Gordon Cohn, who hosts the monthly Literary Society meetings for the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, and Los Angeles Times book critic David Ulin during one of the book club’s events
Managing Editor
On Wednesday of this week, when the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association’s (BKBIA) Literary Society examined D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers at Elise’s Tea Room, the group was not only celebrating their sixth anniversary— they were discussing the 72nd book in their repertoire.
The Bixby Knolls Literary Society, a “book club” that is open to the public and meets monthly, focuses on those tomes considered to be the best of the 20th century, with a few contemporary novels thrown into the mix.
The group, which is based on open membership with no dues or commitment, has hosted guest speakers such as crime-fiction writer James Ellroy, Edgar Award-winning author Wendy Hornsby, Los Angeles Times book critic David Ulin, World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient Ivan Houston, and Father Greg Boyle— a Jesuit priest who founded Homeboy Industries, a free youth program that assists high-risk youth, former gang members and the recently incarcerated.
When he began to organize the Literary Society six years ago, Blair Cohn, executive director of the BKBIA, looked close to home for the individual who would lead the group.
“I asked my father (Gordon) to lead the first session and hadn’t figured out what to do from there,” Cohn said. “He is now six years into this and 72 books strong.”
The inaugural title was D.J. Waldie’s Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir, which presents a history of Lakewood’s first major suburban housing development after World War II.
Cohn said his father relies on “best of” compilations and his own experience in choosing the titles the group will read and discuss.
“My dad has a few lists of the best-100 selections of American literature from the last century,” Cohn said. “He picks mostly from that or from authors on that list. We also sprinkle in some current novels too. He is a voracious reader and familiar with a ton of literature.”
Cohn said that each month the BKBIA purchases a copy of the selected book and donates it to the Dana Branch Library. “The library has now received 72 books from the BKBIA,” he said. “Librarian Jennifer Songster has created a ‘BK Literary Society Selections’ area in the library.”
Gordon Cohn sees the Literary Society as yet another valuable asset of the diverse culture of the business district.
“Bixby Knolls is replete with dining, shopping, exercising, and such entertainment opportunities as First Fridays’ monthly celebrations of art, music, food, and camaraderie,” he said. “The Literary Society adds a cultural component to the panoply of activities available not only to residents of Bixby Knolls but also to anyone who chooses to participate. It affords people who love reading the opportunity to become involved in an always-rich and meaningful exchange with others who love reading. It is one thing to enjoy a book alone and quite another, and always rewarding, to share reactions with thoughtful people who see and interpret an author’s intent and achievement differently.”
The next meeting of the Bixby Knolls Literary Society will be Wednesday, March 12 at Elise’s Tea Room, 3924 Atlantic Ave. The selected book will be Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin.
