Concrete Paradise

by Brian Dunlap 

Through its 14 poems, Concrete Paradise explores the intersection of race and place in Los Angeles. Though the collection is a love letter to L.A., it takes a strong, hard, honest look at the Los Angeles hidden in plain sight. It asks: who are the people and communities that make up the city, how are these people connected to this place, and how has history shaped Los Angeles and its communities into who and what they are today. Included: the 2018 Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry Prize winning poem, "Those Who Came Before Us."