The Center for Contemporary Poetry and Poetics fosters dynamic partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally with the aim of advocating for poetry and literary experience. We welcome new ideas and proposals for ways that we may work effectively with others to achieve shared goals. If you would like to reach out to CCPP about a possible collaboration, please contact Director Andrew Lyndon Knighton at [email protected].
British Council Poets-in-Residence Program
The British Council Writer-in-Residence Program was launched in 2004. Cal State L.A. was honored to serve as the designated West Coast site (with Georgetown University as our sister site on the East Coast) for this three-year pilot program in which a different British poet was selected to spend one month on our campus each year interacting with students, partner organizations and the public.
Chester W. Nimitz Middle School
6021 Carmelita Ave.
Huntington Park, Ca. 90255
Phone: 323-585-0957
CCPP cooperated with Ms. Ana Perez in conducting a poetry mentorship program in 2004 with Chester W. Nimitz Middle School in Huntington Park. Perez, then studying at Cal State LA, included her own students in her studies by bringing them to curricular and extracurricular poetry events and adapting her MA poetry materials to enhance her 8th grade literature and culture curriculum. The mentorship kicked off with a poetry reading by the 8th graders to an audience of their friends and families and Cal State L.A. graduate poetry students.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Phone: 213-763-DINO
2006 also initiated a partnership with the Museum of Natural History of Los Angeles County, in which Cal State L.A.'s M.A. class in The African-American Poetic Tradition curated and installed an exhibition in the museum as its collaborative final project. The students learned about the history of African American poetry, as well as a wide range of additional practical and conceptual information, including how to translate poetry into three dimensions, how audiences experience and participate in cultural interactions, and even such areas as fire law and copyright law. The exhibition, "Exodus: African American Poetry Through Time," was installed in the museum's Inter/Act Gallery and was seen by an estimated audience of 4,000 visitors.
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Phone: 323-343-2787
In 2004, CCPP established a poetry mentorship with Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Programs included a 2004 workshop on poetry and the blues by giovanni singleton and a 2005 discussion with Juan Felipe Herrera about ways that artists draw on autobiographical experience. Also in 2005, British Council Poet-in-Residence Anthony Joseph talked about his childhood in Trinidad and ways of finding an authentic language in art. In 2006, Keith and Mendi Obadike shared their experiences in melding poetry and sound environments and the process of artistic collaboration. Cal State L.A. poetry students attended these events and served as role models for the LACHSA students, engaged in dialogue, and answered questions such as how a college education can benefit artists.