codex anthology release at auditorium books with dennis cooper, jack skelley, benjamin weissman, amy gerstler, jimmy vega, and others.
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what books press: a celebration of small presses from l.a. and beyond - awp off-site at telescope studios
presses include beyond baroque books, tía chucha press, walton well press, el martillo press, magra, 7.13 books, what books press & giant claw.
beyond baroque poets will read starting around 7:30 pm, and include shonda buchanan, will alexander, elisabeth houston and jimmy vega.
additional featured poets and friends include:
luis rodriguez, luivette resto, chuck rosenthal, holaday mason, paul lieber, david quiroz, kevin allardice, bill mohr, dennis phillips, xochiquetzal candelaria, jackson bliss, rae cline, matthew cuban hernandez, margaret elysia garcia, ceasar k. avelar, linda watanabe mcferrin, karen kevorkian, sarah maclay, & gemini wahhaj.
tacos, beverages, and a party throughout the evening!
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poetry in nature reading
los angeles-area poets will gather in the rose garden to read their own works, celebrating nature and the beautiful environments that make up los angeles.
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the west coast launch of the internationally-renowned maintenant 18: journal of contemporary dada writing and art (2023, three rooms press), which features more than 246 visual and literary works by artists and writers from six continents.
costumes encouraged. come as you aren’t. the line-up features renowned contemporary dada artists including mahnaz badihian, mona jean cedar & jeff boynton (circuitry & poetry), alejandro escude, rich ferguson, kathleen florence, s.a. griffin, bibiana padilla maltos, bronwyn mauldin, richard modiano, mike m. mollett, harry e. northup, travis richardson, neal skooter taylor, michael c. ford, jimmy vega and daniel yaryan. three rooms press co-founders and maintenant editors peter carlaftes and kat georges host.
maintenant 18: a journal of contemporary dada writing and art is the latest of the ongoing annual maintenant dada journal series, established in 2008. this year’s issue features work on the theme of plutocrazy. creativity is the currency and the amount has no limit. the dada artists and writers separate merch and state by forging a non-monetary vision which reveals strategies to achieve socio-political and economic equality that expose the military-industrialist complex by linking warfare with capitalism. there are 2,640 billionaires in the world and we’ve got each of them right where we want them. the maintenant series is archived in leading international institutions including the museum of contemporary art–new york, the belvue museum–brussels, and more. contributors have included such artists mark kostabi, raymond pettibon, fred tomaselli, nicole eisenman, edel rodriguez, and kazunori murakami, along with writers william s. burroughs, gerard malanga, charles plymell, jack hirschman, and jerome rothenberg, with a strong contingent of punk musician-artist-writers including grant hart, mike watt, exene cervenka, thurston moore, and alice bag.
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join us for the l.a. book launch of and this house is only a nest, the second full-length poetry collection by author, jose oseguera. the author is celebrating with a set of performances in the wanda coleman theater featuring elizabeth metzger, charles jensen, tamara miller, and jimmy vega.
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the finale of the paris 2024 cultural olympiad and launch of the l.a. 2028 cultural olympiad!
beyond baroque presents an international poetry marathon celebrating the theme of “art + sports” with performances by more than 30 los angeles-based poets who will be appearing simultaneously live in paris and los angeles as part of a cultural handover from the city of paris to the city of los angeles. in honor of the l.a. 2028 olympics, eight l.a. poets selected as paris olympiad poets will travel to paris to perform in the finale of the poetic games of the paris 2024 cultural olympiad, and 28 l.a. poets will perform in catch the mic: paris to l.a. at mark taper auditorium at los angeles public library's central library.
the catch the mic: paris to l.a. cultural handover event at mark taper auditorium at los angeles public library's central library, on saturday, september 7, 2:30-4:30 pm, will feature performances by 28 l.a. poets, along with three tongva artists. the showcase will be livestreamed and also serve as a watch party for a livestream of a 12-hour poetry marathon finale of the poetic games at place du châtelet at théâtre de la ville in paris.
this event is the culmination of a partnership between the city of los angeles department of cultural affairs (dca), beyond baroque, the city of paris, and the paris university club to develop a pilot project based on the theme of the paris 2024 cultural olympiad: “art + sports.”
this project is made possible in part by a grant from the dcas' public space activation fund with support of community partners. additional event support provided by la county arts + culture and los angeles public library.
l.a. poets to perform at the catch the mic: paris to l.a.cultural handover at central library:
ashley august, michelle bitting, bridgette bianca, mimi tempestt, cynthia alessandra briano, shonda buchanan–event mc, mona jean, gabriela garcia medina, katie gomez, mason granger, sonia guiñansaca, matthew cuban hernandez, sean hill, aryeh-or s katz, gina loring, monique mitchell, hamsa fae, nikki ochoa, monica palacios, christian perfas, karyn peyton, rhys langston podell, linda ravenswood, angelina sáenz, jimmy vega-event producer, brian sonia-wallace, pam ward, yazmin monet watkins
l.a. poets selected as paris olympiad poets, who will travel to the city of paris and perform on behalf of the city of los angeles in the poetic games finale of the paris 2024 cultural olympiad:
steve connell, shandela contreras, chinaka aziza hodge, uchechi kalu, edward mabrey, steven reigns, los angeles poet laureate lynne thompson, sarah yanni
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sin control: a beyond barroco reading features the new wave of chicanx poets spurting out of the phantasmal undergrounds of beyond baroque, a literary arts space in la playa de venice. the poetas are making the trip from los angeles to read at medicine for nightmares with puro descontrol poetico! join this great line up of poets, jimmy vega, iván salinas, genesis perez, rhiannon cielos chavez, and maestro gamin in the galería!
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As part of the Writing Now Reading Series, the "Becoming the Archive" symposium centers around the preservational and conservational efforts Southern Californian artists are making alongside local organizations to celebrate artistic voices, both individually and communally.
Through a creative showcase and moderated panel, "Beyond the Archive" invites four individuals at the intersection of creativity and sustainability to discuss how past and present come together to inform their visions for the future.
Guests include Chiwan Choi of Writ Large Projects, Carribean Fragoza of Huizache and the South El Monte Art Posse, Hailey Loman of the Los Angeles Contemporary Archives, and jimmy vega of Beyond Baroque.
The School of Critical Studies is honored to host a discussion of their work and efforts within the contemporary artistic landscape.
Afterwards, please join us for a reception and celebration of CalArt's newest art and literary magazine, Strip Mall! Refreshments and light fare provided. All are welcome.
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VCP So Cal Poets is hosting the First Annual Northeast L.A. Poetry Fest at Los Angeles College Prep Academy located at 625 Coleman Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90042 on unceded Tongva territory.
Join us for a vibrant weekend celebrating poetry, community, and local talent! Admission is free!