"'I Am Alive in Los Angeles': Catching Up with Mike Sonksen" by Lulu Fierro

Mike the PoeT, aka Mike Sonksen, has impacted not only Woodbury University but also the whole of Los Angeles through his spoken-word poetry. Known for his most famous poem-turned-book, I Am Alive in Los Angeles, a love letter to the city he grew up in, he began changing the spoken-word poetry scene in LA back in the early 2000s. Even in his newer piece, “Running Around the City” (published in 2022), he continues to give back to the city that has given him so much. Sonksen is an LA native with deep roots in the city's history, from attending UCLA for his undergraduate studies to earning his master’s at Cal State LA. He started working at Woodbury University in the Spring of 2015, where he taught for almost a decade before leaving after the Spring semester in 2024.
One of the biggest mistakes Woodbury made in recent memory was letting Sonksen go. During his time here, he not only impacted the lives of students but also faculty, always believing in you even when you didn’t believe in yourself. Throughout his tenure at Woodbury, he taught multiple courses, including poetry workshops, LA Stories, and first-year experience classes, just to name a few. He made it a point to include poetry in all the courses he taught. Sonksen also started an open-mic series called “Verse Come Verse Serve,” giving the Woodbury community a chance to read their work in front of an audience.
Sonksen’s favorite memory from his time at the university was when the school would offer free food from food trucks or vendors. Afterward, students and faculty would sit at the tables outside and enjoy poetry from the open mics. He felt this brought the community together. He also loved collaborating with his fellow professors, most notably Dr. Linda Dove and Dr. Will McConnell, who helped make Sonksen's final event at the university a reality.
This past spring, Sonksen took groups of students to The Great Wall of Los Angeles, a mural designed by Judy Baca that depicts the history of LA. On campus, he was able to create his own “Great Wall of Woodbury,” where students and faculty alike had creative freedom to add whatever they wanted. Sonksen loves public art — his wife is an artist — and being able to share this mural, which combined two things he loves, LA and art, was a special way for him to say goodbye to the Woodbury community.
I had the pleasure of taking Sonksen’s poetry class last fall, and I came out a better writer. He taught us that in order to write a good poem, you should write about what makes you happy. And he does just that. He loves LA — it’s what makes him happy — and his poetry is a memento to that. He says, “there's so much in LA. It’s a city that’s misunderstood. It’s not just Hollywood.” Sonksen believes it’s important to celebrate the city as a whole, because LA is a city full of culture, and focusing on the same thing over and over again gets boring. He shared that when he started writing “I Am Alive in Los Angeles,” it was during a time when, in his own words, “Rent was cheaper and I was discovering myself.” Poetry has always been a way for Sonksen to discover who he is.
Now you can find Sonksen teaching poetry at Verbum Dei, an all-boys high school in Watts. He continues to inspire the youth through spoken-word poetry in many ways. He just finished two books: one a poetry collection and the other a series of essays. He is also still hosting poetry events, most recently at the Getty Museum in LA, as well as in San Francisco, France, and Venice, just to name a few. Sonksen left a legacy at Woodbury, and he has impacted the lives of many students, including myself.

Lulu fierro

Lulu Fierro currently lives in California and is currently in her third year at Woodbury University, where she studies Professional Writing. She also currently works for a sports magazine, Sportish, where she writes all things sports and ish.