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STATEMENT
OF PURPOSE:
On
Sunday, April 7th, 2002, at 2:00 p.m., Beyond Baroque will host
The Big Picture, a convocation of published Southern California
poets to be photographed for National
Poetry Month.
Southern
California is a region of diverse populations, each with a unique
voice. For this event, we are bringing all these voices together’
the voices of our literary poets, our performance poets, ourbeat
poets, avant-garde poets, academic poets, hip-hop poets, environmental
poets, political poets, cowboy poets, and others. Often regions
are not aware of their cultural heritage. This is our chance to
preserve these poets for posterity.
The
event will take place at Beyond Baroque, the non-profit foundation
that is the literary heart of Los Angeles. Founded in 1968 in a
storefront in Venice, the center has been the site of readings from
such literary giants and local icons as Allen Ginsberg, Philip Levine,
David St. John, Kate Braverman, Lewis MacAdams, Bob Flanagan, Charles
Bukowski, Wanda Coleman, Dennis Cooper, and many more. Many of SoCal's
most beloved poets have been alumnae of Beyond Baroque's longstanding
workshops.
The
event is being documented by Mark Savage, who is completing
a five-year project individually photographing the poets of Los
Angeles. Called one of the "finest up-and-coming portrait photographers
in North America’" by American Photography, Savage's work has appeared
in the Los Angeles Times, MONEY, Fortune,and other publications.
After the group photo, all poets will be invited to visit his project,
"Souls and Passions," on display at the Beyond Baroque gallery.
In
addition, participating poets will be donating copies of their publications
to the Beyond Baroque Archive, the largest independent collection
of Southern California poetry and ephemera on the West Coast.
•
Click here to go to the ABOUT
section for more about Mark, the "Souls and Passions"
photo project, the History of Southern California Poetry, and for
more about Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center...
•
Click here for our FAQ
about this event!
IN
MEMORY:
This
past Easter weekend, Southern California poetry lost two vital and
beloved members of the community.
Marta
Mitrovich was a seminal figure in Orange County poetry,
hosting the long-running Laguna Poets series from its inception
in the 1970s through its first 20 years.
John
Thomas was one of the original Venice Beats, who could claim
friendship with both Ezra Pound and Charles Bukowski while carving
his own significant niche in the Los Angeles poetry scene over the
last 30 years. We will be dedicating The Big Picture, with love,
to their memory.
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