News
Upcoming events & newly released books with poetry from Gerda Govine.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, June 13, 2026 @ 3pm
Pasadena Rose Poets 10th Year Anniversary.
City of Pasadena, Lamanda Park Branch Library
Selected Events
Reading Sites
Mesa College, San Diego, CA.
Octavia’s Bookshelf Pasadena
Pasadena City College
Mesa College, San Diego, CA.
South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce
Vroman’s Bookstore Pasadena
May 2026
Pasadena Presbyterian Church
Reading with Pasadena Rose Poets, LitFest Annual Event, Lightbringer Project, Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Saturday, May 2, 2026.
Bocajapa
Member monthly Zoom poetry reading group, Bocajapa with five members from Altadena, Pasadena, Los Angeles County; Oaxaca, Mexico; Jamul, San Diego County; and Nebraska.
October 2025
San Diego Union-Tribune
“Writer’s block? Not when you live in a river of words,” San Diego Union-Tribune, October 28, 2025. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/10/18/writers-block-not-when-you-live-in-a-river-of-words/
April 2024
City of Pasadena Library
October 2024
City of Pasadena Library, Pasadena Rose Poets via “Zoom” February 10, 2025, and April 28, 2025.
Matter Studio Gallery
Poetry Reading, Matter Studio Gallery with Pasadena Rose Poets and Altadena poets, October 2024.
August 2024
Matter Studio Gallery
Conversation with Visual Artist J. Michael Walker, “Intersectionality Matters” exhibit, Matter Studio Gallery Los Angeles, CA August 2024.
June 19, 2024
International Book Festival
Invited by Éditions du Cygne (SWAN World), Paris publisher, to read and display two of Gerda’s poetry books, Future Awakes in Mouth of NOW 2016, and Ballet of Ingredients 2023, at the International Book Festival, June 19-23, 2024 in Paris, France. Many thanks to Jessica Wilson Cardenas, Founder, the Los Angeles Poet Society, for introducing me to the Publisher. Gerda will conducting a book reading and signing of Ballet of Ingredients on 6/21/24 at 6pm. See https://www.marche-poesie.com/signatures-au-41e-marche-de-la-poesie/entry/11430/ for more information.
June 6, 2024
North County Arts Network
invited by Patricia Frischer, Coordinator and Founder of North County Arts Network - Networking Event to create and read the poem, “Be present,” at the Brooks Theater in Oceanside, California
North County Arts Network
May 30, 2024
Poetry Reading, North County Arts Network, Carlsbad, CA, May 30, 2024.
April 2024
Octavia's Bookshelf Bookstore
Octavia’s Bookshelf Bookstore, Pasadena Rose Poets, April 2024.
Poetry Reading Pasadena Rose Poets, LitFest in the Dena, Altadena, CA, May 5, 2024.
April 8, 2024
Weave Poetry into Life's Tapestry
Monday, April 8, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Celebrate National Poetry Month, “Weave Poetry into Life’s Tapestry,” as Poets-in-Residence for the Pasadena Public Library via Zoom. To access the Library’s calendar and details, go to https://www.cityofpasaena.net/library/calendar/
April 4, 2024
January 2024
Celebrating National Poetry Month
To Celebrate National Poetry Month, Thursday, April 4, 2024, time TBD. Reading from their latest publications and an homage to award-winning science fiction writer Octavia Butler at Octavia’s Bookshelf, 1365 N. Hill Avenue, Pasadena. For additional information, go to
Poetry Reading, 58th Annual Local Author Showcase Reception, San Diego Public Library January 2024.
San Diego Public Library
It Rains in Southern California
The Poetry of Weather.
These Black Bodies Are...
A Blacklandia Anthology Edited by Romaine Washington.
PBS American Portrait
In August of 2020, Gerda's poem "My American Dream" was highlighted as part of the the PBS American Portrait series.
https://www.pbs.org/american-portrait/story/16931/gerda-g-jamul-ca-my-american-dream/