The first question I asked myself when leaving the Los Angeles Review of Books’ 50th issue launch screening, reading, and party (sans DJs) at the Now Image Hall in Chinatown was am I just a hater or did this actually suck?

On the A Line home I decided to trust my gut. It reeked of New York transplants, and I sensed that I entered an LA that only visitors love. It reminded me that for some of us, being bi-coastal qualifies as a form of oppression, representation is simply a commodity, and people don’t realize that we’re living in the end times.

What follows are my general thoughts and responses on each reading and screening.

In short, LARB disappointed me. Too much money, too much New York, and not enough grit.

If you’re looking for an exciting literary scene look towards Midcult presented by Aaron Berry Davis and Charents Apkarian, Perverted by Language presented by Taylor Woolstenhulme, and out in the IE, The Soft Parade stewarded by the enigmatic Mia Culpa.

Sandi Tan Presented: Synecdoche

When something a child says with an adult’s voice, it turns out they are much wiser than one would expect.

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Eduardo Martinez-Leyon Presented: Paris is Burning

Stuck in pause! I expected more from a gay person. Yawn! I know it was a response to Pepper LaBeija, but what other all the other queens we’ve lost and haven’t been celebrated on our screens.

Isn’t the work of a poet to turn over stones, think critically, and present something challenging?

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John Tottenham Presented: Trona

Motel rooms. Uninvited guests. Unwelcome company. A voyeur. A performer. Piss on the floor. More!

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Jose Hernandez Diaz Presented: Gangs of New York

We’re all just faking it till we make it. The real challenge is going bigger and bolder.

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Brandon Harris Presented: Landlord

“N*****s aren’t always colored!” Harris especially displeased me. No contextualization of gentrification. Shock-value without substance. Write about something worth our time.

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Sophia Le Fraga Presented: Poetry (Montage)

Le Fraga prompted the audience with many questions. The one I remembered: who is allowed poetry?

Four minutes with clips spliced from cinematic and television history. My favorite was the cartoon character Daria saying “I feel a poem coming” as if she were mentioning a shit.

In response to Le Fraga’s question I’d say white people. In the scenes, poetry was referred to as this nebulous thing, at times an identity of a hopeless romantic and others the butt of a joke but always born out of leisure.

Boogy 10-10-2026