L.A. Book Launch: The Invasion of Pantomime by Tim Xonnelly

Join us for an evening in the Wanda Coleman Theater celebrating the release of The Invasion of Pantomime, a book by Tim Xonelly composed of themes such as dream imagery and queer pride. Featured poets are writer and educator, antmen pimentel mendoza and therapist, poet and performer, Roberto F. Santiago. Reception and book signings to follow.

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

Praise for The Invasion of Pantomime

“Tim Xonnelly’s voice is reassuring. No matter how much technocracy approaches, there are poets wandering the aisles of Costco or navigating the world of online hookups. He is able to render shared experiences in an idiosyncratic, sliced cadence of images. All is not lost. There are still poets being poets. This collection is tender and weird and utterly endearing.”

– Kirk Read, author of How I Learned to Snap

About the authors

antmen pimentel mendoza (he, she, they) is a writer and educator based in Oakland, California. antmen is the author of the chapbook MY BOYFRIEND APOCALYPSE (Nomadic Press, 2023; reprinted by Black Lawrence Press). Their poetry has appeared in Underblong, Split Lip Magazine, Peach Mag and is anthologized in Best New Poets 2023. They have received support from the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference and Kundiman and an MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. antmen is online at antmenpm.com.

Roberto F. Santiago is a Puerto Rican therapist, poet, performer, and the author of Angel Park (Tincture, 2015) and Like Sugar (Nomadic 2021). Santiago (he/they) received an MSW from UC Berkeley and MFA from Rutgers University. His debut collection, Angel Park, appeared on the LA Times list of 23 Essential New Books by Latino Poets and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. His second collection, LIKE SUGAR is a torrent of culture, camp, theatricality, and sass. Roberto lives in San Francisco, where he works as a clinical therapist and nightlife fixture. His debut mixtape “Bu$$yCat" is streaming on all major platforms.

Tim Xonnelly grew up in Redondo Beach, California, with the same name as that actor who played Chet on Emergency! By 1986, he was moderating the Beyond Baroque Wednesday Night Workshop alongside Michelle T. Clinton, Fernando D. Castro and francEyE. He also curated the poetry series at Angel's Gate Cultural Center at that time. Since 1991, Tim has lived in downtown Berkeley and worked in Special Education. He's been a contract negotiator for his SEIU and CFT locals. In 2018 he retired from paraprofessional work in the Berkeley School District. Now he volunteers, travels, and writes more than ever. Previous publications include the chapbooks I skip the long ones too (2004), A Season In Bed (1998), Velcro Heart (1989), and inclusion in the anthologies 1001 Nights: Twenty Years of Redondo Poets at Coffee Cartel and Cross Strokes: Poetry Between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

About 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 a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

Livestream: If you can’t join us in person the event will be livestreamed on at the scheduled time of the event. If you are tuning in this way, no ticket purchase is necessary.

If you are attending in person, ticket purchase is required. 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. Please arrive early.

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, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.

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Host or Publisher Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center