08.09.18
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PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS<br />
•CALENDAR•<br />
Leslie Schwartz<br />
‘Lost’ and Found<br />
WRITER LESLIE SCHWARTZ RECOUNTS HER HARROWING<br />
DUI INCARCERATION IN ‘THE LOST CHAPTERS’<br />
Leslie Schwartz was a successful writer<br />
and novelist who had managed to maintain<br />
sobriety from alcohol for over a<br />
decade before falling back into 414 days<br />
of self-described “blackout drinking.” It<br />
was only after she was arrested for DUI<br />
and battery of an officer in 2014 that she<br />
managed to get sober again, only to find<br />
herself immersed in the harrowing experience<br />
of spending 37 days incarcerated<br />
in the brutal confines of the Los Angeles<br />
County Century Women’s Regional<br />
Center in Lynwood.<br />
While inside the jail, Schwartz witnessed<br />
all manner of abusive behavior<br />
by guards and learned the stories of<br />
many impoverished women of color<br />
who were trapped in Lyndwood for<br />
longer sentences despite sometimes<br />
having committed lesser offenses.<br />
Through it all, Schwartz maintained her<br />
sanity and spirits by reading an assortment<br />
of books that gave her a renewed<br />
appreciation for the power of writing.<br />
She is appearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday<br />
at Vroman’s Bookstore to discuss (with<br />
Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Ministries)<br />
and sign her memoir, “The Lost<br />
Chapters: Finding Recovery & Renewal<br />
One Book at a Time.”<br />
“I don’t give jail, the LAPD, or other<br />
law enforcement any credit for stopping<br />
my relapse,” says Schwartz. “I<br />
BY CARL KOZLOWSKI<br />
give credit to my family support system<br />
and the spiritual connection I was able<br />
to make with stopping. The jail made<br />
my life worse, but the experience I had<br />
inside was of a spiritual nature for me.<br />
It had to do with the books I read and<br />
other inmates that I met, vis a vis the<br />
books I read. It was a literary enlightenment,<br />
and the rest of change came by<br />
getting to know other inmates.”<br />
Schwartz offers plenty of detailed<br />
criticism about how the female inmates<br />
are treated at Lynwood, noting that she<br />
saw guards having sex with inmates in<br />
exchange for giving the prisoners illicit<br />
drugs. The three-day intake process<br />
is “harrowing,” and she notes that the<br />
entire experience is nothing like the way<br />
women’s prisons are portrayed in the<br />
Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black.”<br />
“That show causes huge misconceptions<br />
of jail, because jail is hell,<br />
you don’t get to dance, and the girls<br />
aren’t off having sex everywhere,”<br />
says Schwartz. “There’s no freedom of<br />
movement, you’re always under guard<br />
and watch. There’s nothing for abuse<br />
of drugs or alcoholism, no 12-step<br />
meetings, even though 90 percent of<br />
everybody in that place was on drugs<br />
and alcohol but nobody talks about it.<br />
There was a life skills class I was in. I<br />
don’t know what it was about, but we<br />
talked about our vaginas a lot.”<br />
Schwartz notes that black and<br />
brown women are disproportionately<br />
incarcerated, with people of color more<br />
likely to have jail sentences by a margin<br />
of 2 to 1, and for lesser crimes. She<br />
believes that many inmates are addicts<br />
or mentally ill, and could be productive<br />
members of society if helped with their<br />
issues.<br />
“I recently connected with a<br />
woman in Denver who runs a group<br />
called Books Beyond Bars and we’re<br />
talking about me bringing books and<br />
book groups to inmates in Lynwood,”<br />
says Schwartz, who taught writing for<br />
several years at Homeboy Industries.<br />
“The other thing is that my book is an<br />
homage to literature. I just lament the<br />
fact that we don’t read anymore in our<br />
culture. I really did come from a loving<br />
place, and it’s not a diatribe against<br />
the system. It’s a love story toward<br />
literature. Hopefully it’ll inspire people<br />
to pick up a book as well as care more<br />
about prisoners.” n<br />
Leslie Schwartz will discuss and sign her<br />
memoir, “The Lost Chapters: Finding Recovery<br />
& Renewal One Book at a Time” at 7 p.m.<br />
Tuesday at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E.<br />
Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. Call (626) 449-5320<br />
or visit vromansbookstore.com.<br />
Thursday Aug. 9 through Wednesday Aug. 15<br />
PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for Calendar<br />
submissions is noon Wednesday of the week<br />
before the issue publishes. Send to johns@<br />
pasadenaweekly.com<br />
THURSDAY<br />
The Blue Guitar<br />
Arroyo Seco Golf Course<br />
1055 Lohman Lane, South Pasadena<br />
blueguitar.club<br />
The club at Arroyo Seco Golf Course<br />
presents eclectic music by Acoustic Asylum<br />
at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 general admission,<br />
$15 for table seating, available on the<br />
website.<br />
Music on the Green Summer Concert Series<br />
The Alhambra<br />
1000 S. Fremont Ave., Alhambra<br />
(626) 300-5000<br />
thealhambra.net<br />
The free concert series continues with swing<br />
by Private Cat Radio from 11:30 a.m. to<br />
1:30 p.m.<br />
One Colorado<br />
41 Hugus Alley, Pasadena<br />
(626) 564-1066<br />
onecolorado.com<br />
One Colorado’s free summer music series<br />
features folk, alt rock and danceable rhythms<br />
by Freedom Fry at 7 p.m.<br />
Pasadena Alpha Muse Block Party<br />
CTRL Collective<br />
45 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena<br />
pasadenaalphamuse.com<br />
Blockchain technology startup ATK Technologies<br />
hosts the launch of an application<br />
ecosystem for content creators, empowering<br />
them to have control of their intellectual<br />
property and to monetize it on a one-to-one<br />
basis. The party includes the culmination of<br />
the Alpha Muse Contest, as local creators<br />
work is voted on by the community, using<br />
the Alpha Browser App. The event includes<br />
food, drink and live performances. It runs<br />
from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are free to<br />
attend the party, or $20 for supporters,<br />
which include a gift bag. Visit eventbrite.<br />
com/e/pasadena-alpha-muse-block-partytickets-46387107086<br />
for tickets.<br />
Pasadena Senior Center<br />
85 E. Holly St., Pasadena<br />
(626) 795-4331<br />
pasadenaseniorcenter.org<br />
Shirif Mitry of Mitry Pharmacy discusses<br />
differences between brand-name and generic<br />
drugs, and whether it is worth paying the<br />
difference between the two, starting at 10<br />
a.m.<br />
Vroman’s Bookstore<br />
695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 449-5320<br />
vromansbookstore.com<br />
Dr. Joseph Parent discusses and signs “Walk<br />
in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness<br />
with a Bear Named Poo” at 7 p.m.<br />
FRIDAY<br />
Lake Avenue Church<br />
393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena<br />
(626) 844-4700<br />
lakeave.org<br />
Classic Car Night features vintage, classic<br />
and exotic cars and newer model sports<br />
cars, live music and burgers from 6 to 8<br />
p.m. Admission is free, but donations are<br />
accepted to cover the cost of food.<br />
Norton Simon Museum<br />
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 449-6840<br />
nortonsimon.org<br />
In “Impressionist Scents,” herbalist and<br />
educator Emily Han leads a tour of Impressionist<br />
paintings and explores the scents<br />
that come to mind when viewing the works<br />
from 6 to 7 p.m., included in museum<br />
admission of $15 for adults, $12 for seniors,<br />
free for members, students and those 18<br />
and younger. The program is designed for<br />
adults ages 25 to 40.<br />
Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association<br />
Dance<br />
Paseo Colorado<br />
300 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 799-5689<br />
pasadenaballroomdance.com<br />
The Association’s free Friday night dance series<br />
presents Salsa Night with the Yari More<br />
Latin Band, starting with a free swing dance<br />
lesson at 7 p.m. followed by live music from<br />
7:30 to 9:30 p.m.<br />
Pasadena Senior Center<br />
85 E. Holly St., Pasadena<br />
(626) 795-4331<br />
pasadenaseniorcenter.org<br />
Free film matinees screen at 1 p.m. on select<br />
Fridays. Friday’s film is “I Can Only Imagine”<br />
(2018).<br />
South Pasadena Library Film Screening<br />
South Pasadena Library Community Room<br />
1115 El Centro St., South Pasadena<br />
(626) 403-7350<br />
southpasadenaca.gov<br />
A free screening of the 2017 comedy/drama<br />
“The Disaster Artist” features an appearance<br />
by Greg Sestero, author of the book<br />
on which the film was based. Doors open<br />
at 6:30 p.m. and the film starts at 7 p.m.,<br />
followed by a Q&A with Pasadena Weekly<br />
Arts Editor Carl Kozlowski. Refreshments<br />
are included, and no reservations or tickets<br />
are required.<br />
SATURDAY<br />
Norton Simon Museum<br />
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena<br />
(626) 449-6840<br />
nortonsimon.org<br />
A guided tour visits from works from the<br />
Renaissance from 1 to 2 p.m. Family Day,<br />
for those with children ages 4 to 10 invites<br />
families to view works by artists who studied<br />
and took exams just like them, then use fabric<br />
pastels to draw designs on a small book<br />
bag from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Norton Simon<br />
presents concerts with music pertaining to<br />
works in the collections. This week’s concert,<br />
“Baroque, Classical and Romantic Traditions<br />
of Two Guitars” features the Odeum<br />
Guitar Duo from 5 to 6 p.m. All are included<br />
in regular museum admission of $15 for<br />
adults, $12 for seniors, free for members,<br />
students and those 18 and younger.<br />
Pasadena Museum of California Art<br />
490 E. Union St., Pasadena<br />
(626) 568-3665<br />
pmcaonline.org<br />
The museum’s Second Saturday Spotlight<br />
features graphic designer Silas Munro introducing<br />
the basics of contemporary graphic<br />
design and lettering, as guests customize<br />
soap boxes to take home, from 2 to 4 p.m.,<br />
included with museum admission of $7 for<br />
adults, $5 for seniors, students and educators,<br />
free for children 12 and younger.<br />
Rotary Club of Altadena Summer Concert<br />
Series<br />
Farnsworth Park<br />
568 E. Mount Curve Ave., Altadena<br />
(626) 798-6335<br />
altadenarotary.com<br />
The Rotary Club of Altadena’s Farnsworth<br />
Park summer concert series continues at<br />
7 p.m. Saturday with reggae and soca by<br />
Upstream. Free.<br />
Samy’s Camera<br />
1759 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena<br />
–CONTINUED ON PAGE 29<br />
<strong>08.09.18</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 27
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