The Book Pages: Mike Sonksen and the poetry of Southern California

Mike Sonksen remembers his mom introducing him to the joys of writing.

“When I was a little kid, she would write a little poem about a birthday party,” says Sonksen about his 81-year-old mother, a retired elementary schoolteacher who chronicled experiences for decades, amassing nearly 100 journals of work.

“In the last few years, she’s been reading excerpts to me from some of the journals – you know, when I was eight years old, nine years old, 15 years old – and so I think I got that influence from her and then I just ran with it,” says Sonksen, a poet, teacher and longtime advocate for L.A. writers.

Along with his mother, Sonksen refers throughout our conversation to the writers, teachers and family members who’ve influenced his work, and he aims to provide similar inspiration to his students at Woodbury University.

“Even if you’re not going to become a writer – probably 80 or 90 percent of my students are not going to become writers, they’re going into different fields – that joy of writing and the joy of communicating is going to pay off in other elements of your life. That’s why I believe things like poetry belong to everybody.”

Sonksen, who’s also known by his nom de poem, Mike the Poet, was speaking to me from his home in Monterey Park about an upcoming Grand Performances event he’s spearheading.

Poetry Night: LA Stories is scheduled for next Friday, July 28 at 350 Grand Ave. in LA, from 6-9 p.m. Part of a series that included Pride Poetry in June and the upcoming Black Voices in August, this event will feature 15 poets reading works about different parts of the city.

“My favorite topics are Los Angeles neighborhoods’ literary history, and the history of L.A. poetry, and so I’ve chosen a selection of 15 poets – three generations – on the same stage,” says Sonksen of a lineup that includes Dante Mitchell, Rocío Carlos and Allan Aquino among them.

“The idea is each person is going to do one piece about a different L.A. neighborhood,” he says. “Literature has always been the voice of history.”

We also had the opportunity to discuss the second edition of his book, “Letters to My City,” a collection of poems and essays about Los Angeles by Sonksen, himself a lifelong resident of the city and the child of LA natives.

“Some of my best-known L.A. poems are in there,” he says. “But the second edition has two really new important essays that warranted a second edition with Mike Davis passing. He was really – aside from my grandfather – my biggest influence.”

Along with the essay on Davis, “Letters to My City” features pieces on poet Wanda Coleman, crime writer Chester Himes and “California’s Gold” host Huell Howser. Sonksen also writes about a range of cities and neighborhoods around Los Angeles, creating connections between all of them.

“Local history is a way of building some kind of unity in this time when we are so fragmented,” says Sonksen. “That’s a major theme of ‘Letters to My City’ and all the other little micro-essays and poems tie in to that.”

For more information on the event, go here.

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(L) Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson and (R) Glendale Poet Laureate Raffi Joe Wartanian. (Thompson photo courtesy of Jacqueline Legazcue / Wartanian photo by Anastasia Italyanskay / Images courtesy of Glendale Library)

Just as I was writing about one local poet, I learned that Glendale’s inaugural Poet Laureate, Raffi Joe Wartanian, will be giving the first of four community poetry workshops tomorrow titled, “Unearthing Roots: The Heritages We Herald and Hide.”

The event, which is free and open to all levels, will be held at the Brand Library Recital Hall on Saturday, July 22nd from 11 a.m.–2 p.m.  The workshop will feature Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson and the Los Angeles Press’s Linda Ravenswood, activities will include writing, reading, performance and more. There will also be light refreshments.

“Everyone is welcome! We accept all levels of experience, disciplines, and areas of interest. Our series of workshop-readings are designed to inspire creativity, cultivate community, and expand our understanding of what poetry is and can be,” Wartanian said in a message.

Want to know more or share an idea with Glendale’s Poet Laureate? Visit EGlendaleLAC.org/PoetLaureate or email poetlaureate@glendaleca.gov.

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Thanks, as always, for reading.

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