A Poetry Walk temporary art installation is now on display at the median of Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny Drive and Almont Drive near the Beverly Hills Gateway. The temporary public art installation displays poetry next to pre-existing empty concrete plinths where sculptures are usually displayed.
The poetry excerpts reflect on absence, longing, and that which is unseen or uncelebrated.
Contributing poets are current and former West Hollywood City Poet Laureates Brian Sonia-Wallace, Steven Reigns, Kim Dower and Charles Flowers. It also includes Tonya Ingram, a young poet who passed away in December 2022. The Poetry Walk can be experienced as written word or by listening to audio recordings.
This is also an interactive installation where members of the public are encouraged to submit their own poetry works. From April 1 to April 30, members of the public are invited to submit short poems reflecting on absence, longing and the unseen. Select poems chosen by City Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace will be posted on the weho.org webpage.
For more information on the Poetry Walk exhibition, visit weho.org/arts or contact Mike Che at [email protected].
The City of West Hollywood will celebrate National Poetry Month 2023 in April with exciting events, including a poetry ‘spa day,’ and public exhibitions honoring poets and the art of poetry. National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world.
On Tuesday, April 25, 2023 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., as part of the City’s Lesbian Speaker Series, there will be a panel discussion titled: I See You, which features lesbian and queer identified artists talking about visibility in the arts. The panel features traci kato-kiriyama, a multidisciplinary artist and poet who recently published a new poetry book titled Navigating With(out) Instruments; Gina Young, writer, director, performer and creator of SORORITY, a new works salon; Diana Diaz, co-founder of the Queer Mercado craft fair; Britt Westveer, an artist who will have a new mural on West Hollywood City Hall this June; and Dorothy Randall Gray, who is one of two new poets featured on the City of West Hollywood’s National Poetry Month banners this year. This event is free to attend and takes place in the West Hollywood City Council Chambers, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. For more information please visit: www.weho.org/services/social-services/lgbt-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-services/lesbian-speaker-series
On Wednesday, April 26, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., as part of the City’s WeHo Reads series, there will be Lounging With Poets, the first West Hollywood poetry ‘spa day’ and reading. Members of the public are invited to ‘lounge with a poet’ at the Respite Deck of the new West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center, located at 8750 El Tovar Place. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., guests will receive a menu of services to have individual, one-on-one experiences with poets, ranging from cucumber poetry facials to poetry speed dating. At 7:30 p.m., join us for a sunset reading where we will hear poets share their words in a ritual closing and celebration of National Poetry Month.
