Skylight Books Podcast Series

Modest Aspirations - Poems and Stories (by Locklin); Hard Landing (by Smith); E/OR - Living Amongst the Mangled (by Armstrong; all books published by Lummox Press) Three poets published by local poetry publisher Lummox Press will read from their recently published collections! Come and hear the latest from Gerald Locklin, Rick Smith, and Lummox founder RD Armstrong. Gerald Locklin is now a Professor Emeritus of English at California State University, Long Beach, where he taught from 1965 through 2007, and continues as an occasional part-time lecturer there and in the Master of Professional Program at the University of Southern California. He is the author of over 125 books, chapbooks, and broadsides of poetry, fiction, and criticism, with over 3000 poems, stories, articles, reviews, and interviews published in periodicals. His most recent books include The Plot of Il Trovatore (Kamini Press, Sweden); Gerald Locklin: New and Selected Poems, and The Cezanne/Pissarro Poems, both from World Parade Books; and Modest Aspirations - Poems & Stories (Lummox Press). Rick Smith is a clinical psychologist, in Rancho Cucamonga, California where he specializes in brain damage and domestic violence. He studied with Anthony Hecht at Bard College, George Starbuck and Frank Polite at the University of Iowa and Sam Eisenstein at Los Angeles City College. During the 70's, he joined Dan Ilves to co-edit the literary journal, Stonecloud. He has been published widely in anthologies and in small press publications such as New Letters, Onthebus, Blueline, Hanging Loose, Pinyon, Eclipse, Paper Street, Lummox Journal, Rattle, Rhino and Main Street Rag. He has three books including his latest title: Hard Landing (Lummox Press). RD Armstrong never went to college or took a workshop on writing, publishing or any of the myriad of things that people go to a workshop for...except to find a screwdriver or some other tool. He fell into publishing in the mid-nineties when he discovered the poetry scene while washing dishes at a coffee house in San Pedro. Since then he has been published in over 300 mags, zines, anthologies etc. He has a number of books to his name, mostly published by his own Lummox Press, including his latest title: E/OR - Living Amongst the Mangled. Lummox Press has published an ongoing chapbook series since 1998 (the Little Red Books) with 60 + titles; the Lummox Journal (1995 - 2006), a monthly; and a number of perfect bound books (20), most recently the Respect Series. Visit the website for more details: www.lummoxpress.com. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 19, 2011.

Black Clock 13 An amazing lineup of writers -- Aimee Bender, Janet Fitch, Jonathan Lethem, Susan Straight, and Lisa Teasley --  will read from their pieces in Black Clock 13, the latest issue of this great literary journal.  Author Steve Erickson, Black Clock's editor, will moderate. Aimee Bender is the author of four books; the most recent is The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, winner of the SCIBA award. Her short fiction has been published in Granta, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, Black Clock and more, as well as heard on "This American Life" and "Selected Shorts." Janet Fitch is the author of Paint it Black and White Oleander, an Oprah's Book Club selection from which a 2002 motion picture was made starring Michelle Pfeiffer. Her fourth novel will be published next year. Fitch teaches writing at the University of Southern California. Jonathan Lethem has written eight novels, including Girl in Landscape and Chronic City, and four collections of stories and essays, including the forthcoming The Ecstacy of Influence. His monograph on John Carpenter's They Live was published in November last year. He's lived in New York, Vermont, Oakland, Toronto, and now Los Angeles. Susan Straight’s new novel is Take One Candle Light a Room, named one of the best novels of 2010 by The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Kirkus. Highwire Moon was a Finalist for the 2001 National Book Award, and A Million Nightingales was a 2006 Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. Her short story "The Golden Gopher," a chapter in the novel, won the 2008 Edgar Award for best Mystery Story. She has published stories and essays in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Harpers, Salon, Zoetrope, McSweeneys, The Believer, Black Clock, and elsewhere. She was born in Riverside, California, where she lives with her family, whose history is featured on susanstraight.com. Lisa Teasley is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Heat Signature and Dive, and the award-winning story collection, Glow in the Dark, all published by Bloomsbury. Lisa Teasley is writer and presenter of the BBC television documentary "High School Prom," and currently teaches poetry and fiction at UC Riverside. Steve Erickson is the Editor of Black Clock. He is the author of eight novels, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007. In 2010 he was nominated for the National Magazine Award for his film criticism and was the recipient of one of seven awards in literature given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His novel novel These Dreams of You will be published in early 2012 by Europa. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 13, 2011.

Caribou Island (Harper) David Vann, whose short story collection Legend of a Suicide is a staff favorite, returns to Skylight to read from and sign his debut novel, Caribou Island. "Vann . . .  renders luminous prose in this haunting tale of hardened hearts and broken dreams." --Booklist "Vann delivers an authentic story, even lyrical at times. He is a writer headed for notable accomplishments. Enthusiastically recommended." --Library Journal David Vann, 43, is a professor at the University of San Francisco. He is a contributor to Esquire, The Atlantic, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, The Sunday Times (London), and Outside, and the author of the bestselling memoir A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea and Last Day on Earth: A Portrait of the NIU School Shooter, Steve Kazmierczak, winner of the AWP Nonfiction Prize. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and Wallace Stegner Fellowship. His website is www.davidvann.com. Photo of the author by Diana Matar. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 11, 2011.

Special Exits (Fantagraphics) Joyce Farmer discusses and signs her graphic novel Special Exits, a memoir in the vein of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home or Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, and Frank Stack’s Our Cancer Year, about caring for her dying father and stepmother. "One of the best long-narrative comics I've ever read, right up there with Maus... I actually found myself moved to tears." –R. Crumb One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Graphic Novels and Comics of 2010 Named one of "The Most Memorable Comics & Graphic Novels of 2010" by NPR's Glen Weldon Joyce Farmer, together with Lyn Chevely, was the creator of Tits & Clits Comix in 1975. They had formed their own publishing company, Nanny Goat Productions, to counter the sexism they saw in male-produced underground comix of that time. Apart from Tits 'n Clits, they also produced a comic about abortion, 'Abortion Eve', in 1973. Joyce also contributed to the other all-woman comix publication, Wimmen's Comix. In 2000, Joyce Farmer published her work in magazine Zero-Zero. For the last decade-plus, Joyce has been working on her first long-form work, SPECIAL EXITS, a graphic memoir chronicling the decline of the author’s elderly parents’ health, their relationship with one another and with their their daughter, and how they cope with the day-to-day fragility of the most taxing time of their lives. She lives in Laguna Beach, CA. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 5, 2011.

Injuring Eternity (World Nouveau) Millicent Borges Accardi will read and sign her most recent poetry collection, Injuring Eternity. Millicent Borges Accardi, a Portuguese-American poet, is the author of two books: Woman on a Shaky Bridge (Finishing Line Press chapbook) and Injuring Eternity (World Nouveau). She has received literary fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the California Arts Council, Barbara Deming Foundation, and was a Formby Fellow at Texas Tech, researching the work of writer-activist Kay Boyle.  Millicent’s work has appeared in Nimrod, Tampa Review, New Letters, and Wallace Stevens Journal, as well as in Boomer Girls (Iowa Press) and Chopin with Cherries (Moonrise Press) anthologies. Residencies include Yaddo, Jentel, Vermont Studio, Fundación Valparaíso in Mojacar, and Milkwood in Cesky Krumlov. She received degrees in English and writing from CSULB, holds an MPW (1993) from USC and works as a freelance writer (theater reviews, grants and instructional design). THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS FEBRUARY 10, 2011.

Students in USC's Master of Professional Writing Program will read from their work. Student readers CJ Francis, Hayley Huntley, Allison Gibson, and Amie Longmire will be joined by faculty member Gina B. Nahai (author of Caspian Rain). THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 20, 2010.

If You're Not Yet Like Me (Flatmancrooked) Edan Lepucki, a writer for book blog The Millions (and a former Skylight staffer!) presents her acclaimed debut novella. "Edan Lepucki's sly, smart novella is never quite a love story—in fact, rarely has the edict 'only connect' seemed more difficult to enact than among her small tribe of underachievers.  Sex, however, retains its reliable consequences.  And therein lies the beauty and the gut punch of this sneaky, deft book. "  --Michelle Huneven, author of Blame "If You’re Not Like Yet Like Me tells quite a few damn good jokes before it decides to twist your heart apart. Gracefully written, barbed and biting; a touching meditation on the mistakes we make before meeting the ones who truly deserve our love.  --Victor LaValle, author of Big Machine Edan Lepucki is a staff writer for The Millions. She is a fiction writer and instructor living in Los Angeles, and her stories have been published in Narrative Magazine, Meridian, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, among others. She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and an excerpt of her recently-completed novel, The Book of Deeds, won the 2009 James D. Phelan Award. Her novella, If You're Not Yet Like Me, is newly published by Flatmancrooked. Learn more about her writing classes at writingworkshopsla.com. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 20, 2010.

Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir (Monster Girl Media) A launch party for this new book -- "a love letter to those who've hit the skids but clawed back to kick the world in the crotch . . . tenderly" -- from self-proclaimed monster girl Erika Lopez. Erika Lopez lives a much too happy life in San Francisco being the sidekick to her two best friends, Mark and Mary. They all live on the same block. They walk big, leaky dogs and forget to whisper when they talk about other people's butts. Previously she launched "Lap Dancing for Mommy" into the world and her new book is "They Call Me Mad Dog!: A Story for Bitter, Lonely People, " but that won't be all. She's got plans. Big plans for big girls in little clothes. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 18, 2010.

Mary Ann in Autumn: A Tales of the City Novel (Harper) Armistead Maupin, author of the Tales of the City novels, returns to Skylight to read from and sign his latest, Mary Ann in Autumn! "Perhaps the most sublime piece of popular literature America has ever produced … As with the Beatles, everyone seems to like Maupin's Tales – and, really, why would you want to find someone who didn't?" --Laura Miller, The Salon.com Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Authors Armistead Maupin is the author of the Tales of the City series, of which Mary Ann in Autumn is the eighth book and which includes Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You and Michael Tolliver Lives. Three television miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. Maupin is also the author of Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener, the latter of which became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. A stage musical version of Tales of the City will have its world premiere at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in May 2011. Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner. Photo of the author by Christopher Turner. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 11, 2010.

Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae (Titan Books) A launch party for the new photo book by Kim Gottlieb-Walker! The photographer will discuss and sign her book of rare and never-before-seen photos of Bob Marley and other reggae musicians and producers. Kim Gottlieb-Walker’s incredibly varied career has covered everything from classic rock and roll, reggae and politics in the 60’s and 70’s to working on major motion pictures and television shows. While still at UCLA (where she received a BA in Motion Picture production) and shortly thereafter, she shot for underground LA newspapers and magazines like Crawdaddy and Music World. Her classic portrait of Jimi Hendrix was shot when she was only 20 and her High Times cover of Bob Marley remains their most popular cover ever.  She also shot the stills for John Carpenter’s Halloween, The Fog, Christine and Escape from New York and worked at Paramount for nine years as the production photographer for Cheers and five years for Family Ties. In 1975 and 1976 she covered Bob Marley both in California (behind the scenes, in interviews and performances) and at his home in Jamaica as well as traveling all over Jamaica to document reggae musicians and producers. Those rarely and never-before-seen photos appear in her new book Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae which includes commentary by writer/director Cameron Crowe, her husband Jeff Walker (who was the national director of publicity for Island Records in the USA in the '70s) and reggae historian Roger Steffens. She has served as one of the elected representatives for still photographers on the National Executive Board of IATSE Local 600, the International Cinematographers Guild for over two decades. Her website is  www.Lenswoman.com THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS NOVEMBER 7, 2010.