Capital & Main and Beyond Baroque present Poets on the Beat: a conversation on politically engaged poetry.

The panel discussion features California poets commissioned to write short essays that link poetry to contemporary social and political themes. Each article harnesses the poetry of the past and present to provide new perspectives on topics such as climate change, growing inequality, the immigrant experience and police violence. The series, which launched in June and runs through November, is available at Capital & Main.

Poets on the Beat includes essays from Shonda Buchanan, Suzanne Lummis and former Los Angeles Poet Laureate Lynne Thompson, who are participating in this panel discussion moderated by Capital & Main journalist and series editor, Jessica Goodheart.

The conversation will expand on the political topics explored in the essays and include readings of poems that speak to the issues that they write about. After the discussion, a Q&A with the audience will follow.

Before the readings, enjoy a reception outdoors with light refreshments and live music by The Modern Jazz Syndicate, a quintet based in Los Angeles that fuses traditional jazz with modern composers.

Reception starts at 7:00 PM. The main event will take place in Beyond Baroque’s theater at 8:00 PM.