#letterstomycity

[mikethepoetla]

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

[mikethepoetla]

“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

[mikethepoetla]

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.

[mikethepoetla]

The Many Neighborhoods of First Street in Los Angeles

While boulevards like Hollywood, Sunset, and Wilshire get more attention, First Street contains in Los Angeles contains an incredible histor

While Boulevards like Hollywood, Sunset, and Wilshire get more attention, Los Angeles’ First Street contains an incredible—and dizzyingly complex—history.

[mikethepoetla]

Tony Pierce did one of my favorite interview/podcasts I have ever done about my work. We spoke about a lot of topics from #Bukowski to LA neighborhoods to eateries to teaching to the different perspectives of what #poetry is. Tony’s podcast “Hear in LA,” is the truth. He’s covering every district in the city. The link is in my bio. Thx again Tony! #letterstoourcity #letterstomycity #LA Repost from @hearinla • Mike the Poet living up to his name. Feel that love. Soak in his spirit. Listen to his beautiful words. (at St Andrews Los Angeles) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChaPbSYJU7C/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mikethepoetla]

“All Power to the People” On a Sunday night in March, a multicultural mix of Echo Park creatives, Leimert Park poets, and a few old school jazz heads from all over sat transfixed at the Lodge Room in Northeast Los Angeles listening to three generations of musicians jamming a chorus of horns, bass, piano and drums. The scents of sage and incense filled the air as the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra played a 100-minute set dedicated to the recently deceased percussionist Derf Reklaw whose djembe drum sat empty at the end of the stage flanked by flowers. The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra sits at the center of Los Angeles’ spiritual jazz scene, a constellation of performers like saxophonist Kamasi Washington, the all-women choir Voices of Creation (founded by Arkestra member Jimetta Rose Smith), and the Miguel Atwood Ferguson Orchestra. Melding jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word poetry, they’re connecting younger listeners and longtime West coast jazzheads. This is an excerpt from my recent essay on the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra that just published in @altajournal This issue also spotlights 85 West Coast bookstores. #books #california #LA #letterstoourcity #Letterstomycity (at Lodge Room Highland Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf4Q7LMJdLA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mikethepoetla]

Wrote a long essay about my experience Growing up in the LA poetry community.. Here’s a taste.. A Whole Ecosystem: Collective Effervescence in Los Angeles Poetry “It was kind of a snowball effect. My first venue was the Woman’s Building downtown on Spring St. where I met Wanda Coleman and Michelle Clinton, both from Watts, like my mom. Wanda was the first to publish my work in an anthology called Women for All Seasons,” declares Pam Ward. Native Los Angeles poet Pam Ward is talking about what happens when you start attending poetry venues across the city. Ward came up in the 1980s Los Angeles Poetry scene. Her experiences with the welcoming poetry community echo legions of poets across America that find the landscape of bookstores, coffee houses, libraries, theaters and galleries that host poetry as the inclusive community they were always looking for. “Venues were more than readings, they were living, breathing experiences,” declares Ward. I joined the poetry community after Ward in the 1990s and I echo her wholeheartedly. “I loved open mics and always met people who gave me flyers saying they were hosting something and asked if I wanted to read,” Ward recalls. “Sometimes I’d run from the Iguana Cafe in Noho and then read at the Roxy then Ya Yas Teahouse.” Ward knows LA and she “loved tooling through town and going all over, from Self Help Graphics on the east to Midnight Special Bookstore at the shore.” Link in bio or read the whole essay on interlitq which is the abbreviated name for International Literary Quarterly. Thx to David Garyan for his role as publisher & editor. #Letterstoourcity #Letterstomycity (at Los Angeles Central Library - Downtown Los Angeles) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce3oHf3FEU2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mikethepoetla]

#NationalPoetryMonth was a whirlwind. Did several school events, the Stella Adler Theater, a few poetry events at Woodbury, One on the LA River and I saw a lot of friends along the way. Shout out to Steven Reigns for selecting me to be a part of his WeHo Poets on the digital billboard at La Brea & Santa Monica Boulevard. #Letterstomycity (at West Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc_7692rq3y/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=