BOOK LAUNCH: Florida Water w/ aja monet & Robin D. G. Kelley

WHO & WHAT: An evening under the trees with Grammy-nominated poet aja monet & Robin D. G. Kelley to celebrate the launch of her newest book Florida Water, an intimate collection of lyrical poetry.

WHEN: Doors at 6:15pm, event starts at 7pm.

WHERE: TreePeople 12601 Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
[Please note that this event is NOT taking place at Rep Club]

HOW:

• EARLY BIRD TICKET W/ BOOK: This ticket guarantees a seat along with a signed copy of Florida Water at 15% off, available for pick up at the event.
• TICKET W/ BOOK: This ticket guarantees a seat along with a signed copy of Florida Water available for pick up at the event.

• GA Ticket (no book): This ticket guarantees a seat, however no book is included. Additional copies may be available for purchase on-site.
• SIGNED BOOKS ONLY: Can't make it IRL but want signed copies? Order directly from our site. Get signed copies of aja's books here!

Please email us at aW5mbyB8IHJlcGFyYXRpb25zICEgY2x1Yg== if you have any additional needs, questions, or accessibility concerns.

aja monet is a surrealist blues poet, storyteller, and organizer born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She won the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam poetry award title in 2007 and aja monet follows in the long legacy and tradition of poets participating and assembling in social movements. Her first full collection of poems is titled My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, from Haymarket Books. Her poems explore gender, race, migration, and spirituality. In 2018, she was nominated for a NAACP Literary Award for Poetry and in 2019 was awarded the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for Poetry for her cultural organizing work in South Florida. aja monet co-founded a political home for artists and organizers called Smoke Signals Studio. She facilitates "Voices: Poetry for the People," a workshop and collective in collaboration with Community Justice Project and Dream Defenders. aja Monet also serves as the new Artistic Creative Director for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against all women and girls.

Robin D. G. Kelley is the Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in US History at UCLA. His books include Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression, and Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, recently released in a new twentieth anniversary edition. His essays have appeared in several publications, including The Nation, New York Times, and Boston Review, for which he also serves as contributing editor.

Inspired by the cleansing water often used in spiritual baths, Florida Water is an ode to the myriad ways a poem can rinse, reflect, reveal, and unravel us.

An honest meditation on migrating to South Florida for love, connection, and community, these poems lay bare the challenging dance between the role of the artist, lover, and organizer. aja monet confronts the interpersonal truths of community organizing while also uncovering the state's fraught history with racial prejudice, maroon communities, and natural disasters. This intimate collection of lyrical poems are the artifacts of her search for belonging and healing as she wades through the rising tides of climate change, heartbreak, and systemic violence.

IMPORTANT:

Comfortable, flat-soled shoes are recommended. If you have any ADA requirements, please let us know in advance and plan to arrive no later than 30 minutes before the performance to avoid any delay in getting to your seats.

Principal access to the amphitheatre is via hillside stairways and mulched trails.

Please check your email to know where the event is taking place and view our map below for orientation.

Parking Details:

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Parking for this event is extemely limited. We strongly suggest ride share or carpooling or even hiking up, if you're able.

If the TreePeople lot is full, there is limited parking in the neighborhood surrounding. Please do not block any driveways or park in non-designated spots in Franklin Canyon Park. Please note Franklin Canyon Park closes at sundown. Additional parking can be found at Wilacre Park on Laurel Canyon Blvd., which will require an approximately 35 minute hike up to TreePeople Headquarters.

The Parking Grove is located at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Mulholland Drive, just a few minutes above Studio City. Look for the green TreePeople sign at the entrance, opposite the stoplight, on the east side of that intersection.

TreePeople & Rep Club are not responsible for personal belongings left in vehicles; please do not leave important items out in full view of your vehicle.

Accessibility:

TreePeople's S. Mark Taper Amphitheatre is located down two flights of stairs with uneven terrain on the route. ADA requests must be made prior to the event and should be emailed to media[at]treepeople.org. Please note, this is an outdoor venue; dress accordingly.

Also check out other Arts events in Beverly Hills, Literary Art events in Beverly Hills, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Beverly Hills.