Beautiful Wedding Photos Were Taken by 1000dollarWeddings.com on Sunday

wedding photos Los Angeles

Nikki Garnett Plays The House of Blues on Sunset

© MARK SAVAGE/CORBIS

I photographed a really fine performance the other night at the House of Blues on Sunset. Nikki Garnett, a singer-songwriter from South Manchester, has been likened to Lily Allen, but she really has a voice all her own. You can listen to her music on her myspace page.

Mark Savage Photographs Hollywood Institute of Poetics

When I’m not taking wedding photos or business headshots, I often spend my time documenting literary Los Angeles. I spent Sunday afternoon hanging out with some old friends from the Los Angeles poetry community. Members of the Hollywood Institute of Poetics gathered at Stories Books in Los Angeles to celebrate the 3 year anniversary of the World Wide Word Radio Network with some really good spoken word. Here’s a group photo of the attendees, and a few of my portraits of poets who attended the event- Rafael F J Alvarado, Doug Knott, and AK Toney.

Mark Savage Mentioned On KPFK Today

So I get a call from a lady tonight. She asks, "What’s the address of your photography exhibit? I want to go to the reception Thursday night." I tell her Buena Park City Hall. I ask how her how she found out about my exhibit. "You were mentioned on KPFK today. Twice," she says. Wow- very cool!

Many thanks to Sonia Godoy & Imani Tolliver- great PR!

Mauro W. Monteiro to Perform at the Reception of Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Gallery Opening in Buena Park

Poet Mauro W. Monteiro will perform at the reception of my gallery opening Thursday, April 8^th, 2010 at the Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620. The reception is from 7 pm to 9 pm where 32 black & white portraits from my seemingly never ending documentary of Los Angeles poets, Souls and Passions, are on exhibit from March 11^th- April 29^th.


Mauro W. Monteiro, poet, writer, singer, and Renaissance man was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Arrived in Los Angeles way, way back when his musician parents relocated here bringing with them their bossa nova roots. Discovering the poetry/spoken word community in the early 1990s in the Hollywood and Southern California enclaves, he jumped right in and began his journey of discovering his voice with rhythm, flair and intestinal fortitude.


A firm believer that the magic and true essence of poetry is in the moment it is shared audibly, Mauro’s work has been heard and seen all throughout Socal at various auspicious venues including, KCRW and KPFK, respectfully, as well as coffee houses, theatres, universities, galleries, festivals, clubs, the Blue Line Metro Rail, laundromats, on NBC television, a Melrose Avenue storefront, and has hosted such memorable events as The L.A. Spoken, the Lollapalooza Poetry Slam Series, and Mr. Mojo’s Neighborhood, among others.

Mauro has also taught poetry to incarcerated youth at Central Juvenile Hall, translated poetry for Portuguese Woman of Letters Olga Gonçalvez, and poet Helder Vieira from Portuguese into English. He has been writing reviews of Brazilian musical shows for the L.A. Jazz Scene publication.


Mauro is currently singing with the vintage samba band Samba Society and can be heard throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. Favorite motto: “Poetry is the solvent. Society is the glue.” 

Other fantastic poets scheduled to read that evening include Jim Bolt, Rachel Kann, Imani Tolliver, Rick Lupert, and Deborah Edler Brown.


Readings are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 pm.

Imani Tolliver to Perform at the Reception of Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Gallery Opening in Buena Park

Poet Imani Tolliver will perform at the reception of my gallery opening Thursday, April 8^th, 2010 at the Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620. The reception is from 7 pm to 9 pm where 32 black & white portraits from my seemingly never ending documentary of Los Angeles poets, Souls and Passions, are on exhibit from March 11^th- April 29^th.


Imani Tolliver is a poet, visual artist, educator and an advocate of the arts.  Her poetry has been recognized by a Lannon Literary Fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the John J. Wright Literary Award at Howard University.  She has been a consultant for several museums, educational institutions and has been honored with a Certificate of Appreciation by the City of Los Angeles for her work as a promoter, host and publicist in support of the literary arts in Southern California and served as the 2007/2008 Poet Laureate for the Watts Towers Arts Center in Los Angeles, California.  She is the Cultural and Fine Arts Supervisor for the City of Buena Park, where she produces community & youth theatre, summer concerts, youth arts festivals, and curates an exhibiting visual artist series.


She has been a featured poet across the country, including the Nuyorican Poet’s Café, the Smithsonian Institution, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, The World Stage Performance Gallery, University of Southern California, California State University at Long Beach, California State University Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Central Library.


Imani also volunteers, marches, and pitches in whenever she is able, in support of the vibrant and beautiful LGBT community of which she is wholly and happily a part.


Other fantastic poets scheduled to read that evening include Jim Bolt, Rachel Kann, Mauro W. Monteiro, Rick Lupert, and Deborah Edler Brown.


Readings are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 pm.

Rachel Kann to Perform at the Reception of Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Gallery Opening in Buena Park

Poet Rachel Kann will perform at the reception of my gallery opening Thursday, April 8^th, 2010 at the Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620. The reception is from 7 pm to 9 pm where 32 black & white portraits from my seemingly never ending documentary of Los Angeles poets, Souls and Passions, are on exhibit from March 11^th- April 29^th.


rachel kann’s poetry and fiction appears most recently/is forthcoming from Eclipse, Permafrost, Coe Review, Sou’wester, and Lalitamba. She’s the resident poet for daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra. She’s presented her poetry at Disney Concert Hall, the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and the Vans Warped Tour, and received accolades from the James Kirkwood Fiction Awards, Writer’s Digest Short-Short Story Awards, and LA Weekly Awards. rachel is an award-winning performance artist and mixed-media collage artist, and budding DJ. Most recently, rachel was the DJ and poet for Flight 18, presented by Eric Wallach and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center.


Other fantastic poets scheduled to read that evening include Jim Bolt, Imani Tolliver, Mauro W. Monteiro, Rick Lupert, and Deborah Edler Brown.


Readings are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 pm. 

Rick Lupert to Perform at the Reception of Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Gallery Opening in Buena Park

Poet Rick Lupert will perform at the reception of my gallery opening Thursday, April 8^th, 2010 at the Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620. The reception is from 7 pm to 9 pm where 32 black & white portraits from my seemingly never ending documentary of Los Angeles poets, Souls And Passions, are on exhibit from March 11^th- April 29^th.


Rick Lupert has been involved in the Los Angeles poetry community  since 1990. The author’s three e-books are To Hell With Rick Lupert (Ain’t Got No Press, May, 2006), The Rick Lupert Fun Club (Ain’t Got No Press, May,  2007) and On My Eventual Death (Ain't Got No Press, May 2009) All three are available for free download at PoetrySuperHighway.com. Rick created and maintains the Poetry Super Highway, a major internet  resource for poets.


Other fantastic poets scheduled to read that evening include Jim Bolt, Imani Tolliver, Mauro W. Monteiro, Rachel Kann, and Deborah Edler Brown.


Readings are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 pm.

Deborah Edler Brown to Perform at the Reception of Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Gallery Opening in Buena Park

The lovely and talented Deborah Edler Brown will perform at the reception of my gallery opening Thursday, April 8^th, 2010 at the Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620. The reception is from 7 pm to 9 pm where 32 black & white portraits from my seemingly never ending documentary of Los Angeles poets, Souls and Passions, are on exhibit from March 11^th- April 29^th.

Deborah is a poet, performer, songwriter, and journalist. She was the 2005 winner of Kalliope’s Sue Saniel Elkind Poetry. She is also the co-author of Grandparents as Parents: A Survival Guide to Raising a Second Family [Guilford Press, 1995]. Deborah was born in Brazil, raised in Pittsburgh, and lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches creative writing.

Deborah Edler Brown’s website http://www.DeborahEdlerBrown.com

Other fantastic poets scheduled to read that evening include Jim Bolt, Imani Tolliver, Mauro W. Monteiro, Rachel Kann, and Rick Lupert. Readings are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 pm. 

Jim Bolt to Perform at the Reception of Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Gallery Opening in Buena Park

The always entertaining Jim Bolt will perform at the reception of my gallery opening Thursday, April 8^th, 2010 at Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620. The reception is from 7 pm to 9pm where 32 black & white portraits (selected from over 150) of my seemingly never ending documentary of Los Angeles poets are on exhibit from March 11^th- April 29^th. 

Bolt is a performance-poet... with the emphasis on performance. His work is a fusion of thought, emotion and physical energy. As one of the pioneers of performance-poetry, Jim has been featured on MTV, performed at the Lollapalooza rock festival, slammed at the National Poetry Slam and traveled as far as Portugal and Tokyo with his passionate and original style of communication.

Check out Jim Bolt’s website at  http://www.rockpoet.com

Other fantastic poets that are scheduled to read that evening include Deborah Edler Brown, Imani Tolliver, Mauro W. Monteiro, Rachel Kann, and Rick Lupert. The readings are scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 pm.

Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” Exhibiting in Buena Park, CA

32 selected prints from Mark Savage’s “Souls and Passions, the Poets of Los Angeles” are on display at Buena Park City Hall Council Chambers 6650 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90620 March 11th - April 29th. 

Opening reception Thursday, April 8th, 2010 7pm to 9pm. Readings by Deborah Edler Brown, Imani Tolliver, Jim Bolt, Mauro W. Monteiro, Rachel Kann, and Rick Lupert.

Since 1997, I've taken over 150 portraits of Los Angeles poets- some in color and others in black & white, some studio, while others were taken on location. And because the gallery space is limited, I decided to have a show that was tighter in scope, and more selective rather than broad ranging. My last show at Beyond Baroque in Venice, CA in 2002 was huge- over 100 portraits and a little overwhelming. This black & white show is more cohesive and has a good feel to it. You can actually step back and take it all in. 

Contact me at MarkSavagePhoto@AOL.com if you are interested in purchasing signed prints or posters.

Here's a list of portraits that are on exhibit:

Alicia Vogl Sáenz

Brendan Constantine

Carmen Vega

Deborah Edler Brown

Elizabeth Iannaci

Erica Erdman

FrancEye

Holaday Mason

Imani Tolliver

Iris Berry

Jack Brewer

Jenoyne Adams & Michael Datcher

Jim Bolt

Jim Natal

John Harris

Karen Noelle Seeberg

Linda Gamboa

Mark Salerno

Mauro W. Monteiro

Merilene M. Murphy

Michelle Pilar Hamill

Mike Mollet

Paul Vangelisti

Rachel Kann

Rick Lupert

Robert Arroyo

Ron Koertge

Sarah Maclay

Scott Wannberg

Suzanne Lummis

Terry Stevenson

Wanda Coleman

The direct link to the City of Buena Park's press release for the gallery show.

Many thanks to the City of Buena Park and the fine arts staff: Imani Tolliver, Cultural and Fine Arts Supervisor, and Sonia Godoy, Cultural and Fine Arts Coordinator. I really appreciate all of the work both of you have put into this show- from press releases to hanging the art work. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.