大象传媒

Poet and Lyricist Stephen J. Kalinich takes us on a poetic tour of Los Angeles for this 2 part series on Californian poetry.

Los Angeles poet and lyricist Stephen J. Kalinich looks to find the real poetic voice of the city - a voice he believes is to be found in the poetry of the streets.

Stephen worked with the Beach Boys as a lyricist in the '60s and also recorded a poetry album with Brian Wilson, 'A World of Peace Must Come' inspired by Vietnam. Indeed peace has been his major theme as a writer. He recently recited poetry at a concert of 'Sugarman' Sixto Rodrigez. As well as reciting some of his own work, Stephen is on a quest to discover the true poetry of LA.

On his journey round the city, he encounters poets such as S.A. Griffin, from the poetry group Carma Bums who talks about his work also to promote peace with his tour of a 'poetry bomb' - a real bomb filled with poems. He also talks about the harshness of living in a town dominated by the movie industry and a desire to be famous from his experience of working as an actor.

We also visit acclaimed song writer P.F. Sloan who talks about his latest work on a musical and the difference between writing lyrics and poetry. He also explains how living in L.A. can sometimes seem like being at a party, being really hungry and the fruit in the fruit bowl is plastic.

Other poets we meet include Gingee, a poet and DJ from the Filipino community who talks about the issues she has encountered and why she needs to represent her community in her work.

Producer: Laura Parfitt
A White Pebble Media production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.