Final Next Words Reading at REDCAT

The Next Words Anthology ‘Ephemera.’

Tonight (May 14), members of the graduating class of the CalArts MFA Creative Writing Program read from their works for the culmination of the Next Words Reading Series at Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Downtown Los Angeles.

The featured authors are:

• Lauren Artiles, reading an excerpt from her short fiction project and other poetry;
• Sydney Barile, reading from her collection of poetry, Super Fucking Average;
• Paul Christian, reading from his collection of prose and poetry, Everything is Fine;
• Michelle Cohen, reading poems from her collection;
• Allison Conner, reading prose from her project about institutionalization, erasure and memory;
• Anna Cruze, reading an excerpt from her novel;
• Regine Darius, reading an excerpt from her novel about the death of a woman’s best friend;
• Kit N. Edwards, reading an excerpt from her prose work about the underworld and LA transit;
• Gabriela Garcia Medina, reading an excerpt from her novel Little Con Lili, about a young girl coming of age with a manipulative mother;
• Atsuko Okatsuka, reading a piece on the production of her documentary about visiting Japan to search for her estranged sister;
• Mychal Schillaci, reading from his science-fiction novel Theodosy;
• T.M. Semrad, reading from her travelogue and exploration of family history;
• Stephanie Taglianetti, performing a scene from her literary screenplay about familial trauma, June Revival, with actress Megan King;
• Carmelo Valone, reading from his memoir about addiction, mental health, the 90s and Sylvia Plath; and
• Meg Whiteford, performing a scene from her experimental play.

The anthology Ephemera—containing a selection of fiction, poetry, nonfiction and hybrid genres from the MFA program and curated by Artiles, Edwards and Leslie—will be available for purchase at the event. A reception at nearby Hotel Figueroa follows the reading.

The Next Words series takes place in various venues around Los Angeles to introduce the graduating class of the CalArts MFA Program in Creative Writing to the city’s greater literary community.