Los Angeles Poet Society launches a giving campaign.

Founded in 2009 by East Los Angeles and Navajo Poet, Jessica M. Wilson, the Los Angeles Poet Society has diligently served the people of Los Angeles uniting the creative communities of Los Angeles! Our mission is to create a bridge to all the literary heartbeats of LA including: Poets, Writers, Artists of all creative genres, Publishers, Cultural Centers, and Book sellers. 

Jessica is a Poet and believes Los Angeles deserves a Poet Society, thriving, loving, and uniting across Los Angeles! Since its creation, the Los Angeles Poet Society has been 99% self-funded, believing in its purpose and importance, thriving on. 

Over the last 6 years, the Los Angeles Poet Society, has brought over 900 members to its network! 
The website  www.losangelespoetsociety.org is home to:
- Poetry Interviews
- Member spotlights
- Socially and culturally impactful Poetry from members including Alexis Rhone Fancher, Michael Rothenberg, Radomir Luza, & Joe Gardner 
- Senior Advocacy with LA's "Young Oldie", Norman Molesko
- Partnership with California Poets in the Schools increasing Youth Poetry Outreach
- Photo galleries of literary gatherings
- Book Reviews
- Publisher, Author, spotlights
- Litearary LA news
                                           and so much more!

In 2015, the Los Angeles Poet Society was recognized and honored by Poets & Writers, and joined in the semi-annual Connecting Cultures event!www.pw.org is a leading literary supporter in the US! 

As a Non-Profit Community Organization we are seeking funding from our network, friends, and allies. We're asking to help continue the work of the Los Angeles Poet Society, as the self-funding is slowly coming to a close. LAPS is not a labor of love, it's an essential vein of creativity and commraderie to Literary LA; it is essential! We love to connect people and bridge the creative communities, and watch the art grow! We have fiscal sponsorship from 100 Thousand Poets for Change - your help to us will be tax deductible. 

We've brought you 100 Thousand Poets for Change in Los Angeles since 2010, partnered with Poetrypalooza  since 2010, partnered with LitCrawl LA:NoHo since 2013, joined Nicelle Davis with the Poetry Circus, 
provided open mic forums to share your art and extended a bridge to the literary community. This has all been free of charge to the people! 

You may know our Open Mics:
- Writer Wednesday
- SoapBox Poets Open Mic
- Writers' Row
- The Salon @ NoHo
- Gallery 19
- Speakeasy Sundays 

We need your support! Please "like", share this campaign and repost, and donate what you can to help keep us alive!
What your donation will achieve:

- Increasing youth literacy by bringing Youth Poetry Workshops to underserved schools
- Launching Senior Poetry Workshops and encouraging Creative Aging
- Honorariums for our Featured Poets and Artists
- Continuation of all our programming (open mics)
- Publication of poetry anthology and LAPS Pub (publishing house)
- Prizes for poetry contests
- Sustaining www.losangelespoetsociety.org
- Archiving LAPS events since 2009 (photo galleries, interviews, video documentation)
- Poetry workshops for Adults
- Transportation and Operative costs for major literary events throughout the year

What we will do for you:
- All of our donors will be honored as Los Angeles Poet Society Sponsors - names and logos (if applicable), will forever live onwww.losangelespoetsociety.org 
- We will promote you! We can do email blasts, take advantage of our network of Literary partners, Facebook shares, and much more!

Please help us to continue doing what we love to do! We love you, LA! #writeone #losangelespoetsociety #literaryla #lapscampaign #payitforward #literarynetwork #artsgiving #artla #poetryla #poetrycampaign

Thank you for your support and WRITE ON!
Jessica M. Wilson
Los Angeles Poet Society Founder

Los Angeles Poet Society is LIVE at the Poetry Circus!

Los Angeles Poet Society - a community organization PROUD to run away with the circus!

(any time, Nicelle Davis, any time!) 

:)

Our new Los Angeles Poet Society banner making its debut!

I'm the president and also a client...haha LAPS Founder and President, Jessica M. Wilson

The Poetry Circus @ Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round

February 28 of 2015

by Juan Cardenas

The Los Angeles Poet Society had the great honor of being part of The Poetry Circus at the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round on February 28 of 2015, as a Featured Presenter representing an array of Poets and Literature aficionados in Los Angeles County by displaying their books on our own official Los Angeles Poet Society travelling table. LAPS is offering this community service FREE OF CHARGE; this means we can sell your books and give you full commission for absolutely nothing in return, just your love and appreciation. We want the table to serve you! So send us your books, brochures...we will display and sell whenever we attend literature events. 

The night at the Poetry Circus turned out to be precisely what you imagine a full traveling Poetry Circus is. While you rode the Merry-Go-Round, trapeze acrobats, marching band music, freak show and abnormalities, juggling jungle animals, sword swallowing, fire spitting, weird funny clowns all performing in their most serious silliest fashion all through the visual projection of Literature and Poetry. Sounds crazy enough? Animals transformed into different shapes and shades as they rode the poet’s stanzas, jokes and silliness applauded through uncontrollable tears of laughter. A mixture of cheer and laughter from kids all of ages filled the cloudy night, as Justin Wallace Kibbe and his collage of moving poetry evoked sighs of awe across the distance.

The event organized by Nicelle Davis was a great success though the reflection of the amount of people in which it attended, both whom were there to see the amazing line up of Poets, Writers and performers featuring and those who were there to experience the Merry-Go-Round’s joy ride of incredible speeds. 

Poet features included wordsmiths and literature Maestros Lauren Ann Bogen, Brendan Constantine, Yvonne de la Vega just to mention a few. Of course, no Circus can ever exist without clowns, so Post Mortem Movement Theater showed up and along with their mime-like athletic and expressive dialogue made us both laugh and shriek in amazement as we saw them abstractly enjoy killing each other to the sounds of gypsy circus music with their imaginations.

Nicelle, what's in store for next year!

We can't wait! 

Love, the Los Angeles Poet Society

LAPS President with the VP, Juan Cardenas!

Binbon, the Mime of Los Angeles Poet Society aka the Director of Spanish Literature, Alejandro Molina with LAPS Member, Joe Willis! 

CPITS Poet Students! 

Brendan Constantine reads on the Merry-Go-Round!

Lovely MC, Nicelle Davis!

Brendan Constantine 

Art display by Just Kibbe

Enjoying my first ride on the Merry Go Go!

Beautiful Yvonne de la Vega!

Art by Just Kibbe

The Post Mortem Dance Group

Our friend from the Poetry Store!

Cinema Night Hosted By The 13th Floor Art Collective

This just in, The 13th Floor Art Collective will be hosting Cinema Night at Win Within Sangha on Wednesday, February 18th, 2015! This is LA’s only indie film-popcorn-deejay party!

Now in its second year of operation, Win Within Sangha has quickly become a destination for Angelinos looking for conscious community events, amazing showcases, and the latest developments in the fields of technology, health & the arts.

With projects like Broadchester Farm, whose aim is to create “a better living environment through community gardening, education & service;” as well as Win Within Sangha’s own, Sangha Light & Sound, which “provides production resources for the conscious community;” a collaboration between the two collectives was inevitable.

The 13th Floor Art Collective consists of a diverse array of musicians. The grunge-punk band Skulrot, hip-hop group Sacred Circuitry, and synthpop duo Future Holotape are just a few of the musicians that have taken the stage with the 13th Floor Art Collective.

Cinema Night with Win Within Sangha is the second collaborative project between the two collectives. The previous collaboration was a focus group, beta test for theLet’s Seed Bomb LA campaign. The project included invited guests from both groups, and concluded with a tour of the surrounding area. Special thanks went to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Chipotle, Sacred Circuitry, Scene N’ Heard, & specialists Paul Grubb and Rachel Kadish.

It is no small secret that the 13th Floor Art Collective curates memorable musical showcases, but it also assembles an eclectic blend of artisans that include painters, live performers, and craftspeople. From cigar box portraits to upcycled set designs, the 13th Floor Art Collective is about bringing together artists into collaborative space.

Sangha Cinema Night is just over two weeks away and the busy bee buzz can already be heard, as the cinematographers of the collective are polishing their entries, and more submissions are being received. Unlike previous 13th Floor events, Sangha Cinema Night is an event that is putting the film makers on the forefront, with music videos, documentaries, and more. Needless to say, members like Arthur McDee [Photorgapher, Videographer, & Pro-audio] view this as an event in which people can “support conscious consumerism,” something which  is lacking in the industry. As an open sourced Art collective, the 13th Floor encourages others to create their own art, and even submit their own short films.

If you would you like to receive updates about the event, then RSVP on theSangha Cinema Event Page.

Mark your calendars and wear your dancing shoes, because cinema night is just around the corner! For more information about Win Within Sangha and the 13th Floor Art Collective, including additional projects, and supplemental media, you follow the links provided below.

Official sites:
www.WinWithin.org
www.Level13.org

Youtube:
Win Within SanghaThe 13th Floor Art Collective

Meet the Los Angeles Poet Society's Director of Visual Arts Collaboration: Michael Ray de los Angeles!

An Interview with Michael Ray de los Angeles!

Meet the Los Angeles Poet Society's Director of Visual Arts Collaboration: Michael Ray de los Angeles!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/italosradio/2015/01/25/the-great-michael-ray-the-moon-and-his-traveling-circus

#lapsradiopalette #losangeles #michaelray #interview

Spanish Creative Writing Workshop starts Wednesday Jan. 28!

New Creative Writing workshops en Español at Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore, led by the Los Angeles Poet Society's Director of Spanish Literature, Alejandro Molina, MFA! Sign up today! $20 donation for 9 classes! 
Starting each Wednesday from 6-7:30pm. 

More info? Message us or email losangelespoetsociety@gmail.com

A New Bilingual Youth Poetry Workshop starting January 31!

Los Angeles Poet Society teams up with California Poets in the Schools to bring a new bilingual youth poetry workshop at Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural!

LAPS' Vice President and Director of Music Collaboration, Juan Cardenas, will lead this free workshop to youth ages: 13-18 years old!

Would you like to register? Please email: losangelespoetsociety@gmail.com 

Go to www.tiachuchas.org for the complete Winter Program!

Behind the Scenes at Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural

Los Angeles Poet Laureate and co-founder of Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore Luis J. Rodriguez is pictures here during the taping of an upcoming KCET special. LA Poet Society was there to capture the behind the scenes moment.

For more information on Tia Chucha's Open Mic, Noches de Canto y Poesia, In The Words of Womyn and other programs, don't hesitate to come to Sylmar and support this center that is changing the lives in the East San Fernando Valley communities like Sylmar, San Fernando, Pacoima, Arleta and other communities.

Tia Chucha's is located at: 13197 Gladstone Ave, Unit A, Sylmar, CA  91342

Visit their website: tiachucha.org