WeHo Reads: Reimagining History

Four Los Angeles writers return to the past, through fiction and poetry, to understand where we came from.

Why do we keep returning to history? And what changes when we recover what was buried, silenced, or forgotten?

WeHo Reads returns in September with four acclaimed Los Angeles writers whose work reaches back into personal, political, and civic histories, reshaping how we see them. Through historical fiction and poetry, they explore why the past still shapes the present, and what we can learn from seeing it through new lenses. In an evening of reading and discussion, they ask how memory, imagination, and the craft of writing become tools for reimagining where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.

Featuring:

• Kate Maruyama, a professor of writing and an author of realist and fabulist novels, short stories, and essays
• Steven Reigns, a poet and educator who was the inaugural City Poet Laureate of West Hollywood and author A Quilt for David, which explores the life of David Acer, a Florida dentist wrongfully vilified during the height of the HIV/AIDS panic and Outliving Michael which received the 'Best in Literature' 2025 Poz Award
• Mike Sonksen, aka Mike the PoeT, a poet, professor, journalist, historian, and tour guide with work in the publications and websites of the Academy of American Poets, Alta, PBS, Poetry Foundation, and Westways;
• Désirée Zamorano, author of the historical fiction novel Dispossessed and the collection of short stories, Amarisa’s Cooking Pot.

West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng will open the event with the reading of a poem.

Please be advised that this and all other WeHo Reads events may contain explicit language or content.

WeHo Reads is a literary series presented by the City of West Hollywood. The 2026 program is produced by BookSwell, a literary media company amplifying historically excluded voices. Additional support is provided by media partnerships with Book Soup and Los Angeles Review of Books. Free; RSVP requested. Free parking is available in the 5-story Public/Park Parking Structure at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Attendees are advised that the program may include mature language and themes.

Additional information:

• Free Parking. Attendees may park in the 5-story Public/Park Parking Structure at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd
• Content warning: This program may contain explicit language or content.