Queer Kin: Poetry Reading

Queer Kin: Poetry Reading

Celebrate June Pride Month with this free event for poetry lovers and bookshop fans to enjoy poetry readings by queer Poet Laureates and award-winning poets: Ching-In Chen, Jen Cheng, Angela Peñaredondo, Shameka Cunningham, and Vickie Vertiz. Attendees are invited to discuss with the poets, get book signings, and learn more about the Highland Park bookshop, The Pop-Hop. Free events are made possible with your donations and shopping with this beloved indie bookstore. RSVP requested but not required. Drop-ins are welcomed. Donations are appreciated to help support the bookshop. No one turned away for lack of funds. Please message the organizer @JenCvoice for questions.

Featured poets:

Ching-In Chen is the Poet Laureate of Redmond, WA, a lifelong educator, community organizer, poet, and the author of The Heart's Traffic (Arktoi/Red Hen Press, 2009) and recombinant (Kelsey Street Press, 2017). They are an assistant professor teaching creative writing and performance classes at the University of Washington - Bothell and the current Poet-in-Residence at Hugo House. They are also a community organizer, specifically in Asian American communities, in coalition with other communities of color and LGBTQIA+ communities. Find them on social media @chinginchen.

Jen Cheng is the current Poet Laureate of West Hollywood, author of a poetry collection Braided Spaces, and a 2023 California Arts Council Fellow. She is a multidisciplinary artist who blends East-West cultural influences in a new form, Feng Shui Poetry. With stories for tween audiences, mystery detective fans, and queer love, Jen is a cross-pollinator and community curator. Find her on social media @JenCvoice.

Angela Peñaredondo is a queer Filipinx writer, interdisciplinary artist, educator and scholar. Peñaredondo is the author of nature felt but never apprehended (Noemi Press), All Things Lose Thousands of Times (Inlandia Institute, Winner of Hilary Gravendyk Regional Prize) and Maroon (Jamii Publications). Find them on social media @domainedenarwhal.

Shameka Cunningham is a writer, poet, performance artist and teacher from Los Angeles. She has performed around the U.S. and abroad. She is the host of Let The Poem Feed You. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Stetson University. You can find her on Instagram @laughterislanguage

Vickie Vértiz's writing has been featured in the New York Times magazine, Huizache, the Los Angeles Review of Books, KCET Departures, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many publications. Her second book Auto/Body won the 2023 Sandeen Poetry Prize from the University of Notre Dame. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, Bread Loaf Environmental Writers Conference, VONA, CantoMundo, and Macondo. Vértiz teaches writing at UC-Santa Barbara. She lives in Los Angeles. Her social media is @vickievertiz.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Pop-Hop, 5002 York Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States