Coit Tower Poetry Club

The Coit Tower Poetry Club dedicates its monthly gathering to the work of Wanda Coleman (1946–2013), the influential South Central Los Angeles writer, performer, and journalist widely regarded as the unofficial poet laureate of L.A. Renowned for pioneering the contemporary “American Sonnet” form, Coleman wrote fiercely lyrical, rhythmically propulsive poetry steeped in African American vernacular traditions, bebop phrasing, and delta blues cadences. Her landmark collections—including Mad Dog Black Lady, Bathwater Wine, and Mercy’s Royale—confront institutional racism, economic precarity, social violence, and the complexities of Black womanhood with raw candor, biting satire, and unyielding emotional grit. The session centers on reading through her expansive catalog of sonnets, narrative poems, and spoken-word texts.