A cool article on the LA Times last week about Mike Sonksen. It gives a good sense of what Mike the Poet and his crew, and our friendship with him over the years, has been about.

He doesn’t do it for riches or for the ego boost. He is driven instead by the simple belief that in the “postmodern metropolis” of L.A., the city is what the people make it. His poems, which often read like little histories, celebrate the city and its countercultural movements.

“There are little worlds, little villages, little pockets all over the city, and there are all of these different scenes and movements throughout the years,” he said. “What I’m doing is cataloging it.”

In the process, Mike the Poet is also trying to build an art movement of his own – something he refers to as the New Beautiful.

We are eagerly awaiting his manuscript for Fast Lane (working title), a memoir/novel/poetry/travelogue that he’s been working on and that we will be publishing later this year.

In the meantime, check out the piece:

Sprawling LA is poet Mike’s muse on LA Times.