See why Wanda Coleman is called the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles.

This week's Pause for Poetry focuses on Wanda Coleman's reading of excerpts from  Ostinato Vamps and Bathwater Wine, two of more than a dozen books of uncompromising poetry (and fiction) from the prolific career of this native Californian artist.

Wanda Coleman has received much recognition for her work, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and even an Emmy. Coleman also won the Lenore Marshall Prize for Poetry from the Academy of American Poets and was a finalist for the National Book Awards.