Neil Aitken is a poet of consummate grace and skill. His poems are acutely observed, unerring musically, sensual and lyrical. Filled with longing and subtle epiphanies, his poetry plumbs the depths of the human heart, and hints towards the heights of the human spirit. His writing accomplishes what Wallace Stevens suggested—that, in the best poems, “description is revelation,” for each of Aitken’s poems reveals the world anew for the reader.
—Maurya Simon, author of Ghost Orchid and Speaking in Tongues
UPCOMING READINGS & EVENTS
- Fri Nov 21, 2008 - 7:00 pm
Philip Levine Prize Reading
CSU Fresno
5241 N. Maple Avenue, Fresno, CA - Mon Jan 12, 2009 - 7:30 pm
Reading with Nancy Shriffin
Village Books
1049 Swarthmore, Pacific Palisades, CA - Thu Jan 15, 2009 - time tba
Reading and Book Signing
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive, Suite 1840, Los Angeles, CA - Sun Jan 18, 2009 - 2:00 pm
Reading with Michelle Bitting
DA Center of the Arts
252-D South Main Street, Pomona CA - Fri Feb 13, 2009 - 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Reading Panel: Kundiman Kindles the Flame: New Asian American Poetry
AWP Conference - Chicago Hilton, Lake Ontario
Chicago, IL - Fri Feb 13, 2009 - 2:00 pm
Book Signing @ Anhinga Press Table (Book fair)
AWP Conference - Chicago Hilton, Lake Ontario
Chicago, IL - Tue Mar 31, 2009
Florida State University
Talahassee, FL - Spring 2009 (date & time tba)
Recently Published MFA Graduates
Creative Writing Department, UC Riverside
Riverside, CA - Sat May 16, 2009 - 8:00pm
Book Reading (Arcadia Series)
The Carnegie Museum
424 South C Street, Oxnard, CA
PAST READINGS & EVENTS
- Reading with Susan McCabe, Taper Hall, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, Nov 18, 2008
- Performance of The Lost Country of Sight (a suite of 4 pieces based on poems from the book). Music composed by Juhi Bansal. Thornton Composition Department Recital, Alfred Newman Recital Hall, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, Nov 16, 2008
- Book Launch for The Lost Country of Sight, Village Books, Pacific Palisades, CA, Nov 3, 2008
- 1st Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival, Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA, Jun 13-14, 2008
- Ugly Mug Caffe, Orange, CA, Apr 30, 2008
- Reading with Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Village Books, Pacific Palisades, CA Apr 22, 2008
- Coffee Cartel, Redondo Beach, CA, Apr 15, 2008
- "Obsession" Reading, AEGS Conference, Los Angeles, CA, Mar 29, 2008
- Moe Green Poetry Hour, Mar 16, 2008
- Blenz Reading Series, Vancouver, BC, May 2007
- Clearbrook Library, Abbotsford, BC, May 2007
- Upstart Crow Bookstore, North Vancouver, BC, Jan 2007
- North Vancouver Teacher Librarians' Association, North Vancouver, BC, Oct 2006
- VACA Fundraiser, Vancouver, BC, Oct 2006
- Chapters Bookstore, Vancouver, BC, Oct 2006
- Moonday, Pacific Palisades, CA, Jun 2006
- Graduate Reading, UC Riverside, Riverside, CA, May 2006
- The Neighborhood Cup, Aliso Viejo, CA, Dec 2005
- Ugly Mug Caffe, Orange, CA, Nov 2005
- Portrait of a Bookstore, Studio City, CA, Aug 2005
- Alta Coffee House, Newport Beach, CA, Aug 2005
- Ugly Mug Caffe, Orange, CA, Mar 2005
- Rapp Saloon, Santa Monica, CA, Jul 2004
- Valley of Contemporary Poets Feature, Cobalt Cafe, Canoga Park, CA, Feb 2004
- Coffee Cartel, Redondo Beach, CA, Sep 2003
- Ugly Mug Caffe, Orange, CA, Aug 2003
- Rapp Saloon, Santa Monica, CA, May 2003
- Moonday, Seattle's Best, Santa Monica, CA, Dec 2002
- Poetic License, Zen Restaurant, Silver Lake, CA, Dec 2001
- Rapp Saloon, Santa Monica, CA, Nov 2001
- Ugly Mug Caffe, Orange, CA, Sep 2001
Neil Aitken writes with careful calculation and a heart of fire. His work is smart, sensual and innovative.
—Chris Abani, author of Graceland and The Virgin of Flames
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