Libros Schmibros
Founder of Libros Schmibros, a nonprofit lending library and used bookshop in Mariachi Plaza (downtown Los Angeles), and instructor in Los Angeles literature at UCLAFormer Director of Literature at the National Endowment for the Arts
Americans and the Booker Prize The long list was announced today for one of the world’s richest and most prestigious literary awards: the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Traditionally, only writers from the British Commonwealth were eligible for the Booker, but this year it’s open to all novels written originally in English and published in Britain. And plenty of Europeans are not happy about that.
The Passing of LA's Unofficial Poet Laureate, Wanda Coleman Wanda Coleman grew up in Watts in the 1950's. She described her own childhood as unhappy, and was outraged by racism and hatred. She went on to write 20 books, including novels and collections of other works. She won poetry prizes and was a finalist for the National Book Award. She died last Friday after a long illness at the age of 67. LA Times book critic David Ulin describes her as "a force of nature" and "the conscience of the LA literary scene." We hear an appreciation from Erin Aubry Kaplan, author of Black Talk, Blue Thoughts and Walking the Color Line : Dispatches from Black Journalist, and David Kipen, the founder of Libros Schmibros, the lending library and bookshop in Boyle Heights.
Will Budget Cuts Close Pomona Public Library? A few years ago, the City of Salinas threatened to close its libraries to save money, but it never happened. Now it might happen here in Southern California in the City of Pomona. David Kipen is former Director of Literature at the National Endowment for the Arts. He founded Libros Schmibros, a nonprofit lending library and used bookshop in downtown Los Angeles.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?