Category: ReadLocal

Read Local SoCal đź“šđź“š April 2025 National Poetry Month

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Join us in reading local in April! For National Poetry Month, we selected fiction and poetry to awaken the soul. Our picks appear below. 

You can meet the poets on April 16 during the WeHo Reads: Richard Blanco and Kim Dower in Conversation During National Poetry Month event.

We’re also running a book giveaway! Attendees on April 16 will be chosen at random to receive a free book from one of the participating authors. We’re giving away one copy of each of the books marked with the book icon đź“– below to give away.  See official sweepstakes rules for more information. 

Richard Blanco

Kim Dower

  • đź“– Obsessive love has never been so much fun! What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria is a powerful tribute to the intensity of obsessive love, told through the trademark humor and heartbreak of bestselling poet Kim Dower. | Available from Bookshop.org and Amazon.
  • đź“– I Wore This Dress Today for You, Mom: A rich, complex, heartbreaking, and funny anthology of poems on motherhood—being one and having one. | Available from Bookshop.org, Amazon, and the Los Angeles Public Library.

Olga García Echeverría’s Falling Angels and Dead Cockroaches: a BookSwell Read Local Preview from Lisbeth Coiman 

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With Falling Angels, Olga GarcĂ­a EcheverrĂ­a delights us with urban tales and poems of characters who sound like real people on a street in Whittier, CA. This brief collection honors the linguistic heritage of East LA, where bilingualism means not only navigating between two languages but also refers to the capacity to code-switch and coexist between two cultures that are not always in sync.

Olga GarcĂ­a EcheverrĂ­a (OGE), East LA Chicanx writer and professor, digs into the city’s consciousness to create stories and poems that are as colorful as they are political. Like a wordsmith, a food truck vendor entertains his clients by spinning the sweet word “donut” with dexterity into jokes and metaphors, while the author makes a profound political statement on police brutality. A conversation between two dead cockroaches—with all the difficult visual images that go into this amusing chat—reveals a profound knowledge of bilingualism in our urban culture. A beautiful coming-of-age story, speaks loudly of identity while the reader smiles at the innocence of two girls going through puberty. A prayer in the mouth of a 17-year-old girl reflecting on her living conditions creates the imagery of slum housing, where numbers and flying cockroach wings scurry between verses.

García Echeverría’s urban characters and setting are centered in hyperreality where politics of class, race, and immigration intersect. They hit the reader with humor and witty wisdom to leave us speechless at the truths revealed.

The brief and impactful stories will linger for a while, calling on the reader to continue exploring OGE’s fabulous website with curiosity. Those who do will discover an online jewel where academic research, curiosity, and creativity explode in color to gift us a glossary of idiomatic expressions in Spanish, an article on the use of cardboard, a reflection on adjunct teaching, and a homage to public libraries, plus literary resources for Latinx writers and readers. In all her writing, OGE’s writing drips with humor and sharp wit, both in Spanish and English.

Falling Angels is a true joy to read. I invite all of you to read this collection. Flip the with the right arrow, or move between stories by scrolling up and down, even if you have to move quickly through the images to avoid the cockroach like I did. 

You’ll laugh.

About the Contributor

Lisbeth Coiman is a bilingual author and an avid reader. Her debut book, I Asked the Blue Heron: A Memoir (2017), explores the intersection between immigration and mental health. Her poetry collection, Uprising / Alzamiento (Finishing Line Press, 2021), raises awareness of the humanitarian crisis in her homeland. Her book reviews have been published in the New York Journal of Books, Citron Review, The Compulsive Reader, LibroMobile, and Cultural Daily, to name a few. She lives in Los Angeles, where she works and hikes.

About Read Local with BookSwell

BookSwell’s Read Local initiative connects readers and helps them discover local authors. Sign up for curated reading lists, discussion guides, and special offers.

Read Local SoCal đź“šđź“š March 2025 Women’s History Month

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Join us in reading local in March! For Women’s History Month, we selected fiction and poetry to awaken the fearless feminist inside you. Our picks appear below. 

You can meet the writers on March 19 during the WeHo Reads: Feminism and Fearlessness During Women’s History Month event.

We’re also running a book giveaway! Attendees on March 19 will be chosen at random to receive a free book from one of the participating authors. We’re giving away one copy of each of the books marked with the book icon đź“– below to give away.  See official sweepstakes rules for more information. 

RSVP on Eventbrite

Katya Apekina

Prize-winning author Katya Apekina’s Mother Doll  đź“– is a sharp, kaleidoscopic novel about the shadow of trauma in Russian history that follows four generations of mothers and daughters. | Available from Bookshop.org and Los Angeles Public Library

Olga GarcĂ­a EcheverrĂ­a

Angelina Sáenz

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  • With her extensive experience in public schools, Angelina Saenz presents Maestra, a captivating collection of poems. Her work beautifully explores the complexities of classrooms, embracing hope, despair, resilience, and joy. | Available from FlowerSong Press
  • Waiting for Luna đź“– is a heartwarming and visually cutting-edge story about a boy’s wish for a little sister, his journey of becoming a big brother, and accepting that while you don’t always get what you want, you can love and accept what is given. | Available from Amazon

Kate Stayman-London

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Fang Fiction đź“– | The world of your favorite fantasy novels is real, and you’re invited to visit. The only catch? It’s filled with thirsty vampires. Devour this transporting romance from the bestselling author of One to Watch. | Available from Bookshop.org and the Los Angeles Public Library

Read Local SoCal đź“šđź“š February 2025 Black History Month

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We’re running a book giveaway! Attendees of the WeHo Reads: Power and Progress During Black History Month event on February 26 will be chosen at random to receive a free book from one of the participating authors. We’re giving away one copy of each of the books marked with the book icon đź“– below to give away. See official sweepstakes rules for more information. 

RSVP on Eventbrite

Angela M. Franklin

  • Four poems by Angela M. Franklin on subjects people are too squeamish to discuss, involving race, mental health, domestic violence, and social injustice

Read now online at https://www.angelafranklin.com/poems.html

Jenise Miller

  • The Blvd by Jenise Miller  đź“–  a debut poetry collection celebrating Compton and its people, who face hardship with grit, gratitude, and grace.

Available via Amazon resellers https://www.amazon.com/Blvd-Jenise-Miller/dp/1946081337

Pam Ward

Romaine Washington

Reggie Myles

Reggie Myles is a spoken word poetry artist and community organizer from Pasadena, CA. He has performed at local poetry slams and events throughout LA County and is currently writing his first poetry book. He centers his artistry in writing, exploring, and speaking to the Black experience. Specifically, through themes and concepts of joy, healing, resistance, identity, and love. Above all, Reggie is a wordsmith, invoking the radical imagination, change, and connections in his garden of poems.Â