Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival 2022

 Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival 2022

por Xánath Caraza

 

The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (V.I.P.F.) is held annually in deep south Texas. The Director of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival is Edward Vidaurre.

With over 12 events the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival 2022 is a four-day event.  This year the VIPF 2022 Festival is hybrid. There will be In-person and Virtual Presentations: featured author readings, Boundless anthology release and reading, workshops, poets in schools, author presentations, and small press showcases.

The public is invited to the 15th Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival from April 28—May 1, 2022. We will have the presence of various authors from across the U.S., Mexico, England, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, Central America, and many other places where poetry thrives. Register here to be part of it all: http://www.valleypoetryfest.org/vipf-register  Register for $15 to be part of our festival events. $30 gets you in to all events, a t-shirt and Boundless 2022 Anthology.

This 2022 the Featured Poets to our Festival are: Wang Ping, Roberto Carlos Garcia, Denise Chávez, Benito Pastoriza Iyodo, and Xánath Caraza.

Boundless 2022 is the official anthology of the 15th Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. Boundless is an eclectic collection of poetry from around Texas and the U.S., with contributions by poets from around the world with an amazing introductory essay by Gary Snyder.

Visit us for more details at www.valleypoetryfest.org

De Chicago y Nuevo Mexico and a Cautionary Word

NEW MEXICO BOOK AWARDS NOVEMBER 21 IN ALBUQUERQUE
recognizing the best books in New Mexico & the Southwest Mission: To promote and recognize great books published in the Southwest and New Mexico. Uncovering the best in New Mexico's books (and the entire Southwest)! The purpose of the New Mexico Book Awards is to honor great books from New Mexico and the Southwest. Each year, the New Mexico Book Awards Program honors special New Mexico authors/publishers for their special contributions to New Mexico's book community. In 2008, the New Mexico Book Awards will present Friends of New Mexico Books Awards to Denise Chavez (Las Cruces) and David Morrell (Santa Fe) for their support of local New Mexico books. In 2007, Tony Hillerman (Los Ranchos) and Rudolfo Anaya (Albuquerque) were honored with the Friends of New Mexico Books Awards.

Reservations New Mexico Book Awards Banquet

The banquet for the 2008 Book Awards will be on November 21 at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque. The winners will be announced at the banquet (finalists will be announced in late September). Last year the banquet tickets were all sold out by October 1. Reserve your tickets early and guarantee a seat. The cost is $36 per person if paid for by October 15; after October 15 the price goes up to $46 per person. The hotel is offering a discount on rooms for any attendees. The room rate is $79 for two.

This includes free breakfast for two people and two fee cocktails from the Hotel bar. Mention “New Mexico Book Awards” when making your reservation. The hotel is at 2020 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 884-2511. For more information, go to the NM Book Coop website at: http://www.nmbookcoop.com/ THANK YOU to Paul Rhetts and NM Book Coop for all their hard work and true devotion to literature, writers and readers!!

TUMBLEWORDS PROJECT SCHEDULE IN EL PASO
Where: Memorial Park Public Library 3200 Copper Avenue, El Paso, TX (915) 566-1034 Cost: Free, but donations accepted for the presenter
When: All events are Saturday afternoons from 12:45 to 2:45
Contact: Donna Snyder at 328-5484 or tumblewordsproject@yahoo.com Sept 6 and 13

Robin Scofield Art and Affection
Scofield is a respected poet and educator whose publication credits include the Paris Review, the Texas Observer, Sin Fronteras, Border Voices, Rio Grande Review, and the Western Humanities Review among other literary journals. She has presented workshops and readings at the Border Book Festival, the Border Voices Festival, Bridge Center for Contemporary Art, UTEP, and EPCC. She has participated and volunteered in the Tumblewords Project for over twelve years, and regularly attends the poetry workshop at San Miguel de Allende.

Sept 13 Sept 20 Nancy Lorenza Green
Tumblewords Poetry Compilation. Nancy Lorenza Green, M.Ed. is an Afro-Chicana performance and recording artist from El Paso and Cd. Juarez who uses poetry, percussion instruments and flute music as mediums of communication and cultural expression. Nancy has recorded three cds: Music From the Heart, Life Is Sacred, and a Tumblewords poetry compilation. Her poetry has been published in Border Senses, Chrysalis, Newspaper Tree, and Mujeres de Maiz Zine 5& 6. Nancy is the recipient of the 2006 Art & Entertainment Hispanos Triunfadores award and the 1999 Que Bonita Familia Homenaje a la Mujer award.

Sept 27 THE BIG READ: Sun, Stone and Shadow 20 Great Mexican Short Stories
In collaboration with El Paso Library’s Big Read program, Tumblewords Project will host a discussion of an anthology edited by Jorge Hernandez, published in June of this year by Fondo de Cultura Economica USA. The collection presents twenty short stories by the finest Mexican authors born in the first half of the twentieth century, including Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, and was created specifically for use in The Big Read. El Paso Library will be one of two libraries nationwide to present an event in Mexico as well as the US. Other writers included in the collection include are Salvador Elizondo, Jose Revueltas, Elena Garro, Francisco Rojas Gonzalez. Martín Luis Guzman. Edmundo Valades, Sergio Pito, Ines Arredondo, Juan Garcia Ponce, Juan de la Cabada, Efren Hernandez, Francisco Tario, Juan Rulfo, Rosario Castellanos, Alfonso Reyes, Juan Jose Arreola, Jose Emilio Pacheco, and Jorge Ibarguengoi.

LA CONCHA DE LA TORTUGA CD RELEASE PARTY AT EL PASO PUBLIC LIBRARY OCTOBER 18
Save the date of Saturday, October 18 for the Release party of the CD, La Concha de La Tortuga, a collaboration between artists Nancy Green, Ricardo Valencia, Denise Chavez, Corina Gabaldon and Kris Wroblewski. The project began at an Origens of World Music workshop by Nancy Green for the Even Start Family Literacy Program through the Las Cruces Public Schools under the direction of Corina Gabaldon. Denise Chavez and Corina Gabaldon were given a turtle conch shell and a pair of deer antlers with instructions to go at it. From this workshop emerged a creation myth about the origens of the world featuring Mother Turtle. Following this, Nancy Green wrote a grant to the City of El Paso Arts Program and musicians Ricardo Valencia (originally from Mexico City) and Kris Wroblweski joined the collaboration to create the story of Emergence, Migration and Return with original music by Nancy Green, Corina Gabaldon and Kris Wroblewski, with a text by Denise Chavez and Corina Gabaldon. The CD will be available through the Cultural Center and from the artists as well at other area locations. More information forthcoming!! For the real scoop, contact La Jefa/La Mera Mera Nancy Green at: nancygreen9@yahoo.com

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In a time of less and less support of literacy and literary discourse, we have this information to share with our readers:

Concerning Oscar Villalon's leaving as book editor of the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6590117.html?desc=topstory

Sad news but symptomatic of what's going on with book review section. Oscar is (was) one of maybe two Chicano newspaper book review editors. Here's an interview from Critical Mass where he does talk about how unusual this is:
http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/2006/08/critical-i-conversation-with-oscar_07.html

Lisa Alvarado

Noticias and End of July Goodness

I'm thrilled to announce that Teatro Luna has settled into their brand new home in beautiful Logan Square on the northwest side of Chicago! The teatro is housed in the St. Luke's Church of Logan Square - a fabulous place with a strong focus on the arts and community building. The upcoming offerings include:

- Monthly workshops, free and open to the community.
- Professional development series - sliding scale for actors, writers, directors, and designers looking to expand their skills and network.
- Writing and Performance Classes - sliding scale.
- A new Reading Series, featuring staged readings of new work by Latina/o playwrights. Stay turned for more information and a schedule.

Teatro Luna is located at the corner of Francisco and Altgeld, just a few blocks from the Logan Square Blue Line Stop.

St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square 2649 North Francisco Avenue · Chicago, Illinois 60647

Mailing Address: PO Box 47256, Chicago, IL 60647

Check out las hermanas at the Goodman Theater's Latino Theater Festival on August 13th. You can catch a preview of our fall show JARRED: A HOODOO COMEDY by Tanya Saracho JARRED is a hilarious look at what happens to a woman when she turns to santeria, brujeria, and hoodoo after a terrible break-up. She's got her boyfriend in a jar: now what?

For tickets visit http://.goodmantheatre.org

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Goodman Theatre 170 N. Dearborn St. Chicago, Illinois 60601 Box Office: 312.443.3800 BoxOffice@GoodmanTheatre.org

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MADE IN CHICAGO: WORLD CLASS JAZZ AT THE JAY PRITZKER PAVILION
Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
Thursday, July 31: 6:30 PM FREE!

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And from La Bloga friend, Denise Chavez

portrait by Raquel Valle-Sentíes

The Writing Women's Lives Conference in Santa Fe was a wonderful gathering of creative women. We wrote corridos with Elena Diaz Bjorkquist and Consuelo Luz set them to music. Page Lambert gave a powerful workshop on nature and place and wrote an incredible corrido about a beloved mare. Susan and Denise Abraham from El Paso also gave a talk on their young adult novels. Thank you, talented mujeres!

I completed my Corrido Cat Cycle, writing El Corrido del Gato Consentido (The Corrido of the Spoiled Cat) to my cat, Kuki. I met many new writer friends and visited with Natalie Goldberg, Sally Bingham and Anne Hillerman, also dear BBF Friends, Don Usner and Adalucia Quan and her family and a friend from NMSU days, Maria Montez Skolnik.

We had a party at my sister's new house and Estevan Rael-Galvez, State Historian, joined us. I'm back home now and busy with Center activites and still working on my novel!!

Upcoming events to take note of:

August 8 and 9: The Way Out West Book Festival in Alpine, Texas. Featured writers are Elmer Kelton, Kinky Freedman, Benjamin Alire Saenz, Sarah Bird, Bobby and Lee Byrd, Denise Chavez and others. This is the first ever Alpine festival. It is a great setting and wonderful town. Check their website at: http://www.wowtxbookfestival.com/1.html

August 31: The John Barry Award for Fiction in Spanish has a deadline of August 31. They are looking for the best short story written in Spanish in the U.S. or Candada. Prize is $1,000.
www.johnbarryaward.com

Sept. 13 and 14: 16th of September Fiesta on the Mesilla Plaza. We will be selling books in our booth. Come and hang out as we hang out! We will need volunteers for shifts on Saturday from eight am until midnight and volunteers on Sunday from noon to 7pm with help breaking down after 7. Fiesta hours are from noon to midnight Saturday and noon to 7pm on Sunday.

Take a two hour shift and listen to great music and eat as many quesadillas as you can and help us sell books! We had a great Cinco de Mayo booth and plan on having one as well for Dia de Los Muertos.

September 26-26: Writing From the Creative Heart, a weekend long writing workshop with Denise Chavez. Reserve your place now as the workshop is limited. Call me at 575-496-2351, for more information or email me at bbf@zianet.com Cost is $90 for BBF members and $100 for non members.

October 25: The Great Southwest Book Festival at the El Paso Public Library. Contact Mike Payan, Senior Librarian and Event Coordinator for booth and festival information at: payanmm@elpasotexas.gov

NOW: Sally Meisenhelder from Amigos de Las Mujeres has informed us that Casa Amiga in Juarez is in financial difficulty and needs help. If you know any donors or foundations that can help, please contact Amigos at: http://www.amigosdemujeres.org/

Stay tuned for a Care and Evaluation of Out of Print Book Workshop with John Randall later this fall, a reading by Jesus Tafoya and Rosario Sanmiguel in Spanish from their new books, both incredible writers from Juarez/La Frontera.

Dr. Tafoya teaches at Sul Ross University and Dr. Sanmiguel at La Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, also the 4th annual Tamalada/Tamal making workshop at La Cocina Restaurant in Mesilla Park. We hope to have a celebrated food writer join us. Stay tuned!

We are also working on the Pooch-athon with a reading from Cristina Garcia's new children's book, The Dog Who Loved the Moon.

Other than that, we are drying out from many rains and loving this cool weather. Hang in there, chile!

Best wishes,

Denise Chavez

Lisa Alvarado