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Mike Sonksen on Muck Rack

Mike Sonksen

Los Angeles
As seen in: KOCE-TV (Costa Mesa, CA), Flipboard, KCRW-FM (Santa Monica, CA), LAist, Poem-a-Day, Los Angeles Review of Books, Metropolis Magazine, MailerLite Blog, L.A. TACO, Cultural Daily, Alta Journal and
Covers:  Los Angeles, Urbanism, creative nonfiction, Poetry, fiction, architecture, Music, street art, muralists, environmental justice
Geographic Futurist Map Poems #LA #Books #Poetry #Urbanism @poetsorg @altajournal @metropolismag @kcet @lataco

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Mike Sonksen’s Biography

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Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book Letters to My City was published by Writ Large Press. Sonksen earned his BA at UCLA in 1997. In June 2014, he completed an Interdisciplinary MA in English and History from Cal State LA. He has published over 500 essays and poems with publications like Academy of American Poets, KCET, Poets & Writers Magazine, BOOM, Wax Poetics, Southern California Quarter…

Mike Sonksen’s Journalist Portfolio

Seven Books to Help Understand Judith Baca's Great Wall of Los Angeles and L.A. Itself

Seven Books to Help Understand Judith Baca's Great Wall of Los Angeles and L.A. Itself

Judy Baca paints to interrogate whose monument where? Whose story do we tell? Baca paints public history Inve…

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Stretching Out into the Community: Five Key Watts Artists Who Helped Shape American Art

Stretching Out into the Community: Five Key Watts Artists Who Helped Shape American Art

"Between 1960 and 1975, Los Angeles witnessed the rise of a new community of Black visual and plastic artists…

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A New Generation in Watts Takes Up the Mantle of Change and Justice Through the Arts

A New Generation in Watts Takes Up the Mantle of Change and Justice Through the Arts

"To be angry at the looting, 'rioting' and chaos taking place in this country today, is like being mad at the…

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Passing the Magic: Horace Tapscott's Community-Focused Jazz Music Rises Again

Passing the Magic: Horace Tapscott's Community-Focused Jazz Music Rises Again

"Why Don't You Listen?" is a posthumous recording released in May 2019 on Dark Tree Records by the Los Angele…

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Rasquachismo and Public Spaces: A Primer on Latino Urbanism with James Rojas ~ L.A. TACO

Rasquachismo and Public Spaces: A Primer on Latino Urbanism with James Rojas ~ L.A. TACO

"A rchitecture and city planning have done little to accommodate communities of color in our city," writes Ju…

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Articles

“The Dreamy Side” Dives Deep Into L.A.’s 1950’s Era Of Local Soul, Blues Music

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By Mike Sonksen
| L.A. TACO Verified
This article was supported by Viva La Book Review. “Our personal histories are tightly interwoven with the music we collect. Each record serves as a vessel for memories, emotions, and experiences—preserving stories that might otherwise fade with time,” writes Ruben Molina in his remarkable book, The Dreamy Side: Rhythm & Blues and Chicano Culture in 1950s Los Angeles.
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Springing Into Poetry: Poets Are Alive in Los Angeles!

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By Mike Sonksen
| Cultural Daily
As Summer begins, there’s never been a better time to check out Poetry in Los Angeles. You can attend events every night of the week if you are tapped into the community. What’s more is that three new Poet Laureates have been appointed in the last two months. Brian Sonia-Wallace is the new Los Angeles Poet Laureate, Jay Baldwin is the new Santa Monica Poet Laureate and Long Beach has a new Youth Poet Laureate, Ajala Sen. Poet Laureates work to make poetry more visible in our communities.
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Bad Brains Legend HR Pays a Visit To Students at Watts Conservatory of Music

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By Mike Sonksen
| L.A. TACO Verified
HR, the legendary Bad Brains lead singer and co-founder, visited the Watts Conservatory of Music on Thursday, May 14, to talk to an audience of students, music teachers, and parents gathered to hear the punk-reggae legend.
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Interview

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Have you ever used a typewriter?

In high school in the early 90s I used a typewriter a few times before we got a personal computer.

How is social media changing news?

Social media is making everything quicker and more about the lede than ever before.

How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?

Some editors call that I have known for many years and other times I get email queries. Either way works for me.