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    Dear L.A.
    Dear L.A.
    Dear L.A.
    Ebook40 pages15 minutes

    Dear L.A.

    By Shirley Obitz

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Take an armchair drive through The City of Angels from the San Gabriel Valley to the Beach in this soon-to-be classic collection of L.A. poems. Dear L.A. is for those who live in L.A. and for those who have only visited. A mosaic of poetry as sprawling as the city itself, transitioning from the elegant days of old Hollywood to broken Boulevard dreams, from the Zoot Suit riots to the Rodney King riots and the dark and dangerous downtown of the 1970s. You will visit spots along the PCH and enter the iconic Phillippe's in downtown. This collection of poems about The City of Angels are mini vignettes that capture with honesty and beauty vintage L.A.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShirley Obitz
    Release dateDec 7, 2023
    ISBN9798224116898
    Dear L.A.

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      Book preview

      Dear L.A. - Shirley Obitz

      Aren’t You Glad You Left?

      Aren't you glad you left?

      That place is (fill in the blank)

      I was there once, and I hated it. 

      Everyone there is so (fill in the blank) 

      So much hatred

      So much prejudice

      But let me ask you this, I say

      Did you watch a movie last year?

      Do you listen to music?

      Someday a big Santa Ana wind will come and blow all the scum off the street.

      Dear L.A.

      It hurt my feelings

      They didn’t even know you

      Everyone put you down

      Said you were phony

      Said you were sleazy

      I remember going to your triple feature

      at thirteen

      for a dollar

      Putting my hands in Marilyn’s at the Grauman’s

      Standing in line at ABC to see the tapings

      Walking down Fountain Avenue

      To the smell of blooming jasmine

      Hopping on the freeway to the Valley

      Urban sprawl, screen doors, and BBQ

      Or I’d take Wilshire to the beach

      Western to the Airport

      (little-known way to avoid the gridlock)

      Ah, your view from Mulholland

      Low riders crawling down Whittier Boulevard

      East LA, the shine of the classic clean machine

      Bouncing shocks

      Bulging muscles

      Pachuca flair

      Alvarado Street

      New religions

      Firsts of firsts

      Langer and The Pantry

      The Ambassador, as old and in decay as you were then

      I felt I was

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