The Library Foundation of Los Angeles Announces Winter/Spring ALOUD Programs

Select authors from upcoming ALOUD winter/spring season.
P-22 Photo Credit Steve Winter and National Geographic

Guests Include Pulitzer Prize Finalist Kristina Wong, Bestselling author and poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Colm Tóibín in conversation with Rachel Kushner, Primatologist Frans de Waal, National Book Award finalist Emily St. John Mandel, a program honoring P-22, and more

(Los Angeles, CA – January 27, 2023) The Library Foundation of Los Angeles is pleased to announce new programming for the ALOUD Series’ winter/spring season running from February through May 2023. The season begins February 6, with acclaimed comedian and activist Kristina Wong and her community of auntie seamstresses who came together during the beginning of the COVID crisis. Later in the season, guests include Irish writer Colm Tóibín and his collection of inspired essays; acclaimed poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai in conversation about her second novel, Dust Child; Emily St. John Mandel and her latest novel Sea of Tranquility in conversation with Charles Yu; Cheryl Strayed discussing her book Tiny Beautiful Things transforming from literature to television; Peter Wohlleben, in an exclusive L.A. appearance, on his groundbreaking work with trees and climate change; and primatologist Frans de Waal discussing his extensive work with primates and what it reveals about gender identity that can translate to the human experience.

All programs are free of charge and take place at the Mark Taper Auditorium of 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:

The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice
Kristina Wong, Jessica Arana and Laura Karlin, and Māhealani Flournoy
Monday, February 6, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

Performance artist, comedian, activist, and local elected official Kristina Wong began sewing masks three days into the COVID-19 shutdown and spreading the word through her social media. Due to the overwhelming response, she enlisted friends and strangers to form the Auntie Sewing Squad to provide PPE and other relief to people all over the country. The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice tells the stories of these primarily BIPOC folks who took up the call to fill in the gaps of the U.S. government response by creating a model for mutual aid in the 21st century. Join Wong and the Aunties on the ALOUD stage as they share their stories ahead of the highly anticipated Los Angeles premiere of Wong’s Pulitzer Prize finalist solo play, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord.

Please note, on Saturday, February 11, Sandra Hise, a member of the Auntie Sewing Squad, is coming to the Octavia Lab at Los Angeles Central Library to demonstrate a quick, fun sewing machine project. Registration is required to attend. To RSVP, please email Lauren Kratz at lkratz@lapl.org.

How P-22 United Our City: Love Letters to L.A.’s Favorite Cat
Beth Pratt, Miguel Ordeñana, Alan Salazar, Martha Groves, Sherry Mangel-Ferber, and others TBA
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

Co-presented with the Los Angeles Public Library

In our vast city, hearing tales and stories about our neighbor P-22’s bravery over the past 12 years drew us together. For this program, we gather to hear personal stories by various individuals who made a connection with P-22 and understand the immediate need for wildlife protection. The evening features California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation’s Beth Pratt, Senior Manager of Community Science for Natural History Museum Miguel Ordeñana, Chumash and Tataviam Elder Alan Salazar, journalist Martha Groves, and author Sherry Mangel-Ferber, and others. There will also be an open mic for those who wish to share their remembrances.

Please note, on Saturday, February 4, people can gather at select Los Angeles Public Library locations to livestream “P-22 Celebration of Life,” his homegoing event happening at the Greek Theatre. The celebration will feature emotional spoken, artistic, and video tributes as well as live musical performances. For more information, please visit lapl.org/p-22.

A Guest at the Feast
Colm Tóibín
In conversation with Rachel Kushner
Thursday, March 9, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

Celebrated Irish writer Colm Tóibín (Brooklyn, The Master) returns with a new book of scintillating essays, A Guest at the Feast. This collection blends both the personal with the provocative giving us an intimate look at Tóibín’s experiences and his growing understanding of Catholicism. Again, we are amazed by his ability to move with such grace between the interior life of his subjects to the conditions of the world around them. Tóibín will be discussing this collection and more with his good friend and fellow writer, Rachel Kushner (The Flamethrowers, The Mars Room).

Finding the Words
Colin Campbell
In conversation TBA
Thursday, March 16, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

“I wrote this book in the hopes of making grief less frightening, mysterious, and lonely for those of us who suddenly find ourselves on this difficult journey.”—Colin Campbell

When film and theater writer/director Colin Campbell’s two teenage children were killed by a drunk driver, Campbell was thrown headlong into a grief so deep he felt he might lose his mind. Drawing on what Campbell learned from his own journey, Finding the Words gives readers practical advice on how to survive in the aftermath of loss, teaching how to actively reach out to their community, perform mourning rituals, and find ways to express their grief, so they can live more fully while also holding their loved ones close.

Dust Child
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
In conversation with Kenneth Nguyen
Monday, March 20, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

Co-presented with Skylight Books

Join international bestselling author and poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai in conversation with host of The Vietnamese podcast Kenneth Nguyen to discuss her second novel written in English, Dust Child. Described by Viet Thanh Nguyen as “powerful and deeply empathetic… A heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption,” Dust Child is set both during the Việt Nam War and in present day Việt Nam. Dust Child tells an unforgettable story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies through love, hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy.

Quế Mai’s debut novel in English, The Mountains Sing, was an international bestseller, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the 2020 Book Browse Best Debut Award, the 2021 International Book Awards, the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship for Fiction.

Sea of Tranquility
Emily St. John Mandel
In conversation with Charles Yu
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

Award-winning and bestselling author Emily St. John Mandel comes to the ALOUD stage to discuss her latest novel, Sea of Tranquility, with National Book Award Winner and featured author for the National Endowment for the Art’s 2023 Big Read Charles Yu (Interior Chinatown). A genre-bending work of speculative fiction exploring the nature of time and reality through the eyes of characters living across a span of 500 years, Sea of Tranquility was on The New York Times bestseller list and is one of President Obama’s favorite books of 2022. Mandel is the author of five other novels, including The Glass House and Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was the basis of a limited series on HBO Max.

Tiny Beautiful Things from the Page to the Screen
Cheryl Strayed
In Conversation with Liz Tigelaar
Thursday, April 20, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

Bestselling author Cheryl Strayed takes the ALOUD stage to discuss the transformation of her popular book, Tiny Beautiful Things, to the television screen with show creator and executive producer Liz Tigelaar. Tiny Beautiful Things tells the story of Dear Sugar, a respected advice columnist whose own life is falling apart. Told in multiple timelines with intimacy and candor, Strayed is able to mine the beauty, struggle, and humor in her life to show us that we are not beyond rescue, and that our stories are ultimately our salvation. The eight-part series starring Kathryn Hahn debuts on Hulu on April 7.

The Heartbeat of Trees—Exclusive L.A. appearance!
Peter Wohlleben
In conversation with TBA
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

In 2016, The Hidden Life of Trees began the conversation that trees can communicate with each other. Peter Wohlleben’s bestselling book changed the way we looked at ourselves and our environment. Now, after eight years, he follows up his groundbreaking work with The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us, if We Let Them. This time, Wohlleben delves even further into the life of trees describing how they pass knowledge to succeeding generations while also discussing their ability to survive climate change. The Power of Trees is a love letter to the forest and a passionate argument for protecting nature’s boundless diversity, not only for the trees, but also for us.

Different: Frans De Waal Talks Gender Identity
Frans de Waal
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 @ 7 p.m.

“This surprising look at the nature of primates has a lot to say about what it means to be human.”―Publishers Weekly

Renowned primatologist and bestselling author Frans de Waal has spent thousands of hours observing apes and monkeys both in the wild and in captivity. In his new book (now out in paperback), Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist, de Waal challenges widely held beliefs about masculinity and femininity, and common assumptions about authority, leadership, cooperation, competition, filial bonds, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the limitations of the gender binary, exceptions to which are also found in other primates. With humor, clarity, and compassion, Different seeks to broaden the conversation about human gender dynamics by promoting an inclusive model that embraces differences.

Sponsors for ALOUD include Arent Fox, City National Bank, Hearst Foundations, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, individual Library Foundation of Los Angeles donors and members, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, and 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, 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 provides critical support to the Los Angeles Public Library resulting in free programs, resources, and services available to the millions of adults, children, and youth of Los Angeles. 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.