In 2020, the Academy of American Poets awarded over $1 million to 23 poets laureate as part of a year-long Fellowship to support their creative and organizing work. One of these awards went to our West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace who also serves as this event’s host. This reading brings together a group of these Fellows from across the country in the aftermath of their Fellowships to share what they did, read their writing, and reflect on the state of poetry across the United States. Readers include:
- Semaj Brown, Poet Laureate of Flint, MI
- Magdalena Gomez, Poet Laureate of Springfield, MA
- Chasity Gunn, Poet Laureate of Elgin, IL
- Luisa A. Igloria, Poet Laureate of Virginia
- Georgina Marie, Poet Laureate of Lake County, CA
- Lloyd Schwartz, Poet Laureate of Somerville, MA
- Hosted by: West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace
WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. More information and events at www.weho.org/wehoreads. BookSwell, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities, is producing the WeHo Reads 2022 season.