Will Alexander Benefit

On Sunday, January 13, Skylight Books will host the third in a series of nationwide benefit readings for Los Angeles poet Will Alexander, who is undergoing cancer treatment without the aid of medical insurance. Originally from South L.A., Alexander, 59, received a PEN Oakland award this year for his fiction/nonfiction work Sunrise in Armageddon (Spuyten Duyvil Publishing, 2006). His prose and poetry, as well as his visual art, revolve around the themes of universal surrealism and human alienation. Even if you’re unfamiliar with his work, the realization that a citizen of his cultural import in our vastly affluent nation could be left to his own defenses to fight off a serious illness surely provides ample fodder for comparisons to the surreal. “L.A. Blueswoman” Wanda Coleman and Sulfur magazine founder Clayton Eshleman are among readers who will perform Sunday. There is a $10 suggested donation, and Skylight Books will also donate 25 percent of all book sales made in the store between 4 and 8 p.m. to the benefit. Sun., Jan. 13, 5 p.m., Skylight Books, 1818 Vermont Ave., L.A., (323) 660-1175.

—Rena Kosnett