Two of LMU’s writer-professors, Gail Wronsky, the director of creative writing, and Rubén Martínez, the Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature and Writing, have organized a conference dedicated to writers in Los Angeles and writing on Los Angeles — not as a one-time occasion, but as an annual celebration of the literary arts in the City of Angels.
The conference will gather about a dozen writers, established and upcoming, who live here and represent the city in their work. The presenters will range across the genres — poetry, fiction, nonfiction and criticism. There will be panels, readings and opportunities to rub elbows with the best of the city’s literary talent.
Among the distinguished company will be: Carolyn See (“There Will Never Be Another You”); 2008 Whiting Award recipient Douglas Kearney; Los Angeles Times Book Review editor David Ulin; Marisela Norte (“Peeping Tom Tom Girl”); Nina Revoyr (“The Age of Dreaming”); Terry Wolverton (“Embers”), “Witness L.A.” social justice blogger Celeste Fremon; Eastside performance writer Raquel Gutierrez; former Los Angeles Times staff writer Lynell George; and the politicized cyber-punk phenom of East L.A., Sesshu Foster (“Atomik Aztex”).
The event is free and open to the public.
PROGRAM
1:30 p.m. Panel I: “Visibility” (McIntosh Center)
Moderator: Alicia Partnoy, poet and LMU professor
Panelists: David Wong Louie (fiction)
Celeste Fremon (non-fiction, blogging)
Lynell George (non-fiction)
Terry Wolverton (poetry)
3:00 p.m. Break/Tea (English Department Village)
4:00 p.m. Panel II: “Invisibility” (McIntosh Center)
Moderator: Chuck Rosenthal, novelist, LMU professor
Panelists: Sesshu Foster (fiction, poetry)
Raquel Gutierrez (performance, theater)
Nina Revoyr (fiction)
Suzanne Lummis (poetry)
5:30 p.m. Wine & Cheese Reception (Ahmanson Foyer)
6:00 p.m. Featured Reading & Discussion (Ahmanson)
Moderator: David Ulin, editor, Los Angeles Times Book Review
Readers: Douglas Kearney (poetry)
Marisela Norte (poetry)
Carolyn See (fiction)
LAy of the LAnd is sponsored by Creative Writing and Syntext, Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature & Writing, Graduate Program in English, Marymount Institute, Denise Scott Fund and the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts.