Tag: Memoir

The Poet’s Memoir

A generative writing workshop with Truong Tran

The Poet’s Memoir is a generative workshop that approaches the narratives of the self through short, non-narrative inquiries.

A memoir does not have to tell a life from beginning to end. It can be made of moments, snippets, fragments—parts of a story that, when brought together, begin to make a whole.

In this workshop, we will write toward discovery rather than completion. The hope is to find a path through: to plant seeds, follow what emerges, and see what might grow. Through a series of short generative exercises, participants will begin gathering the pieces of a larger story—the story of one’s life.

About the Facilitator

Truong Tran is a poet, visual artist, and teacher born in Saigon, Vietnam. His book-length poetry project Book of the Other: Small in Comparison (2021) received an American Book Award in 2022. He is the author of seven other collections, The Book of Perceptions, Placing the Accents, Dust and Conscience, Within the Margins, Four Letter Words, 100 words (with Damon Potter), and Looking and Seeing/Seeing and Looking (with Damon Potter). He also written the children’s book Going Home Coming Home and an artist monograph, I Meant To Say Please Past the Sugar. His poems and books have been translated into Spanish, French, and Dutch. He is the recipient of the Poetry Center Prize, the Fund for Poetry Grant, the California Arts Council Grant, and numerous San Francisco Arts Commission Grants. Truong is also a visual artist who believes that art, be it poetry, cooking, sculpting, and even gardening, are his ways of thinking through the conscious of the times we live in. Truong lives in San Francisco and currently teaches at Northeastern University, Oakland.

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.

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

Workshop 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 workshops, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.

Ari Emanuel with Kara Swisher

Ari Emanuel in conversation with Kara Swisher discussing his memoir, “Roll the Calls”

Please note:

— Tickets cannot be re-sold on re-seller platforms. Re-sold ticket will not be honored.

— Tickets are non refundable and are not transferable.

— All ticket holders should be ready to show ID at the event.

— The name(s) you provide during registration will be on a will-call list at the event, where you will check-in and get your ticket to enter the theatre.

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Join us for an in-person and virtual* Live Talks Los Angeles event:

Tuesday, September 29, 2025, 8pm

*Virtual event airs on October 6 at 6pm PT/9pm ET

Ari Emanuel in conversation with Kara Swisher

discussing his memoir, “Roll the Calls”

TICKETS:

$65 General Admission ticket + book

$95 Two General Admission ticket + ONE book

$115 Reserved Section Seating + two books total (also includes a signed copy of Kara Swisher’s memoir, Burn Book)

Additional books available for purchase at event

The virtual version of this event airs on October 6, 2026, at 6pm PT/9PM ET and is available on video-on-demand for five days. Tickets include a copy of the book.

Virtual Tickets can be purchased here.

ASL interpreter provided upon request.

Free parking at the venue

One of Hollywood’s most accomplished, feared—and funny—dealmakers has some stuff he wants to get off his chest. A lifetime worth of stuff. And secrets. And stories. And it all makes for one hell of a ride, and one of the must-read books of the year.

Ari Emanuel leads TKO as executive chair and CEO and is executive chairman of WME Group, two companies that sit at the center of sports, entertainment, and culture. Since co-founding Endeavor in 1995, Emanuel has repeatedly transformed the business of entertainment—merging William Morris Agency and Endeavor to form global enterprise WME, acquiring IMG and UFC, and ultimately bringing WWE and UFC together to form the sports powerhouse TKO. Based in Beverly Hills, Emanuel continues to build across ventures that include the global events and experiences company MARI and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kara Swisher is host of On with Kara Swisher and co-host of Pivot. She’s editor-at-large at New York Magazine and a CNN contributor, where she hosts the series Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever. She was the cofounder and editor-at-large of the technology website Recode and co-executive producer of the Code conference. Considered the top reporter in the tech game, Swisher has been reporting on the industry since the early 1990s. She is a former contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and has also worked for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She’s the author of the New York Times–bestselling memoir Burn Book: A Tech Love Story (Simon & Schuster, 2024).

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!’ I wonder if Ari was Paddy Chafefsky’s agent. Here in Technicolor is another of Hollywood’s greatest characters.” —Rick Rubin, author of The Creative Act

Ari Emanuel has long been one of the most influential people in the world, but he’s also something of a mystery. Part of the reason is Emanuel’s job description. As Hollywood’s best-known super-agent—the inspiration for Ari Gold in the classic TV drama Entourage—he’s paid to speak for his A-list clients, not himself.

Now, for the first time, the agent, the mogul, the fero­cious power broker, speaks for himself, about himself, and about the game of life—often at the top of his lungs. In Roll the Calls, his take-no-prisoners memoir, Eman­uel tells the incredible stories behind the signings and fir­ings, the triumphant mergers and nasty breakups, the hard-won victories and crushing mistakes.

With great comic zest, and in precise cinematic detail, he traces the arc of a classic rags-to-riches career, from suffering through severe dyslexia, to clerking in the mail­room of CAA, to striking out on his own with three fellow agents, launching a new talent agency that would go on to represent some of the most glittering names in show busi­ness, including Larry David, Quentin Tarantino, Denzel Washington, Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese, and Oprah Win­frey. Along the way Emanuel was also raising four kids, fighting and reconciling with friends and colleagues, coping with a failing marriage, and struggling to find love again.

Shattering the mold of stodgy CEO memoirs, Roll the Calls is told in a punchy, telegraphic style, with disarming humility and ribald candor. It’s a fable about success and failure, about creativity and persistence, and a master class in how to ignore the haters, how to overcome withering self-doubt, and, at moments of profound crisis and despair, how to be a fearless advocate for your most vulnerable client: yourself.

Ke Huy Quan with Octavia Spencer

An Evening with Ke Huy Quan discussing his memoir, “Never Say Die”

Please note:

— Tickets cannot be re-sold on re-seller platforms. Re-sold ticket will not be honored.

— Tickets are non refundable and are not transferable.

— All ticket holders should be ready to show ID at the event.

— The name(s) you provide during registration will be on a will-call list at the event, where you will check-in and get your ticket to enter the theatre.

———————————————————-

Join us for an in-person and virtual* Live Talks Los Angeles event:

Tuesday, September 22, 2025, 8pm

*Virtual event airs on September 29 at 6pm PT/9pm ET

Ke Huy Quan in conversation with Octavia Spencer

discussing his memoir, “TNever Say Die”

TICKETS:

$50 General Admission ticket + signed book

$60 Reserved Section seat + signed book

Additional signed books available for purchase at event

The virtual version of this event airs on September 29, 2025, at 6pm PT/9PM ET and is available on video-on-demand for five days. Tickets include a signed book.

Tickets for the virtual event can be purchased here (includes the signed book).

ASL interpreter provided upon request.

Free parking at the venue

The Oscar-winning star of Everything Everywhere All at Once, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and The Goonies tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.

Ke Huy Quan is an Oscar-winning actor who immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in Los Angeles. Discovered at an open casting call with no acting experience, he was cast at age 12 as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, followed by his role as Data in the beloved adventure classic, Goonies. As opportunities became limited, he stepped away from acting to study at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, graduating in 1999, and later worked behind the scenes as an action choreographer and assistant director. After more than two decades away from acting, he returned to the screen in Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Academy Award–winning Everything Everywhere All At Once, earning widespread acclaim along with the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since appeared in Season 2 of the Disney+ series Loki, starred in Universal’s Love Hurts, and voiced Gary De’ Snake in Disney’s animated film Zootopia 2.

Since winning the Academy Award for her role as Minny in The Help, actress Octavia Spencer has been nominated for an Oscar twice more. The film Green Book, on which she served as executive producer, was awarded both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for best picture. The second season of her Lost Women franchise recently premiered on Investigation Discovery and HBO Max. Among her many other credits, she has is co-author of an interactive mystery series for children called Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective.

“A monumental work of self-discovery and the power and grace of communal survival. Quan’s voice is crystalline and luminous, and his Odyssean journey to the screen is, in itself, a triumph of storytelling.” –Ocean Vuong

Ke Huy Quan’s Hollywood adventure began when he was twelve years old, a mere five years after his family escaped Communist Northern Vietnam and settled down to a relatively peaceful life in L.A.’s Chinatown. After attending an open call audition on a whim, he was unexpectedly swept up in the wild world of filmmaking: learning to swim from Harrison Ford on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, receiving trucks full of toys from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for his birthday, meeting Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, and making lifelong friends on the set of The Goonies.

A star of two of the most beloved movies of the ‘80s, there appeared to be no limit to Ke’s rise. But just a few years later, the roles had dried up and it seemed like Hollywood no longer had a place for him. He eventually left acting to work odd jobs behind the scenes for directors like Wong Kar Wai. His confidence was badly shaken, but his love of performing never abated. It wasn’t until decades later, when he was 49 years old, that he stepped back in front of the camera to star in a strange little indie film called Everything Everywhere All at Once, which surprised everyone with its incredible box-office and awards season success. To call Ke’s Oscar-winning performance a triumphant return would be an understatement.

In this moving, inspirational memoir, Ke paints a vivid self-portrait, telling both heart-wrenching and funny stories of his early rise, slow fall from the spotlight, the resilience that kept him going through his darkest times, and his eventual resurrection on one of the biggest stages in Hollywood. Never Say Die is the story of Ke’s extraordinary life, a love letter to the movies and people that shaped him, and a powerful testament to never giving up on your dreams.

BOOK LAUNCH: This Is How You Love Her w/ Traci Saulsberry & Jeanell English

Join Rep Club for a discussion on ‘This Is How You Love Her ‘ by author Traci Saulsberry in conversation with Jeanell English

WHO & WHAT: Join Rep Club for a discussion on ‘This Is How You Love Her: A Journey To Radical Self-Love’ by author Traci Saulsberry in conversation with Jeanell English.

WHEN: Doors at 6:30pm, event promptly at 7pm.

WHERE: Reparations Club, 3054 S. Victoria Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90016

HOW:

TICKET w/ BOOK: This ticket guarantees a seat including a signed book available for pick up at the event.

FREE RSVP (No Book Included): This Free RSVP DOES NOT include a copy of the book and entry is based strictly on capacity at the door. Books may be available for purchase in-store.

SIGNED BOOK ONLY: Can’t make it IRL but still want a signed copy? Order directly from our site!

Please email us at questions@reparations.club if you have any additional needs, questions, or accessibility concerns.

About the Book:

A FIERCELY CANDID, FUNNY, AND SOMETIMES HEARTBREAKING BLEND OF MEMOIR AND SELF-HELP ON VULNERABILITY, IDENTITY, AND RECLAIMING YOUR LIFE

What if you didn’t need Bali to find yourself? For 14 years, Traci Saulsberry led communications at NBC, becoming one of the youngest Black executives at the company. She had everything a modern woman is told to want–the house, her son, the high-powered job. But when her carefully constructed life collapsed, Saulsberry was confronted with a question she’d been avoiding for years: Who was she, really?

Here I was, caught on my heels, with no backup lover to pick up the slack. Naturally, because I am a product of an adolescence spent binging rom-coms filled with sweeping tales, I wanted to run away and leave it all behind. I romanticized that there must be a flight to the farthest island on the edge of the world where I could just start over again. My archnemesis, reality, quickly snapped me out of that daydream. I wasn’t going anywhere. I felt trapped.

This Is How You Love Her is a vulnerable narrative guide to uncovering your identity in life’s small moments, right where you are. With wit and insight, heart and cinematic prose, Saulsberry weaves together pages from her journal, conversational guides, poetry, and reflection prompts in this memoir-meets-guide that gives readers permission to get to know themselves at their own pace.

For anyone who’s ever lost themselves in work, relationships, or the image they built to survive–this is your roadmap home.

And this is how you love her.

Perfect for fans of memoirs, self-help, and journaling, this book explores:

Perfection: Unlearning the belief that you’re not allowed to get it wrong

Body Autonomy: Reclaiming your body and learning to be present in your own skin

Boundaries: Setting limits with the people you love most, even when it means risking the relationship

Control: Releasing the need to manage everyone’s perception and trusting yourself to just be

TRACI SAULSBERRY is a senior communications executive, leadership coach, and writer. At twenty-seven, she became one of the youngest Black executives at NBC, where she spent fourteen years shaping narratives at the highest levels of entertainment. She later built and led the communications team at Peacock, managing a team of more than thirty people during the platform’s launch and growth.

She is currently a host and narrator for Calm, the world’s leading meditation and sleep app, where she guides original series including Workplace Wellbeing, Professional Growth, and Processing World Events, designed to help audiences navigate life with clarity and care.

As a leadership coach, keynote speaker, and learning facilitator, Saulsberry works with early-career professionals, executives, and business owners, with a focus on helping individuals find and own their voice–particularly while navigating spaces where they are underrepresented. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, where she teaches entertainment publicity.

JEANELL ENGLISH is a seasoned entertainment executive with over a decade of experience in diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI), learning and development, and production management. She’s dedicated to continuous learning and growth through cultural immersion having spent seven years living and working across Europe and Asia.

As the former EVP, Impact and Inclusion at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Jeanell led global initiatives designed to address underrepresentation across the industry and to discover, empower, and advance the work of emerging and diverse film artists. Prior to her role at the Academy, she worked for Warner Bros. Discovery for eight years where her contributions included the successful delivery of the broadcaster’s first coverage of the Olympic Games to European markets in 2018.

Driven by her belief in the power of storytelling, Jeanell co-founded Elizabeth & Minnie Publishing to foster a more accessible and inclusive entertainment industry, recognizing books as the foundation.

A graduate of Cornell University (BSc) and the University of Maryland Smith School of Business (MBA), she was recognized as a ‘New Leader in Hollywood’ by Variety in 2022.

Refund Policy: At Rep Club, we are committed to providing a valuable experience for all attendees. However, we understand sometimes plans change. Below is our refund policy for ticket purchases:

Refund Eligibility: Requests for refunds must be made no later than 14 calendar days prior to the event date via Eventbrite only.

Learned Ladies and Notorious Whores: The Women of the Scandalous Memoir

Presented by Rare Books LA at Los Angeles Union Station: ejected from polite society, three generations of courtesans turned the scandalous memoir into a genre of their own, exposing the hypocrisy of the men around them and reclaiming the worth of women that history tried to erase. This one-hour talk traces how these “learned ladies and notorious whores” wrote themselves back into the record, and asks what their confessions still reveal about power, reputation, and who gets to tell their own story.