LA Times Festival of Books

Despite the fact this weekend has been a scorcher (90+ today), I headed across town to UCLA (my alma mater) for the LA Times Festival of Books and reminded myself that I always have a good time there. And this year was no exception. It was truly broiling at first, to the point that it was almost too hot to stand there looking at the book booths, but then I took refuge in the Poetry Tent, which was shady and breezy. I saw readings by Stanley Plumly, Carol Muske-Dukes, Sam Pereira, Chris Abani, Diane Ward, and Wanda Coleman. The highlights were Chris Abani and Wanda Coleman, who both kicked ass. It had been years (probably a decade or more) since I'd seen Coleman read--she's a fixture of the Los Angeles literary scene, a brilliant writer and mesmerizing performer. Abani was one of my teachers at Antioch, and damn he's a good poet. I chatted with him a bit afterwards and told him that some of my poems that he critiqued are getting published...

By the time I left the Poetry Tent, the place had cooled down considerably. I bought the new Michael Chabon book of essays, Maps and Legends, from the Small World Books booth, partly because I don't want any more independent LA bookstores to go under. (Dutton's is closing this week, but I just can't bear to go back there and see it with the stock all picked over. I'd rather remember it as it was the last time I was there, a thriving bookshop.) I was delighted to find that Small Beer Press was at the book fair, sharing a booth with Coffeehouse Books. They were having a sale ($10 per paperback), so I got The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and Kate Wilhelm's book about Clarion. I ran into a fellow Antioch graduate as I was starting to head out, and chatted with her awhile. All in all, a lovely day.