The reclusive drug war activist, avantpop counter-culture journalist, freelancer, and satirical dark poet, Shwa Laytart writes deep in the witching hours and dwells in the high desert underground of Las Vegas, Nevada, with the cerebral chuckwallas, raconteur roadrunner, and twisted dust devils. 

 

He writes and has written for a variety of cannabis magazines including High Times, Dope, and Vegas Cannabis, as well as lifestyle periodicals like Bare Magazine and other prints that have gone the way of the ivory-billed woodpecker.

 

Currently, you can find his monthly column, Rave Reads!, formerly called Reading LIT! in Vegas Cannabis/Wellness Magazine. At the 2019 Las Vegas Book Festival, Shwa released his first book with Avantpop Publishing - 'Oh, the A**holes You'll Meet! A Comic Book Poetry-Guide to Life' (written for his daughter). His second book, an anthology of poetry, 'F*d-Up Poetry for F*d Up People in F*d-Up Times', was released in 2021.

 

Since then he can be found working with local artists on book projects, hosting poetry events and the Avantpop Bookstore Presents podcast, all while slinging used books and fixing broken ones at Avantpop Bookstore.