Derrick Brown, Brendan Constantine, Aman K. Batra, and Micah Bournes read from their new collections in The Wanda Coleman Theater
L.A. based poets Derrick C. Brown (Los Feliz Poet Laureate), Brendan Constantine, Aman K. Batra, and Micah Bournes read from their new collections in The Wanda Coleman Theater.
Derrick C. Brown’s new collection A Little Grief Break (Write Bloody Publishing) collects three decades honing in his unique poetic style with sharp humor, bar-stool philosophy, and the raw immediacy of performance; Brendan Constantine’s The Opposite Games (Red Hen Press) is his fifth collection, presenting a framework of odes, lists, memoirs, and classroom assignments, where the poet asks us to think critically about how we define and understand each other; Aman K. Batra’s Stolen Thing produces a lyrical meditation on hyphenated identity. This collection traces the subtle ways xenophobia and cultural erasure surfaces—at a concert, during a Fourth of July celebration, and relationship patterns; and Micah Bournes’s Don’t Look Away (Sideshow Media Group) is a book linked to his hip-hop album “Til We All Free”––a song by song breakdown containing protest and social justice themes behind each track.
Book signings & reception to follow.
Doors Open: 7:00 PM I Readings: 7:30 PM
Derrick C. Brown is an award-winning poet, storyteller, comic and president of Write Bloody Publishing. His innovative fusion of poetry and comedy earned Paste Magazine’s Comedy Album of the Year (2023). The New York Times praises his work as “a rekindling of faith in the weird, hilarious, shocking, beautiful power of words.” A former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, Brown has authored ten poetry collections and four children’s books, winning the Texas Book of the Year award for Poetry. He serves as the 2025/26 Poet Laureate of Los Feliz.
Aman K. Batra is a Punjabi-American poet from Artesia, California. A TEDx speaker and National Poetry Slam finalist, she has toured across the U.S. and internationally. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and a BA in English from UCLA. Her work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Button Poetry, and All Def Poetry. As an educator and creative facilitator, she leads arts-based programs and designs workshops rooted in storytelling, poetic craft, and intergenerational healing.
Micah Bournes was born kicking and screaming. His art indulges life to the fullest, unafraid of hot topics, his music and poetry confronts fear like bare feet on scorching coals. Born and raised in Long Beach, he finds beauty in each grain of sand between his toes. Micah’s passionate performance is a roundhouse to the heart, a necessary kick in the butt, encouraging each of us to shed the shackles of bootstraps, laces, socks, and shoes. To ground our heels in the soft soil of Mother Earth and learn to walk in liberation.
Brendan Constantine is poet based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in many standards, including Poetry, Best American Poetry, The Nation, and Poem a Day. A popular performer, Brendan has presented his work to audiences throughout the United States and Europe, also appearing on NPR’s ‘All Things Considered,’ TED ED, numerous podcasts and YouTube. His fifth collection ‘The Opposites Game’ is out now from Red hen Press. He currently teaches at the Windward School and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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.
