Can't Miss It: Monday

Documentary: Los Angeles and art don't have the strongest association. (Glen Hansard at the Oscars, shaking his statue at the audience, "Make art! Make art!") But it's more of a signal-to-noise problem. The documentary The Cool School explores the lives of the founders of L.A.'s artistic "cool." Regina Hackett describes the situation:

Back to L.A. in the early 1950s: Progressive artists had nothing going for themselves except themselves. New York didn't bother to spit on them. There was no institutional support, collector base, ambitious gallery or criticism worth the name. In California, all the action was in S.F. for Bay Area Figurative.

That's where "The Cool School" opens, and the question it poses is a practical one: How did this band of artists survive and thrive?

Poetry Reading: Richard Kenney's poetry collection One Strand River is "affecting when not too esoteric," says Sheila Farr in her review. Kenney is a University of Washington professor and lives in Port Townsend -- the commute apparently gives him plenty of time to plunder the dictionary. ("Deinonychid? Rockaddle?" Farr complains, justifiably.) She singles out "Office Visit" as a stunner:

On the day he died, not ninety, quite,
partially blind, in chronic pain and jacket
and tie my dad said no energy. He just
had none. A courteous old guy,
thought the doctor. The contained kind. Quiet.
Then the doctor, perhaps educated
elsewhere, checking his watch, suggested
Exercise. You might try yoga.

7pm // Seattle Central Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave // FREE

Underwater Adventures: Robert Ballard, who found the Titanic's watery resting place and has explored the equally watery homes of the Bismarck, Lusitania, and Britannic, speaks at "National Geographic Live!" about technology and undersea snooping about. Most recently, he found JFK's PT-109, which turned out to contain a pair of Marilyn Monroe's stockings. [ED: No, it did not.]

7:30pm // Benaroya Hall, 200 University St // Tickets $20-$40 general, $12-$15 kids

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Seattlest and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.