Featured Events in Venice in February 2025 (March Updated)

Wrestling with the experience of living online as a non-digital native Joanna Fuhrman didn’t grow up online. Her generation entered the digital age as adults, with optimism about the possibilities it would bring for community building. In the alien landscape of the internet, they indeed found moments of joy and connection, but they also watched in anguish as what had been sold as a utopian space instead magnified the anti-democratic demons of necrocapitalism. In this darkly comic and surreal collection, Fuhrman lets herself fall into the internet wormhole of these conflicting realities. With titles ranging from “You Won’t Believe How Your Favorite Childhood Star Looks Now” to “We’ll Burn That Algorithm When We Get to It,” the feminist prose poems in Data Mind remix the tropes of digital life with the puckishness and embodied urgency for which Fuhrman is celebrated. The author will be joined by poets Maya Salameh, author of How to Make An Algorithm in the Microwave, and Debrah Meadows, who is celebrating her own new book, Bumblebees, published by Roof Books. After the readings in the Wanda Coleman Theater, be sure to join us for a reception with light refreshments and book signings. 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. Doors Open: 7:30 PM I Readings: 8:00 PM Joanna Fuhrman is the author of Data Mind and six previous poetry collections, most recently To a New Era. Her poems have been featured in the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, The Slowdown podcast, and the Pushcart Prize and Best American Poetry anthologies. She is an assistant teaching professor in creative writing at Rutgers University and a coeditor of Hanging Loose Press. Deborah Meadows has published over a dozen books of poetry and her new book titled Bumblebees is from Roof Books (NYC). Other recent titles include Neo-bedrooms (Shearsman), and three from BlazeVOX : Lecture Notes: A duration poem in twelve parts, The Demotion of Pluto: Poems and Plays, and Three Plays. She is an Emerita faculty member with California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, lives with her husband in Los Angeles’ Arts District/Little Tokyo. www.deborahmeadows.com Maya Salameh is the author of HOW TO MAKE AN ALGORITHM IN THE MICROWAVE (University of Arkansas Press, 2022), winner of the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize, and the chapbook rooh (Paper Nautilus Press, 2020). She has served as a National Student Poet, America’s highest honor for youth poets, and received fellowships and support from the Breadloaf Environmental Writers' Conference, Sewanee Writers' Conference, Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, and the President's Committee for the Arts and Humanities. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in POETRY, The Offing, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, AGNI, and the LA Times, among others. She can be found @mayaslmh or mayasalameh.com. Tickets will be available at Beyond Baroque's bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. No one turned away for lack of funds. If you have any questions, please email us at info@beyondbaroque.org 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, fellow attendees, or performers. Information Source: Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center | eventbrite

Celebrate the L.A. launch of Fire Roulette — poems of risk that “dance between rebellion and the norm” (Mariano Zaro, Decoding Sparrows). Joining author Jeanette Clough are Cahuenga Press members James Cushing, Phoebe MacAdams, and Harry Northup. Book signing and reception to follow after the readings in The Wanda Coleman Theater. Doors Open: 1:30 PM I Readings 2:00 PM 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. About the ReadersFire Roulette is Jeanette Clough’s fourth poetry collection. An earlier book, Flourish, was a finalist in the Otis College of Art and Design and Eastern Washington University book competitions. Other publications include Island from Red Hen and two artist books, Stone and Rx. Her poetry received awards from the Los Angeles Poetry Festival Fin de Millennium, Ruskin Art Club, and Rainer Maria Rilke International Poetry competitions, and a Commendation in the Aesthetica Creative Works competition (UK). She was also Artist in Residence in Joshua Tree National Park. A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Clough holds an M.A from the University of Chicago, Division of the Humanities. She worked as an art librarian at the Getty Research Institute, and divides her time between Ventura County and L.A. Phoebe MacAdams was born and raised in New York City, but has mostly lived in California. She moved to LA in 1986. With the poets James Cushing, the late Holly Prado and Harry Northup, she is a founding member of Cahuenga Press, which now includes the poet Jeanette Clough. She taught English at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights until her retirement in 2011. She has published seven books of poetry, the last five with Cahuenga Press, including in 2016, her new and selected volume, The Large Economy of the Beautiful. In 2017, Beyond Baroque published Every Bird Helps: A Cancer Journal. She lives in Pasadena with her husband, Ron Ozuna. Harry E. Northup has had twelve books of poetry published, the latest being: Love Poem to MPTF (Cahuenga Press, 2020). He received his B.A. in English from CSUN, where he studied Verse with Ann Stanford. Northup made a living as an actor for thirty-four years, acting in thirty-seven films, including Mean Streets,Taxi Driver;The Silence of the Lambs and;Over the Edge. He lives in the Motion Picture Country Home. Harry produces and hosts a weekly, one-hour poetry show on ZOOM, Harry's Poetry Hour, Creative Chaos MPTF. James Cushing, born 1953 in Palo Alto CA, holds a doctorate in English from UC Irvine. In the early 1980s, he hosted a live poetry radio program on KPFK-FM in Los Angeles which gave early exposure to Dennis Cooper, David Trinidad, Amy Gerstler, Wanda Coleman, Leland Hickman, Scott Wannberg, and many others. From 1989 through 2020, when he retired, he taught literature and creative writing at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and served as the community’s Poet Laureate for 2008 – 2010. Cushing’s poems have appeared in many journals, and his 30-year association with Cahuenga Press has resulted in seven full-length collections of poetry, the most recent of which is Tangled Hologram. His daughter is the New York-based poet Iris Cushing. Tickets will be available at Beyond Baroque's bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. No one turned away for lack of funds. If you have any questions, please email us at info@beyondbaroque.org 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, fellow attendees, or performers. Information Source: Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center | eventbrite

jerry the priest's slender volume documents a range of spiritual quests and misadventures, by turns cringeworthy and hilarious, interspersed with a collection of highly transgressive poetry and short stories, all of which serve to illustrate first-hand, the ravages of unmedicated bi-polar disorder. It is at the same time, a work of blackest humor, a travel diary and an educational tome, as well as a cautionary tale. The intended audience is anyone with a zest for transgressive literature a la Kathy Acker, William S. Burroughs and Jean Genet. It is for those who are challenged by the mores of polite society and find outright rejection of said mores inspiring and amusing. It is for those readers who especially love adept, skillful and evocative usage of the English language. Step onto the interstate. Put your mouth where your lips are. Joining the book launch are authors Richard Modiano, Dennis Cruz, and Richard Loranger from Oakland, California. After the readings in the Wanda coleman Theater enjoy a reception with refreshments and book signings. Praise for Brute Entropy: “If brutalism were a song, Brute Entropy sings it: Adventures colliding with images telling tales of love and wonder, lightning and regret. A spirit on fire and a mind racing itself in a circle that, ultimately, reveals a path. Jerry’s work is restless, relentless, eviscerating. Like a bodhisattva masturbating with stones, The Priest howls sermons to the cosmos and the stars weep with fire.” --Dennis Cruz, Author of MOTH WING TEA and The Beast is We Doors Open: 6:30 PM I Readings: 7:00 PM About the authors jerry the priest, legal name Jerome Dunn,has been creating material for exhibition, publication and live presentation since 1979, when he studied experimental music at the University of Redlands. A vocal performer since early childhood, his formal study of music began with his first trombone lesson in 1967. He holds a BA in Performance Studies from Naropa University, and an MFA in Theater Directing/Production from California Institute of the Arts. His latest collection of poetry and prose, Brute Entropy, is available on amazon.com. and wherever he performs. Richard Loranger is a multi-genre writer, performer, musician, visual artist, and all-around squeaky wheel, currently residing in Oakland, CA. Their podcast “My 12-Month Video Fast” can be found by the brave on Spotify and most pod-venues. Their latest book of poetry and flash prose, Mammal, was released by Roof Books in October 2023. They’re also the author of Unit of Agency (now in its second edition), Be A Bough Tit, Sudden Windows, Poems for Teeth, The Orange Book, and ten chapbooks, and have work in over 100 magazines and journals. You can find more about their work and scandals at www.richardloranger.com. Dennis Cruz is a vital poet who inhabits the voice of the perpetual outsider and the purely American dissident. He has been writing, performing and publishing his work for over 30 years. His latest collection of Poetry THE BEAST IS WE is out now via Punk Hostage Press. While a resident of New York City, Richard Modiano became active in the literary community connected to the Poetry Project where he came to know Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, William S. Burroughs and Ted Berrigan. Modiano served on the board of directors of Valley Contemporary Poets from 1995 until 2001. In 2001 he was a programmer at Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center, joined the Board of Trustees in 2006, and from 2010 to 2019, he served as Executive Director. In that time he produced and curated hundreds of literary events, and with Henry Morro, Suzanne Lummis and Liz Camfiord co-founded and named Beyond Baroque Books’ sub-imprint The Pacific Coast Poetry Series. In 2019 he was elected Vice President of the California State Poetry Society. In 2023 Modiano joined the board of directors of the Los Angeles Poetry Society. The Huffington Post named him as one of 200 people doing the most to promote poetry in the United States. Modiano is the winner of the 2022 Joe Hill Prize for labor poetry and is a Push Cart Prize nominee. His collection The Forbidden Lunch Box is published by Punk Hostage Press. He is one of the rotating hosts for KPFK’s Poets Café. Richard is a rank-and-file member of the Industrial Workers of the World and a member of the National Writers Union. 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. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. If you have any questions, please email us at info@beyondbaroque.org 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, fellow attendees, or performers. Information Source: Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center | eventbrite

Following the commercial and literary success of her bestselling poetry collection, I Wore This Dress Today for You, Mom: Poems on Motherhood, Kim Dower delivers What She Wants: Poems on Obsession, Desire, Despair, Euphoria—turning her keen eye, vibrant imagination, trademark insight, and humor to the intensity of obsessive love. These steamy and provocative poems, combining humor and heartache, run through the four phases of Limerence, the state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person: Infatuation, Crystallization, Deterioration, and Ecstatic Release. From the opening poem, “She’ll do anything for food,” to the sexy title poem, “What She Wants,” the painfully funny, “His Other Girlfriend,” to the longing in “Visiting Baudelaire,” and the sad, sweet final poem, “Fish’s Lament,” Kim Dower captures the essence of what it means to be stuck on someone—even on a squirrel! Her eclectic, growing readership will savor these poems that can be read in one sitting, like a story with an arc, or separately, each one recalling the moment of falling in or out of love, the moment our hearts skipped a beat. The author will be joined in a reading and conversation with Publisher, Co-founder, and Managing Editor of Red Hen Press, Kate Gale. Following the performances, enjoy a reception with light refreshments and book signings. Doors Open: 7:30 PM I Readings: 8:00 PM About the AuthorsKim (Freilich) Dower (City Poet Laureate of West Hollywood from October 2016 – October 2018) has published five highly acclaimed collections of poetry all from Red Hen Press. Her most recent book, the bestselling, I Wore This Dress Today for You, Mom, an Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist, was called a “fantastic collection” by The Washington Post, “impressively insightful, thought-provoking, and truly memorable” by The Midwest Book Review and Shelf-Awareness said, “These gorgeous gems are energized by the sheer power of her wit and irreverent style.” Air Kissing on Mars, Kim’s first collection, was described by the Los Angeles Times as, “sensual and evocative . . . seamlessly combining humor and heartache.” Slice of Moon was called “unexpected and sublime,” by “O” magazine, Last Train to the Missing Planet, “poems that speak about the grey space between tragedy and tenderness, memory and loss, fragility and perseverance,” said Richard Blanco, and Sunbathing on Tyrone Power’s Grave, won the 2020 Independent Publishers Book Award Gold Medal for Poetry. Kim’s work has been featured in numerous literary journals including Plume, Ploughshares, Rattle, The James Dickey Review, Garrison Keillor's The Writer’s Almanac and her poems are included in several anthologies, notably, Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond. She teaches poetry workshops for Antioch University, UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, and the West Hollywood Library. Born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Kim lives with her family in West Hollywood, CA. To learn more about Kim visit her website: Dr. Kate Gale is Publisher, Co-Founder, and Managing Editor of Red Hen Press and the Editor of the Los Angeles Review. She teaches Poetry at Chapman University. She is the author of seven books of poetry, including THE LONELIEST GIRL, THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE, and ECHO LIGHT. Her debut novel, UNDER A NEON SUN, debuted in April 2024. Her memoir, SWIMMING THE MILKY WAY, is forthcoming with Zando.Kate has also written six librettos, including Rio de Sangre, a libretto for an opera with composer Don Davis, which had its world premiere in October 2010 at the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, WI. She speaks on independent publishing around the U.S. at schools like USC, Columbia, and Oxford University. Her operas in process include The Web Opera and a piece centered on Che Guevara, featuring Cuban composer Armando Bayolo. Tickets will be available at Beyond Baroque's bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center. No one turned away for lack of funds. If you have any questions, please email us at info@beyondbaroque.org 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, fellow attendees, or performers. Information Source: Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center | eventbrite