The Library Foundation of Los Angeles Announces New ALOUD Winter Programming of Author Conversations, a Series on Artificial Intelligence, and Performance Salons

Featured authors include Founding Rabbi of IKAR Sharon Brous, award-winning author Sheila Heti, New York Times best-selling author Leslie Jamison, and Pulitzer Prize-finalist Tommy Orange

(Los Angeles, CA – January 11, 2024) The Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA) announces the winter lineup of its ALOUD public programming series. This season, the ALOUD series includes a vibrant list of influential authors talking about their latest books, plus dynamic new salon-style programming, and a deeper dive into the issues of our time. Attendees can enjoy ALOUD on Words (author series), ALOUD on Ideas (thematic programming – this season
Artificial Intelligence), ALOUD in Revue (engaging performances), and ALOUD in Community (partnership programming with Los Angeles Public Library branches). The ALOUD winter season is an immersive dive into a broad spectrum of subjects offering new insights, experiences, and some of the most inspiring voices of our time.

ALOUD on Words kicks off on January 30 with two LA institutions: Rabbi Sharon Brous of the Jewish community IKAR and Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, discussing Brous’s new book The Amen Effect and the ways we can heal our society’s deep disconnection. The season also includes experimental diarist Sheila Heti, investigating her own life in an innovative new work, Alphabetical Diaries; Leslie Jamison, plumbing the depths of loss to search for joy in her powerful and intense Splinters, in conversation with Sarah Manguso; and breakout best-seller Tommy Orange tracing the legacies of America’s war on its own Native people in Wandering Stars, in conversation with filmmaker Sterlin Harjo. These programs in the ALOUD on Words series are co-presented with Skylight Books. Soon to be announced, Amor Towles discussing his new book Table for Two.

“We’re excited about this season and our plans to broaden this popular series with thematic, salon-style, and library-branch programming that ventures into topical issues more fully. We will celebrate the role of libraries as not only spaces full of books, but more precisely, full of ideas. We intend to give more of ALOUD to more Angelenos,” says the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’s Director of Public Programming and Strategic Partnerships Jessica Strand.

In 2024, ALOUD will also expand into ALOUD on Ideas, a thematic series building on the success of its celebrated author series. This season, the series, titled Navigating the AI Maze: Investigating Artificial Intelligence in Our Lives, looks at AI’s impact on the workforce, youth mental health, and the arts. Curated by Avriel Epps, founding director of AI4Abolition and a PhD candidate at Harvard University, who specializes in the impact of bias in predictive technologies on human development and social movements, these three programs aim to demystify AI, exploring its multifaceted impact on both society at large and our individual wellbeing.

Epps says, “I am thrilled to share my expertise and passion for artificial intelligence and social justice through this groundbreaking event series with ALOUD. Artificial intelligence isn’t just a technical marvel; it’s a pivotal part of our future that everyone should feel equipped to engage with and understand. The series is designed to welcome novices and experts alike, demystifying AI and sparking a dialogue that is as inclusive as it is insightful.”

ALOUD in Revue will launch in February with an evening of readings and performances by female artists who create powerful work about women’s anger. In March, ALOUD will celebrate the “band beyond description” in a conversation inspired by Ray Robertson’s provocative new book All the Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in 50 Shows.

ALOUD in Community will take the LFLA’s public programming to select LAPL branch libraries, featuring workshops and other interactive programs for all ages.

All programs are free of charge and take place at the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Central Library unless otherwise noted. For more information or to make reservations, please visit lfla.org/aloud.

Full list of programs below:

ALOUD ON WORDS
The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World
Rabbi Sharon Brous
In conversation with Father Gregory Boyle
Tuesday, January 30, at 7 PM

Join us for a conversation with one of our country’s most prominent rabbis, Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR, discussing her new book, The Amen Effect, which looks at our society’s deep disconnection and alienation and explores how we can tackle our loneliness and isolation by embracing and rebuilding our communities.

Rabbi Brous will be in conversation with celebrated Los Angeles-based activist and founder of Homeboy Industries, Father Gregory Boyle.

Alphabetical Diaries
Sheila Heti
In conversation
Tuesday, February 13, at 7 PM

The award-winning, beloved author of Pure Colour Sheila Heti returns to ALOUD with her new thrilling confessional Alphabetical Diaries. Over a 10-year period, Heti kept a record of her thoughts, then arranged the sentences from A to Z. Known for her experimental literary works — passionate and reflective, joyful and despairing—Heti masterfully structures her diary entries into a pastiche of unconventional structure that keeps the reader entirely engaged.

Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story
Leslie Jamison
In conversation with Sarah Manguso
Thursday, March 7, at 7 PM

Leslie Jamison has become one of our most beloved contemporary voices, a scribe of the real, the true, and the complex. The New York Times best-selling author of The Recovering and The Empathy Exams joins us in a program exclusive to ALOUD about her new memoir, Splinters, the riveting story of rebuilding a life after the end of a marriage — an exploration of motherhood, art, and new love. Jamison will be in conversation with award-winning author and professor Sarah Manguso.

Wandering Stars
Tommy Orange
In conversation with Sterlin Harjo
Monday, April 8, at 7 PM

Tommy Orange, the Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout best-seller There There, returns to ALOUD with one of TIME Magazine’s most anticipated books of 2024, Wandering Stars, which traces the legacies of the Colorado Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family. Orange’s new novel is piercing in its poetry, sorrow, and rage, and is a devastating indictment of America’s war on its own people. Orange will be in conversation with award-winning filmmaker and showrunner of Reservation Dogs Sterlin Harjo.

Table for Two
Amor Towles
Date, ticketing information, and program details to be announced.

ALOUD ON IDEAS
Programs in March, April, and May, focused on the theme of Artificial Intelligence, curated by Avriel Epps. Program details to be announced.

ALOUD IN REVUE
Women Writing Rage and Anger
February 2024
Date, guest artists, and ticketing information to be announced.

Join us for an evening of women artists and thinkers who have individually mined the controversial subject of “female fury.” We’ll pull back the curtain on female archetypes and delve more deeply into the power behind female rage.

All the Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in 50 Shows
March 2024
Date, guest artists, and ticketing information to be announced

Inspired by Ray Robertson’s provocative new book All the Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in 50 Shows, this program will explore the evolution of America’s most enduring band through their seminal live performances, from their R&B garage band roots as the musical accompaniment to Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests to their jazz-rock jams blending country, folk, and blues into one.

ALOUD IN COMMUNITY
Programming in Los Angeles Public Library Branches across Los Angeles. Program details to be announced.

Sponsors for ALOUD include the Estate of Suzanne E. Aran, ArentFox Schiff LLP, Golden Globes Foundation, Hearst Foundations, The Steve and Judith Krantz Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, and individual Library Foundation of Los Angeles donors and members, with additional support provided by the Los Angeles Public Library.

About ALOUD
ALOUD is the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’s series of bold, powerful programs that has presented over 1,200 public programs featuring a range of authors, scientists, thinkers, artists, journalists, and more. The critically acclaimed ALOUD series engages Angelenos in critical civic and cultural discourse, inspiring lifelong learning and exploring. Free and open to the public, programs will continue to evolve as we experiment, take risks, and try new ideas that are informed by the changing world and the audience we serve.

About the Library Foundation of Los Angeles
The Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA) helps advance the mission of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). LFLA has raised over $160 million in support of the LAPL which serves the largest and most diverse urban population of any library in the nation. Through fundraising, advocacy, and innovative programs, the Library Foundation strengthens the Los Angeles Public Library and promotes greater awareness of its valuable resources. For more information, please visit lfla.org.