I AM ALIVE IN LOS ANGELES!!

Equally a scholar and performer, Mike Sonksen, also …known as, Mike the Poet, is a 3rd-generation L.A. native acclaimed for poetry performances, published articles and mentoring teen writers. Following his graduation from U.C.L.A. in 1997, he has published over 500 essays and poems. Mike has an Interdisciplinary Master of Arts in English and History and his prose and poetry have been included in programs with the Mayor’s Office, the Los Angeles Public Library’s “Made in LA,” series, Grand Park, the Music Center and the Friends of the Los Angeles River. Mike has taught at Cal State L.A., Southwest College and Woodbury University. In June of 2018 one of his KCET essays was awarded by the LA Press Club. His latest book, Letters to My City now available.   For BOOKING INFO: [email protected] Poetry performances, published articles, writing workshops, Los Angeles Historical tours & master of ceremonies. https://twitter.com/MikethePoeTLA 

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Letters To My City (2nd Edition) a book by Mike Sonksen

Second edition with a new essay on the late Mike Davis, legendary author of City of Quartz, a new essay on local history of time and space,

Here's the link to get the 2nd edition of

#LetterstomyCity

“Mike Sonksen aka @MikethePoeTLA is an L.A. treasure. He’s the best kind of booster, someone who celebrates the good without erasing the bad, and who loves this place with his whole soul. You can see that love in Letters to My City, his joyful collection of poetry and essays.”

—- Steph Cha, Author of Your House Will Pay

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“Mike Sonksen is a walking encyclopedia of LA history, culture, poetry, community and the list goes on. Letters To My City is a brilliant homage to the greats, the hidden gems, the poetry and the complexities of Los Angeles - an essential part of the LA literary canon.”

——traci kato-kiriyama; author of Navigating With(out) Instruments

“The eye of poet and professor Mike Sonksen beholds and maps the rich totality of life in our beloved City of Angels - every form, color, and texture comprising the lush ecosystem of art and empowerment that’s flourished since he first participated with our community of writers decades ago. To engage his work - plain yet lush, intricate while always welcoming - is to behold the mirror-reflection of the best in all of us and what we, by divine nature, can contribute to a better world.” 

——Allan Aquino, poet and professor for the Department of Asian American Studies at Cal State, Northridge

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A Radical Teacher

Learning from Mike Davis.

When atmospheric rivers hit California and damaged parts of the state earlier this year, many people were hearing about these destructive rainstorms for the first time. Not me, however. I learned about them way back in 1997 while studying under Mike Davis at UCLA. Weather was one of countless areas of knowledge Davis explored in his writing decades before the world caught up to him.

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Portraits of the City

Man One paints the faces of Los Angeles.

No matter where I paint a mural, visual art is a universal language that needs no translation,” says Man One, a.k.a. Alejandro Poli Jr. Man One lives to transform public spaces into sacred ones with murals. He’s painted them all over the world, from the 72nd floor of the U.S. Bank Building in downtown Los Angeles to locations in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Mexico and, most recently, at the United States embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, for two weeks in December, where he also taught workshops with local artists.

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What a beautiful song...

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What a beautiful song...

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Read about the top 3 behind-the-glamour attractions to see in Los Angeles that only a scholar of L. A. like Mr. Sonksen could show you through his writing.

Thx to E.R. Sanchez for reviewing my book. “In this book, he shows you the areas beyond the advertised tours; the genuine history so you forever remember that L.A. is much more than Hollywood, Sunset, beaches, surfboards, and scary neighborhoods. But it’s not just an amazing literary tour of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, the book also offers the author’s brilliant poems which add to the richness of the depth displayed in this book.”

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I’m late with this because the semester just started again but my latest essay for @altajournal was on Will Alexander. A true purveyor of Sonic grammar the poet goes intergalactic like Trane on the saxophone. His newest book on @citylightsbooks “Divine Blue Light,” celebrates John Coltrane. Terry Robinson aka @hymnalpoetics & I interviewed Will also for @dublab two weeks ago. See the last frame here to watch Will & Kamau Daaood go back & forth with their respective Coltrane poems last week at Beyond Baroque. #Letterstoourcity #sonicgrammar #poetry #LA #books #afrofuturism #traveler #rocknroll #soul (at Beyond Baroque) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoCmmakLODr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Cory BESSKEPP Cofer is an incredible poet & one of my best friends. We’ve been doing poetry together since 2000. His new book debuts Saturday night at the World Stage in Leimert. I will be doing a short set before Cory rocks. Join us for the release of Cory Besskepp Cofer's Dreaming Under Polka-Dot Stars. Book preorders available with ticket purchase. Purchase virtual tickets to join via Zoom or join us in person at: World Stage 4321 Degnan Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90008 ••• Guest Poets Mike the Poet + others to be announced Hosted by AKoldPiece •••••••• About Dreaming Under Polka-Dot Stars: “The poems in Dreaming Under Polka-Dot Stars are one part joyful trumpet song, one part elegy. They capture the problems and pleasures of childhood with precision, rendering each image within with the complexity we know we lived through. There’s gospel music in these pages, neon lights flickering through a day dream, and a glimpse of singing cousins. Homies come through too. Fathers serve us sausage and eggs on Sundays. And mothers call us home when it gets dark. Each poem cracks open. Here you’ll find uncles embracing stories before passing them down. Cory Cofer sets these very stories spinning into a history he has been called to carry on.” —Michael Torres, author of An Incomplete List of Names (at The World Stage Art, Education & Performance Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn8dtY_LzXk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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I’m hosting a writing workshop & open mic this Monday night at the Cerritos Library. We will be writing about California State Parks & location. Come write with us! #letterstoourcity (at Cerritos Public Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnFSo06PnvJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Congratulations to Alan Nakagawa on the release of his new book from @writlargeprojects. A.I.R.HEAD: THE ANATOMY OF AN ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, (1ST BOOK) 2022 A.I.R.Head: the Anatomy of an Artist in Residence, 2022 Available at Writ Large Projects and Amazon Within a short amount of time, Alan Nakagawa found himself in the midst of several artist-in-residence opportunities. It started with the Getty Villa and then the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. Within a few years, Nakagawa had a half of dozen completed or in the mix. And then the emails started coming. Alan and I had a coffee yesterday on Washington @fence_coffee which is right across the street from Ray Charles longtime studio at Westmoreland & Washington. Alan grew up near Pico & Crenshaw & he’s more Los Angeles than the La Brea Tar Pits. I am already 70 pages into his book & he breaks down the community arts in Los ANGELES with the insight only a true insider could give. He is embedded in the most authentic way. I first met Alan with Alessandra Moctezuma & Mike Davis almost two decades ago. He’s the one on multiple levels. Follow him @nakagawa2015 & pick up his book. #Letterstoourcity #oralhistory #collageensembleinc (at Ray Charles Enterprises) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmR2GiXPQOz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Beat, Not Beat is a dynamite anthology. I had a ball reading at the book release party last night @storiesbooksandcafe #Letterstoourcity #books #LA #poetry (at Stories BooksandCafe) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck14AXkpiwz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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My prose poem for Mike Davis in @altajournal Thanks to my editor Blaise Z & Matt Haber. #Letterstoourcity (at MacArthur Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cks4lZWrMgq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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A ‘Main Street’ Holiday: Our metropolis offers a variety of old-fashioned avenues to shop and spend quality time - L.A. Parent

A ‘Main Street’ Holiday: Our metropolis offers a variety of old-fashioned avenues to shop and spend quality time Local Fun L.A. is full of quaint Main Streets to explore this holiday season.

A ‘Main Street’ Holiday: Our metropolis offers a variety of old-fashioned avenues to shop and spend quality time Local Fun L.A. is full of quaint Main Streets to explore this holiday season.

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I’m hosting at Downey Central Library in November on the 19th at 3pm. #Letterstoourcity (at Downey Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkhBQtaPQIC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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One of the only photos I have with Mike Davis. I studied with him in 1997 just before graduating at UCLA and kept in touch from there. This was at a retirement event in 2015 where both Mike & Juan Felipe Herrera read & were being honored at they retired from UC Riverside. I was sitting next to Steph Cha at the reading & I remember Vickie Vertiz & Sara Borjas were there that day too. Mike connected V Zamora and I together in 2007-2008 at Papadakis restaurant in San Pedro. V is in the far left of this shot. Mike gave V and I bunch of books that day. I still have them. His generosity & warmth matched his writing. https://www.instagram.com/p/CkKpR0iufa-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=