Carlos Bulosan was 17 when he arrived in Seattle in 1930. The son of farmers in Pangasinan, Philippines, he had little formal education and limited English. Like many others before and since, he wanted a better life. Moving up and down the Pacific coast, he did hard manual labor in canneries and farm fields. His first-hand experience as a migrant worker in an often hostile world inspired a...
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The 7½ Los Angeles Public Library Branches Named After Women
The Los Angeles Public Library has seven and a "half" branches dedicated to extraordinary women. Let’s take a look at these women and their namesake libraries for Women’s History Month.
Women Who Risked Everything: Female Spies of World War II
World War II required an enormous number of troops and personnel throughout the world. The unrelenting demand for labor opened up new opportunities for women. For the first time, the United States military established separate branches for women.
Uncovering Family Secrets: Forming a New Identity
Imagine discovering that the man who raised you is not your biological father. That your mother’s race differs from how she presented herself. That the person you are attracted to is your sibling. That you are the descendant of a renowned individual. A monstrous one.
Interview With an Author: Freya Marske
Freya Marske is one of the co-hosts of Be the Serpent, a Hugo Award-nominated podcast about SFF, fandom, and literary tropes, and her work has sold to Analog and been shortlisted for Best Fantasy Short Story in the Aurealis Awards. She lives in Australia.
5 Picture Books Celebrating California Foodies
California Nouns: People, Places, and Things
California Food Culture
Interview With an Author: Andrea Hairston
Andrea Hairston is a novelist, essayist, playwright, and the Artistic Director of Chrysalis Theatre. She is the author of Mindscape, shortlisted for the Phillip K. Dick and Otherwise awards, and winner of the Carl Brandon Parallax Award.
Julia Perry - American Neoclassicist
Julia Perry (1924-1979) was an American composer of African descent who had remarkable success in Europe and the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s. She made an international impression with her Stabat Mater, composed in 1951, and her Short Piece for Orchestra the following year.
Congressman John Lewis: Civil Rights Leader and Trailblazer
John Lewis was born in Troy, Alabama, the third oldest son of ten children. His father was a tenant farmer, while his mother earned extra money doing housework for other families.
Big Trees, Big Hearts: 5 Picture Books about Redwoods & Sequoias
California Nouns: People, Places, and Things
Big Trees
Celebrate African American History Month With Great Music on hoopla and Freegal
February is African American History Month, but every month is a good month to celebrate African American history and culture, and what better place to do so than your local library!





![Group of young girls eating their sack lunches near the Children's Museum, [1983]. Photo credit: William Reagh Collection Children eating lunch b & w photo from 1983](https://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/whats_on_list_120x90/public/blogs/2022-03/cafoodies-header.jpg?itok=QxJI4hIk)



![Family and friends from Pasadena gather beside an automobile at Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park, in California, [ca 1933]. Shades of L.A. Collection: Japanese American Community Japanese family gather beside an automobile at Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park](https://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/whats_on_list_120x90/public/blogs/2022-02/big-trees-header.jpg?itok=hfiP0599)
