L.A. Book Launch: Gail Wronsky & Paul Lieber

Join us for an evening of poetry with Gail Wronsky and Paul Lieber in celebration of new book-length collections.

Gail Wronsky's new collection, Mockingbird’s Proverbs (White Pine Press), moves through meditations on inherited wisdom, mortality, and survival in a world in crisis. From sharp, prophetic verses inspired by Blake’s Proverbs of Hell to intimate reflections on motherhood, loss, and resistance, Wronsky’s work is both lyrical and urgent. She’ll be joined by poet Paul Liebler for a night of poetry in The Wanda Coleman Theater.

Paul Lieber's book Slow Return shines through the poet's "ability to go beyond the ekphrastic," in the words of poet, Jim Natal, "to parse his past, glean details, and ultimately translate into poetry his interactivity with a book he encountered—a photographic memoir of 1960s Manhattan by a former Village Voice photographer. This is, in essence, a memoir sparked by memoir."

Doors Open: 7:00 PM I Readings: 7:30 PM

About the authors

Gail Wronsky’s previous books include Born in a Barn on Venus (Walton Well Press), a collection of ekphrastic poems with drawings by renowned artist Gronk Nicandro. A chapbook of poems called Some Disenfranchised Evening, winner of the Swan Scythe Chapbook Prize, was published in 2024. Other books include The Stranger You Are, also with artwork by artist Gronk (Tía Chucha Press), Dying for Beauty (Copper Canyon) and Under the Capsized Boat We Fly: New & Selected Poems (White Pine Press). The recipient of an Artists Fellowship from the California Arts Council, and a finalist for the Western States Arts Federation Poetry Prize, Gail and her partner Chuck Rosenthal are the founders of What Books Press and Giant Claw, two publishing houses dedicated to discovering and publishing new literary prose and poetry.

Paul Lieber's first collection, Chemical Tendencies, (Tebot Bach) was a finalist in the MSR poetry contest. He also received an honorable mention in the Allen Ginsberg Contest. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Paul produces and hosts “Why Poetry” on Pacifica radio in L.A. and Santa Barbara. Guests have included Poet Laureates, National Book Award Winners and many known and lesser-known poets. Paul’s poems have appeared in The Moth, N.Y. Quarterly, Patterson Review, Askew, Poemeleon, Alimentum, and many other journals and anthologies. He has taught creative at Loyola Marymount University and facilitates the poetry workshop at Beyond Baroque, the oldest literary institute in Los Angeles. Paul works as an actor and has performed on and off-Broadway and in numerous films and TV shows.

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States' leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with the largest collection of new poetry books for sale.

Ticket purchase is required. No one will be turned away for lack of funds! Tickets will be available at the Beyond Baroque bookstore on the day of the event, but we recommend registering in advance through Eventbrite. Masks are encouraged while inside our center.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, fellow attendees, or performers.

Livestream: If you can’t join us in-person the event will be livestreamed onat the scheduled time of the event.

Host or Publisher Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center