Established in 1980, The Valley Contemporary Poets Reading Seriesis a non-profit organization, committed to the cultivation and advancement of poetry in the San Fernando Valley. The VCP continues to produce readings and events with prominent, highly acclaimed poets and to nurture, encourage and develop fresh voices.
The Valley Contemporary Poets hosts its bi-monthly poetry reading at The Tarzana Community and Cultural Center 19130 Ventura Blvd. Tarzana, California 91356
on Sunday afternoons at 3pm. Please see our calendar for more details.
Every 3rd Tuesday the VCP presents
a featured poet at the Cobalt Café 22047 Sherman Way, Canoga Park 91303 at 9:00 pm. Please see our calendar for more details.
Board of Directors
Theresa Antonia is a published poet who has been a featured writer in and around the Los Angeles area. A past host of the Projectile Poetry reading series at Dutton's Books in Brentwood, she currently hosts the Mudpuppy Poets reading series in Pasadena. Theresa works creatively with at-risk youth, women incarcerated in prison and cancer survivors.
Georgia Jones-Daviswrote and published poetry and participated in readings while a student at UCLA. Georgia worked as a critic, reporter and assistant founding editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Book Week. She was a Deputy Book Editor at the Los Angeles Times Book Review for fourteen years. Her work has appeared in Westwind, Brevities and on Sam Hamil’s website, Poets Against War.
Jerry Garcia is a native of Los Angeles who is too old to have been named after The Grateful Dead guitar hero. His poetry and photography have been seen in Falling Star Magazine, Lily: Literary Review, poeticdiversity, Verdad Magazine, (Long Beach City College) and The November 3rd Club. In April 2006, he was chosen to read at the Newer Poets/ALOUD Series at the Los Angeles Public Library; he has also been a featured writer at Beyond Baroque and The World Stage.
Claudia Handler is a native New Yorker and a welcome addition to the Los Angeles poetry scene. She has been featured at Beyond Baroque, as well as many other venues. Her poems have appeared in several journals and online magazines, and she has been a guest on various public radio shows, including Live Wire Radio, The Moe Green Poetry Hour, and Breathe. Claudia was one of six poets selected by Beyond Baroque and the L.A. Poetry Festival to read in the Newer Poets/ALOUD Series in 2006.
Paul Koenig is a long time member of the San Fernando Valley poetry community. His work has appeared in Inscape, FTS, onTarget, The Occidental Review, and Poetry in the Windows V. A museum educator, Paul has worked at the Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries and Griffith Observatory.
Jeffrey Alan Rochlin, hailing from a broadcast and recording background, has been instrumental in the Los Angeles art scene since he joined the performing and activist group Artist Salon in the early 90's. Bringing his experience in musical presentation to local poetry venues, Jeffrey has hosted the Art Players Studio in Hollywood, and co-hosted at Horse of Another Color in Venice, and now for the VCP. His recent release, On the Road to Camp Freedom, is a cd of original poetry and jazz compositions.
Past Directors
Neil Aitken
Robert Arroyo, Jr.
Brendan Constantine
Catherine Daly
Frankie Drayus
Amélie Frank
Elizabeth Iannaci
Rick Lupert
Nicole Harvey
Nan Hunt
Stosh Machek
Richard Modiano
Jamie O’Halloran
Sherman Pearl
Willie Simms
Margaret Wang
Teresa Willis
Robert Wynne
