Anyhow, I Love You: Susan Hayden in Conversation with Steve Hochman
Join us for “Anyhow, I Love You,” a celebration of Susan Hayden’s lyrical, hybrid memoir, Now You Are a Missing Person.
Join us for “Anyhow, I Love You,” a celebration of the music in Susan Hayden’s hybrid memoir, Now You Are a Missing Person (Moon Tide Press). The author will be in conversation with her husband, music journalist Steve Hochman, in The Wanda Coleman Theater. Together, they'll talk through various musicians and works that inspired and present in Hayden's acclaimed book of poetry and prose. The evening promises to be as lively and poignant as it is tuneful!
Now You Are a Missing Person is brought to life with music — the sounds that accompanied and shaped the episodes of Hayden's life portrayed so vividly — from The Doors, to Cat Stevens, to Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, to Billy Eckstine, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Odetta, to the Village People. These are songs that shined through friendships, forged bonds with her dad, wove through her loves and losses, through her coming of age, through her motherhood, and her immersion in and emergence from deep grief.
Book signings and reception to follow after the readings.
Doors Open: 7:30 PM I Readings: 8:00 PM
Photo Credit: Alexis Rhone Fancher
About the authors
Susan Hayden is a multigenre writer. Her debut book, Now You Are a Missing Person, a hybrid memoir in poems, stories and fragments, was published in 2023 by Moon Tide Press. It received the Kirkus Star from Kirkus Reviews and was included in the Best of 2023: Fiction & Literature from Los Angeles Public Library. It was a Finalist in the Eric Hoffer Award 2024, a Finalist in the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards and a Finalist in The Zibby Awards 2023. Most recently, Now You Are a Missing Person made the Shortlist for The Memoir Prize for Books. Hayden has contributed to numerous anthologies, including From Venice to Venice: Poets of California and Italy (El Martillo Press, 2024); Beat Not Beat (Moon Tide Press); Los Angeles in the 1970s: Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine (Rare Bird Books), The Black Body (Seven Stories Press) and I Might Be The Person You Are Talking To (Padua Playwrights Press). She is the creator, curator and producer of Library Girl, heading into its 16th year at Ruskin Group Theatre. The proud mother of singer-songwriter Mason Summit, she lives in Santa Monica with her husband, music journalist Steve Hochman.
Steve Hochman has covered popular (and unpopular) music for nearly 40 years, currently as a lead contributor to SPIN magazine, the New Orleans music monthly OffBeat and The Bluegrass Situation, while also serving as a frequent host and moderator at Grammy Museum events. He’s best-known for his 22+ years with the Los Angeles Times, as well as long stints as music critic for two popular radio shows: Pasadena station KPCC’s Take Two and San Francisco-based KQED’s the California Report. He co-authored the 2023 Melissa Etheridge graphic biography, Heartstrings, has written dozens of album liner notes and hundreds of features and reviews in Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, BuzzBandsLA and others. Among his many highlights: Sharing a byline with Tom Petty on a 1989 tour diary for Rolling Stone, getting Morocco travel tips from Mick Jagger, and having Little Richard do a phone machine greeting— “You can leave a message at the sound of the WOOOOOO!” In recent years he’s enjoyed being challenged by his wife, Susan Hayden, to write with a more personal, poetic approach for her Library Girl literary series.
Join us for “Anyhow, I Love You,” a celebration of Susan Hayden’s lyrical, hybrid memoir, Now You Are a Missing Person.
Join us for “Anyhow, I Love You,” a celebration of the music in Susan Hayden’s hybrid memoir, Now You Are a Missing Person (Moon Tide Press). The author will be in conversation with her husband, music journalist Steve Hochman, in The Wanda Coleman Theater. Together, they'll talk through various musicians and works that inspired and present in Hayden's acclaimed book of poetry and prose. The evening promises to be as lively and poignant as it is tuneful!
Now You Are a Missing Person is brought to life with music — the sounds that accompanied and shaped the episodes of Hayden's life portrayed so vividly — from The Doors, to Cat Stevens, to Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, to Billy Eckstine, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Odetta, to the Village People. These are songs that shined through friendships, forged bonds with her dad, wove through her loves and losses, through her coming of age, through her motherhood, and her immersion in and emergence from deep grief.
Book signings and reception to follow after the readings.
Doors Open: 7:30 PM I Readings: 8:00 PM
Photo Credit: Alexis Rhone Fancher
About the authors
Susan Hayden is a multigenre writer. Her debut book, Now You Are a Missing Person, a hybrid memoir in poems, stories and fragments, was published in 2023 by Moon Tide Press. It received the Kirkus Star from Kirkus Reviews and was included in the Best of 2023: Fiction & Literature from Los Angeles Public Library. It was a Finalist in the Eric Hoffer Award 2024, a Finalist in the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards and a Finalist in The Zibby Awards 2023. Most recently, Now You Are a Missing Person made the Shortlist for The Memoir Prize for Books. Hayden has contributed to numerous anthologies, including From Venice to Venice: Poets of California and Italy (El Martillo Press, 2024); Beat Not Beat (Moon Tide Press); Los Angeles in the 1970s: Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine (Rare Bird Books), The Black Body (Seven Stories Press) and I Might Be The Person You Are Talking To (Padua Playwrights Press). She is the creator, curator and producer of Library Girl, heading into its 16th year at Ruskin Group Theatre. The proud mother of singer-songwriter Mason Summit, she lives in Santa Monica with her husband, music journalist Steve Hochman.
Steve Hochman has covered popular (and unpopular) music for nearly 40 years, currently as a lead contributor to SPIN magazine, the New Orleans music monthly OffBeat and The Bluegrass Situation, while also serving as a frequent host and moderator at Grammy Museum events. He’s best-known for his 22+ years with the Los Angeles Times, as well as long stints as music critic for two popular radio shows: Pasadena station KPCC’s Take Two and San Francisco-based KQED’s the California Report. He co-authored the 2023 Melissa Etheridge graphic biography, Heartstrings, has written dozens of album liner notes and hundreds of features and reviews in Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, BuzzBandsLA and others. Among his many highlights: Sharing a byline with Tom Petty on a 1989 tour diary for Rolling Stone, getting Morocco travel tips from Mick Jagger, and having Little Richard do a phone machine greeting— “You can leave a message at the sound of the WOOOOOO!” In recent years he’s enjoyed being challenged by his wife, Susan Hayden, to write with a more personal, poetic approach for her Library Girl literary series.