The L.A. Times Book Club presents a special book club evening, Black Poets in a Time of Unrest, featuring National Book Award winner Robin Coste Lewis in conversation with Times reporter Makeda Easter.
Lewis is the Los Angeles poet laureate, author of “Voyage of the Sable Venus” and a writer in residence at USC. She’ll talk about her tenure as the city’s reigning laureate and life as a poet.
She joins a lineup of poet performers sharing their experiences in verse. Among them:
Natalie J. Graham is the author of “Begin with a Failed Body,” her debut poetry collection. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and chair of the African American Studies Department at Cal State Fullerton.
Ashaki M. Jackson is the author of two chapter-length collections, including “Language Lesson.” She is a social psychologist and program evaluator in Los Angeles.
Douglas Kearney is the author of six books and will publish his newest book, “Sho," in 2021. He grew up in Pasadena and now teaches Creative Writing at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.
jayy dodd is the author of “Mannish Tongues” & “The Black Condition ft. Narcissus.” Born in Los Angeles and now based in Portland, her film and performance work has been installed and screened across the country from classrooms to museums.
Amaud Jamaul Johnson is the author of three poetry collections, “Red Summer,” “Darktown Follies” and “Imperial Liquor.” Born and raised in Compton, he is former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and is now an English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing.
Khadijah Queen is the author of six books, including “I'm So Fine: A List of Famous Men & What I Had On.” Her latest book, “Anodyne,” was published in August by Tin House.
Kima Jones is a Los Angeles poet and founder of Jack Jones Literary Arts. She is co-host of the event with the L.A. Times Book Club.
This free virtual book club event starts at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 and will be live streaming on the Los Angeles Times Facebook page, YouTube and Twitter.
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While RSVPing is not necessary to attend this virtual event, we recommend that you RSVP to receive a reminder email with direct links to view on Facebook and YouTube.