Previous Features

She has won the San Miguel Literary Sala Flash Nonfiction Prize and has been a finalist for both the Edna St.…

Nancy Miller Gomez grew up in Kansas, but currently lives in Santa Cruz, California. Her work has appeared or is…

Gahl Liberzon is a writer, educator, and aspiring researcher in Long Beach, California. His work has appeared in The Museum…

Alex Umlas is a Humanities teacher and poet who lives in Huntington Beach, CA. Her full length poetry collection, At…

Dania Ayah Alkhouli (a.k.a. Lady Narrator) is a Syrian Pushcart Prize nominated writer, poet, editor, and author of three poetry…

Gustavo Hernandez is the author of the poetry collection Flower Grand First (Moon Tide Press) and the micro-chapbooks Form His…

Jonathan Humanoid (he/they/ghost) writes poems and is constantly confused. He would like to believe that the writing poetry thing helps…

Shelly Holder is a poet from Monrovia, CA who was a participant of the 2023-2024 Lighthouse Writer's Poetry Collective, where…

Join us at the Ugly Mug Cafe for our West Coast Book Release, Listen to Your Skin: An Anthology of…

LeAnne Hunt (she/her) is a Pushcart-nominated poet living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She proofreads manuscripts for Arroyo Seco Press…

Lisbeth Coiman is a writer and educator from Venezuela. Her debut book, I Asked the Blue Heron: A Memoir (2017)…

Tay Reem is a published author and poet, born in Nigeria and raised in a small town in Maryland. Driven…

" In 2012, I set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that said “Poetry Store” and accidentally started…

Kelsey Bryan-Zwick is the author of Here Go the Knives, a collection of poems and illustrations now available for pre-order…

Marilynn Montaño is a first-generation Chicana writer and artist from Santa Ana, CA. Montaño is a proud daughter of migrant…

"I started life in a small town in Central Oregon and have lived in Los Angeles for the past 45…

Groaning and Singing is Judy Kronenfeld’s fifth full-length collection of poetry. Her four previous collections include Bird Flying through the…

Eric Morago is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominated poet who believes performance carries as much importance on the page, as…

T. William Wallin-sato is a Japanese-American who works with formerly and currently incarcerated individuals in higher education. He is also…

Michael Cantin sips whiskey and dreams of robots from his couch in Anaheim, California. He has been published in Red…

LeAnne Hunt (she/her) grew up in the Midwest and now lives in Orange County, California. She is a regular at…

Sarah ChristianScher is a poet trapped inside the body of a biologist. Her poetry has appeared in Dark Ink: A…

Stacy Dyson is a Black female poet who explores/ illustrates/ illuminates the history, self-image, and philosophy of the Black woman.…

Lisbeth Coiman is a writer and educator from Venezuela. Her debut book, I Asked the Blue Heron: A Memoir (2017) explores the intersection between…

Nikolai Garcia is all-city L.A. He grew up in South Central Los Angeles; graduated from Birmingham High School in The…

Mariano Zaro is the author of six books of poetry: Decoding Sparrows (What Books, Los Angeles), Padre Tierra (Olifante, Zaragoza, Spain), Tres letras/Three Letters (Walrus,…

Join us as we celebrate Eric Morongo's 60th birthday at the Ugly Mug! With special guest via zoom (we hope!),…

We're proud to host one of our favorite poets as they debut their mini-chapbook, Bone Water, from Blanket Sea Press,…

Steven Reigns is a poet, educator and was appointed the first Poet Laureate of West Hollywood. Alongside over a dozen…

Alexis Rhone Fancher tears the plain brown wrapper off erotica. She refuses to play safe, strips away pretense, intent on…

For the first time in over a year, Two Idiots will be Peddling Poetry at the Ugly Mug again. Join…

Kelly Gray (she/her/hers) is a writer and educator residing on Coast Miwok land amongst the tallest and quietest trees in…

We'll be featuring a couple of jerks---er, Idiots tonight, but the focus will be on the Ugly Mug itself and…

Nicole Connolly used to live and work in Orange County, CA, which she promises is mostly unlike what you see…

gigi bella // has been ranked the tenth woman poet in the world, the two time Project X Bronx Poetry…

Josiah Luis Alderete is a full blooded Pocho spanglish speaking poet from El Area Bahia who learned to write poetry…

hector son of hector lives in Oakland, CA. He is the child of Mexican immigrants, currently works in a hospital,…

Yes, we're (not so) secretly stuck in junior high school for life, our maturity level forever stunted. With that in…

Robert Wynne holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. He is a two-time winner of the Academy of…

We're happy to present a pre-taped presentation, courtesy of Moon Tide Press, of one of our favorite poets and people,…

Neil McCarthy grew up in West Cork in the eighties watching MacGyver and launching himself from trees on zip wires fashioned…

Neil Aitken is the author of two books of poetry, Babbage’s Dream, a semi-finalist for the Anthony Hecht Prize, and The Lost…

Ellyn Maybe has performed her poetry all over the country, including Bumbershoot,the Poetry Project, the New School, Taos Poetry Circus, South…

Julianna McCarthy is an award winning poet based in Los Angeles. Her poems have appeared in The Antioch Review, American Journal…

A Lebanese Muslim American writer and artist, Nadia will release the first edition of her new chapbook “Baladi” here at…

Jessica Lawson (she/her/hers) is Denver-based writer, teacher, and activist. Her debut book of poetry, Gash Atlas (forthcoming 2021), was selected…

Victor D. Infante's poems, stories, essays and articles have been published in dozens of periodicals internationally, and he is the…

June Melby is a writer, comedian, poet, and performance artist. Her memoir My Family and Other Hazards (Holt 2014) was on the…

Mindy Nettifee, PhD is an award-winning poet, storyteller, artist educator, and depth somatic practitioner. She is the author of three…

bridgette bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English…

Sonia Greenfield was born in Peekskill, NY, and has lived in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and most recently, Minneapolis,…

Charlotte had her first poem published in a girly teen magazine at the age of ten. She has come a…

Born into a family of writers and entertainers, Theresa Davis was drawn to the arts. She has expressed her artistic…

Danny Solis is a Poetry Slam Champion on multiple levels including eight city championships, two regional championships, Southwestern and Southeastern,…

Leah Noble Davidson has a curious kiddo and a bouncy Bernese Mountain Dog. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Poetic Scientifica…

Nancy Huang grew up in America and China. She is a VONA, Tin House, Watering Hole, and Pink Door fellow.…

Tony Brown has been writing for over 50 years, and publishing and performing his work for over 40. A seven-time…

Devin Devine is a queer writer and performer living in Portland, Oregon. They have self-published several works, with their most…

Please, join us as we say goodbye to smoldering remains of 2020. Raise your voice, or just one finger at…

Welcome to the Quarantine Edition of our reading online. Whatever you celebrate, however you celebrate it, and with whomever you're…

Spillway magazine is an annual publication of Tebot Bach, Inc., presenting poetry, reviews, and articles since 1993. Susan Terris was editor from 2010…

“Show Us Your Papers speaks to a crisis of identity and belonging, to an increasing sense of vulnerability amid rapid…

Katya Zinn is the self-appointed poet laureate of Chuck E. Cheese, an aspiring woodland creature, and amateur human being. Winner…

A.J.'s most recent book of poetry is THE STING OF IT (Tolsun Books, 2019). Their third-collection manuscript, Things Being What…

KELLY GRACE THOMAS is the winner of the 2017 Neil Postman Award for Metaphor from Rattle, a 2018 finalist for…

PATRICIA SMITH is the author of eight books of poetry, including Incendiary Art, winner of the 2018 Kingsley Tufts Poetry…

Geoff Kagan Trenchard is an attorney, educator, and legal activist. Before transitioning to a career in the law, they taught…

Rich Boucher resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rich’s poems have appeared in The Nervous Breakdown, Eighteen Seventy, Menacing Hedge, Drunk…

Kathryn de Lancellotti’s chapbook Impossible Thirst was published with Moon Tide Press in June 2020. She is a Pushcart Prize…

Lynne Thompson’s newest collection, Fretwork, was selected by Jane Hirshfield for the 2018 Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize and published…

Help us celebrate 20 years of Idiocy, online. More info... um... soon.

Jeffrey McDaniel is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Holiday in the Islands of Grief. Other books include…

Chestina Craig (she/her) lives on the California coast with her cat. Her work has been published by The Rising Phoenix Review,…

KELLY GRACE THOMAS is the winner of the 2017 Neil Postman Award for Metaphor from Rattle, a 2018 finalist for…

MARIANO ZARO is the author of five previous books of poetry, most recently Padre Tierra (Olifante, Zaragoza, Spain). His poems are included…

We're experimenting this week with our first online-only feature. We'll be rescheduling her for a live reading again when we're…

See homepage for more information but we're going dark for a few weeks to be safe. We will be rescheduling…

See homepage for more information but we're going dark for a few weeks to be safe. We will be rescheduling…

See homepage for more information but we're going dark for a few weeks to be safe. We will be rescheduling…

See homepage for more information but we're going dark for a few weeks to be safe. We will be rescheduling…

Marc Cid is The Final Boss of Poetry, and known for his acerbic absurdism, soft hands, and general air of…

Matt Sedillo is a Chicano poet, writer, creative director, and public intellectual called “the poet laureate of the struggle” by Dr.…

Frankie Drayus lives for the feel of words in her mouth. She has recent work in Crowsswinds Literary Journal and…

Valentina is a 25-year-old queer writer based out of Los Angeles County with a soft spot for game nights, hot…

Ra lives and loves in Los Angeles and the internet, where frightfully wondrous things happen. She is a once-upon-a-time inmate,…

Raundi Kai Moore-Kondo grew up in sunny Southern California praying for white Christmases and daydreaming about the perfect snowman. Her…

Alexandria Espinoza is a first generation Chicana feminist poet based in Los Angeles.    She began writing in 2014 and…

Get ready, this is going to get weird. Tonight, we're going to take volunteers, and run a poetic experiment. We'll…

Terri Niccum is a former journalist and special education teacher. She lives in Southern California where she continues to advocate…

Happy New Year! We won't be here on the first day of the year. We'll be sleeping it off, or…

Yeah, so... we aren't going to be here. We suggest you find another way to spend the night. Delivering presents?…

Happy Holidays! For our last gathering of the year, we'll be getting together to enjoy each other's company. No reading,…

James Kelly is, in fact, a carbon-based life form. Your suspicion is understandable, though. He gets that a lot.

“Letters Under Rock” Poetry Performance collects from many landscapes and faith traditions: Morocco, Ireland, the Sahara, India, Japan, Cambodia, etc.…

On the day before Thanksgiving, we give thanks to our open readers, with an open reading! Bring some poems, hang…

Christian Lozada and Steven Hendrix met while working at Borders Books. They ran the pop up bookstore and reading series…

A 2019 Best of the Net nominee, Kelsey Bryan-Zwick is a Spanish/English speaking poet and artist from Long Beach, California.…

King Daddy is a father, grandfather, hedonist and bookworm, who seeks to dwell in the now. A lifelong resident of…

It's Halloween Eve, so we're getting together for a Dead Poet's Party! Come hang out, haunt the Mug, read some…

Lois Chapin is an award-winning poet (National League of American Pen Woman) who has been published in many literary anthologies.…

Lynne Thompson’s newest collection, Fretwork, was selected by Jane Hirshfield for the 2018 Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize and published in…

“There is no other poet on the planet like Daniel McGinn; his writing speaks with a skinless honesty. It is…

Wendy Rainey’s poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Trailer Park Quarterly, Nerve Cowboy, Chiron Review, and several other journals and anthologies.…

JL Martindale is a nerdy, writing mama who was born in Long Beach but has no recollection of that event.…

Alexandra Umlas is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominated poet. You can find her work in Rattle,…

George Flores is a first generation Mex-Am poet who struggles to identify with either some days. Currently CSULB's finest "super…

Kate Leddy Kate Leddy is a writer and mental health activist from Portland, Oregon. She grew up in Westchester County, New…

Help us celebrate 19 years of Idiocy with two of our favorite human beings! Leigh White Leigh White was born…

Tresha Faye Haefner is an award-winning author, creativity coach and speaker. One of the few people to hold a Master’s degree…

Patty Seyburn has published five collections of poems: Threshold Delivery (Finishing Line Press, 2019), Perfecta (What Books Press, Glass Table…

As far as we know, this is how it works: somebody sent somebody a prompt for a poem. That person…

Shawnte Orion attended Paradise Valley Community College for one day, but he is the author of two recent collections of…

Sarah Thursday Sarah Thursday, in addition to writing poetry, co-hosted 2nd Mondays Poetry Party, ran a poetry website called CadenceCollective.net,…

Lizzie Wann graduated with a BA in Literature/Writing from UC San Diego where some of her professors included Victor Hernandez…

Take a night off. Write some poetry. Watch some fireworks. Drink responsibly. Donate to a good cause.

​Daniel Romo is the author of Apologies in Reverse (FutureCycle Press, 2019), When Kerosene’s Involved (Mojave River Press, 2014), and Romancing Gravity (Silver Birch Press, 2013).…

Joel Francois is an ambitious writer and slam poet based in New York City who dreams of sharing his talent and techniques…

Letters to the Leader by  HanaLena Fennel is a poetic response to the 55 Executive Orders signed by Donald J.…

Sonia Greenfield was born and raised in Peekskill, New York, and her chapbook, American Parable, won the 2017 Autumn House Press/Coal Hill…

A collection of poetry from a community of 30 diverse authors whose voices need to be heard. They have united…

Part of the vanguard of poets fusing and refusing and queering the delineations between literary and oral poetry, Marty McConnell’s…

To celebrate surviving another National Poetry Writing Month, HanaLena Fennel and LeAnne Hunt will share some of the many prompts…

Judy Kronenfeld is the author of four full-length collections of poetry: Bird Flying through the Banquet(FutureCycle Press, 2017), Shimmer (WordTech Editions, 2012), Light Lowering…

Alyssandra plays the kind of music that makes you put down your beer and think about your mother. The sweet…

Dania Ayah Alkhouli, a.k.a. Lady Narrator, is a Syrian American author, poet and writer, born and raised in Southern California.…

Reigns was the inaugural City Poet Laureate for West Hollywood (2014-2016) and is the creator of The Gay Rub, a…

A Lebanese Muslim American writer, poet, and visual artist originally from Flint, Michigan, Nadia debuts her poetic contributions to the…

Redshift 1 is the new anthology from Arroyo Seco Press. This first edition is mostly composed of the poets who…

Donna Hilbert was born in the Red River Valley of Oklahoma near the Texas border, but has spent most of her…

Richard Garcia Richard Garcia was born in San Francisco in 1941 and began writing in his teens. After publishing his…

Lee Rossi is the author of four books of poetry and has appeared in numerous anthologies. His poems, reviews and essays…

G. Murray Thomas used to attend poetry readings all over SoCal. Then he moved to upstate New York. Now we…

William S. Friday is a Long Beach poet and publisher. With three books in print, Bill continues to write and…

Jan Hanson has more than 30 years of experience writing in the business world, and writing poetry in a parallel…

ARMINE IKNADOSSIAN fled Beirut, Lebanon for Pasadena, California with her family in 1978 to escape the civil war. She spent…

VICTORIA LYNNE MCCOY holds an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in “The Power of Words: Creative…

Brendan Constantine is the author of four collections of poetry. His work has appeared in Best American Poetry, Poem-a-Day, Prairie…

Moon Tide Press is very excited to present a new anthology, Dark Ink: A Poetry Anthology Inspired by Horror, featuring…

Heather June Gibbons is the author of the poetry collection Her Mouth as Souvenir, winner of the 2017 Agha Shahid…

Join us for our annual holiday get together at the Mug. Nothing fancy, just friendly poets hanging out. More details…

Nothing says holidays like competition, right? Days of giving, good cheer and cut-throat competition. So, we're holding a slam! Because…

Help us gather much-needed clothes and supplies for Orange County's homeless population. We'll be taking collections of items and donations.…

Ellen Webre was born in Hong Kong and raised in Orange County. She is currently working towards a Masters in…

We'll be prepping hard to stuff our faces with Turkey. Hope you will be too. Or however you celebrate/hide from…

Shy But Flyy is a Blues, Jazz, and spoken- word artist currently located in Long Beach CA. Shy started out…

Thomas R. Thomas was born in Los Angeles, CA, and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley west of LA.…

In order to avoid mobs of zombie-like children trying to steal our precious candy, we'll be hiding out at the…

Charles Bukowski once wrote, “Writing is the ultimate psychiatrist.” Aristotle believed that writing poetry allowed people “to transform their problems…

Born in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, poet Luivette Resto was raised in the Bronx. The first in her family to…

liz gonzález, a fourth generation Southern Californian, grew up in the San Bernardino Valley. She’s a funkifizer, animal and nature…

Matthew ‘Cuban’ Hernandez is a poet, speaker, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu…

We'll be hosting a memorial poetry reading for our dear friend, Larry Colker, who passed away recently. He was one…

Kevin Ridgeway was raised in Whittier and now lives and writes in Long Beach, CA. A Pushcart Prize and Best…

Robin Axworthy is a local poet and retired teacher. She moderates the poetry section of the Writer’s Club of Whittier…

Alyssa Matuchniak is a Southern Californian emerging on the poetry scene. A second-generation biracial American--the daughter of an Indian mother…

Marc Cid recently noticed how awful and widespread suicide stigmatization is, and has been writing a lot about that in…

Julayne Lee is a 1.X generation adopted Asian American poet, artivist, producer, occasional blogger and Futbolista. Writing is a source…

Elizabeth Iannaci was born in New Haven, shares a birthday with Red China, Julie Andrews, Jimmy Carter, two of her…

Edwin Bodney is an LA native and co-host of one of the largest poetry venues in the nation, Da Poetry…

“When we look at the faces of these children, we can’t help but see our own children’s faces,” -Charlotte Wilner.…

Portia Bartley is an Actress, Poet, Writer and Model based in Los Angeles, CA. Born and raised in London, England,…

Peggy Dobreer is a career artist, whose first book of poetry In The Lake of Your Bones was published by…

C. C. Hannett is the byname of Kris Hall; a poet who writes and lives with his wife and their…

My name is Aman (pronounced uh-mun), and I’m an Indian-American spoken word poet from Artesia, CA. As the child of…

Elmast Kozloyan is a poet trapped in limbo between magic and reality (though seldom chooses the latter). At the age…

Alexis Rhone Fancher’s poem, “when I turned fourteen, my mother’s sister took me to lunch and said:” was chosen by…

California-born poet Eric Howard has spent most of his life in Los Angeles. After receiving a degree in English at…

Mckendy Fils-Aimé is a New England based Haitian-American poet and educator. He has been an artist in residence for MassLEAP…

G. Murray Thomas has been an active part of the SoCal poetry scene for over 20 years. He has performed…

Mindy Nettifee is an award winning writer and accomplished performance poet and storyteller. She is the author of two full-length…

Mandy Kahn is the author of the poetry collection Math, Heaven, Time. Former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser featured Kahn’s poem…

John Gardiner Memorial Reading Late last year, Southern California lost an amazing poet and human being.  Join us for a…

ATTACK OF THE FAMILY NIGHT: the Rouse Family invites you to a unique evening of song, spoken word and comedy.…

The author of Carnival (NOT A CULT media), Alyesha Wise is a poet, teaching artist & TEDx speaker from Camden,…

June Melby is an author and a performer, a former standup comedian, and slam poet. Her memoir My Family and…

Judy Kronenfeld is the author of four full-length collections of poetry: Bird Flying through the Banquet (FutureCycle, 2017), Shimmer (WordTech…

About Daniel McGinn's latest book, The Moon, My Lover, My Mother & The Dog: book coverLike the Beatles, these poems…

When told to calm down, Sarah Elizabeth Miller becomes a mouthy saloon girl. The rest of the time she's a…

Nancy grew up in America and China. She is a winner of the 2016 Write Bloody Poetry Chapbook contest, an…

BREATHE IN DAISY, BREATHE OUT STONES (2017) is Cindy Rinne’s third full collection of surreal poems. The poet-artist invites us…

Danielle Mitchell is the author of Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry (Tebot Bach 2017), selected by Gail Wronsky for the 2015…

Jonathan Humanoid is constantly confused. He likes both dogs and cats and doesn't really know what to put in a…

Maxine Chernoff's most recent book is CAMERA (2017 Subito Press), her 16th collection of poems. Her previous volume, HERE, was…