all that shines cover layoutfinal fixed 147141Writer Iris Berry has always been fascinated by the reality of modern-day Hollywood and its glittery history as Tinseltown, and in her new collection of poetry, All That Shines Under the Hollywood Sign (Punk Hostage Press), the two worlds collide to often-engaging effect. She marvels about the way jazz glides “its way/down translucent highways/at one in the morning” and “ephemeral evenings/draped across Hollywood” and rhapsodizes about such long-lost local landmarks as the Tropicana Motel and the Garden of Allah.

Accompanied by evocative L.A.-centric illustrations by Scott Aicher, Berry’s short portraits of vanishing and changing Southern California are often sentimental but infused with a rueful punk-rock perspective as she mulls over how “A catalog/of catastrophic events/shaped our lives.” At this book-release celebration, musician-writers Keith Morris, Jack Grisham, D.H. Peligro and Annette Zilinskas also read their work.

Soap Plant/Wacko, 4633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz; Sun., Nov. 17, 6-9 p.m.; free. (323) 663-0122, facebook.com/events/2394733750743801. 

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