Apparently, many people are unaware that the city of Los Angeles has a Department of Cultural Affairs. One of the duties of the DCA is to administer a grant program for working artists living in the city. These grants provide a sizable sum of money: $10,000. For the past three years, I have applied, and every year I get the same response: No grants will be given in the literary arts category because the agency did not receive enough applications. This year is the first time, however, that they provided the magic number: three.

Yes, in all of Los Angeles, there are not three writers (screenwriters are not eligible) willing to fill out the (admittedly onerous) paperwork for a shot at ten grand and the cultural caché of a City of Los Angeles (COLA) grant for the cv. There are, of course, some minimum requirements—for example, writers must provide a documented publication record going back at least 15 years.

OK, so that precludes young emerging writers, as well as the “performance poets,” who might not publish at all. And on the other end, established writers ensconced in the local universities might not feel it is appropriate for them to apply (not that they exist in such abundance). But are there really so few “midcareer” writers in this city? I’m forced to conclude that my assessment of this city’s literary landscape remains accurate: there is probably a community for stand-up poets and nontraditional composers, and the universities do provide a cloistered home for a handful of academic poets—but anyone who does not fall within those groups is going to have a lonely time of it indeed.