Ryan Gattis' new book, All Involved, is really a reconstitution of the L.A. riots from a person who wasn't there, but spoke to countless artists, gang members, nurses, police, firefighters, and others. He talks about the six day period as a suspension of the rules, one which allowed unmitigated violence and the settling of old scores unrelated to the frustration of the riots. Gattis views literature as an empathy engine and he found poetry in the daily speech of his subjects.
Read an excerpt from All Involved.
Photo: Connie Alvarez