ALOUD @ Los Angeles Public Library

Locke, whose new novel The Cutting Season is set at a Louisiana plantation re-purposed for weddings and Civil War reenactments, joins Edwards (Charisma and the Fictions of Black Leadership) to explore how African American literature, rooted in stories of struggle and dispossession and overcoming all odds, has been affected by the same racial progress that has culminated in the first African American presidency.

Locke, whose new novel The Cutting Season is set at a Louisiana plantation re-purposed for weddings and Civil War reenactments, joins Edwards (Charisma and the Fictions of Black Leadership) to explore how African American literature, rooted in stories of struggle and dispossession and overcoming all odds, has been affected by the same racial progress that has culminated in the first African American presidency.

From the intellectuals who remade China, Turkey and Iran, to East-West encounters in Benares to the footprints of the Buddha in the small towns of India, Pankaj Mishra takes us on a historical journey through Asia, with detours to explore his own fiction and non-fiction.

From the intellectuals who remade China, Turkey and Iran, to East-West encounters in Benares to the footprints of the Buddha in the small towns of India, Pankaj Mishra takes us on a historical journey through Asia, with detours to explore his own fiction and non-fiction.

Play is an inherent part of life. How are games revolutionizing the way we educate our children, think about the future, and engage with each other? Game designers Essen and Fullerton bridge the gap between art and education with their approach to play, and show us how reality is really just one big game we should all be playing.

Play is an inherent part of life. How are games revolutionizing the way we educate our children, think about the future, and engage with each other? Game designers Essen and Fullerton bridge the gap between art and education with their approach to play, and show us how reality is really just one big game we should all be playing.

Rushdie, recipient of the 2012 Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award, honoring his commitment to public libraries and literature, discusses Joseph Anton, his provocative new memoir—a frank depiction of how he and his family lived with the threat of murder for nine years after being condemned for his writing, and how he struggled for the freedom of speech.

Rushdie, recipient of the 2012 Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award, honoring his commitment to public libraries and literature, discusses Joseph Anton, his provocative new memoir—a frank depiction of how he and his family lived with the threat of murder for nine years after being condemned for his writing, and how he struggled for the freedom of speech.

Imagine a world where kids got gold stars for grit and curiosity. Paul Tough introduces us to a new generation of scientists and educators who are radically rethinking our understanding of how children develop character, how they learn to think, and how they overcome adversity.

Imagine a world where kids got gold stars for grit and curiosity. Paul Tough introduces us to a new generation of scientists and educators who are radically rethinking our understanding of how children develop character, how they learn to think, and how they overcome adversity.

Hass, a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate, is also a luminous essayist. In this talk and discussion with poet Carol Muske-Dukes, he considers the claims on a poet’s attention as he explores art, imagination, and the natural world.

Hass, a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate, is also a luminous essayist. In this talk and discussion with poet Carol Muske-Dukes, he considers the claims on a poet’s attention as he explores art, imagination, and the natural world.

The seventeenth annual newer poets program is guest curated by three acclaimed poets: Eloise Klein Healy, Arktoi Press; Suzanne Lummis, Los Angeles Poetry Festival; and Gail Wronsky, professor, Loyola Marymount University and member, Glass Table Collective.

The seventeenth annual newer poets program is guest curated by three acclaimed poets: Eloise Klein Healy, Arktoi Press; Suzanne Lummis, Los Angeles Poetry Festival; and Gail Wronsky, professor, Loyola Marymount University and member, Glass Table Collective. In this popular, long-running event, six talented Los Angeles poets present short readings of their work.

How are downtown chefs curating our cultural palate? New culinary projects are stirring up a neighborhood renaissance as the city’s best chefs are blending their ethnic and cultural traditions with the contemporary taste of eclectic Los Angeles. Join us to explore this diverse panel of chefs who are pushing downtown’s flavor forward. Stay for a post-panel tasting reception in the library courtyard, complements of participanting restaurants.