Empty Libraries, Saving the World

Where COVID-19 Lurks, Little Free Libraries Empty

Michael Sedano

This is why I avoid shoulda-woulda-coulda yearnings that tend to lapse into morose self-pity. I could drive to the public library, see if it has new DVDs to fill-in lacunae in my piano trio collection, then browse the new books shelves for good mysteries by raza writers. After, I woulda walked to El Toreo, the region's best Mexican food, for a big bowl of cocido and laugh with really friendly people. I shoulda gone to the lawnmower shop and buy a small tiller to work my earth; it's time and I can't do it by hand any more. The Prius needs a tune up. I should drive around Barbara's T-Bird, or get rid of it.

Barbara and I are in the "vulnerable" group, so all the stuff I don't do I don't do gladly. The State and County and City contagion rules say I can go walkabout. Today, I set out with a mission. To see what the neighbors are sharing in their Little Free Libraries.

The area of Pasadena and Altadena I walkabout in is called Historic Highlands. If you meander through its streets you'll see many yards with  "Welcome Immigrants" signs, Bernie and Warren, and Little Free Libraries. You never know what might catch your interest, free.

My mission was photograph and catalog today's shelves and get in around two miles while avoiding people except for a chin nod or a good morning across the street. I also invested trust in serendipity to send me home with a book to read. 

Uphill and a half mile I reach my first Little Free Library. It's  empty but for a green 3"x5" file card bearing a sign of the times:

Please do not place anything in library. Library temporarily closed to avoid transmission of coronavirus. Thank you!

Saving the World From Killer Virus: Julia Alvarez and Stanford Raza Alumni Book Club

The March gathering--just before the isolation orders--of The Book Club of the Stanford Latina/o/x Alumni Association (SLAA) of Southern California, enjoyed a lively talk in the company of  Manuel Ramos' The Golden Havana Night:  A Sherlock Homie Adventure. I'm an honorary member, being a UC and USC diploma'd tipo, so the group isn't all Stanfordians but indeed we all count ourselves readers of Chicana Chicano literature y más.

The June 28th 2020 meeting, in Monrovia, Ca, reads Julia Alvarez' smallpox-themed novel, Saving the World. Likely, libraries have copies of this, and all, Alvarez' superb work. It's well worth reading, how apt in these plague times, que no? Some readers will also be reading Havana Libre by Robert Arellano.

Here's an excerpt from my 2006 review of Julia Alvarez' Saving The World. 

Readers of a certain age need to prepare themselves when they read Saving the World, for one of those rare moments in literature, a moment of recognition. As we meet Alma, she's fighting depression borne of realizing she is passing into a new stage of life. Richard's parents are dead, Alma's mother growing older and helpless, Alma has her two friends, and Richard. She feels as if her writing career has run its course, but beyond this, her life is running out. In a morbid yet exceedingly practical project, Alma systematically goes through the house, writing down operating instructions for all the chores her husband does. If Richard dies before Alma, the widow will at least be able to clear snow off the driveway. Although Alma follows a worst case scenario approach to her world, certain readers will recognize the stunning practicality of the character's worry.

There's a delightful "author's message" moment as the novel speeds to a surprising climax. Alma's world has turned completely inside out--a worst case scenario sprung out of nowhere to trap Alma and Richard in a wild third-world amateur show with guns.

This is what it means to live in a fallen world, she thinks. If only she'd been paying closer attention when she read to Helen from Paradise Lost.

That, too, seems laughable here. The idea that literature would have made her live her life any differently than she has. And besides, she doesn't have the luxury right now of being an indvidual. 226

Alma sinks deeply into despair but pulls herself out by remembering the story she'd been working on, the smallpox expedition and its Isabel whom history has forgotten her surname.

Isabel! The name comes unbidden, the one person who might understand the tangled web of head, hands, heart, and helath Alma finds herself caught in right now. Why not Isabel? Who cares if her story took ploace a long time ago, if it is half made up, if history wants control of the facts? History can keep the facts. But Alma musn't lose faith. Isabel's story is keeping the knowledge of something alive in Alma, belief in a saving grace. 232

There's at least one other allusion to this power of the word. It is wrapped up in the final pages that should be enjoyed for the first time directly by the reader. As should the entire novel. There are so many interesting characters, interpersonal moments, questions, the reader will be reluctant to see Alvarez bring the book to a close.

Macondo presents La Luz: En los Tiempos de la Oscuridad

Sandra Cisneros and the Macondo Writers' Workshop invite you to:

La Luz: En los Tiempos de la Oscuridad 

Join us for two nights of performances, dancing and music celebrating our guest writers.
 

Luz is another word for love, illumination, clarity and a higher self. In this event we will rise up above our smallness and transform darkness, choosing love over terror and acting in light. The Macondo Writers’ Workshop presents two nights of readings including a special Wednesday night performance by Julia Alvarez, Helena María Viramontes and Manuel Muñoz.
 

This year’s workshop is made possible by generous support from Amazon.com. “We are writers who believe we can change the world. We are thrilled that Amazon.com is assisting us with this aim,” said Sandra Cisneros, founder of the Macondo Writer’s workshop.

Wednesday, July 27

Featuring:  Julia Alvarez, Helena María Viramontes, Manuel Muñoz and Sandra Cisneros

Special performances by David Garza and S.T. Shimi

Jump-Start Performance Co.
San Antonio, Texas
 

210-227-JUMP

Seating is limited, so buy your tickets early.

$25 for general admission and $50 for table seating.

Visit www.macondofoundation.org or www.jump-start.org for more information.

Thursday, July 28

Featuring: Macondo Writers

Music: Conjunto El Trio

Thiry Auditorium–at Our Lady of the Lake University from 7-9 p.m.
San Antonio, Texas

Free

Macondo Foundation

The Macondo Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that organizes and hosts an annual workshop for professional writers. It originally began as a writing workshop around the kitchen table of poet and writer Sandra Cisneros in 1998. In the last decade the workshop has grown from 15 participants to more than 150 participants. The foundation continues to grow in its outreach to writers. As an association of socially-engaged writers united to advance creativity, foster generosity, and honor community, the Macondo Foundation attracts generous and compassionate writers who view their work and talents as part of a larger task of community-building and non-violent social change.

For more information about the Macondo Foundation visit our web site www.macondofoundation.org.

Is Cockiness Passé?

Far be it from me to argue with Simon Cowell, but as I watched the finale of American Idol and boy-next-door Kris Allen win the title I finalized a theory I have been brewing for the last few months. You see Simon has told Kris from the beginning that he had to be more confident, cockier, but I would argue that the boy’s humility and lack of cockiness is exactly what won the competition for Kris. And I’m wondering…does this represent a sea change in the arts, particularly in the music industry?


I actually began thinking about this when I attended a keynote speech given by brilliant Dominican author Julia Alvarez. The conference organizer who was doing the introduction stood before us and read a long list of all of Julia’s publications as people shifted in their chairs. She listed every award and accolade (of which there are MANY) whilst the author herself sat on the stage in her rebozo looking uncomfortable and anxious as we were for it to be over with. Finally Julia leaned over to the woman and told her, “You can skip through all that. Please.” She really wasn’t about all that and clearly wasn’t comfortable being fawned over. Now you could argue that the very fact that she would tell the woman to move on displayed a certain level of confidence, but being confident and being arrogant are two very different things. Ms. Alvarez is the former but not the latter. But that very afternoon I was on my elliptical listening to Latin Hip Hop and Reggaeton and it came to me… Perhaps with the current national climate, the time for arrogance is fading.


I was listening to Pitbull and Daddy Yankee and began counting how many times they repeated their names and their record labels as part of the “lyrics.” When I play Nicky Jam’s album “The Black Carpet” it has become a joke between my son and I how many times he says, “Nicky Jams, yo!” over and over and over throughout the recording, as well as the name of the album. I mean, I KNOW who it is and what it’s called, I bought the damn thing, didn’t I? I stopped and admitted that this had begun to seem arrogant and self-indulgent to me. Now I know it was begun as a way for a people who fought for recognition and a voice to represent themselves, a way for unrepresented people to demand to be heard, and I know this has played an important part in the culture of modern music. But though I am far from the usual demographic I think things are changing. I think in this Obamera (Obama-era…I just made that up!) and with the country struggling with the economy and survival we are turning outward rather than inward, confident rather than arrogant.


Now I know the average AI watcher is not going to be into Reggaeton, but I can guarantee that a large amount of those young girls who voted for Kris also paid 99 cents to download Fergalicious, which could not be more self-promoting if it tried, but it was hard not to respond to his total non-pretention and lack of slickness. Though I am a serious Adam fan I couldn’t help but be drawn in to Kris’s shock as they announced his name as the winner. He, like Julia Alvarez, comes across as someone you could be friends with who just happens to be talented and famous. They don’t need to repeat their names over and over again because we remember their names because we like them. We like them because they’re not obnoxious and constantly reminding us that they’re better or more famous. They’re one of us.


Am I just an aging idealist whose channeling her socialist mother, or do you think the “me generation” is now become an “us generation?” One can only hope.

Comings and Goings and the End of the Book as We Know It

MR. SPIC GOES TO WASHINGTON
Ilan Stavans
September (Soft Skull Press)

Ilan Stavans' latest is a graphic novel that tells the story of Samuel Patricio Inocencio Cárdenas (Mr. Spic.) Soft Skull's website says: Weaving humor with social commentary, Stavans tells a tale of a Latino man taking Los Angeles' mayoral office by storm and refusing to stop there. Illustrated throughout by Roberto Weil, the story follows the life and political development of Mr. Spic as he upends the political machine by owning up to and embracing his rough-and-tumble past, refusing to bend to corporate pressures, and using his influence to promote pacifism and tolerance. The book can be ordered for $15.95 from the publisher.


CHEECH AND CHONG ON TOUR AGAIN
The comedy duo announced plans for their first comedy tour in twenty-five years. Light Up America (or is it What's That Smell?) kicks off September 12 in Philadelphia and continues through December 20 with a smokin' finish in Denver. You can see tour dates here.

Cheech is 62; Chong 70. That's funny by itself. We've gotten to the age where we don't feel like fighting anymore, Marin said, because the end is a lot closer than the beginning. I hope Dave shows up.

JULIA ALVAREZ IN DENVER
August 20, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
Julia Alvarez, the bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, will discuss and sign Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA (Plume). According to the Tattered Cover: The quinceañera, the fifteenth birthday celebration for a Latina girl, is quickly becoming an American event. The must-haves for a “quince” are becoming as numerous and costly as a prom or wedding, and yet, this elaborate ritual also hearkens back to traditions from native countries and communities, offering young Latinas a chance to connect with their heritage. In Once Upon a Quinceañera, Alvarez explores this celebration, offering an enlightening, accessible, and entertaining portrait of contemporary Latino culture as well as a critical look at the rituals of coming of age and the economic and social consequences of the quince parties.

MISS PROTHERO'S GRAND OPENING, GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE
Nan Wigington posted the news that she is closing the doors on her book store, Miss Prothero's Books at 1112 Santa Fe Drive, Denver. Sad news, for sure. A sign of the times? No future in books?

But Miss Prothero is going out in style. Here's her notice: Need a bookcase? Bookends? A bent wood rocker? We're selling it cheap -- books, furniture, fixtures and equipment! Starting August 1 at 6 p.m. Books will be half off. Bookcases will go at $20 per shelf full or $15 per shelf empty. We have stackable bookshelves and bookcases. The cases and shelves are all made of wood. The cases are approximately 7' tall, 2' wide, and 1' deep. The stackable shelves are 10" tall, 2' wide, and 1' deep. Furniture includes a book press, a bent wood rocker, an antique saddler stapler and an antique telegrapher's desk. Have too much stuff already? Bring a sturdy box and some bucks. Fill the box with some books. We'll use the bucks to ship the box to Biblio Charitable Works, an organization which supports literacy projects worldwide. If you can't make it on the 1st, we should be here until the 15th. Call 303-572-2260 for hours and information.



ROCKY MOUNTAIN BOOK & PAPER FAIR
The 24th Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair takes place August 1 (5 - 9 PM, $6) and 2 (10 AM - 5 PM $4) at the Denver Merchandise Mart, 58th and I-25.

More than 65 exhibitors from around the world will offer thousands of books, maps, prints, posters, art, postcards, photographs, and other ephemeral and collectible items. Questions or information about RMBPF 2008: rmbpf2008@rmaba.org.

The Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers Association (RMABA), sponsor of the fair, has been joined by the Book Arts League and the Guild of Book Workers for this year’s event, The Art of the Book. The fair will feature a Book Arts Row where members of these groups will present displays and demonstrations on the processes and art of bookmaking.

More info in this press release.


THE END OF THE BOOK
There's a certain irony in the above listing of people on the move. The news highlights a veteran writer and critic challenging his audience by producing a political book in an under-appreciated format, the graphic novel. A respected Latina writer promotes the paperback edition of her book that honors an old tradition presented as a new "American event." Then there's an event centered on collectible books and the ancient art of bookmaking set against the backdrop of yet another book store closing.

Meanwhile, the death knell has sounded for the Sunday book review section at The Los Angeles Times, and it's the talk of the blog world. Check out Daniel Olivas' letter to the editor.

The question of the day seems to be: Does it really matter that bookstores are closing and newspapers are giving up on book reviews? Because, after all, it's about the Internet, isn't it? The future is paperless, and books will float invisibly on electrical ribbons, always available for the magical "click" that will drop literature onto the computer screen of any teenager, housebound grandmother, caffeine-drenched housewife, bored student, and frustrated writer. Classic tales of love and courage, cold-blooded murder and supernatural fantasy, poetry and haiku and limericks will be at our fingertips, if not free, certainly easy, and the world will move into an eternal era of literacy and profundity and connection.

Or are we kidding ourselves? Are we about to drop off the edge into a chasm of pickled imaginations and dulled senses, carpal tunnel syndrome of the brain? Is this the final revenge of the nerds?

On the other hand, there is hope; don't give up on the future of the book, paper or otherwise. Just read the recent posts from Thania Muñoz about the great gathering of writing and writers known as Semana Negra. In straightforward, cogent prose, Ms. Muñoz narrates how dozens of writers converged in circus tents to dazzle audiences with words. How poets were celebrated. How a million people attended the party, and more than 50,000 books were sold - in ten days. How good versus evil monsters was the topic of debate. How respect was paid to writers who fought fascism with their sentences and paragraphs, and lives. How a labor of love by a writer and his family has created an annual wild festival built around the once-forbidden belief that reading is a necessity.

Good grief, she describes book riots!

As long as people are willing to get pushed and shoved and hit on the shins with chairs just to get their hands on a book, I think we are okay.

Later.

Immigrants, Chicas, Silk Screen and Banned Books

A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS
John F. Kennedy
Introduction by Edward M. Kennedy
Foreword by Abraham H. Foxman
Harper Perennial, January, 2008

Harper Perennial has announced the publication of John Kennedy's important essay about the immigrant core of the U.S. Here's the publisher's blurb:

"At a time when the issue of immigration and immigrants has taken center stage in this country, the message of President John F. Kennedy’s classic essay A Nation of Immigrants is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. That is why the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and publisher Harper Perennial have reissued this landmark essay on the contribution of immigrants to American society.

"With a new introduction by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants (Harper Perennial) offers inspiring suggestions for immigration policy and presents a chronology of the main events in the history of immigration in America.

"Written by Kennedy in 1958 after ADL reached out to the then-junior senator from Massachusetts asking him to highlight the contribution of immigrants at a time when the country was locked in a debate about the direction its policy should take, it is the last manuscript President Kennedy ever wrote, and the book was first published posthumously.

"Throughout his presidency, John F. Kennedy was passionate about the issue of immigration reform. He believed that America is a nation of people who value both tradition and the exploration of new frontiers, people who deserve the freedom to build better lives for themselves in their adopted homeland. This modern edition of his posthumously published, timeless work -- with a new introduction by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and a foreword by Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director -- offers the late president’s inspiring suggestions for immigration policy and presents a chronology of the main events in the history of immigration in America.

"As continued debates on immigration engulf the nation, this paean to the importance of immigrants to our nation's prominence and success is as timely as ever."


LAS CHICAS DEL 3.5" FLOPPIES



Our friends at Su Teatro sent us the following notice about an upcoming theatrical event that sounds exciting and too good to pass up.

"El Centro Su Teatro proudly presents an innovative new work from Mexico City: Las Chicas del 3.5" Floppies, one weekend only, February 14, 15, and 16. The Las Chicas production represents a unique opportunity for Denver audiences to experience original and exciting international theater right in their own backyard.

"Written by acclaimed young playwright Luis Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio (LEGOM)—dubbed by the press as the enfant terrible of contemporary Mexican theater, Las Chicas del 3.5" Floppies is a funny, edgy, and slightly unsettling story in which traditional mores meet the modern age. Dangerously skirting the boundaries between existential comedy, Mexican telenovela, and social documentary, this play exposes the human repercussions of globalization and poverty with incisive humor and relentless honesty.

"Su Teatro brings Las Chicas to Denver as part of the Performing Americas program of the National Performance Network (NPN) with additional support from the Western States Arts Federation. El Centro Su Teatro is one of six NPN partner organizations chosen as curators for the program, whose aim is to encourage interaction between U.S. and Latin American theaters. Su Teatro Organizational Manager Mica Garcia de Benavidez has traveled to Brazil, Venezuela, and Uruguay as part of the Performing Americas program, meeting with other theater professionals and targeting the strongest performances for international exchange.

"The Mexico City theater company DramaFest, featuring actors Aída Lopez and Gabriela Murray, will take Las Chicas from Denver to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and then on to 7 Stages in Atlanta on this NPN sponsored tour.

"Performed in Spanish with English surtitles, Las Chicas del 3.5" Floppies is accessible to Spanish-speaking, English-speaking and bilingual audiences—particularly those interested in an exclusive and contemporary slice of life from one of the world’s largest urban communities.

"This production marks Su Teatro’s second international collaboration in a year and a half (Grupo Zero, June 2006), and is part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to bring Denver audiences the most innovative cultural performances—from the local Chicano community to the Latino world.

"Las Chicas del 3.5" Floppies, February 14 – 16 at El Centro Su Teatro, 4725 High Street. Tickets are $18 general and $15 students/seniors. Special comadre group rates are available. The Saturday, February 16 performance is featured as part of Su Teatro’s annual Dia de San Valentin dinner. For tickets and information call El Centro Su Teatro at (303) 296-0219 and visit www.suteatro.org and www.myspace.com/elcentrosuteatro.

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL DISTRICT BANS HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS
Julia Alvarez's highly acclaimed and universally respected novel, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents ((Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1991)), has been banned by the Johnston School District in North Carolina. According to an article at mydailyrecord.com, by Leslie Parnell, the book was "taken out of the school district after a West Johnston High School student's parents challenged its sexual content and profane language to the school board. The county schools staff has now launched a district-wide book title review." The same article includes Ms. Alvarez's response: "Alvarez said she is dismayed over the banning of her book in Johnston County schools. Literature is about story telling to human beings and story telling is rich because humans come from many different tribes, she said.

...
"Johnston County probably made its decision to ban the book based on selected passages, Mrs. Alvarez said, and as a result, the school system may have deprived all students of a positive learning experience.

"'(Parents) have their concerns. I do think they are misguided. I think they are out of context,' Mrs. Alvarez said.

"The National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter to the Johnston County Board of Education dated Dec. 21, 2007, expressing concern about the ban and that school administrators are now checking commonly challenged books.

"'This isn't just an issue of my particular novel's merit, but a bigger one about the curtailment of civil liberties and an erosion of the best values and principles of this free country,' Mrs. Alvarez said."

There's also an article by Lisa Sorg about the ban at the Independent Weekly entitled Banned Books, Blank Minds.

THE SERIE PROJECT AT REGIS UNIVERSITY
The Serie Project, Inc., of Austin, Texas is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Latino arts organization that produces, promotes, and exhibits serigraph (silk screen) prints created by established and emerging artists.

A collaborative workshop format is the setting used to foster diverse artists’ development and creativity through exposure to the serigraph technique. Each participating artist creates a limited edition serigraph print and The Serie Project, in turn, is able to make the fine art available to the public through these affordable, signed and numbered prints.

The prints are also exhibited throughout the year at various museums and galleries in and outside of Texas. All of this is accomplished at no cost to the artist.

Such an exhibit is scheduled for Denver from January 15 - February 22 at the O'Sullivan Art Gallery on the campus of Regis University. The Opening Reception is set for January 24, 4:30 - 7:00 PM and a gallery talk by George Rivera, Ph.D. on the topic of Deconstructing the Chicano Visual Experience, will take place on February 7 at 7:00 PM.

Regis University is on West 50th Avenue between Federal Boulevard and Lowell Boulevard. For information: 303-964-3634 or this website.

Image: Gravity by Jimmy Peña.

Later.