Poetry in the Wet Air: Three Anthologies

Melinda Palacio

Rainbow in Santa Barbara. Keep raining California. 

I have the pleasure of being included in three wonderful anthologies: Maple Leaf Rag VI, the Wandering Song, and Poetry in Flight. Maple Leaf Rag VI is the latest sampling of poems read at the Maple Leaf Bar. For those unfamiliar with the poetry scene in New Orleans, the Maple Leaf Bar holds the longest running poetry reading series in the South. The reading began in 1979 and was founded by Everett Maddox who passed away in 1989. Nancy Harris has been hosting the weekly readings for more than 25 years. The collection includes many New Orleans poets, past and present, as well as first-time visitors, such as La Bloga friend Maria M. Kelson of Pueblo and Santa Barbara poets Chryss Yost and George Yatchisin. My poem, "Bones for Feathers" is included in the anthology. The book launch for the Maple Leaf Rag VI is this Sunday, January 15, at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans, 8316 Oak Street.  For those unable to attend the reading, you can order a copy of the book through the Portals Press website.

Maple Leaf Rag VI: An Anthology of Poetic Writings New Orleans
Portals Press, 2017

Next month, at AWP, Tía Chucha Press will present The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States, edited by Leticia Hernández Linares, Rubén Martínez, and Héctor Tobar. The Wandering Song is a much anticipated anthology of Central American writers living in the United States. This is the first time a comprehensive literary survey of the Central American diaspora by a U.S. publisher will be available for readers and scholars, a collection appropriate for high school, college, or university courses in U.S. Literature, Latino Literature, Multicultural Studies, and Migration Studies. The multi-genre collection includes poems, short stories, essays, memoir, novel excerpts, and creative nonfiction. I'm looking forward to this collection and am honored to have two poems in the book, "This Is How the World Ends" and "All Things Precious." The anthology is available for pre-order through Tia Chucha Press and Northwestern University Press. The book launch and reading will be in DC, Wednesday, February 8 at the AWP, details TBA, stay tuned on La Bloga.

The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States,
Tía Chucha Press 2017.

The Anthology Poetry in Flight/Poesía en Vuelo celebrates contributors of San Francisco's, El Tecolote. In the words of Juan Felipe Herrera, "this is the El Tecolote Anthology, the pioneering, fiery, soulful eye of this community, keeping watch and ward on our realities, without borders-even if the border makers insist on doing their border work. This is a volume of dreams, battle, play and the magic of the people-new freedom of thought warriors, word-salseras-checking on that odd-angled thing called 'progress,' on that viral tsunami of corporate, social and economic encroachment." My poem, "Age-Old Poetry" is included in this long-awaited collection. This anthology has witnessed the deaths of two of its co-editors, Francisco X. Alarcon and Alfonso Texidor. The cover art is by Juan R. Fuentes and the design work by Adrian Arias. An endorsement by Juan Felipe Herrera graces the back cover. The new publication celebration and reading will be held on Sunday, March 19 from 1-4 at Acción Latina in San Francisco in their beautiful remodeled facility at 2958 24th Street.

Poetry in Flight/Poesía en Vuelo
Anthology in Celebration of El Tecolote 2017