The Southern California Poetry Festival is an annual celebration of the art of poetry and the diversity of voices within Southern California. All programs and workshops are free.

The 6th annual Southern California Poetry festival kicks things off with thrilling performances by poet, lyricist, and musician Camae Ayewa, known for her exceptional work as Moor Mother. Her groundbreaking poetry collection American Equations in Black Classical Music (Hat & Beard Press) illuminates the stark realities and poignant struggles of the past and present. The evening will feature a fusion of spoken-word and music, with alchemic verses hailing from San Francisco's Eighth Poet Laureate (2021-2023), Tongo Eisen-Martin and Linda Albertano Fellow, Abbi Page, in the Wanda Coleman Theater. Performances in the theater will be followed by a set in the Poets' Garden with one of L.A's most eccentric voices in Alternative Hip-Hop, Rhys Langston.

On Saturday, November 16, we’ll feature generative workshops on the craft of poetry led by Maya Salameh and others. Readings in the theater present emerging and established voices of the SoCal Literary scene curated by El Martillo Press, Spill Way Magazine, Punk Hostage Press, and Women Who Submit. Off-site, join poet Tom Laichas on a brief literary tour of the neighborhood surrounding Beyond Baroque and join us for a Garden Lunch courtesy of Safe Place for Youth. In partnership with the Radius of Arab American Writers and Mizna, poets Sarah Yanni, Elina Katrin, and Summer Farah will dive into the editorial, curatorial, and design aspects of their books, and discuss their experiences in the publishing world. In partnership with UNAM Los Angeles, poets from Tijuana will be reading their texts including Charles Bukowski’s first translator into Spanish, Roberto Castillo Udiarte, joined by Iván García Mora, Martin Camps, and Marlon PV. In the mix of poetry and prose, Gabrielle Civil, Muriel Leung, Safia Elhilo, and Ryka Aoki, share from their newly published fiction, memoirs, and novels in verse. The day concludes with Harmony Holiday, Erin Marie Lynch, and Gail Wronsky debuting wholly original, new works commissioned by Beyond Baroque for the festival in the final installment of The NEW Series.

On Sunday, November 17, featured events include generative workshops curated by DSTL Arts, Writ Large Projects, Da Poetry Lounge, and Four Way Books. In celebration of the Library of America's Latino Poetry anthology, Beyond Baroque and Letras Latinas, in partnership with UCLA’s César Chavez Chicana/o/x and Central American Studies Dept. presents a panel on Central American identity and poetics featuring Darrel Alejandro Holnes, Adela Najarro, Maya Chinchilla, and Janel Pineda. The evening features 2023 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellow, Roda Avelar, alongside San Diego Poet Laureate, Jason Magabo Perez, and others, for a reading of Poetics of Grief & Liberation. The festival closes out with breathtaking poetics of the Golden State as California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick reads from his new poetry collection with David St. John, Sara Borjas and Allison Hedge Coke.

About the Festival
The Southern California Poetry Festival was founded in 2016 by Sonia Greenfield and Donna Hilbert in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. The festival moved permanently to Los Angeles’ historic home for poetry, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, in 2018. Beyond Baroque now organizes and curates the festival with the support of several partner organizations. The 2023 festival is funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

Friday, November 15, 2024

7:00 pm - American Equations in Black Classical Music: Moor Mother, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Rhys Langston
The festival kicks off Friday night with exciting performances by the poet, lyricsit, and musician, Camae Ayewa, known for her groundbreaking work as Moor Mother. Her transformative poetry collection American Equations in Black Classical Music (Hat & Beard Press) illuminates the stark realities and poignant struggles of the past and present. From the vibrant jazz culture to the pressing economic disparities, from racial equations to the melancholic strains of blues, and from the enduring legacy of black classical music to the profound impact of time and speculation, these poems delve deep into the interconnections that shape our world. The evening will feature a fusion of spoken-word and music, with alchemic verses hailing from San Francisco's Eighth Poet Laureate (2021-2023) Tongo Eisen-Martin, and Linda Albertano fellow, abbi page, in the Wanda Coleman Theater followed by a performance in the Poets' Garden with one of L.A's most eccentric voices in Alternative Hip-Hop, Rhys Langston.

11:00 am - 1:00 pm – Maya Salameh Workshop
Strange Forms: Poetry & Technology

Technology has played a primary role in how the powerful manipulate and monitor the masses, especially those most marginalized among us. In this workshop participants will read poems that gaze back at and resist surveillance technologies including drones, immigration papers and algorithmic rules. We'll examine the use of innovative experimental forms, reading poems by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Vanessa Villareal, Solmaz Sharif, and Jennifer Tamayo, discussing their approaches to writing against and within various technologies. Students will leave the class with not only a better understanding of experimental poetic forms and 3 themed prompts, but a heightened appreciation for the potential of poetry as a form of theory-making, resistance and self-reclamation.

11:00 am - 1:00 pm – A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: Eco-Justice Poetry Workshop with Marci Vogel
If eco means house and poetry means to make, what role might justice take in a poet's practice of making, here on our home planet, Earth? Named after Lynell George's evocative biography of Southern California-born writer Octavia Butler, this generative workshop will take place in Beyond Baroque's community garden, inviting close attention to our immediate natural world—"a handful of earth, and a handful of sky / and everything around and between." Inspired by poets of the past and present, we'll speculate on possible futures, returning always to the interdependency of all living and non-living beings: plants, animals, stones, and soil; plastic, petroleum, water, and weather. From elegy to ode, manifesto to prayer, together we'll consider how imaginative acts of language might intervene with, shape, and change our beloved home for the better.

1:00 pm - 1:50 pm – SoCal Lit Showcase I: El Martillo Press & Spillway Magazine
A showcase of six poets from independent presses, organizations, and literary journals publishing and supporting poetry in Southern California.

El Martillo Press
Sonia Gutierrez
Donato Martinez
Matthew Cuban Hernandez

Spillway Magazine
Beth Marquez
Aubrey Yarbrough
Dania Ayah Alkhouli

WALKING TOUR
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm – A Poet’s Guide to Venice: Touring The Neighborhood

Walk in the footsteps of your favorite writers on Saturday led by Venice local poet & historian, Tom Laichas, author of Three Hundred Streets of Venice California. Incorporating poetry to empower and deepen the connection to the past, participants will explore the neighborhood that has inspired writers like Ray Bradbury, Exene Cervenka, Philomene Long, and Lawrence Lipton. From the Venice Canals to the infamous Boardwalk, and the old beatnik hangout of the Venice West Café. Hit the streets and immerse yourself in the artbound community of Venice, California.

$15 admission. FREE for Beyond Baroque members. Register to receive more details about the tour!

2:00 pm - 2:50 pm – SoCal Lit Showcase II: Women Who Submit & Punk Hostage Press
A showcase of six poets from independent presses, organizations, and literary journals publishing and supporting poetry in Southern California.

Women Who Submit
Hazel Witham
Ryane Nicole Granados
Lisbeth Coiman

Punk Hostage Press
Richard Modiano
A. Razor
O.R.

3:00 - 4:00 pm - S.P.Y. Garden Lunch
Join us for a fresh lunch outdoors in community. Dishes will feature organic produce grown and nurtured by the Safe Place for Youth Community Garden Team. Take part in the interactive art activities inspired by the natural surroundings, experiment with Hapazome printmaking, and create your own poem in any of our poetry trees stationed throughout Beyond Baroque grounds.

4:00 - 4:50 PM - Poetry in Making: Mizna Staff and Contributors on Chapbooks & Publishing
Join Sarah Yanni, Elina Katrin, and Summer Farah as they read from their chapbooks and discuss their unique experiences with the publishing world. Three poets of the Arab and SWANA diaspora will dive into the editorial, curatorial, and design aspects of their books, offering insight into the creative decisions and challenges that shaped their work.

5:00 - 5:50 PM - Tijuana Underground: Mexican Poetry Beyond the Border, Poesía Mexicana más allá de la frontera (Reading in Spanish/Lectura en Español)
UNAM LA and Beyond Baroque presents a multi-generational gathering of four Mexican authors, and translator, Anthony Seidman, who will read texts in Spanish and a few English translations, offering a glimpse into the bordelandscapes of Tijuana life with perspectives rooted in countercultural sensibilities. Featuring, Roberto Castillo Udiarte, known for being the first translator of Charles Bukowski into Spanish. The author will be accompanied by Anthony Seidman, translator of Smooth Talking Dog which collects Udiarte's poems in English. Borderlands scholar, Martín Camps, and two emerging poets, Iván García Mora (past co-curator of the poetry festival Poesía Caracol), and multi-media poet and cultural worker, Marlon PV, will share the stage in a reading unifying language and poetics between the Southern California region and the Baja peninsula. The reading will be held mainly in Spanish.

UNAM LA y Beyond Baroque presentan un encuentro multigeneracional de cuatro autores mexicanos junto al traductor Anthony Seidman, quienes leerán textos en español y algunas traducciones al inglés, ofreciendo una mirada a los paisajes fronterizos de la vida en Tijuana con perspectivas arraigadas en sensibilidades contraculturales. Con la participación de Roberto Castillo Udiarte, conocido por ser el primer traductor de Charles Bukowski al español. El autor estará acompañado por Anthony Seidman, traductor de Smooth Talking Dog, que recopila los poemas de Udiarte en inglés. El académico de las Borderlands, Martín Camps, y dos poetas emergentes, Iván García Mora (ex co-curador del festival de poesía Poesía Caracol), y la poeta multimedia y trabajadora cultural, Marlon PV, compartirán el escenario en una lectura que unificará lenguajes y poéticas entre la región del sur de California y la península de Baja. La lectura se realizará principalmente en español.

6:00 - 6:50 PM - Poetic Prose: Poets Writing Prose & Novels in Verse
Sponsored by the Creative Writing MFA Program at CalArts, this reading and conversation features authors navigating poetry and prose in their writing practice. The authors venture genres, use poetic elements in novels and other innovative new work, such as novels in verse. Gabrielle Civil, Ryka Aoki, Safia Elhillo, & Muriel Leung will share how one's poetic sensibility, craft, and knowledge shape the page in constructing new narratives or when the work itself relies on more prose-heavy characteristics.

7:00 - 8:00 PM - The NEW Series: Short Term Rental
The NEW Series concludes with Harmony Holiday, Erin Marie Lynch and Gail Wronsky debuting wholly original work under the theme Short Term Rental commissioned by Beyond Baroque.

8:00 PM - 9:30 PM - SoCal Poetry Festival Afterparty with DJ Gemma Castro
Join us in The Poets' Garden for an afterparty with DJ Gemma Castro spinning tunes under the November moonlight!

11:00 am - 1:00 pm - Taller de poesía en español con Iván García Mora: La imagen que me habla / Poetry Workshop with Iván García Mora: The image that speaks to me

La fotografía, más que un testimonio del pasado, es un dispositivo que dialoga con el presente. Las imágenes tienen el potencial de provocar conversaciones que nos inviten a vincularnos de formas contra-hegemónicas con nuestro entorno: con las personas que nos rodean, con el territorio del que formamos parte y con las múltiples especies con las que cohabitamos. En La imagen que me habla exploraremos las maneras en que la fotografía y la poesía pueden conjugarse para detonar otras historias, encontrando una potencia especulativa y política. En este taller, realizaremos ejercicios prácticos en los que trabajaremos con fotografías familiares como punto de partida para la escritura poética. A partir de nuestras imágenes personales, exploraremos cómo las fotografías pueden despertar recuerdos, emociones y narrativas ocultas que dialogan con el presente. De esta manera, reflexionaremos sobre las maneras en que la experiencia personal puede convertirse en un espacio de resistencia política y reflexión crítica sobre el mundo que nos rodea. The workshop will be led in Spanish.

Photography, more than a testimony of the past, is a device that engages in dialogue with the present. Images have the potential to provoke conversations that invite us to connect in counter-hegemonic ways with our environment: with the people around us, with the territory of which we are a part, and with the multiple species with which we cohabit. In The Image That Speaks To Me we explore the ways in which photography and poetry can be combined to trigger other stories, finding a speculative and political power. In this workshop, we will carry out practical exercises in which we will work with family photographs as a starting point for poetic writing. Starting from our personal images, we will explore how photographs can awaken memories, emotions, and hidden narratives that engage in dialogue with the present. In this way, we will reflect on the ways in which personal experience can become a space for political resistance and critical reflection on the world around us. The workshop will be led in Spanish.

11:00 am - 1:00 pm – Building an Emblematic Poem with Sara Borjas

Processing life through poetry writing can often make a mess of us. We get frustrated that we are writing the same poem over and over. We are each struggling through our singular lives/spirits/lineages—so many things have led us here. How can we climb out of that feeling if we don't make anything to grab onto? Writing an emblematic poem can be that handle, that hand, and a workshop can be a ceremony. Participants will write a poem that is emblematic of their concerns/hauntings, their spirits, and their particular looking. We will share and discuss drafts so that we can leave with something to hold onto.

1:00 pm - 1:50 pm – SoCal Lit Showcase I: DSTL Arts & Four Way Books
A showcase of six poets from independent presses, organizations, and literary journals publishing and supporting poetry in Southern California.

DSTL Arts
Dr. Rosie Ramos
Jeongmin "Jamie" Choi
Susan "Susie" Chavez

Four Way Books
Blas Falconer
Louise Matthias
Carol Moldaw

WALKING TOUR
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm – A Poet’s Guide to Venice: Touring The Neighborhood

Walk in the footsteps of your favorite writers led by L.A. poet & professional tour guide, Mike Sonksen, aka Mike The Poet, author of Letters To My City. Incorporating poetry to empower and deepen the connection to the past, participants will explore the neighborhood that has inspired writers like Ray Bradbury, Exene Cervenka, Philomene Long, and Lawrence Lipton. From the Venice Canals to the infamous Boardwalk, and the old beatnik hangout of the Venice West Café. Hit the streets and immerse yourself in the artbound community of Venice, California.

$15 admission. FREE for Beyond Baroque members. Register to receive more details about the tour!

2:00 pm - 2:50 pm – SoCal Lit Showcase II: Writ Large Projects & Da Poetry Lounge
A showcase of six poets from independent presses, organizations, and literary journals publishing and supporting poetry in Southern California.

Writ Large Projects
Ernest Hardy
Seohyun Ryu
Chiwan Choi

Da Poetry Lounge
Christian Perfas
Beth May
Blu

3:00 - 4:00 pm - S.P.Y. Garden Lunch
Join us for a fresh lunch outdoors in community. Dishes will feature organic produce grown and nurtured by the Safe Place for Youth Community Garden Team. Take part in the interactive art activities inspired by the natural surroundings, experiment with Hapazome printmaking, and create your own poem in any of our poetry trees stationed throughout Beyond Baroque grounds.

4:00 - 4:50 PM - Places We Call Home: Voices of the Central American Diaspora
In celebration of the Library of America's Latino Poetry anthology, Beyond Baroque and Letras Latinas, in partnership with UCLA’s César Chavez Chicana/o/x and Central American Studies Dept. presents a panel with poets of the Central American Diaspora featuring Darrel Alejandro Holnes (Panama), Adela Najarro (Nicaragua), Maya Chinchilla (Guatemala), and Janel Pineda (El Salvador). This gathering reflects the voices of U.S.-based poets whose works explore Queerness, Femininity, and Black Heritage rooted in some of the territories comprising the region of Central America.

This program is presented as part of Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home, a public humanities initiative taking place across the nation in 2024 and 2025, directed by Library of America and funded with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Emerson Collective.

5:00 - 5:50 PM - Poetics of Grief & Liberation
A reading on poetics of resistance, solidarity, and honoring martyrs and ancestors. This reading features 2023 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellow, Roda Avelar, alongside San Diego Poet Laureate, Jason Magabo Perez, Fresno poet Aideed Medina, and L.A.-based, member of WAWOG, Fariha Róisín.

6:00 - 7:00 PM - California Fuschia
A reading of golden legends. California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick is joined by David St. John, Sara Borjas, and Allison Hedge Coke. Poets take the stage to transcend fault lines, deserts, and the final frontiers of the western coast with powerful verses.