Thursday, December 4, 2025

Altadena Poets Laureate to Host “A Wall Is Just a Wall” Reading and Open Mic

Co-laureates Sarwar and Lennon create space for healing after Eaton Fire displacement

When Lester Graves Lennon was reportedly displaced from his Altadena home of more than 30 years by the January Eaton Fire, the losses extended far beyond physical devastation. He reflected on the emotional toll of loss and displacement.

This December, Lennon and co-laureate Sehba Sarwar are channeling that grief into healing through poetry. The Altadena Poets Laureate will host “A Wall Is Just a Wall + Open Mic,” an event drawing inspiration from Assata Shakur’s poem “Affirmation,” which declares “a wall is just a wall and nothing more at all. It can be broken down.”

The reading and open mic format offers Altadena residents a collective space to process the injustice, grief, and resilience following the devastating fires. Lennon, poetry editor for Rosebud magazine, and Sarwar, who founded Voices Breaking Boundaries, were honored with a 2025 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship specifically for their project “After the Fires: Healing from Histories.”

The Altadena Poets Laureate program has carried forward a tradition of socially conscious poetry, previously hosting projects like “Ode to the Land,” which paired senior citizens and high school students for poetry workshops exploring iconic local settings. Featured poets include Olga Garcia Echeverría, Iyatunde Folayan, and Jessica Kashiwabara.

The Dec. 10 event is listed on national literary calendars, including Poets & Writers’ events page, reflecting the national significance of this locally rooted initiative.

“A Wall Is Just a Wall + open mic” will run on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. Main Library Community Room, 600 E. Mariposa St. in Altadena. For more information, call (626) 798-0833 or visit https://www.altadenalibrary.org/programs?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189338773.