“The Spoken Word Club will feature Ryka Aoki at the March 22 meeting. Ryka Aoki is the author of Seasonal Velocities, He Mele a Hilo (A Hilo Song) and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul. She has been honored by the California State Senate for her “extraordinary commitment to free speech and artistic expression, as well as the visibility and well-being of Transgender people.” Ryka was the 2015 Mandel Grant author at John Carroll University, and in April will be the Fred Ewing and Lola Austin Case Writer-in-Residence at Central Illinois University. Ryka has MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell University and is the recipient of a University Award from the Academy of American Poets. She is a former national judo champion, the founder of the International Transgender Martial Artists Alliance, and is a professor of English at Santa Monica College. Meeting starts at 1pm in the Redwoods Room in the Community Center. Open readers will have an opportunity to read up to 3 minutes. Membership is $10/year. Refreshments. Guests are welcomed to listen or join in ($2/mtg). For more information: contact Charlie Redner at 520-400-5955 or charlesredner@gmail.com”