BLOOM will present Take Two (two poets, two books) on Sunday, May 19. The reading will feature two award-winning poets, David Groff and Aaron Smith, who will read from their new books, Clay and Appetite, respectively.
The reading will take place at Blu Dot, the contemporary modern furniture store where BLOOM has launched its most recent issues.
“I love Blu Dot, not just for the cool furniture, but for their willingness to host a creative event,” Flowers explains. “With all the different settings, it’s like having a huge house with beautiful room after beautiful room full of people who read and write and create.”
Take Two kicks off at 5:00 pm, with a reception provided by Blu Dot. Each poet will read, with discussion and socializing to follow.
David Groff is a poet, writer, independent book editor, literary scout, and teacher. His book of poems, Clay, was chosen by Michael Waters as winner of the Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence and was published in 2013 by Trio House Press. His previous collection, Theory of Devolution, was selected by Mark Doty for the National Poetry Series. He received an A.B. from Princeton, an M.FA. from the Iowa Writers Workshop, and an M.A. in English/Expository Writing from the University of Iowa. He teaches in the M.F.A. creative writing program of the City College of New York.
Aaron Smith is the author of Blue on Blue Ground, winner of the 2004 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize. His chapbooks include What’s Required, winner of the 2003 Frank O’Hara Award, and Men in Groups. His new book of poems, Appetite, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in December and has been named a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Publishing Triangle’s Thom Gunn Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. He is an assistant professor of English at West Virginia Wesleyan College and the poetry editor of BLOOM.
Take Two
Sunday, May 19, 5:00 pm
Blu Dot
8000 Melrose
Los Angeles, CA 90046
For more information, email Charles Flowers at queerarts@gmail.com.