Crooked Out of Compton

Mention “California,” and most people think of sun-kissed beaches, star-studded glamour, Hollywood success, or Silicon Valley. However, the stories in Crooked Out of Compton expand the narrative to include stories about othered Californians—each story reveals a different facet of the South [Central] Los Angeles community and its inhabitants. “Professor Roach” follows the story of a disaffected young boy who’d rather be an insect. Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Brown finds institutional change difficult when he questions the status quo in “Job Collateral Lies Dead on Compton Creek.” Leland Otis Dunwitty meets Mysteree, his first love, and finds how complicated relationships can be when lovers come from different track sides. At the Watts Towers, Tamara Thomas shares wisdom and teaches her children the facts of life in “The Niggalators.” In “Bruised,” Trina Thomas uses her mother’s teaching when she confronts several obstacles while rescuing her younger brother from his heinous foster mom, Starkaña Wilkerson. The speculative ending story, “Baba Nam Kevelam (My Most Beloved is the Only One),” occurs in 2037. Ulan Mohammed, an unemployed school food service worker, experiences the still unsolved unhoused issue. These gritty stories show how people find hope and joy in lives where basic needs are demanding to be met.

Ron lives in the hills above the Port of Los Angeles but was born and raised in Watts, Los Angeles, before he moved to Compton, where he attended secondary schools and community college. Crooked Out of Compton is a semi-finalist for the Chestnut Review Stubborn Artists Contest and a Black Lawrence Press 2020 Big Moose Prize finalist. Visit him at https://crookedoutofcompton.com/