locovore literature los angeles

Literature
for Life

 

Library

The Library features our free collection of poetry, prose, and journalism. Our literary works are carefully selected to resonate with L.A.-based youth, offer a resource for teachers, and celebrate the city of Los Angeles, its writers, and its people.

Issue 1



Riot Baby – by Daniel Voll. The action-packed story of a young boy born during the ’91 Los Angeles riots.



Crew – by Aimee Bender. Fasten your seatbelts: Aimee Bender, a skeleton and a devil want to row you to safety!



Aqua Girl – by Yxta Maya Murray. When Poseidon’s half-mortal daughter emerges onto the Santa Monica shore, anything is possible.



Man Bites Prawn – by Jonathan Gold. Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, Jonathan Gold, goes head to head with a live prawn!



For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn – by Susan Straight. Drive-by shooting in South L.A. devastates four generations of women



Blue Like Me – by Erin Aubry Kaplan. A searing essay about race, depression and identity at the dawn of the 21st Century.



Uncle Sonny – by Andrew Ramirez



The Butt – by Erin Aubry Kaplan. Yep, you read that right! Erin Aubry Kaplan is unafraid to tell it like it is.



How to Hover Right Above Crashing – by Benin Williams Lemus



Gade Deye – by Kia Penso. A rumination on music’s ability to make us remember.



The Voice – by Kia Penso. Big surprises can arrive in tiny moments.



Dida’s Dad – by Lisa Teasley. Being a child of divorce, biracial, and gay can be rough on a teenager, even in paradise.



Miss Johnson Comes to Dinner – by Pat Alderete. You never know where life’s crossroads lie – especially in East L.A.



Our Bibles – by Bob Blaisdell. Try it, you’ll like it: Reading Anna Karenina on the New York subway.



Just Surviving Another Day – by Detrice Jones. For some young people, it’s all about doing what you have to do just to get by.



Crossings – by Leonard Chang. Crossing the border from Mexico to America takes an unexpected twist – South Korean style.



Foshay in the Bad Days – by Jervey Tervalon. Some South L.A. middle schools are not for the faint of heart!



What We Know For Sure – by Benin Williams Lemus. It can be hard to trust when you’re in foster care.



Haiku IV – by Benin Williams Lemus. A city street comes to life in only 17 syllables!



Cross Border Vignettes – by Jean Guerrero. Jean Guerrero finds out that a schizophrenic father and Puerto Vallarta do not mix well.



Miss Chihuahua – by Monteserrat Fontes. Beauty is as beauty does.



Sportin’ Men – by Gary Phillips. A short story about playing the hand life deals you. does.