Mike Sonksen
Equally a scholar and performer, Mike Sonksen, also known as Mike the Poet, is a 3rd-generation L.A. native acclaimed for published essays, poetry performances and mentoring teen writers. Mike teaches at Woodbury University.
Breakbeat maestro David Axelrod successfully merged music with poetry in his adaptations of William Blake's poems.
I've written dozens of poems about the river. The poem recorded here is a culmination.
Mike the Poet pays homage to the artists and poets who are transforming the city with their art and community service.
The Berkeley-born David Wittman aka DJ Dave is a musical virtuoso skilled in composing, drumming, DJing, rhyming and producing. Following the success of the YouTube hit "Whole Foods Parking Lot," he's looking to expand his craft.
What does it mean to be alive in Los Angeles?
21st Century Los Angeles shares the same energy and passion that fueled the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat Generation, the Black Arts movement, and the birth of Punk Rock.
The city's energy after the 1992 Riots created a fertile landscape for music and art, including backyard jam sessions and hip hop in Chinatown.
Many relevant poets and musicians have been left out of the discussion of post-L.A.Riots literature and art, including authors from Leimert Park and South L.A.
I learned early that Los Angeles is a city of binary oppositions -- the neighborhoods blend like a DJ mixing records. The tension between the differences is addressed in "L.A. Love & War."
As National Poetry Month nears the end, Mike the Poet celebrates more poets and poetry spaces of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles artists Amde Hamilton, Hines Buchanan, Blackbird, and Cut Chemist deliver new tracks.
For National Poetry Month, Mike the Poet celebrates the poets and poetry spaces of Los Angeles.