Beyond Baroque Literary Arts

Have you purchased your tickets for a night of poetry, wine tasting, and fundraising for Beyond Baroque this spring season? 🌸 Join us in the Poets’ Garden at Beyond Baroque for an evening of wine paired with poems. Hosted by President of Beyond Baroque’s Board of Trustees, Luivette Resto. We’ll sample Paso Robles and L.A. wines from guest winemakers Xochitl Wines, Paco Wines, Ulloa Cellars and Eastside Luv. Each wine will be paired with our featured guest poets! 🍷 This spring fundraiser will be hosted amongst the flowers in our blossoming Poets’ Garden. Small bites will be available through the evening. Hosted by Beyond Baroque’s Board President, Luivette Resto, the evening features Muriel Leung, Steven Reigns, Cody Sisco Eduardo Martinez-Leyva, and Mandy Kahn. All proceeds will benefit Beyond Baroque’s programming and mission. Join us for our fundraiser of the spring season! We’re accepting sponsorships for our fundraiser! You can make a contribution at one of the following levels: $250 Emerging Sponsor, $500 Debut Sponsor, $1,000 Curator Sponsor, and $2,500 Icon Sponsor. Please follow the link to the sponsorship you’d like to contribute to, or reach out to us directly if you would like to provide a sponsorship. We hope to see you there! Tickets in bio 🍷

Coming up! Our next gallery exhibition will be a silent auction and benefit showcase in The Mike Kelley Gallery! From May 16 - June 26, 2026, come take a look at art pieces up for sale. There will be a special preview of the gallery on May 16, from 3 - 9 PM, in conjunction with our Wine Tasting Fundraiser happening at 6 PM, so come on over to get first pick, and enjoy some poetry and wine while you’re at it. We’re still accepting art pieces for our auction! If you’d like to donate, please fill out the art auction donation form at the link in our bio.

Beyond Baroque is now accepting applications for an internship position through the L.A. County Arts Internship Program! If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work for an arts non-profit, this is your chance! Learn the basics of Publicity & Marketing by interning with Los Angeles’ oldest literary arts center. This position is ideal for someone with a strong passion for poetry and the contemporary arts. Candidates must be currently enrolled in a 4-year college/university or community college and be attending school within L.A. County or residing in L.A. County. Recent graduates may apply so long as they’ve earned their degree between May 1 - December 1, 2026. To apply, email resume and cover letter to [email protected]. The Marketing & Publicity Intern will perform tasks such as: • Publicizing programs on appropriate platforms • Scheduling social media content • Curating graphics and copy for programs • Day-of program support in the bookstore and theater

We are so excited to announce our newest book launch detailing the life and legacy of Luis J. Rodriguez, author of “Always Running” and founder of Tía Chucha Centro Cultural 🏃🏽‍♂️ Join us for the book launch of The Life, Literature, and Legacy of Luis J. Rodríguez. The book launch release features readings and Q&A with Luis J. Rodríguez. Detailing his life’s journey and literary legacy as the author of several poetry collections and the award-winning memoir Always Running. Rodriguez served as Los Angeles poet laureate (2014-2016), and founded Tía Chucha Centro Cultural, an arts organization based in Sylmar, California. The author will be joined by co-editors Josephine Metcalf and Ben V. Olguín. Book signings to follow in the Scott Wannberg Bookstore & Lounge. The Life, Literature, and Legacy of Luis. J Rodríguez features new and unique critical essays and reflections by scholars and artists throughout Europe and the Americas on the work of ex-prisoner, author, and activist, Luis J. Rodríguez. Contributors explore Rodriguez’s visceral accounts of urban working-class life that includes youth gang violence, incarceration, and drug abuse, grueling factory work and union organizing activities, as well as publications by Rodriguez offer a range of perspectives for fans of the renowned artist, intellectual, and activist. The book is indispensable for anyone interested in understanding the full complexities and impacts of Rodriguez’s life and literature 📚 We hope to see you there! Doors Open: 1:30 PM I Readings: 2:00 PM

We would like to take a moment to honor the life and memory of Greg Orloff, a former Beyond Baroque Board member, green poet, and cherished friend to so many in our community. Through his work, kindness, and unwavering support of the arts, Greg helped shape the welcoming and vibrant spirit of Beyond Baroque. His legacy will continue to live on through the countless lives he touched 🕯️🕊️

Beyond Baroque welcomes poet Catherine Strisik, visiting from New Mexico for a reading in celebration of her book “Goat, Godddess, Moon” (Holy Cow! Press, 2025), long listed for the 2026 Mass Book Awards. Strisik will read alongside poets Karen Kevorkian and Alicia Viguer-Espert. Strisik’s poems move between the everyday and the mythic, drawing on Greek culture, family history, and ritual to explore memory, loss, and connection. Kevorkian is the author of Here in My Body it Feels Crowded (2025), joining for an evening of poetry in The Wanda Coleman Theater. Book signings & reception to follow. Doors Open: 7:00 PM I Readings: 7:30 PM

Aspiring dreams to manifest a BIPOC literary fest in Historic Filipinotown is becoming reality. Pinch us, we’re wide awake and hyped to share our vision for the Los Angeles community. 📝🎤 If you’re looking for: ✅Networking and community ✅ Developing your skills ✅ A space dedicated to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) writers Sunday Jump is excited to announce our FIRST EVER literary festival: Caution! Writers at Play 📍 Pilipino Workers Center (153 Glendale Blvd 1st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90026) 📅 Sunday, May 24, 9:30am-4:30pm 🎟️ Free all ages event PLUS catered lunch! 🔗https://bit.ly/sjlitfest2026 Caution! Writers at Play is a half-day community gathering bringing together emerging and established poets and writers in Los Angeles and will feature workshops, panels, and performances in the heart of Historic Filipinotown. // Keynote @therealshihan // Workshops @ravina.340 @pagesmatam // Publishing Panel @worldstagepress @k.swagabon @kayapress @neelanjanab @riotofrosespublishing @iambrendavaca @hustlediva24 // Showcase + Open Mic @matthewcuban @jadephoenix_ @thedeathofpeterpan @macias_poesia // Lunch Networking Partners @bblitarts @treearttalks @seapoetrycollective @tnproject // Host @soulstuf // Sponsor @cd13losangeles Whether you’re just getting started on your writing journey, looking for support or looking to network with other writers and poets, join us in self-expression, collective freedom, and advocacy in writing and community as we celebrate the Summer and our 14th season of Sunday Jump! #writing #poetry #losangeles #historicfilipinotown #sundayjump

This #poetrytuesday, please enjoy an excerpt from poet Muriel Leung’s collection Imagine Us, the Swarm (@nightboat_books ). If you’re buzzing for more elegant words like this, come to our Poetry & Wine Tasting Fundraiser on Saturday, May 16—where Muriel Leung and poets Steven Reigns, Cody Sisco, Eduardo Martinez-Leyva, and Mandy Kahn will give readings, each paired with a wine! Grab your ticket now at the link in our bio and help raise funds for Los Angeles’ oldest literary arts center!

Two of my beloved works will be included in the upcoming silent auction and benefit showcase at Beyond Baroque @bblitarts , starting this Saturday, May 16. Whether you’re drawn to the paintings, the wine, or the poetry, it’s going to be a beautiful evening supporting this legendary literary landmark. A special thanks to my dear friend and artist @mei_xian_qiu for the invitation! A huge congratulations on her joining the Beyond Baroque board! TIME May 16 – June 26, 2026 Preview Night: Saturday, May 16 | 3 – 9 PM (Wine Tasting Fundraiser begins at 6 PM) WHERE The Mike Kelley Gallery Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center 681 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291 MY WORK Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Acrylic, gold leaf, molding paste, collage on canvas 19.7 x 23.6 in Dark Stars Acrylic, gold leaf on canvas 12 x 16 in Note on Framing: Frames available (optional). I’ve only pictured one piece framed here, but both works come with matching frames at no additional cost. Please DM me for details. #BeyondBaroque #ContemporaryArt #VeniceBeach #VeniceArt #contemporarypainting

Are you a zinester? 📒 Do you love Beyond Baroque? 👀 Have you always wanted to sell your zines at Beyond Baroque? 👀👀 This is your chance! We are doing an open call for zines to sell in our bookstore. We’d love to highlight artists in our bookstore from Los Angeles and beyond! Here at Beyond Baroque we love poetry and the literary arts, but this open call is zines of all genres 🙂‍↕️ At this time, Beyond Baroque is only able to offer consignment for zines. For more information about our bookstore hours, our consignment paperwork, or how to get your zine to us please reach out to Genesis at [email protected]. We are so excited to see your work!

Just a few hours away! To culminate the exhibit of Judy Kleinberg’s visual poetry now on view in the Mike Kelley Gallery, Beyond Baroque invites you to a lively reading with Judy Kleinberg, poet Suzanne O’Connell, and essayist Liz Stephens. In language that explores beauty in the unlovely and poetry in the unpoetic, the three writers contemplate memory, identity, and place. They celebrate the ordinary and the remarkable and share a unique appreciation for surprise, humor, and juicy questions about reality. Please join us for a memorable evening of words and images. Reserve your spot at the link in our bio!

We’re closing out National Poetry Month feeling very grateful! 😌 Thank you to everyone who showed up for our events and workshops at BB and throughout LA! We started off the month celebrating our planet with Earth Day Cabaret, hosted and curated by Greg Bell. We had the honor of inaugurating Amy Raasch and Shelby Pinkham as our new fellows of the Linda J. Albertano Fellowship, and had a great time with Trenches Full of Poets features and open mic! At the Mike Kelley Gallery we had the opening of our current exhibition, The Poem My Trembling Candle by J.I. Judy Kleinberg. We also celebrated the 5th season of the International Poetry Film Festival and had another wonderful weekend at the LA Times Festival of Books! Feeling grateful for every conversation, reading, and every familiar and new face! Here’s to another month of art, poetry, and community at Beyond Baroque. 🖋️❤️