GuerrillaReads

Not quite guerrilla, but definitely a reading

blog52 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:56:01 +0000

Watch this Intense Reading contest, taking place somewhere in a field in the American midwest.

I love finding literature in unexpected places, don’t you?

(Click here if you don’t see the video above.)

Guerrilla reading, Saudi style

blog52 — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:07:47 +0000

One of the hottest reality shows in the Middle East these days is Millions’ Poet, where poets from around the region compete to be named best Arabic poet. It’s sort of like American Idol, only the competitors actually have to write their own original poetry too as part of the competition. Even today, poetry remains a very important part of Middle East popular culture.

Earlier this year, Hissa Hilal won widespread acclaim – and some condemnation – when she competed and became a finalist for the grand prize. That’s right – she’s a she. Competing in a full abaya and niqab, she spoke out for women’s rights in her poetry as well.

This story from the BBC tells her story, and shows Hissa Hilal reciting her poetry:

GuerrillaReads No. 11

blog52 — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:52:17 +0000

Poet Jessica Wilson is part of Soap Box Poetry. They take poetry to the Venice Beach Boardwalk every month. Watch her read one poem and build another off the cuff.

Click here if you don’t see the embedded video above.

All poets are welcome at Soap Box Poetry. Look for them near the Sidewalk Cafe on Sundays. Or see them on YouTube.

Happy National Poetry Month!

Guerrilla Readers in training

blog52 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:42:45 +0000

Noah author from Jessica O’Connell on Vimeo.

Click to see more future Guerrilla Readers.

Holidays on a budget: think books, think indie

blog52 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:15:36 +0000

Certain websites may be selling the newest Dan Brown novel for half price, but it’s not the best bargain out there this holiday season. A book published by an independent press and purchased from an independent bookseller supports two indie businesses and makes a more unique gift. Your loved ones will thank you. So will your community.

If your community is Southern California , you’re in luck. Our region is fertile ground for locally grown organic literature. Check out these presses and bookstores:

Southern California-based Presses:

Ammo Books: one-of-a-kind titles featuring amazing design, thoughtful writing, and exquisite printing
Angel City Press: nostalgic yet cool illustrated books
Arktoi Books: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that give lesbian writers access to “the conversation”
Cahuenga Press: poetry that honors creative freedom and cooperation
Cloverfield Press: books as visually beautiful as they are intellectually and emotionally stimulating
Dzanc Books: literary fiction that falls outside the mainstream
Gorsky Press: risk-taking books that encourage readers to re-examine society
Green Integer: essays, manifestos, speeches, epistles, narratives, and more
Les Figues Press: aesthetic conversations between readers, writers, and artists, with an avant-garde emphasis
Make Now Press: contemporary works of constraint and conceptual literature
Otis Books/Seismicity: contemporary fiction, poetry, essays, creative non-fiction and translation
Perceval Press: art, critical writing, and poetry
P S Books: micro-press that publishes conceptually motivated series on a project by project basis
Red Hen Press: works of literary excellence that have been overlooked by mainstream presses
San Diego City Works Press: local, ethnic, political, and border writing
Santa Monica Press: offbeat looks at pop culture, lively how-to books, film history, travel, and humor
Tsehai Publishers: literary fiction and serious nonfiction, with an emphasis on first-time authors and writers from under-served communities
What Books Press: books by L.A.-based writers whose work spans the full scope of the past quarter century

Independent Bookstores:
Book Soup, West Hollywood
Chevalier’s Books, Larchmont Village
Diesel, Brentwood and Malibu
Equator Books, Venice
Eso Won Books, Leimert Park
Family, Fairfax District
Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse, La Cañada
IMIX Bookstore, Eagle Rock
Metropolis Books, Downtown
Portrait of a Bookstore, Studio City
Sierra Madre Books, Sierra Madre
Skylight Books, Los Feliz
Small World Books, Venice
Stories, Echo Park
Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore, Sylmar
Village Books, Pacific Palisades
Village Bookshop, Glendora
Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena

Please repost, tweet and email this widely to everyone interested in books and writing. Happy holidays from the Future of Publishing Think Tank*!

*The Future of Publishing Think Tank is an ad hoc group of writers and representatives of independent publishers and bookstores, nonprofit literary organizations, and community radio. Our task: to consider the changes occurring in publishing, distribution, and marketing of literary work and to envision new ways for writers to engage readers and build audiences for their work. Visit us to see the results of our reader survey and find more bookstores and literary activities in your area.

Reviews of these and many other independent bookstores can be found at BookstorePeople.com.

GuerrillaReads No. 10

blog52 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:50:00 +0000

John Talley-Jones reads the Marfusha Haiku

These haiku narrate the story of Marfusha, first rabbit into space. In July of 1959, she participated in a high-altitude, suborbital Soviet test flight. Along with two canine companions, she successfully returned to Earth, where she lived out the rest of her days. A Rumanian postage stamp was subsequently issued in her honor.

Click here if you don’t see the embedded video above.

Written and read by John Talley-Jones of the Los Angeles punk band Urinals.

GuerrillaReads No.9

blog52 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:09:43 +0000

Bronwyn Mauldin reads from her short story, Sensible Cars for Santa Ynez.

Bronwyn Mauldin is a writer and founder of GuerrillaReads.com. Her work has appeared in The Battered Suitcase, Blithe House Quarterly, Clamor magazine, and From ACT-UP to the WTO (Verso).

Click here if you don’t see the embedded video above.

This guerrilla reading took place in Eagle Rock, some 30~ miles southeast of the fictional town of Santa Ynez.

GuerrillaReads No.8

blog52 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:48:42 +0000

Urban poet Yvonne Estrada reads four poems featuring topics ripped from the bloody streets of Los Angeles.

You can read more of Estrada’s work in Mischief, Caprice and Other Poetic Strategies and Catena, or find her on MySpace. Estrada is a well-established guerrilla reader – she’s read poetry from the top of a downtown L.A. building, and once was part of a group that put poetry disguised as schedules on public transit.

Click here if you don’t see the embedded video above.

This guerrilla reading took place in the ambulance yard of the L.A. County Emergency Medical Services Authority in the City of Commerce.

GuerrillaReads No.7

blog52 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:19:53 +0000

Crystal Allene Cook reads from her novel, Bombardirovka.

Cook has been published in such journals as Shenandoah and the Southeast Review. This guerrilla reading was recorded live in Little Armenia in Los Angeles.

Click to learn more about Cook’s novel Bombardirovka.

GuerrillaReads No.6

blog52 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:28:56 +0000

Poet Kim Dower reads four poems from a collection in progress, Air Kissing On Mars.

Dower is a Los Angeles area poet. Her previous work has appeared in Ploughshares, The Seneca Review and others.

This guerrilla reading took place on Mulholland Drive at Fryman Canyon in Los Angeles in October 2008.