"Tales of Downtown" Salon Series

Sunday, October 11th brought the culmination of the “Tales of Downtown” three-part salon series. Presented and hosted by PEN member Nancy Mills in her historic loft on Broadway, the series featured interviews with prominent literary talent with a connection to Downtown LA. Each guest spoke about the city's cultural heritage, shared personal stories, and discussed what the exciting new revitalization of downtown means for the creative community.

Host Nancy Mills is known for her leading women’s empowerment community, TheSpiritedWoman.com, and popular Spirited Woman Blogger Team. Nancy’s latest creative venture is her new blog, TalesofDowntown.com, about her adventures living in a downtown loft as well as those of her downtown friends.

On August 9th, the series launched with speaker Julio Martinez, host of Arts in Review on KPFK Radio, contributing theater critic for Daily Variety, and features editor of Latin Heat magazine. In an open conversation with Nancy, he discussed his family’s history in downtown LA, dating back to the 1920s. Julio also described his own experiences ushering at the Million Dollar Theatre, dancing salsa at the Biltmore Bowl, and performing with Al Jarreau.

The September 13th salon featured famous downtown photographer and writer Tom Zimmerman. Zimmerman’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the United States Library of Congress, National Trust for Historic Preservation, California State Library and more. At the salon, Zimmerman spoke about his new book, Downtown in Detail: Close-up on the Historic Buildings of Downtown Los Angeles, and shared many photos from his personal collection, including several from when he was just starting his career.

For the final salon on October 11th, guest speaker Bill Boyarsky discussed his newest publication, Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times, and spoke to the influence the Chandlers had on downtown Los Angeles. Boyarsky has worked for the Los Angeles Times for 30 years as a political writer, featured columnist, and city editor. He has also served on three Pulitzer Prize winning reporting teams and has written several books about Los Angeles.

The series has been a whirlwind of exciting commentaries and thoughtful reflections related to downtown Los Angeles, both in a historical context as well as in contemporary times. All three conversations sparked interesting discussions about the revitalization of the downtown and the changes that have taken place there in the last century.

Thank you to all the PEN members who attended; your support is greatly appreciated. Be sure to stay tuned for more PEN salon series in the future!

Algonquin Literary Award Soiree + West Hollywood Book Fair

On Saturday, October 3rd, the third annual Algonquin West Hollywood Literary Award Soiree kicked off the weekend’s events at the Pacific Design Center with readings, presentations and a star-studded staging of the one-act play “From Harlem to Broadway.”

The evening was a benefit for our PEN in the Classroom program. Dennis Danziger, an English teacher at Venice High School, spoke about his experience with PITC, followed by a poetry reading by PITC students from Animo Film & Theater Arts Charter School, Josh Ramirez and Sergio Peralta. The two students astonished the crowd with their emotional and moving performance.

This year’s Algonquin Literary Award went to Aimee Lui, author of the novels Face, Cloud Mountain and Flash House, and most recently the memoir Gaining, the Truth About Life After Eating Disorders. Lui, a former Board President of PEN USA, gave a humble yet powerful speech about how we could all be doing more to promote reading and the literary arts. Congratulations, Aimee Lui.

In Michael Kearns’ “From Harlem to Broadway,” the Harlem Renaissance and the Broadway Stage intersected with stunning performances by Tia Kearns, Charmaine Mancil, Derek Ringold, Doug Spearman, Hank Stratton, Gordon Thomson and Liz Torres, with Russell Jackson on the piano. The performance was followed by a spectacular spread of desserts from La Conversation Café in West Hollywood.

On Sunday morning PEN USA was back for the 8th Annual West Hollywood Book Fair at West Hollywood Park. Our interactive booth featured information on our various programs, Freedom to Write t-shirts, buttons, a digital slide show with photographs of our fans wearing FTW t-shirts, boards where visitors could express their freedom to write by putting their own voice into words on paper, and hourly raffles for a selection of books from the 2008 PEN Literary Awards as well as free associate memberships to PEN USA.

That afternoon, the 2009 Emerging Voices fellows gave their final performance of the year at the Salon Stage. Erika Ayon, John Boucher, Rachelle Cruz, Thi Dao, Parnaz Foroutan, Syliva Sukop, Marissa Tinloy, and Mehnaz Turner read selected poems, stories and non-fiction to a standing room only crowd.

PEN USA was proud to be a part of this eclectic literary event full of exceptional author panels, live performances, exhibitors and writing workshops. Special thanks to the City of West Hollywood, Mayor Abbe Land and West Hollywood’s amazing Corey Roskin.
 

2009 Emerging Voices Final Reading

Emerging Voices is a literary mentorship program designed to launch potential professional writers from underserved communities. On Wednesday, July 22, over 200 people gathered at the Hammer Museum to hear from this year’s crop of talented writers. There was standing room only in the Billy Wilder Theater as the three poets, two fiction writers, and two memoirists read selections from the manuscripts they produced during their year-long mentorships. Hosted by voice actor David Thomas, the reading celebrated the completion of the fellowship, which included Author Evenings, workshops, master classes, courses at UCLA Extension, lectures, public readings, and informal sessions with mentors. A reception in the museum courtyard followed the reading.

The 2009 EV fellows include: Erika Ayon, John Boucher, Rachelle Cruz, Thi Dao, Parnaz Foroutan, Sylvia Sukop, Marissa Tinloy, and Mehnaz Turner. Parnaz was unable to attend the reading due to the recent birth of her healthy new baby.

The eight fellows were each paired with a mentor. This year’s mentors included poets Suzanne Lummis, Laurel Ann Bogen, and Leslie Monseur, fiction writers Maria Amparo Escandon, Mary Yukari Waters, and Kathleen Wallace King, and memoirists Trebor Healey and Erika Schickel. The fellowship also provided two master classes, one in poetry and one in fiction and nonfiction. Donna Hilbert, poet and author of Traveler in Paradise: New and Selected Poems, led the poetry class while Ellen Slezak, author of the short story collection Last Year’s Jesus and the novel All These Girls, taught the fiction and nonfiction class.

Special thanks to Jamie Wolf and the Rosenthal Family Foundation, as well as Claudia Bestor and the Hammer Museum, for making this night possible.

If you are interested in submitting an application for the 2010 Emerging Voice Fellowship, please visit: http://penusa.org/programs/emerging-voices.

The Legacy Of Harvey Milk

The Legacy Of Harvey Milk was held on Saturday, June 6 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The event featured a digital photography presentation by Danny Nicoletta, one of Harvey Milk's first employees, who shared intimate memories and photos from his vast collection.  “Having traveled to Los Angeles with Harvey Milk in 1978 for the First California Gay Caucus where he was the keynote speaker, it was gratifying to be giving a speech about him in Los Angeles 30 years later,” Nicoletta said.  He continued, “Events like this remind me that the LGBT civil rights movement is resilient if nothing else, and further reflection invariably yields the same result, that it is so much more from wherever you are standing.”   

A screening of film featurettes, including behind-the-scenes footage from the film, Milk and panel discussion of which addressed Milk's historic position in American culture and the legacy of his organizing spirit followed Nicoletta’s presentation. Panelists were Dan Nicoletta, Mark Thompson, Malcolm Boyd, Frank Pancucci, and Patricia Nell Warren.  Panelist Frank Pancucci said, “The event helped bridge the gap between seasoned members of the LGBT community and the younger generation, who are currently finding their place in the movement for justice and equality. The power of story, personal experience, and open dialogue, provided me with insight on the last 30 years—I am very grateful for having been able to be a part of the event.”

Panelist Mark Thompson, who was a 21-year-old gay student activist when he met Harvey Milk in the autumn of 1973, not long after he opened his Castro Camera shop, said, “…Until his death in November 1978, I watched him grow in stature and political finesse until he finally obtained his goal of becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to high public office in the nation. Aside from appreciating his acumen on the many campaign trials he had to take, I adored his sense of humor and zest for life. Harvey was witty, sexy, and a lot of fun to be around. He had a natural charisma further honed by his earlier experiences in the New York theater world. He was an astute community leader and a bit of a jokester all rolled up in one amazing ball of talent, ambition, and dedication to the advancement of gay and lesbian civil rights.”

June is recognized as Pride Month by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community worldwide. Events are held in June to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion in New York City on June 28, 1969, which most historians consider to be the birth of the modern LGBT civil rights movement. At the time, police raids on bars catering to LGBT patrons were common, but that night, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back. While historical accounts of the night vary, the violent response ignited a national firestorm of activism that brought new visibility to the struggle for LGBT equality.

West Hollywood Pride Month builds upon the historic beginnings of Pride with its roots in the social and political struggles of the LGBT community via arts and cultural activities, and broader understanding of Pride as a component of community and civic involvement.

A dessert reception will followed the panel discussion.  “The Legacy of Harvey Milk” was sponsored by PEN Center USA and the City of West Hollywood.

Tsehai Poetry Jam

The Tsehai Poetry Jam was held at Messob Restaurant and Lounge in Little Ethiopia on Sunday, May 31. It was a very special evening of intergenerational poetry, music, food and lively discussion examining almost four decades of the Ethiopian immigrant’s life in the United States. Professor Adugnaw Worku delighted the packed crowd with his authentic Ethiopian musical performance, which was complemented by Meklit Hadero’s beautiful acoustic guitar pieces. Other panelists and poets included: Daniel Asress, Fisseha Moges, Shimelis Amare. A special thanks to the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Tsehai Publishers, and especially Elias Wondimu for curating the event.

Emerging Voices Hotel Café Reading

Thank you all who joined us on May 10th for the 2009 Emerging Voices Fellows’ first reading at Hotel Café hosted by PEN USA and Tongue and Groove curator, Conrad Romo. The event proved to be a resounding success. The writers read to a packed room sharing their moving and hilarious work. Hotel Cafe’s ambiance complimented the Emerging Voices exuberant smiles; it was a night to remember. Special thanks go to the Rosenthal Family Foundation, Jamie Wolf, the mentors, master class teachers, Dave Thomas, and Conrad Romo who generously to shared his monthly salon with the Emerging Voices.