Meet Karla Lamb | Poet, Event Producer & Community Organizer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karla Lamb and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karla, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
As a grassroots community organizer & poet, I want to be remembered as someone who cared about uplifting the marginalized Queer & literary collectives, as someone that stood up for others, & as a good friend. I’d love to be remembered as someone that wasn’t scared to stand up against oppressive systems, as someone that pioneered her own path. I want to be remembered for my drive, my passion for poetry, my dark wit, as a shape-shifter; as someone that wasn’t pigeonholed to any particular clique. I strive for my poetry to be evergreen, while encapsulating this moment in time. Capturing the zeitgeist—”Dyke-geist” as my friends & I like to call it. I write about living, surviving, struggling, dating, Queerness & heartbreak in L.A. ‘Place’ is an important literary device, like an additional character in my poems, L.A. is the backdrop to my latest work—which is extremely confessional & auto-biographical. I’d love to be remembered as a Queer Mexican poet that lived, worked, & loved hard. Someone that was proud to be Queer AF, to be Mexican AF, as someone that persevered despite everything, someone that took up space, that was loud—& as someone who uplifted her community along with her. I want to be remembered as a bold & authentic poet that moved people to thought or action. I sometimes imagine my writing being excavated from some haunted basement or dilapidated attic in a dystopian future long after I’m gone. I image a young person finding it, reading it, & being inspired to live their most authentic life. I imagine them being moved to the page, to express themselves fully without fear of persecution or censorship. It’s all about that innate human connection. We all have that impulse to create & connect. I love bringing that out in people. I love encouraging my friends to write poems, to get on the mic, to be in community & conversation with each other.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Poetry has been my longest, most consistent relationship. It’s always been there for me, through thick & thin. So, I treat it like I would a lover, or more like a plant really—a really durable succulent. I foster it, feed it, water it, pay attention to it, study it, experiment with it, I’m curious about it, I figure out what it likes, what it needs, I repot it, ignore it, & then when it dries up because maybe I’ve neglected it too long, I return to it. I always return to the page. If I’m struggling, I turn to my favorite poets. If I’m anxious, I pick up my pen. I have a Masters in Poetry, & a B.A. in Creative Writing. I’ve had success with individual publications, & I’m working on a full-length manuscript. I’ve been told that when I perform a poem that my inflections, intonations, pace, & tone all resonate & stick with the audience. Apparently, I have a really distinct way of performing. It’s not slam, it’s not academic, not too rehearsed, or too formal. It’s just authentically me. I believe that this method of performance style sets me apart. On stage, I like to inhale slowly creating a moment of tension by not starting right away. I use a lot of eye contact to connect with audiences, & I don’t take myself too seriously. I enunciate each syllable, enveloping the audience in the texture & mood of my words & phrases. Visually, my poems are in prose blocks, which helps when editing. Otherwise, I worry too much about blank space, line breaks, or other literary devices that can take away from the piece. My recent work is pretty paired down, accessible, simple, I use modern slang & internet abbreviations. Language that invites readers in, rather than using language that is too lofty or heady. I’m deterred by work that isn’t grounded in place, time, or reality. If a poem looks & feels like someone was having a moment with a thesaurus—I can’t get emotionally invested. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely went through a Beatnik phase when I was a baby poet—I think all poets do, some just never get out of that phase. But after more than a decade of writing poetry, I’m more concerned with capturing my experiences in a concise way, holding up a truth-mirror to myself, to others; often asking myself what a poet’s role in society is, & how to navigate the inherent intersection of the personal & political. Anyway, I digress. I’m most proud of writing a poem titled “CROWN SONNET IN WHICH THE SPEAKER MOVES TO L.A.” It’s the most formalist & longest poem I’ve ever written. It consists of a sequence of sonnets that are linked to the preceding & succeeding stanzas using repetition. Each line is also decasyllabic (a poetic meter that has ten syllables). It was very challenging, & it’s still unpublished. It captures the milieu of mishaps that I was going through last Pride season in L.A. I wrote it in real time, so to speak—coming home after a miserable date in Echo Park, or getting hit by a paintball gun in a drive-by shooting outside of Akbar. I’d come home & write immediately after these experiences. I’ve performed this poem out a few times but it’s 10 pages long. I’m hoping to make a chapbook out of it this summer. The biggest lesson for me as a poet is to unlearn everything I learned in college or grad school. Also, most of my friends knows this already, but if you’re in my life, at whatever capacity—I will write about you. Which can be intimidating when it comes to dating & can leave me with a bad rap, but I really don’t mind. It’s part of my brand. Like when an ex-pseudo-situationship said that they’d be terrified to be the subject of one of my poems, they specifically asked me not to write about them. & what did I do? I fully quoted them verbatim in a poem. Describing them asking not to be written about. The quote is earned in the poem, & I think irony in general is compelling. Of course, I performed that piece at Verse4Verse. Because it’s my show & I make the rules.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would want to take my bff to places I haven’t gone yet. Honestly, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what L.A. has to really offer. I’m always discovering new haunts. Wait, has this friend ever been to L.A. before? Here are a few of my fave staples for someone that’s never been: Griffith park, but not the observatory. We’re hiking baby! Okay, I guess it’s not “real” hiking. I’d hike Mt. Baldy if my friend was down. I’d take them to Echo Park to ride on the swans, to Pho Café, & to Stories Books & café. Of course, The Ruby Fruit for drinks, dinner, & flirty vibes. If we’re DTLA, we’re going to The Last Bookstore, then hopping over to Something Poetic Gallery to see some really cool site-specific installation art. My bff would want to check out the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at The Broad, for sure. Definitely Melrose Trading Post for some cool vintage finds. I’d take them to Venice Beach, obviously. We’re going to Found Oyster, Lolo wine bar, Jitlada for Thai food, & drinking sake at Hanabi Sushi bar. Jumbo’s Clown Room is a must, then Leo’s street tacos by the Target on Western.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many amazing people to credit here! The Queer community in L.A. deserves a huge salute. I’ve met some of the most authentic, talented, & generous folx at various Queer events the last few years. I started out going alone to events by Damn Good Dyke Nights. I’ve connected with so many beautiful people at those parties. These days I still pull up stag, but it never feels that way because I know my friends will be there, & I always end up meeting new people there too. Hats off to Emily & Mara, owners of The Ruby Fruit! Our fave Sapphic strip mall wine bar. They’ve been so generous & supportive. The Rube is the home of “Verse 4 Verse,” the monthly Sapphic & Queer-expansive poetry open mic that I founded, produce & host. I’m extra excited for V4V’s Pride Edition June 6th installment, featuring poets Muriel Leung & féi hernandez. Mil gracias to my immediate family, who have seen me go through it. They always have my back & I’m so lucky. My siblings who are also Queer, are killing it in their careers & it’s a joy watching them thrive. Much love to Magiq Hour, another amazing monthly Queer party. I always have the best time there. The music hits, the dance floor always filled with cuties, & the talent they showcase never ceases to amaze. Dyke Day L.A. is another organization that deserves endless praise. The amount of community & support I feel at their events is just ineffable. I love the intentionality & care of their curation. Their work is just so important to the Queer community at large. Lastly my partner & friends, who come to all my poetry readings & events, thank you! Oh also, “Girls Can Kiss Now” by Jill Gutowitz, an L.A.-based journalist & writer. 10/10 recommend! Her collection of short personal essays gave me permission to write uninhibitedly about all my L.A. misadventures. This list could go on really!

Website: https://karlalamb.com

Instagram: vinylowl

Image Credits
Dreher Mayne Studio
boldvisionphotgraphy
Anastasia Antonova
Elisa Saivers