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Journalist Adolfo Guzman-Lopez went down to the Central Library for a panel discussion of this year's Big Read selection for Los Angeles, "Sun, Stone, and Shadows," a new collection of short stories by Mexican writers. Attendance was sparse and he left discouraged that "independent cultural events and arts spaces...are now on the endangered species list." He blogs at the KCET website.
L.A. Big Read events coordinator Leslie Thomas opened the night apologetically, thanking the devout in the pews for carving out time from busy schedules to attend and for missing the college basketball championships to hear a discussion about great literature. Maybe he's right, if it weren't for March Madness the room would have been packed....There was no dialogue, discussion, deliberation, or diatribes between or from any panelists or the moderator, Sesshu Foster. In the end the discussion was in the hands of the library's security guard. Within earshot of the panelists, she informed the event organizer that culture's time was up.