Presented by the College of Liberal Arts
This event will focus on the power of working life-long dreams you’ve had in the middle of a global pandemic. The Sims Library of Poetry–now the fulfilled dream of Prof. Hiram Sims–is a community space dedicated to the reading, writing, and performance of poetry. This library began in a suitcase, then moved to a garage, and now resides in a 2,000-sq.-foot building, housing the largest collection of poetry in Los Angeles. The library boasts 5,000 books of poetry, in every style, from all parts of the world. Some people feel that the pandemic has severely limited the opportunities available to people for pursuing their goals, while others have used the circumstances presented to us to grow and to thrive.
Born and raised in various parts of Los Angeles, Hiram Sims is a poet, essayist, and professor of Creative Writing, teaching at The Los Angeles Film School and USC with The Community Literature Initiative. He graduated from University of Southern California and received a B.A. in English/Creative Writing and a M.A. of Professional Writing in poetry. In addition to teaching essay writing, creative writing, and literature, he is the founder of the Urban Poets Society. He has published three collections of poetry, including Poems of a Young, Troubled Mind (2007), Write or Die: An Anthology of Poetry from the Urban Poet’s Workshop (2008), and PHOTOETRY: Poetry and Photography from South Central (2013).