Poetry events in Los Angeles (7/26)

This week is the end of Love's Labour's Lost and start of Doctor Faustus at Griffith Park

The Bard: Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

This town is full of rebellious writers, standing up to Trump's fascist agenda with his Gestapo ICE. But LA does it differently, with flare and pizzazz, poetry and spoken word. Come out to Santa Monica's historic Rapp Saloon inside the Youth Hostel to see it live. There's more going on. On Sunday, the Village Poets have a regular reading at Bolton Hall in Sunland/Tujunga, right in the foothills. Next weekend, the Eagle Rock Library hosts an open mic with that this month features Lynda Crawford. The SPARC (South Pasadena Arts Council) has a reading every Third Thursday. For anyone looking for the Bard himself, IndieShakes.org is at Griffith Park all summer with FREE Shakespeare in the Park. Or, if Hollywood is your bag, the Emmys are coming up soon.

• What happens at these poetry readings?

Eagle Rock is on the Eastside of Hipsterville

Next weekend, in the afternoon, Eagle Rock Library (part of LA County's system) has its bimonthly Open Mic: Open Mic Poetry | Los Angeles Public Library

• 5027 Caspar Avenue
• Eagle Rock (Los Angeles), CA 90041
• Phone: (323) 258-8078
• lapl.org/branches/eagle-rock
• Instagram

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Share your original poems, lyrics, spoken word, or just enjoy listening. Each poet will have five (5) minutes to read an original work. To read, sign up on arrival.

Poetess Lynda V. E. Crawford (Poets & Writers)

The featured speaker will be Lynda V. E. Crawford, who says of her poetry, "I write poems to sneak behind eyes, blow through ears, and stretch voices." Crawford was born and raised in Barbados and now lives in California. Both home countries sway her writing. The Pushcart Prize nominee's work has appeared in national and international journals including Prairie Schooner, ArtsEtc Barbados, The Caribbean Writer, The Galway Review, The Bookends Review, California Quarterly, and Exposition Review. Crawford is the author of the poetry collection Washing Water (World Stage Press, October 2024).

For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event. Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento. More

3-minute history of Los Angeles' Rapp Saloon in Santa Monica

What happened?

3rd Thursday Poetry: SPARC (7/17)

It's every third Thursday (except December). Tonight's show put the spotlight on two artists featured on Wisdom Quarterly, an environmentalist and a poet dealing in race and esteem issues as a Vietnamese American poet. We discovered a new talent that stole the show, painter Ekaterina Sky. She was performing Earthcentric slam poetry, passionate about restoring nature from all of our manmade disasters.

What else you got?

There is no ART without ARTists who share.

Poetry is running rampant across the city, spreading culture and resistance, saying "no" to Trump and ICE, fascism and racism, Tinsel Town excesses and the dumbing down of a digitally-addicted society. There's more. Tonight (Friday, July 17, 2025) is Rapp Saloon's 14th anniversary with Hostess Elena Secota at the Youth Hostel in Santa Monica.

• The Rapp Saloon (historical 1st brick building)
• Hostelling International, Santa Monica
• 1436 2nd Street, Santa Monica
• FREE/all ages (donations appreciated)

Sunday inside historic Bolton Hall

Bolton Hall Museum historical landmark (Sunland/Tujunga, Southern California)

 

Poetess Maja Trochimczyk

Village Poets of Sunland/Tujunga is happy to welcome poets Hilda Weiss and past Poet Laureate Maja Trochimczyk on the Third Sunday (July 20th), 4:30 pm at Bolton Hall Museum. There is also an open mic where poets are invited to participate in the open reading segment of the event. It is hosted by Alice Pero.

• Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga
• Bolton Hall Museum
• 10110 Commerce Ave. (off of Foothill),
• Tujunga, California 91040
• Village Poets of Sunland & Tujunga: Calendar

Bolton Hall is a Los Angeles Historical Landmark built in 1913. Reading starts at 4:30 pm and goes to 6:30 pm. Refreshments served. Free street parking available and at Elks Lodge, 10137 Commerce Ave. Park, behind the building, a short walk from Bolton Hall, across the street and down the block.

• Independent Shakespeare Co., Griffith Park, Los Angeles
• Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly