A conversation with two incredible poets: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith, whose poems were published in "Air/Light" Issue 3.

As the first installment of the Air/Light Podcast, we’re thrilled to present a conversation between choreographer Andre Tyson and Douglas Kearney about their performance, Code~dIsSoNaNcE~REVERIE. The conversation was hosted by Air/Light editor David L. Ulin. It was recorded on October 20, 2020.

If literature is an ecosystem, then bookstores are its foundation. They’re where literature intersects with community. They introduce people to new and idiosyncratic books while hosting events to support authors. Through it all, they serve as neighborhood community centers for readers and book lovers. But the pandemic has been hard on independent bookstores. Many have had to make direct appeals to their customers through GoFundMe and other crowdsourced campaigns. Local bookstores are facing what Dorany Pineda of the Los Angeles Times calls an “existential crossroads.” Losing our independent bookstores would be a truly devastating blow to the literary community and would only entrench the dominance of Amazon. A world without brick-and-mortar indie bookstores is not a world we want to live in. So Air/Light wants to help in our own small way. In a series of podcasts, we talk with the owners and workers at independent bookstores around Los Angeles to explore how they’re moving forward during COVID, what they’re looking forward to, what people are buying and reading, and more. Through this series we explore the art of bookselling. It’s also our hope that after you listen to these interviews, you’ll go online or in person—masked up and socially distant, of course—and support your local indie bookstore. In the first episode, Air/Light’s Katarina Dames speaks with Josh Spencer, owner and operator of The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles. Listen to the interview and then go do some holiday shopping…locally and independently!

Since it opened in 1996, Skylight Books has become a fixture in the Los Feliz and a center of the neighborhood’s literary community by hosting readings, book clubs, and launch parties. In the second installment of our “Art of Bookselling” podcast series, Air/Light‘s Claire Robertson talks to Mary Williams, the general manager of Skylight. Mary tells us about her favorite book of the year, comfort book buying in the run-up to the first lockdown, and how their customers are helping support the store throughout the pandemic. And remember: after you’ve listened, visit Skylight (or your own local bookshop) in person or online and buy a book or two. If you missed it, be sure to check out the first episode in the “Art of Bookselling” featuring Josh Spencer of Los Angeles’ The Last Bookstore.