Beyond Baroque’s lease expires Saturday, March 1. The poetry Mecca has been a part of the Los Angeles community for 40 years, and Councilman Bill Rosendahl has recommended a 25-year lease extension.
According to Director Fred Dewey, the lease “has not been extended…Like so many American nonprofit stories, this has that unfortunate crisis ring. Nonetheless, Beyond Baroque must be protected.
“We are a national institution caught in LA indifference. Beyond Baroque is an amazing, 40-year institution, with an extraordinary list of accomplishments, free workshops, publications, readings, and so on. It has nurtured so many. But our lease is up Saturday, and we will go month to month, with unforeseen consequences. It is possible things will all be worked out in the next few days. We have worked very hard, for almost five years, to make sure of that.
“There is nothing like Beyond Baroque anywhere else in America; it is dedicated to the power of language, meaning, and public space, in the struggle to protect all our precious freedoms and capacities. We will prevail.”
For those interested in writing a letter, here is the information.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl
City Hall Office
200 N. Spring Street, Room 415
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.473.7011
213.473.6926 Fax
Councilman.Rosendahl@lacity.org
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
Rocky.Delgadillo@lacity.org
