Four Poets from the Lullaby of Teeth Anthology
Eric Morago, Armine Iknadossian, Charles Harper Webb, and Bill Cushing
The reading will also include two segments of open mike and refreshments (catered by Lydia Grant). The George Harris hat will be passed around to collect suggested donations for $3 per person for the upkeep of the Bolton Hall Museum, built by George Harris 105 years ago.
About the Poets
Eric Morago is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet who
believes performance carries as much importance on the page as it does off. He
is the author of What We Ache For and
Feasting on Sky. Currently Eric hosts
a monthly reading series, teaches writing workshops, and is editor-in-chief and
publisher of Moon Tide Press. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from California
State University, Long Beach, and lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Beirut-born, Southern
California-raised Armine Iknadossian
is the author of United States of Love & Other Poems (2016).
She has been featured most recently in The
Altadena Poetry Review, Angels Flight Literary West, Entropy and
The Rise Up Review. Her work
can also be seen in the Alabama Literary Review, Arbutus, Pearl, Rhino,
Split This Rock and The Nervous Breakdown. Armine
has an MFA in Poetry from Antioch and has worked as a teacher, as assistant
editor to Arianna Huffington, Robert Scheer and Molly Ivins, and
most recently as bookstore manager of Beyond Baroque, a beloved, Los Angeles
literary institution. Since 2013, Armine has been a Writing Consultant for
The Los Angeles Writing Project through CSULA. She was recently chosen by
Red Hen Press to be one of their Writers in the Schools. Find out more at armineiknadossian.com.
Charles Harper Webb's latest book, Brain Camp, was published in 2015
by the University of Pittsburgh Press, which will publish his next
collection, Sidebend World, in 2018. A Million MFAs Are Not Enough, a
collection of essays on contemporary American poetry, was published by Red Hen
Press in 2016. Recipient of grants from the Whiting and Guggenheim
foundations, Webb teaches Creative Writing at California State
University, Long Beach, and is working on a novel.
Bill Cushing
lived in various states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico before moving to
California. Returning to college after serving in the Navy and working on
commercial ships, he earned an MFA in writing from Vermont’s Goddard College.
He teaches at East Los Angeles and Mt. San Antonio colleges. He’s published
in Aethlon, Brownstone Review, Mayo Review, Newtown Literary,
Spectrum (as one of the “Top Ten Poets of L.A. in 2017), both
volumes of the award-winning anthologies Stories of Music, and West
Trade Review. His current project, “Notes and Letters,” combines poetry
with music and can be found on Facebook and Youtube.
About the Anthology
The failed body, the failed mother, the failed love, Lullaby of Teeth: An Anthology of Southern California Poets explores the hazards of being human in a world of forest fires, daughters, inaugurations, pests, and social awkwardness. We are asked to “Read between the lines of code” and see as these poets have seen. With realistic language, sharp and vivid imagery, and a variety of forms that reveal their breadth of talent, these 18 Southern California poets have not failed in forging an anthology that readies the world for crisis and epiphany alike.
– Danielle Mitchell, author of Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry and director of The Poetry Lab
With a combination of new and established poets, A Lullaby of Teeth showcases the variety and power of SoCal poetry. The common thread of these poems is their humanity. They tackle real issues of life, and death, with heart, insight, and, often, humor, so that the reader both feels and understands them.
— G. Murray Thomas, author of Cows on the Freeway and My Kidney Just Arrived.
Photos from the "Eclipse Moon" Haiku Anthology Reading, February 25, 2018
The "Eclipse Moon" anthology was the "feature" at the Bolton Hall reading for February. After the two "featured readers" presented their own recent work (Deborah P Kolodji and William Scott Galasso), we were treated to a real poetry feast. Ms. Kolodji selected haiku from the anthology to create a lovely and thoughtful narrative. It was read by William Galasso, Kimberly Esser, Greg Longenecker, and Deborah P Kolodji. Kathabela Wilson and Rick accompanied the poets on flutes (Rick), tamboura and percussion (Kathabela). The four readers were given bouquets of camellias from Maja Trochimczyk's garden at the end of the reading. Refreshments prepared by Marlene Hitt included finger sandwiches by Lydia Grant.
Dorothy Skiles commented: "The carefully woven tapestry of haiku delivered on stage by Deborah and Scott and other members of the Southern California Haiku Study Group on 2/25/18, echoed through the hall of the Bolton Hall Museum!"
Deborah P Kolodji, and William Scott Galasso accompanied by Rick Wilson on flute.
Poets in attendance: Standing L to R: Maja Trochimczyk, Jonathan Vos Post, Joyce Futa, Sharon Hawley, Dorothy Skiles, Mari Werner, Pamela Shea, Marlene Hitt, Mary Torregrosa and Rick Wilson. Seated L to R: , William Galasso, Deborah P Kolodji, Dorothy Skiles, Kimberly Esser, Greg Longenecker and Kathabela Wilson
Seated: William Scott Galasso, Deborah P Kolodji, Kimberly Esser, Greg Longenecker
Standing: Rick Wilson, Maja Trochimczyk, Kathabela Wilson
Deborah P Kolodji and Maja Trochimczyk in blue. Photo by Mary Torregrosa
Joe DeCenzo, photo by Kathabela Wilson
Dorothy Skiles, Photo by Kathabela Wilson