Nuclear Rays From My Halogen Haze

music, politics, art, Elvis apologism

Coming up on April 28 – Rrose in a Prose: AUH! April 22, 2013

Filed under: Fiction,Folk,L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Performers,Poetry,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 1:43 pm

This month’s Rrose in a Prose is coming up! Once again, it’s at the Hedgehog Coffee Shop in Echo Park, so you can wash the whole thing down with coffee and one helluva sandwich.



The line-up this time has some really great authors and poets, including a return visit from the wonderful Jessica Ceballos, who wowed us a few short months ago. But it also has my old band mate, Asa Ferry, one of the best songwriters I’ve ever worked with and a man who really captures reality in a way not all of us catch or perceive–even if he just reads a sentence, it’ll make you float away later, looking at cumulus clouds and wondering why you’ve never seen the little shimmers that cascade from puff-pocket to puff-pocket before.

We also have Ryan Fuller from Fort King, and … goddam, there are too many people to talk about! Just read the list and kick yourself if you’re unable to attend:

Jessica Ceballos (Bluebird Readings)
Roy Rogers Oldencamp (Bluefat)
Beverly M. Collins (Quiet Observations)
Daniel Austin Warren (Black Hand)
Asa Ferry (Kind Hearts & Coronets)
Ryan Fuller (Fort King)

As always, this event is “hosted” by the not-ready-for-print-time player, L.A. RECORD’s D. M. Collins. That’s me!

A Rrose in a Prose
@the Hedgehog
2201 W. Sunset Blvd
(same side o’ the street as Mohawk Bend)
in Echo Park
April 28th @ 3 p.m.

 

Stephen Kalinich at A Rrose in a Prose – December 16 December 28, 2012

Filed under: Bobb Bruno,Literature,Los Angeles,Poems,Poetry,Songwriters,The Beach Boys — D. M. Collins @ 1:33 pm
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I first learned about Stephen Kalinich from a bootleg Brian Wilson CD that Bobb Bruno loaned to me years ago. I never imagined that the unknown man behind this strange, disembodied, beautiful voice would someday be a friend. This is a guy who writes poetry that feels like warm sunshine coming into your kitchen window in the morning. As a poet, he’s graced the steps of our nation’s capitol and the grooves of my favorite Beach Boys albums.  I’m so happy that he’s now graced our presence twice at A Rrose in a Prose.

This time, he could only stay briefly: he was on his way from a recording studio and on his way to another reading, or vice versa, or something–I can’t keep up with the guy! I hope once I’ve lived as long and as thoughtful a life as Stevie has that I’ll still have this kind of enthusiasm and joy in sharing my work with others.

 

Rickie Wang at A Rrose in a Prose – December 16 December 27, 2012

Filed under: Lit Events,Literature — D. M. Collins @ 2:37 pm
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This clip is Rickie Wang in a nutshell–she’s smart and observant and a bit quiet, but well worth tuning in for to hear what she has to say. Thanks again to Jean-Paul Garnier for putting these clips together! As a host, even though I may look like a very attractive Keebler elf over in the corner there, I often get nervous and weird and have a hard time really absorbing some of the new works going on right in front of me–I’m glad to get a second chance with this one.

It reminds me quite a bit of the work of another old friend, Dave Roche, whose book On Subbing should be required reading for anyone who’s ever considered making fun of a substitute teacher.

 

thank you all so much for coming to A Rrose in a Prose September 23, 2012

Filed under: L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Performers,Poetry,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 10:28 pm
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This month’s A Rrose in a Prose event was so well attended, and it had such amazing readers! If you were in either category today, I feel honored. I’ll post more photos as they come in. Here’s me, Lina, Nocando, and Jean-Paul:

Thanks to Lainna Fader for being first to chronicle the moment!

 

a new time, a new day for A Rrose Is a Rrose… September 13, 2012

Filed under: Celebrities,Fiction,Film,Hip Hop,L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Los Angeles,Performers,Poetry,Politics,Songwriters — D. M. Collins @ 10:09 pm
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… and a new name!

Someone (not our group, that’s for sure) put some posters on some light poles downtown a couple months ago–at least FOUR of them! That’s completely illegal, and I say that anyone who does it should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, far more than a mere $312.

Yet the name in the city officials’ misspelled documents was so wonderful, I had to steal it. Serves those vandals right!

So, compelled by the spirit of Dadaism, our literature/poetry/memoir/erotica/essay/rant event is now called:

The next one is September 23. Please come.

 

the second Rrose Is a Rrose event is August 19 July 26, 2012

Filed under: L.A. Record,Lit Events,Literature,Los Angeles,Other Stuff,Performers,Personal Shit,Poetry,Punk,Shows,Songwriters,The Beach Boys — D. M. Collins @ 2:49 pm

It’s going to be Ogden Nash’s birthday, and you know what that means: wacky witticisms will abound, like poached eggs nicely brown’d.

And this time, we have a headliner: Stephen Kalinich, who recorded a fantastic album of poetry in 1968 with Brian Wilson, and also contributed many wonderful songs to the Beach Boys. Most of them have an almost child-like innocence, or rather maybe a defiant, radical optimism and sense of hope. But this one, co-written with Dennis Wilson, is anything but innocent; do you know how hard it must be to make Mike Love sound sexy?

Anyway, come out August 19th to the Hedgehog and see all these amazing writers, poets, memoirists, etc… Martin Matamoros, Paloma Alexandra Parfrey, Earnest Pettie, Marianne Stewart, Gabriel Hart, Erin West, Susan Burke, Katie something-or-other, and myself.

 

 
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