The Last Bookstore hosts a literary event that will change your life

A reading by three authors on the theme of “metamorphosis”

WHEN: Saturday, February 2, at 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., Ground Floor, Downtown L.A.

COST: Free!

MORE INFO: Website

Is metamorphosis a condition or a state of being? Is it temporary or permanent? Is it conditioned by culture, sexual identity, nationality, or location? Los Angeles writers reconsider the idea of metamorphosis through poetry, fiction, and autobiographical narratives that address the meaning of change and transformation in a city of perpetual reinvention.

Susana Chávez-Silverman

Susana Chávez-Silverman is co-editor of Tropicalizations: Transcultural Representations of Latinidad and Reading and Writing the Ambiente: Queer Sexualities in Latino, Latin American, and Spanish Culture. Her bilingual creative nonfiction books, Killer Crónicas: Bilingual Memories (2004) and Scenes from la Cuenca de Los Angeles y otros Natural Disasters (2010) have been anthologized in print, in the inaugural Norton Anthology of Latino Literature (2010), among others, and online, where audio versions are also available. Susana is professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Pomona College in California.

Ramón García

Ramón García’s book of poetry, Other Countries, was published by What Books Press in 2010. He is the author of a forthcoming book-length monograph on the documentary photographer Ricardo Valverde, to be published by the University of Minnesota Press. His work has appeared in Best American Poetry 1996, Ambit, Poetry Salzburg Review, Los Angeles Review, and Mandorla: New Writing from the Americas. A founding member of the Glass Table Collective, an artist collective in Los Angeles, he is a professor at the California State University, Northridge, and lives in Downtown Los Angeles.

Trebor Healey

Trebor Healey received the 2004 Ferro-Grumley and Violet Quill Awards for his first novel, Through It Came Bright Colors (Harrington Park Press) and is also the author of the novels A Horse Named Sorrow (University of Wisconsin Press) and Faun (Lethe Press), released this fall; a collection of poems, Sweet Son of Pan (Suspect Thoughts, 2006); and a short story collection, A Perfect Scar & Other Stories (Harrington Park Press, 2007). He co-edited (with Marci Blackman) Beyond Definition: New Writing from Gay and Lesbian San Francisco (Manic D Press, 1994) and co-edited (with Amie M. Evans) Queer & Catholic (Routledge, 2008). He lives in Los Angeles, where he does economic justice work.

ABOUT THE LAST BOOKSTORE: The Last Bookstore is an independent bookstore started by Josh Spencer and is currently open in its (relatively) new 10,000 square foot space in the Spring Arts Tower located at the corner of 5th and Spring in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. It is more than a bookstore…it is a like one of those neighbors you actually like, one who does things for others, and brings culture, joy and smiles even to those who are a little grumpy. Not only does The Last Bookstore sell a wide array of used and new books of all types, you can also enjoy a book reading, pick up a cup of coffee and/or browse through an extensive used record collection. It also accepts donations and operates a free donation pick-up service county-wide called Re-BookIt, with the purpose of saving books from landfills and redistributing books to schools, hospitals, and charities upon request. Funds raised from sales of donations are given back to the local community in charitable, constructive ways.

IN OTHER LITERARY NEWS…

◙ Sandra Tarling reviews Reyna Grande’s memoir, The Distance Between Us (Atria Books), for the Los Angeles Review of Books. Tarling observes, in part: “At the core of Grande’s stories about immigrants and their children’s lives is her mission to reveal the deep, permanent costs of immigration, both the loss when parents are separated from their children, and the impoverished lives and unrealized hopes once they arrive.”

◙ Congratulations to Associate Professor Juanita Heredia of Northern Arizona University who has just published “The task of the translator: An interview with Daniel Alarcón” in the journal, Latino Studies (Autumn 2012) 10, pp. 395–409. I noticed that she mentions my interview with Alarcón that was published by The Elegant Variation in 2007. This reminded me, yet again, that the interviews we do here on La Bloga and elsewhere have become important source materials in the study of Latino/a literature.

◙ Speaking of the study of Latino/a literature, Ohio State Professor Frederick Luis Aldama has a new book coming out shortly: The Routledge Concise History of Latino/a Literature. As the publisher explains, Aldama “traces a historical path through Latino/a literature, examining both the historical and political contexts of the works, as well as their authors and the readership. He also provides an enlightening analysis of: (1) the differing sub-groups of Latino/a literature, including Mexican American, Cuban American, Puerto Rican American, Dominican American, and Central and South American émigré authors; (2) established and emerging literary trends such as the postmodern, historical, chica-lit storytelling formats and the graphic novel; and (3) key literary themes, including gender and sexuality, feminist and queer voices, and migration and borderlands.” More on this important book later.