Subscribe
The Library Store
Donate Now
ALOUD

Jasper Johns | Unfolding Language Literary Series

Reading and lecture
Date: Thursday, Apr 12, 2018
Time: 7:30–9pm
Location: The Broad
hw3tq1sxz1azbgguwfke
Back to Calendar

In collaboration with The Broad’s Jasper Johns: ‘Something Resembling Truth’ – an exhibition featuring six decades of work and more than 120 of Jasper Johns’ most iconic and significant works, ALOUD explores the centrality of writers to Johns’ creative practice by presenting two evenings of readings by contemporary authors, presenting texts from Johns’ literary muses, Samuel Beckett, Ted Berrigan, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Hart Crane, Frank O’Hara, and Herman Melville.

Join us for the second of the two evenings in Oculus Hall at The Broad, with Hanif Abdurraqib, Brendan Constantine, and Amy Gerstler reading and responding to the work of a chosen writer, while also sharing from their own work.

Don’t miss the first evening of the series on March 22 — learn more here.

Frequently asked questions

Back to Calendar

This program is co-presented with

 

ArtBabble_logo_2

 

Hanif Abdurraqib on Frank O’Hara:

I chose Frank O’Hara for his immense ability to hold a moment in his poems and freeze it for an eternity. He is a poet of enormous range, but he is at his best when adding a bluntness to memory. The ways he toys with our ideas of nostalgia and place and the specifics of those things draw me in.

 

Brendan Constantine on Herman Melville:

I think digression has become one of the great principals in American art, the means by which we braid concepts and mediums and thus make our way by almost losing it. For me, Melville and Dickinson are the essential provocateurs of this practice. Indeed Melville was my first permission-giver, allowing me to take huge risks in narrative. ‘Time does not pass: Words pass.’ —Jasper Johns.”

 

 

Amy Gerstler on Ted Berrigan

Ted Berrigan was an emotional collagist who said, ‘One of my principal desires is to make my poems be like my life.’ Erudite and playful, eclectic and experimental, remarkably unassuming, musical and deeply human his poems ride tides of grace, humor, wonder and gratitude, and manage to channel many bright, sad, tender sensibilities into one beautiful voice.

Hanif Abdurraqib

Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, writer, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His essays and music criticism have been published in The FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. With Big Lucks, Hanif released a limited edition chapbook, Vintage Sadness, in Summer 2017. He is a Callaloo Creative Writing Fellow and previously worked for MTV News, where he wrote about the intersections of music, culture, and identity. Hanif also wrote the 2016 live shows: MTV Video Music Awards and VH1’s Unsilent Night. His first full length collection, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book prize. Hanif’s debut collection of essays titled, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was published November of 2017 via Two Dollar Radio. He is a member of the poetry collective Echo Hotel with poet/essayist Eve L. Ewing.

Brendan Constantine

Brendan Constantine is a Southern California poet and champion for the literary arts. His work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Virginia Quarterly, FIELD, Ploughshares, Ninth Letter, Poetry Daily, ArtLife, and Hotel Amerika among other journals. His first book, Letters To Guns, is now taught extensively in schools across the nation. His most recent collection is Dementia, My Darling. New work is forthcoming in Artillery and the American Journal of Poetry. He has received grants and commissions from the Getty Museum, James Irvine Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. A popular performer, Brendan has presented his work to audiences throughout the U.S. and Europe, also appearing on NPR’s All Things Considered, KPFK’s Inspiration House, numerous podcasts, and YouTube.

Location
Oculus Hall at The Broad
221 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Directions and Parking

Tickets
Tickets will be available for purchase at the broad.org or by calling 213-232-6250. Tickets are $15 (poetry reading only); $30 (includes poetry reading and one-time return to Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth any time during regular museum hours)

Main Image: Installation view of Something Resembling Truth, courtesy The Royal Academy of Arts

 

630 W. Fifth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071

213.228.7500

info@lfla.org

Subscribe to our newsletter

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
About Us
Programs
Calendar
Support Us
Library Store
Los Angeles Public Library
Contact Us
Financials
Core Values and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Reservation Policy
Donors Privacy
Privacy Policy

© 2025 Library Foundation of Los Angeles

Subscribe

Library Store

Donate Now
Stacy-Lieberman_headshot_President-and-CEO_LFLA

Stacy Lieberman

As President and CEO of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA), Stacy Lieberman is an innovative and inclusive leader whose career dwells at the intersection of arts and culture, lifelong learning, storytelling, and equitable access. Stacy guides the Foundation’s philanthropic and public-facing priorities to serve the Los Angeles Public Library, embracing the notion that libraries are beacons of democracy where everyone is welcome. She works intentionally with community leaders, donors, and internal and external strategic partners to raise awareness and resources for the Library and its life-changing initiatives.

With more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive, Stacy has left an indelible mark on iconic L.A. arts, non-profit, and educational institutions such as The Broad, the Autry Museum of the American West, and the Skirball Cultural Center. Building on an early career in book publishing, she has dedicated her professional life to sharing stories and broadening the reach of public institutions to welcome visitors and students of all ages and backgrounds to experience educational, arts, and cultural opportunities.