The annual Fall Reading Series presents a season of events celebrating literature,
showcasing award-winning authors, and honoring the inspiration to write. Events are
sponsored by the English Department and Creative Writing Program of Grossmont College,
as well as a variety of other campus agencies and programs.
Friday, September 13
Acorn Review Literary Magazine
a promotional reading
7-8:30pm, Verbatim Books, 3793 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104
This off-campus, inaugural event of the 2019 Fall Readings Series showcases Acorn Review, Grossmont College’s own student-produced literary journal. Forthcoming contributors perform their published works, and student editors and production staff will be available to sell copies, and featured writers will be on hand for signing.
Wednesday, September 25
Banned Books/Banned Lives: Queer
an LGBTQ Reading
7-8:15pm, Griffin Gate (Bldg 60)
Hosted annually by English Prof. Alan Traylor during U.S. National Banned Books Week, this year’s stirring and empowering Banned Books/Banned Lives event features writers and spokespersons presenting personal stories, poetry, and performance on the Queer community’s history of persecution, its hard-won civil rights gains, and its ongoing, indefatigable advocacy against the censure and banning of LGBT members and families. Panel to include Grossmont College faculty and students, as well as guest presenters from the local Queer community. National Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign sponsored by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, promoting the freedom to read by showcasing banned/challenged books and persecuted individuals.
Info and Inquiries:
- Alan Traylor, alan.traylor@gcccd.edu
- Karl Sherlock, karl.sherlock@gcccd.edu
- Official website of National Banned Books Week
Thursday, October 3
music journalist and author, Jim DeRogatis
a Lester Bangs Memorial Reading
7-8:15pm, Room 26-220
Jim DeRogatis is the official biographer of gonzo music journalist and GC alumnus
Walk-of-Famer Lester Bangs. An associate professor of English at Columbia College
Chicago, DeRogatis is a freelance rock journalist and co-hosts Sound Opinions, the
world’s only rock ’n’ roll talk show. Currently a drummer for the punk trio, Vortis,
DeRogatis began in the early 1980s with indie-rock bands such as the Airlines, Speed
the Plough, and the Ex-Lion Tamers. In addition to his fifteen years as pop music
critic at The Chicago Sun-Times, DeRogatis has authored nearly a dozen books, including Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America’s Greatest Rock Critic; Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma’s Fabulous Flaming Lips; and, Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Jim DeRogatis’s recently released eleventh book, Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly, is a shocking compendium of the author’s investigative journalism spanning twenty
years. DeRogatis was the first to break the scandal of R. Kelly’s sexual predation
of young black girls.
Jim DeRogatis will be available after the reading for Q&A and book signing. Selected
books will be available for purchase at the venue.
Info and Links:
- Jim DeRogatis's official website
- Jim DeRogatis on Wikipedia
- excerpt from Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly
- NPR broadcast (May 31, 2000): Let It Blurt: The Life & Times of Lester Bangs
- GC Lester Bangs Archive
Wednesday, October 16
author, musician, and advocate Simon Tam
a multimedia presentation and book signing
11am-12:15pm, Griffin Gate (Bldg 60, across from bookstore)
Join Grossmont College alumnus, social media rockstar, and frontman and bassist for
the now infamous Asian-American rock band The Slants, Simon Tam, for a reading and
multi-media presentation featuring his forthcoming memoir, Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court. The book chronicles Tam's 2017 landmark Supreme Court free speech victory after
Tam sued the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for preventing him from trademarking
the band’s name. Earning recognition from the Obama administration for his championing
of diverse social issues, Tam has received numerous accolades for his advocacy work,
including the American Bar Association’s Mark T. Banner award, the Hugh M. Hefner
First Amendment Award, and Chinese American Citizens Alliance’s "Citizen of the Year"
award. Tam has been a keynote speaker, performer, and presenter at TEDx, SXSW, Comic-Con,
The Department of Defense, Stanford University, and over 1,200 events across four
continents. He has guested on The Daily Show, NPR, BBC, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone. In 2018, Tam founded The Slants Foundation, a scholarship and mentorship organization
focused activism and community engagement.
Simon Tam will be available after the reading for Q&A and book signing. Selected books
available for purchase at the venue.
Info and Contact
- Daniela Sow, daniela.sow@gcccd.edu
- the author website of Simon Tam
- The Slants official website
- Simon Tam on TEDx
- Simon Tam on Wikipedia
Saturday, November 16
Creative Write-a-Thon
a "Rock the Page" day of writing and fundraising
9am-4pm, Griffin Gate
The popular biennial fundraising event is back! Open to all Grossmont faculty, students, and staff, Write-a-Thon participants raise pledges to help our Creative Writing Program bring nationally renowned authors to our spring Literary Arts Festival. The event includes prizes, lunch, and hours of inspiring and fun writing prompts presented by Grossmont instructors. Volunteers and donations of money or prizes for the event are welcome and greatly appreciated.
Info and Contact
- Daniela Sow, daniela.sow@gcccd.edu
- About the Creative Write-a-Thon
Monday, December 9
New Voices
an end-of-semester student reading
7-8:30pm, Griffin Gate
In this crowd-pleasing final event of the 2019 Fall Readings Series, the semester’s
most talented students from the Creative Writing Program courses perform their original
works of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama, and hybrid forms. Refreshments and printed
programs available to all. Presenters include
Rebecca Kanter
Tasha Bonsignore
Ingrid Mary Yoxsimer
Kyle Woolsey
Robin Ouzts
Todd Tolson
Chelsey Gable
Camelia Stout Salazar
Amanda Vidri
Tom Waldron
Brook Herwehe
Madison Davis
Stephanie Manderville
Disney Green
Brian Woolsey
Danna Yunis
Megan Houlihan