KCET Tours Los Angeles Resident Hiram Sims's Library of Poetry

At KCET Mike Sonksen tells readers about the Sims Library of Poetry, founded by poet, educator, publisher, and "lifelong resident of South Central Los Angeles" Hiram Sims. "Located on Florence in the Crenshaw District, just north of Inglewood and a few blocks east of Crenshaw," Sonkson explains, "the recently opened Sims Library of Poetry is an outgrowth of the Community Literature Initiative (CLI) founded by Sims in 2013. A low concrete fence in front of the library reads: 'Poetry Lives Here.'" More: 

Originally housed in his garage less than seven blocks away, Sims now has over 4,000 poetry books spread across 18 bookshelves. They have a computer lab, some gallery space and even a private room for scribes that need a silent place to write. There are no other libraries in Southern California devoted to only poetry and only a few similar spaces exist across America.

Building Community Through Poetry

After earning both his Bachelor's and Master's at USC, Sims has been teaching at the university level since he was 24. Besides teaching at USC, he's also taught at Cal State LA, Southwest College and the Los Angeles Film School over the last dozen years. After his first book of poetry was published in early 2013, Sims wanted to do more to engage the literary community.

CLI started as a weekly Poetry class for poets to learn the craft and then publish a manuscript of their poems as the culminating project. The class appealed especially to writers that did not have Masters of Fine Arts (MFAs) in Writing or other academic credentials. Sims feels that poetry belongs to everyone and that many of the most impactful poets he knows are not necessarily classically trained. His classes are open to anyone.

Right from the beginning, USC supported CLI and gave Sims space to host his weekly Monday evening class. The classes have continued to become more popular over the last seven years. Now, because of the pandemic and the technology of Zoom, they have four different class sections going weekly.

The success of the classes is what led Sims to create the library. Once the pandemic ends, the classes will be held at the library.

Read on at KCET.