I’m having a book signing/reading at Village Books in the Palisades this Thursday, July 10th. It’s the first thing I’ve done on the westside, so hopefully I’ll see some of you who haven’t been able to get out to the other readings there, and everyone in general! Here’s the info:
Kim Calder signs Who’s to Say What’s Home
Village Books
1049 Swarthmore Ave. Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
(310)-454-4063
7:30-8:30
and their website:
My website receives a lot of spam blog “comments,” but I’ve never gotten one as good as this:
“Hypnosis is another product. And furthermore, her pussy was lousy and it stank.”
Furthermore, would people start leaving some blog comments so there’s something for me to look at other than this crap?
Hi all,
I had completely forgotten I was reading tomorrow, Wednesday, June 10th, at the Stella Adler Academy until I logged into myspace and saw a bulletin for the event with my name on it, which was a surprise. I’ll be reading with Judeth Oden and Chiwan Choi of Writ Large, and some other poets as well. Judy and Chi are both wonderful writers, so it’s worth it to pull some last-minute strings and make it out if you can. Sorry for the late notice–if you can’t make this one, hopefully you can make the one on Friday, which I’ll post below…but, for now, here’s tomorrow’s info:
8:00 PM
Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre
6673 Hollywood Blvd., 2nd floor
(100 ft. east of Hollywood & Highland–and get this–opposite to McDonalds and next door to the wax museum)
The second reading I’m doing this week is on Friday, June 13th (yeah, I know) at the Echo Park Film Center. It’s a 13-reader showcase entitled Will Wright Presents, and the details are:
8:00 PM
Echo Park Film Center
1200 N. Alvarado St. (@ Sunset)
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Looking forward to seeing some of you at one, or both!
This has to be one of the funniest articles I’ve ever seen:
Using “The Road Not Taken” and another poem as jumping-off points, Frost biographer Jay Parini hopes to show the vandals the error of their ways — and the redemptive power of poetry.
“I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they would be more respectful of other people’s property in the future and would also learn something from the experience,” said prosecutor John Quinn.
The vandalism occurred at the Homer Noble Farm in Ripton, where Frost spent more than 20 summers before his death in 1963. Now owned by Middlebury College, the unheated farmhouse on a dead-end road is used occasionally by the college and is open in the warmer months.
On Dec. 28, a 17-year-old former Middlebury College employee decided to hold a party and gave a friend $100 to buy beer. Word spread. Up to 50 people descended on the farm, the revelry turning destructive.
When it was over, windows, antique furniture and china had been broken, fire extinguishers discharged, and carpeting soiled with vomit and urine. The damage was put at $10,600.
Twenty-eight people — all but two of them teenagers — were charged, mostly with trespassing.
About 25 ultimately entered pleas — or were accepted into a program that would allow them to wipe their records clean provided they underwent the Frost instruction. Some will also have to pay for some of the damage, and most were ordered to perform community service in addition to the classroom sessions. The man who bought the beer is the only one who went to jail; he got three days behind bars.
Parini, 60, a Middlebury College professor who has stayed at the house before, was eager to oblige when Quinn asked him to teach the classes.
Eleven recently turned out for the first of two sessions, with Parini giving line-by-line interpretations of “The Road Not Taken” and “Out, Out –,” seizing on parts with particular relevance to draw parallels to their case.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” he thundered, reciting the opening line of the first poem.
“This is where Frost is relevant. This is the irony of this whole thing. You come to a path in the woods where you can say, ‘Shall I go to this party and get drunk out of my mind?’ ” he said. “Everything in life is choices.”
“It’s a lesson learned, that’s for sure,” said one of the vandals, 22-year-old Ryan Kenyon, whose grandmother knew Frost. “It did bring some insight. People do many things that they don’t realize the consequences of. It shined a light, at least to me.”
It’s been a wonderful weekend. Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Beirut at the Wiltern, and it was absolutely amazing. They were charming as hell, and their performance was nothing short of epic. The best way I can describe it: imagine if a group of kids from the high school band walked out on stage, and then proceeded to blow a sold-out crowd away. Zach Condon’s voice is simply one of the best out there. It was one of those shows that reminds you why it’s good to be alive–touching, energetic, and unpretentious. Not to mention the sheer volume of instruments on stage, and damn, those kids can play. Simply beautiful. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check them out, I’d suggest getting a copy of Gulag Orkestar–I think it’s their best. Also, they’ve got mp3’s on their website, http://www.beirutband.com. In the top left corner, there’s a little player you can use to go from song to song.
Other highlights of the show included a girl who was ejected by security for attempting to get crunk/”belly dance” in the aisle, and Zach’s comment that on Friday night he’d had a real LA night, having woken up in a hotel room covered in blood that morning.
Today, Sunday, I went over to the LA Poets and Writers Collective reading at Beyond Baroque in Venice, hosted by Jack Grapes. Jack’s been doing these for a long time, and they’re always a lot of fun. Readers who go over the 2 minute time limit are subject to a fart machine, and if that doesn’t stop them, they’re squirted with water pistols. I actually got to be one of the enforcers today and squirt a few people, which was pretty great. Jack also surprised me by asking me to get up and read from the book, and we got a really positive response from the crowd. It was a fun afternoon, and I’m always touched by Jack’s generosity in mentoring and helping local writers and small presses. I began studying with him when I was 17, and I can’t say I’d be the writer or the person I am today had it not been for his encouragement and guidance.
The best part of the whole weekend, though, had to be when a woman at the reading came up to me after I’d read my piece and asked me, “Were you a crackhead?”
As y’all know, I’m reading with Chiwan Choi this Wednesday at Good Hurt and had promised to post a sample of his work. Chi’s a genius, and he’s also 1/2 of my publisher, Writ Large Press. Here’s a poem from his website:
Jacob and Israel
it’s how the story was told to me
on the steps of the kitchen,
my little belly hanging out over the waist
of the beige shorts mom made me,
with seams stitched in
so i’d know which side was the front,
the comic book in my hands,
unable to admit to her
that i was making up the words
after overhearing her tell her sister
who lived next door with her unbearable husband
that i could already read at not quite 4,
sitting there on the steps that my father built
just like he built the rest of the house
once over the business of having me,
sitting on those steps that went down into the kitchen,
as she stuck her hands
into cabbage and pepper flakes
and drew me the picture of that cliff,
that mountainside of rocks,
with her words
and i pretended not to care
and held the book i couldn’t read to my face
and pretended i didn’t hear the story
of jacob,
of israel,
hanging there on the rocks,
his hands on the cloth of the angel’s robe,
whose wings were no match
for a young man’s desperation.
Chi’s one of the best poets writing today–so I highly recommend you make it out for this one. I know it’s the westside, but it’s worth it, I promise.
Here’s the info, one more time:
Wednesday, May 21st
8 pm (Chi and I will be reading between 8:45-9:45)
Good Hurt Bar
12249 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
and, be sure to check out Chi’s website, www.chiwanchoi.com, and Writ Large Press’ website, www.writlargepress.com.
That’s right, folks, ANOTHER reading! I’ll be reading with Sarah and Gaby, who are both absolutely amazing. Here’s the deal:
Sarah Heston’s Art Jam Out
June 7th, 7 p.m.
in basement of 810 e 3rd st, # 45
(enter at the big iron gate at 801 e Traction across the street from Blooms Store at Hewitt and Traction)
Hey friends, so I’m heading to Finland in June and then I’m off to Missouri to get my Ph.D. from the Univ. of Missouri, where I’ve been named the (duh duh) Distinguished Fellow of Creative Non-Fiction, for my memoir, which some of you are mentioned in. And I’ve only been back in LA for mere months…so, I will read a bit from the memoir, sing, dance, and humiliate myself, all for you. In addition, there will be other readers and performers, art on display, and drinks and food in this incredible downtown studio of Dave’s and Frank’s (the dads).
Sarah Heston reads from the memoir
Kim Calder and Gabriela Jauregui read from their *new and awesome* books of poetry
David Hollen’s fabulous and slightly dangerous sculptures will be on display, so be careful and bid high!
and I think many others, like beautiful Swedish jazz musicians? erudite accomplished Armenians? unicorns? my grandparents??
Google names for books and art. Forward email to mutual friends.
But most importantly, this is my way to party with you before I take off, once again, but this time with university backing for a book that is saving my life. Please come dance with me, bring alcohol if you can, and check out the work of my friends and my own, because we’re all doing what makes life great. And you are great. I’ve seen your bands a million times, now you can come see what I do.
Please RSVP by letting me know you’d like to come, and I’ll advise Sarah so she can make enough food, etc. I can’t say enough about Sarah’s writing–and she’s also just one of my favorite people out there. Gaby’s going to be incredible, as well, and it should be one hell of a party. So come on out!!
I advise you check out Ms. Heston’s writing, ASAP, at:
http://sarahheston.blogspot.com/
and, this is what none other than Marjorie Perloff said about Gaby’s book:
Remarkable. . . . Gabriela Jauregui displays perfect pitch: Her lyrics are impressive in their scope, range, empathy-and especially their authentic passion.-Marjorie Perloff , author of 21st-Century Modernism
When Kim is not writing, she teaches writing workshops and works as a freelance editor. She lives in Los Angeles.
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