Verse from the soul of L.A.
These 22 collections display the range of the region's voices
Los Angeles is associated with film, television and music, but the city has been home to a thriving literary scene for a long time. Fiction writers aren’t the only ones making Southern California one of the country’s literary capitals, though.
For decades, the city has had an incredibly diverse and exciting poetry scene, with writers like Wanda Coleman, Suzanne Lummis and Luis J. Rodriguez penning critically acclaimed poems inspired by L.A. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the world of Los Angeles poetry, or even just dip your toe in, here are 22 great books to start with.
“REFRACTIVE AFRICA,” BY WILL ALEXANDER (NEW DIRECTIONS) >> Lifelong Angeleno Alexander was named a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for this collection of poems about the Congo and writers Amos Tutuola and Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo.
“IF THIS MAKES YOU NERVOUS,” ELENA KARINA BYRNE (OMNIDAWN) >> This volume from poet Byrne, also a multimedia artist, takes as its inspiration the works of 66 visual artists, including Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Beuys.
“GENT/RE PLACE ING,” BY JESSICA CEBALLOS (ALTERNATIVE FIELD NOTES) >> The first collection from northeastern Los Angeles native Ceballos is part chapbook and part zine; the experimental poems deal with gentrification in L.A.
“SPLIT,” BY CATHY LINH CHE (ALICE JAMES BOOKS) >> Che won the Kundiman Poetry Prize and the Norma Farber First Book Award for her book of poems that deals with violence and trauma.
“WICKED ENCHANTMENT: SELECTED
POEMS,” BY WANDA COLEMAN (BLACK SPARROW PRESS) >> Watts native Coleman, who died in 2013, was considered by many to be Los Angeles’ unofficial poet laureate. This posthumously published book collects 130 of her poems, many of which deal with poverty, racism and social justice.
“MY HOLLYWOOD AND OTHER POEMS,” BY BORIS DRALYUK (PAUL DRY BOOKS) >> The poet, translator and editor, who was educated at UCLA, uses a variety of forms — sonnets, villanelles, ballades — in his critically acclaimed collection of poems about immigrants living in Los Angeles.
“CITY OF THE FUTURE,” BY SESSHU FOSTER (KAYA PRESS) >> Something of a follow-up to his 1996 debut “City Terrace Field Manual,” this 2018 volume addresses themes including gentrification and privatization in East Los Angeles, where Foster grew up.
“MEET ME AT THE LIGHTHOUSE,” BY DANA GIOIA (GRAYWOLF PRESS) >> Los Angeles native and former California poet laureate Gioia has had a long career in poetry; his latest collection explores old Los Angeles, with one poem a tribute to the Lighthouse Cafe, the legendary jazz club in Hermosa Beach.
“CALL US WHAT WE CARRY,” BY AMANDA GORMAN (VIKING) >> L.A. native Gorman, the country’s first-ever national youth poet laureate, in 2021 became the youngest poet, at 22, to read at a presidential inauguration. This collection includes the poem she recited at the event, “The Hill We Climb.”
“DEAR JOHN, DEAR COLTRANE,” BY MICHAEL S. HARPER (UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS) >> Harper died in 2016 but is remembered for his jazz-infused verse. His debut collection was named a National Book Award finalist; the title poem is a tribute to the legendary saxophonist.
“A BRILLIANT LOSS,” BY ELOISE KLEIN HEALY (RED HEN PRESS) >> This 2022 book by the acclaimed Healy, who served as the first-ever poet laureate of Los Angeles, explores her experiences with Wernicke’s aphasia, a condition that affects language comprehension.
“CORAL ROAD,” BY GARRETT HONGO (KNOPF) >> In his third collection, Hongo, who grew up in Hawaii and Los Angeles, explores the lives of his ancestors, who immigrated to Oahu from southern Japan.
“THE OGRE’S WIFE,” BY RON KOERTGE (RED HEN PRESS) >> This volume showcases the wild imagination and playful humor of Koertge, also a young adult novelist and the poet laureate of South Pasadena.
“VOYAGE OF THE SABLE VENUS AND OTHER POEMS,” BY ROBIN COSTE LEWIS (KNOPF) >> The Compton native won the 2015 National Book Award for this debut collection, a triptych that reflects on the Black female figure.
“OPEN 24 HOURS,” BY SUZANNE LUMMIS (LYNX HOUSE PRESS) >> Los Angeles is associated with noir fiction and film, and Lummis brings that same atmosphere to poetry. Her 2014 collection is a good introduction to her dark, urban sensibility.
“EAST HOLLYWOOD: MEMORIAL TO REASON,” BY HARRY NORTHUP (CAHUENGA PRESS) >> A poem-memoir hybrid from Northup, the longtime L.A. poet and actor known for his roles in films like “Taxi Driver” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
“THESE MIRRORS PROVE IT: SELECTED POEMS AND PROSE 1970-2003,” BY HOLLY PRADO (CAHUENGA PRESS) >> This collection offers a look into the work of the late Prado, a longtime fixture in the Los Angeles poetry scene, and the wife of fellow poet Northup.
“POEMS ACROSS THE PAVEMENT,” BY LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ (TIA CHUCHA) >> The debut book from former Los Angeles Poet Laureate Rodriguez, who was raised in the San Gabriel Valley, established the writer as one of L.A.’s most vital and original poetic voices.
“ELEGY FOR DESIRE,” BY LUIS OMAR SALINAS (UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PRESS) >> In this collection, the late Salinas, considered an instrumental figure in Chicano poetry, offers a variety of works that explore love, aging and yearning.
“DIARIES OF A TERRORIST,” BY CHRISTOPHER SOTO (COPPER CANYON PRESS) >> Soto grew up in Los Angeles and teaches at UCLA. He garnered rave reviews for this book, which uses surrealist verse with a punk edge to speak out against police violence and what he considers the carceral state.
“BEG NO PARDON,” BY LYNNE THOMPSON (PERUGIA PRESS) >> Thompson won praise from critics for this volume, her debut. She is the poet laureate of Los Angeles, and former Mayor Eric Garcetti praised her for using “words to tell stories, bring communities together, and open up new avenues of art and thinking.”
“THAT BLUE TRICKSTER TIME,” BY AMY UYEMATSU (WHAT BOOKS PRESS) >> Pasadena native Uyematsu’s 2022 collection pays tribute to older women, and touches on the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans and the recent rise of anti-Asian bigotry in the country.