New Books
Navel of the Moon Mary Helen Lagasse
Curbstone - June, 2015
[from the publisher]
A freelance writer and journalist, Vicenta (“Vicky”) Lumière has moved beyond her upbringing in the diverse Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans. But a visit to her childhood friend Lonnie Cavanaugh in the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women brings back a flood of memories of shared dreams and a fateful summer long ago.
In Navel of the Moon, the follow-up to her acclaimed debut The Fifth Sun, Mary Helen Lagasse turns to the 1960s, where a young Vicky learns that the complicated people that we become as adults and the complicated world that adults create are shaped by events in childhood. The adults around her, beginning with her Mexican grandmother, Mimy, the family storyteller—who says she is from the “navel of the moon”—often confound and sometimes trouble Vicky. Yet Vicky’s strength of character is profoundly affected by the complexity of life, and in particular that of her troubled childhood friend Lonnie.
Mary Helen Lagasse’s debut novel, The Fifth Sun (Curbstone, 2004), won the Miguel Mármol Prize, the Premio Aztlán Literary Prize, Independent Publisher Best Multicultural Fiction Award (2005), and ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award (2005). Her stories and articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the New Orleans Times-Picayune and New Orleans Magazine. She lives in her native New Orleans.
And here's my short review of Navel of the Moon:
In her second novel, Navel of the Moon, Mary Helen Lagasse triumphantly surpasses the amazing promise of her debut, The Fifth Sun. This earthy and moving coming-of-age tale is set in 1960s New Orleans but resides, as all good literature does, deep within the passionate mysteries of the human heart. Vicenta (“Vicky”) Lumière, the young protagonist, guides the reader on an extraordinary trip into the world of the diverse people of the Irish Channel, from her Mexican grandmother Mimy to her rebellious best friend, Lonnie, to many others created by the skillful hand of Lagasse. In the grand tradition of the finest Southern writing, Navel of the Moon is filled with luminous characters, crisp, lyrical prose, and powerful human drama.
Gwendolyn Zepeda
Arte Público Press - March 31, 2015
[from the publisher]
“I was scared of a thing that might have happened. In daytime I’m sure it / never did. At night, I don’t trust daylit memories or instincts. In nightmares, like / filmstrips, the feared thing occurs.” In her second poetry collection, monsters–real and imagined–chase Houston Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Zepeda through late nights when she can’t sleep. Ghosts routinely visit in the early morning hours, but in spite of her fears, she dares to believe that she has escaped the devils that once followed her.
This collection of 62 narrative poems contains witty observations about the rituals of contemporary life. In “Cocktail Hours,” she wonders, “What if all my nights were Christmas lights on patios with tinkling drinks / and fun conversations.” And in “Recipe for Fun,” Zepeda offers a ten-point guide to soothing away life’s frustrations, including a suggestion to get some peace by giving “everyone in your house pizza, cat food or video games.”
Musings on family, remembrances of childhood games and encounters with strangers (and ants!) fill this clever, thought-provoking collection in which Zepeda dares to express her individuality. She doesn’t follow others blindly, or do what society expects of her. Readers will appreciate this second poetry collection, which is deeply personal yet universal in its hopes and fears.
Gwendolyn Zepeda was born in Houston, Texas, in 1971, and attended the University of Texas at Austin. Her works has appeared on numerous websites, and she has written and illustrated her award-winning website, gwendolynzepeda.com, since 1997. In 2004, Zepeda was awarded the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County’s Individual Artist Grant for literature. Her writing was hailed by EFE newswire as having the “potential to transform Latino literature of recent years and rid it of its bad habits and clichés.” She is currently serving a two-year term as Houston’s first Poet Laureate and her new poetry collection, Monsters, Zombies, and Addicts (Arte Público Press), will be available in early 2015. Her works include her debut book of poetry, Falling in Love with Fellow Prisoners (Arte Público Press, 2013), Level Up / Paso de nivel (Piñata Books, 2012), Better with You Here (Grand Central Publishing, 2012), I Kick the Ball / Pateo el balón (Piñata Books, 2011), Lone Star Legend (Grand Central Publishing, 2010), Sunflowers / Girasoles (Piñata Books, 2009), Houston, We Have a Problema (Grand Central Publishing, 2009), Growing Up with Tamales / Los tamales de Ana (Piñata Books, 2008), and To the Last Man I Slept with and All the Jerks Just Like Him (Arte Público Press, 2004). She continues to live and work in Houston.
Luis Alberto Urrea
Little, Brown and Co. - April, 2015
[from the author's website]
Suffused with wanderlust, compassion, and no small amount of rock and roll, this is a story collection that confirms Luis Alberto Urrea as an American master. Examining the borders between one nation and another, between one person and another, Urrea reveals his mastery of the short form: two boys steal a canoe and head out on a voyage from which one will not return; a dead soldier bequeaths his dog and a mystery to his comrade; a graffiti artist leaves behind an unfathomable message. Also here are the Edgar Award-winning Amapola and his now-classic Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses, which has twice been chosen for NPR's Selected Shorts
About the author:
A finalist for the Pulitizer Prize, Luis Alberto Urrea is the bestselling author of The Devil's Highway, The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and Queen of America, among others, He has won the Lannan Literary Award, the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize, an American Book Award, the Christopher Award, an Edgar Award, among other honors. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, he lives outside Chicago and is a distinguished professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois - Chicago.
Selected Poems of Angela de Hoyos
Angela de Hoyos
Arte Público Press - April, 2015
[from the publisher]
Tension between people–men and women, Chicanos and Anglos–is a frequent theme in de Hoyo’s work. In How to Eat Crow on a Cold Sunday Morning, renowned Mexican-American poet Angela de Hoyos suggests “you start on the wings / nibbling / apologetic-like” before moving to the dry, tough giblets and on to the “gall bladder / –that green bag of biliousness– / wants to gag your throat / in righteous retribution” making you wish that you had “learned how to eat / a pound of prudence / instead.”
This collection showcases the work of a beloved literary activist who gave voice to marginalized communities. Born in Mexico, de Hoyos spent most of her life in San Antonio, Texas, where she saw firsthand Chicanos’ loss of language, identity and traditions. The discrimination endured by Mexican Americans runs through her work, and in one of her most well-known poems, arise, Chicano!, the poet exhorts her people to free themselves from poverty and oppression. “There is no one to succor you. You must be your own messiah.”
Mostly self-educated, de Hoyos was equally adept at writing in Spanish or English, and many of her poems are written in a skillful combination of the two. Containing 80 previously published poems and several that have never been published, this volume highlights a vibrant voice that calls for equality and respect for all people, regardless of gender or ethnicity.
About the author:
Angela de Hoyos (1940-2009), a native of Coahuila, Mexico, spent most of her life in San Antonio, Texas. She authored several poetry collections and, with her husband, ran a small publishing house, M&A Editions, which published other Chicano authors. Her poetry was translated into more than 15 languages and won awards in Argentina, India, Italy and Germany.
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Luis Alberto Urrea is the bestselling author of The Devil's Highway, The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and Queen of America,
among others. He has won the Lannan Literary Award, the Pacific Rim
Kiriyama Prize, an American Book Award, the Christopher Award, and an
Edgar Award, among other honors. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and
American mother, he lives outside of Chicago and is a distinguished
professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
- See more at:
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/luis-alberto-urrea/the-water-museum/9780316334372/#sthash.bEYrcHiN.dpuf
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Luis Alberto Urrea is the bestselling author of The Devil's Highway, The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and Queen of America,
among others. He has won the Lannan Literary Award, the Pacific Rim
Kiriyama Prize, an American Book Award, the Christopher Award, and an
Edgar Award, among other honors. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and
American mother, he lives outside of Chicago and is a distinguished
professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
- See more at:
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/luis-alberto-urrea/the-water-museum/9780316334372/#sthash.bEYrcHiN.dpuf
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Luis Alberto Urrea is the bestselling author of The Devil's Highway, The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and Queen of America,
among others. He has won the Lannan Literary Award, the Pacific Rim
Kiriyama Prize, an American Book Award, the Christopher Award, and an
Edgar Award, among other honors. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and
American mother, he lives outside of Chicago and is a distinguished
professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
- See more at:
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/luis-alberto-urrea/the-water-museum/9780316334372/#sthash.bEYrcHiN.dpuf
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Caravana43: USA Tour of Families of the Ayotzinapa Students
La Bloga's friend Reyna Grande sent us this important announcement about the missing Ayotzinapa students:
I am very excited to announce that the families of the Ayotzinapa students, who disappeared in my hometown on September 26, 2014, will be coming to the US on tour. The Caravana43 will be in the Pacific coast region, the central region, and the East coast. Please keep an eye out for their visit and stand in solidarity with the families as they tour the country. Next week they will be in Los Angeles. I have created a fundraiser to help them out with basic expenses for the time they spend touring. I hope you can donate to the fundraiser. Unfortunately, it will only last one week! The tour was just confirmed last week when the visas for the families were finally approved; hence, the short notice. To donate, click here. I will hand-deliver the money I raise when the families arrive next week, so rest assure that your donation WILL get to them! On behalf of the families, I thank you.
The deadline for the fundraising project will have passed by the time this is posted on La Bloga, but please support the families' tour in any way you can. You can find the schedule for the tour on René Colato Laínez's post earlier this week at this link.
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Raul Pacheco (Ozomatli) and Shawn King (Devotchka) have produced a new musical project that should interest La Bloga's readers. Here's the announcement from Shawn about Los Dreamers:
Raul and I have been on a journey... it began almost two years ago when Ozomatli was in Denver to play the Fillmore. We talked about writing/ producing together. It's turned into this, a bilingual mixtape record that focuses on stories of immigration and American identity. Pre-order on iTunes will be next week, and official release is March 25th.
thanks friends,
Shawn
I've listened to a few of the songs -- excellent. You should check this out.
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Celebrate with the great folks at Tia Chucha's
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Need a bookmark? How about this one? We will be giving these out with my new book, scheduled for the end of March. Credit to Mercedes Hernández, a very special layout designer.
Later.
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