WORD!
Readings are fundamental in L.A.'s lit scene. Here's a survey of the essentials
By Dean Kuipers
Readings are fundamental in L.A.'s lit scene. Here's a survey of the essentials
There's a difference between readings and spoken word, yes there is, and the difference is that, often, a reader has had to convince an editor (in the employ of an accountant) to publish the work. That might be selling out to the Man, but I'm not too proud to say I often need the Man - or his hot librarian girlfriend or pet chimp or whatever - to help sort shit out. Here are some great places to get properly sorted for literary happenings around town.
Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, (310) 822-3006. How long has it been since poetry had a figure like Allen Ginsberg, stopping a Hell's Angels rumble with chanting? Well, L.A.'s best literary center, one of the few places where poetry can still stop Hades's hordes, came close when one of its regular-but-minor figures took a detour into Middle-Earth and emerged as one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars. Viggo Mortensen writes in English and Danish and comes out of a notable cadre of punk-poet friends that included X frontpersons John Doe and Exene Cervenka, and now he's on a board packed with heavies like Lewis MacAdams and Wanda Coleman. Readings in the windowless black room may be a bit hushed and precious, but the schedule marches like a relentless army of hope, night after night, and the endless workshops are in touch with the best of America's literary tradition. Check it at Beyondbaroque.org.
UCLA Hammer Museum's New American Writing series, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, (310) 443-7000. In a largish gallery off the museum's main courtyard, writer Benjamin Weissman puts together this weekly reading series, featuring mostly fiction from, he says, "people who can really write a great sentence." After Joan Didion was there last spring, the series has taken on some star power, this fall bringing Jonathan Lethem, author of National Book Award-winning Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude. Weissman is chuffed: "Now all those Random House publicists say, 'Well, Joan had a good experience there, so now Christ could go in there.'" Assuming, of course, that Christ could knock out a great sentence.
Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz, (323) 660-1175. William Vollman. Tobias Wolff. Heidi Julavits. Aw, it's ridiculous to even drop names at this muscular neighborhood gem. The readings are so open and comfortable, says one writer, "It's like being in a master class." Skylightbooks.com.
Dutton's Brentwood Bookstore, 11975 San Vicente Blvd., L.A., (310) 476-6263. Like Skylight, an indie staple, Dutton's catches a dizzying array of touring and local authors, and it has that courtyard. Where else can you see the person who wrote the book you're reading right now - even if it happens to be on, say, tax law - standing in the open air, surrounded by books, books, and more books? Duttonsbrentwood.com.
Barnes & Noble, 1201 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, (310) 260-9110. A chain? Outrageous! Well, this monster happens to bring in world heavyweight champions like Gore Vidal. Unfortunately, when it does, the upstairs room is too small to accommodate the throngs, but you'll definitely catch some high-profile slumming here.
{ Honorable Mentions }
Boardner's, 1652 N. Cherokee Ave., Hollywood, (323) 462-9621. Remember when you used to go to Boardner's to score? Well, now you can go get your lit on at a monthly series put on by the L.A. Weekly, which recently presented Generation Kill author Evan Wright (and features John Powers on Thursday, reading from his new book, Sore Winners). Remember, though, it is a bar, so you might get slopped on. Or drunk. Hooray!
The Writer's Bloc, location varies, (310) 335-0917. The Bloc can get the expensive talent, but (unlike a lot of these other gigs), it charges for them, too, often too much for most starving writers. Last one was Carl Hiassen, upcoming is Elmore Leonard.
Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 659-3110. The annex is a hot little room, but stars often duck into the back wearing sunglasses and ski parkas.
Small World Books, 1407 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, (310) 399-2360. A calm in the storm of chainsaw jugglers and walking sex crime that is the boardwalk, this bastion of fine lit behind the Sidewalk Café has launched a reading series in the office upstairs, which recently featured superb short-story artist Steve Almond.
None of this even touches the whole open mike scene - but I've left that to you. Doesn't all this make you want to finish that damn novel?
Published: 07/29/2004
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