A book celebration for Adam O. Davis’s second poetry collection

Beyond Baroque presents a book launch for Adam O. Davis’ award-winning second poetry collection, Pyrrhic Symphony (University of Nebraska Press, 2026) with Blas Falconer, Arthur Kayzakian, and Diana Marie Delgado in the Wanda Coleman Theater.

Praise for Pyrrhic Symphony

Pyrrhic Symphony is wild, whip-smart, and irreverent—a maximalist elegy for late capitalism and ecological disaster, set to a beat both comic and catastrophic. It’s part Muriel Rukeyser, part Anne Carson, with a dash of HBO satire and TED Talk dystopia. Its central conceit—a series of poetic ‘dispatches’ from a world breaking under the weight of its own consumption—is sustained across dazzling poems like ‘Future Tense’ and ‘Anthropocene Cool.’”—Rowan Ricardo Phillips, poetry editor for the New Republic and author of Living Weapon

Doors Open: 7:00 PM I Readings: 7:30 PM

About the authors

Adam O. Davis is the author of Pyrrhic Symphony (University of Nebraska Press, 2026), winner of the Raz/Shumaker Book Prize, and Index of Haunted Houses (Sarabande, 2020), winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize. The recipient of awards from Poetry International and the Poetry Society of America, his work has received support from the Community of Writers, the New Literary Project, The Prague Summer Program, and Vermont Studio Center. The co-creator and host of the Poetry Goes to the Movies podcast, his poetry has appeared in AGNI, The Believer, The Best American Poetry, The Paris Review, and ZYZZYVA. He lives in San Diego where he teaches English literature at The Bishop’s School. He was also once hit by lightning. It felt, more or less, like you’d expect.

Blas Falconer is the author of five poetry collections, including Rara Avis (Four Way Books 2024), winner of the Thom Gunn Award; Forgive the Body This Failure (Four Way Books, 2018); and The Founding Wheel (Four Way Books, 2012). He is also a co-editor for The Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity (University of Arizona Press, 2011) and Mentor & Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets (Southern Illinois University Press, 2010). The recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award from Poets & Writers, a Tennessee Individual Artist Grant, the New Delta Review Eyster Prize for Poetry, and the Barthelme Fellowship, he lives in Los Angeles and teaches in the MFA program at San Diego State University where he serves as the editor-in-chief of Poetry International Online.

Arthur Kayzakian is the author of The Book of Redacted Paintings (Black Lawrence Press, 2023), finalist for the 2023 Kate Tufts Award and winner of Black Lawrence Press’ inaugural Immigrant Writing Series, and My Burning City (Finishing Line Press, 2023). The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and San Diego State University, he serves as the Poetry Chair for the International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA). A contributing editor at Poetry International, his work has appeared in several publications, including The Adroit Journal, Portland Review, Chicago Review, Cincinnati Review, The Southern Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Witness Magazine.

Diana Marie Delgado is a poet and social justice advocate who has partnered with prominent organizations such as the Clinton Foundation, Coalition for Hispanic Family Services, the University of Arizona Poetry Center, and Hugo House to drive initiatives that amplify underrepresented voices in the arts. She is the editor of Like a Hammer: Poets on Mass Incarceration (Haymarket, 2025), Tracing the Horse (BOA Editions), a New York Times Noteworthy Pick, and Late Night Talks With Men I Think I Trust (Center for Book Arts, 2015). Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, The New York Times Magazine, and Tin House, and she has receivedgrants and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Hedgebrook, Ucross, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She is a proud Macondo and CantoMundo fellow.

About Beyond Baroque

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States’ leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public’s knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

Livestream: If you can’t join us in person the event will be livestreamed on Beyond Baroque’s YouTube channel at the scheduled time of the event. If you are tuning in this way, no ticket purchase is necessary.

If you are attending in person, ticket purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. Please arrive early.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.