spring 2009
The chaparral is an ecosystem that can withstand drought, fire, and Southern California’s hot dry summers. It’s what grows out of the hard clay that lives underneath the concrete superstructures of LA. We try to cultivate it, clear the brush, and control the wildlife, but the hard-leafed scrub oak just grows and burns. If there’s anything natural about Southern California, it’s the chaparral. With this resilient and diverse spirit, we present the poems in the inaugural issue of Chaparral. All the writers featured in this first issue live and write in Southern California, and we hope the work here represents the range, terrain, and virtuosity of this varied and surreal landscape we call LA.
The Black Automaton in Tag: Refugee
The Black Automaton in Tag: Negro
The Black Automaton in Tag: Nigger
The Indescribable Shape of Effort
On the Modification of Clouds, or When the Clouds Don’t Listen
Torso of a Woman
La Savoisienne
Dear P. I
Dear P. II
Dear P. III
How’s the World Treating You?
Responsibility
