As many of you are undoubtedly aware, November 2 is Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in which those who have shuffled off to the great cheese plate in the sky are remembered and honored by those still stuck on this rat trap of a planet.
On Sunday, November 4, we'll be celebrating Dios de los Vermin at the usual time and place -- 8pm at the Mountain Bar in Chinatown -- with four fabulous writers:
Anaheim native GUSTAVO ARELLANO is the world's foremost authority on the Mexican-American experience. His hilariously irreverent column "Ask a Mexican," is nationally syndicated and was released in book form last May. Arellano makes frequent appearances on radio and TV and is currently food editor and investigative journalist for the OC Weekly.
DUNCAN MURRELL is a freelance writer, Pynchon enthusiast, and former Marine. Murrell spent a year in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. His ground-breaking essay about his experience, "The Topography of Resurrection in New Orleans," appeared in the July issue of Harper's. He presently lives with his family in North Carolina and is learning to play the mandolin.
MARY OTIS is the author of the short story collection, Yes, Yes Cherries, a New Voices selection from Tin House Books. A Los Angeles transplant from Boston, Otis's stories are full of flawed, fractured, fascinating characters "amidst the fantastical circus of life" in L.A.
Amusement park expert KEVIN MOFFETT is the author of the acclaimed short story collection Permanent Visitors. Moffett is a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop and teaches writing at Cal State University, San Bernardino.