Los Angeles

The 4h Annual Poetry Downtown Festival honors Edgar Allan Poe from September 27 - 29, 2024!

Day 4 September 28

L.A. Poetry Downtown readings

11:00 – 12.00 Union Station
800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Under the east portal arch of Union Station we have a marvellous podium in front of Richard Wyatt’s City Of Dreams. At this location poets will read poems about ao the American Dream, history of Los Angeles and travelling.

City of Dreams
Poet: Anton Verboom
Photo: Erik van Loon 

12.00 – 14.00 pm Skid Row History Museum and Archive
250 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012 

The Skid Row History Museum & Archive opened on April 11, 2015. LAPD animates the space with public conversations, movie screenings, revolving exhibitions, performative events and more, all addressing issues surrounding gentrification and displacement — locally, nationally and globally. Within the museum, is an extensive archive of Skid Row History – including planning documents, articles, videos, oral histories, audios, interview transcripts + more – available for casual and scholarly research located on 250 S. Broadway in Los Angeles.The museum and the Los Angeles Poverty Department was founded in 1985 by director-performer-activist John Malpede. LAPD was the first performance group in the nation made up principally of homeless people, and the first arts program of any kind for homeless people in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Poverty Department
Photo: Henriëtte Brouwers
 

A Voyage to the Moon

12.00 – 13.00 Tour
(…)
At …. we go with Edgar Allan Poe on a solo trip en-route to the Moon, running away from the civilizations, crossing to another planetary body that probably felt like crossing an entire universe to the moon.

16.00 – 17.00 Chevalier’s Books
133 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004

In the heart of Larchmont, you will find  Los Angeles’s oldest indie bookstore, established in 1940 by by book maverick Joe Chevalier. (Pronounced shi-vah-lee-ay.) Nowadays Chevalier’s Books is run by Bert Deixler and Darryl Holter. In their bookstore one of LA’s youngest poet will read with a miner from West Virgina the best poems they wrote. 

Chevalier’s Book
Photo: Owner

Short Stories

21.00 -23.00 Storytelling
(….)
In one of Los Angeles oldest speakeasy four of Edgar’s most famous stories will be retold and reimagined.