Poet Victor Avila reads passages from his book “Mystic Thrones of Night” at the inaugural Small Press Book Festival on Sept. 21 at the Wende Museum in Culver City. “Thrones” was published through Vagabond Books. Reviewer and author David A. Romero, said this about Avila’s book: The Mystic Thrones of Night is filled with painful tears and urgent shouts for justice, but also of those many quiet moments; a solitary stroll at night, meditation in a car, the precious company of a lover. Avila creates characters and weaves stories for them to breathe in; with a power that leaps off the page. When stated simply, his poems surprise with riddles, when written with eloquence, they cut through Gordian knots of truth.” Almost 100 people attended the book festival.