Small World Books

Amanda Gorman is still on my mind today. Amanda Gorman was named the first Youth Poet Laureate in Los Angeles, in 2018, a program presented by the organization... Urban Word. Beyond Baroque- in Venice, and one of the country's oldest literary organizations and one I'm very proud to work with - is the fiscal sponsor for the Youth Poet Laureate program. Amanda got her writing start in the Beyond Baroque workshops; the list of poets, actors, and musicians who have come up through Beyond Baroque's legendary Wednesday free workshops - which began in 1968 - is inspired. Amanda also joined WriteGirl, an amazing program that matches girls with women and nonbinary writers who mentor them in creative writing. Every year, WG produces dozens of workshops, panel discussions and special events to help teens get creative, get through high school and get to college. I'm also proud to say that one of our good friends from college, Allison Deegan, is the co-founder of WriteGirl. We have much work to do in shaping a country that truly reflects diversity and inclusion, where black and brown people are not guilty before proven innocent, where our capitol and democracy cannot be attacked by extremists, white supremacists. We say this is not who we are - sadly, heartbreaking, it is. But I also believe in the importance of these steps, and the hope they bring. Here's a link below about Amanda's story: https://www.nytimes.com//28/us/a-young-poets-inspiration.h Photo by Tony Leung

The always wonderful Alison Saar

Brand spanking new reissue of Gide is what you need!

You love us! You really really love us!

Sun Ra has landed via the south side of Chicago!