La Bloga's Michael Sedano Takes to the Podium at the Homestead Museum

Melinda Palacio

Michael Sedano

In a fun twist of roles, I had the pleasure of listening to Michael Sedano read from his work. He is usually the eye behind the camera, waiting to capture the perfect picture of a reader. He's been documenting my literary readings for several years and his portraits documenting poets and writers over the past couple of decades are archived at USC. He also coaches writers on how to read their own work. The photographs show a master, comfortable in front of the audience for Take a Detour from Route 66: Taos to L.A., a wonderful program put together by Karen Cordova and Andrea Watson of 3 Taos Press. Read more about the show on La Bloga's March post by none other than Michael Sedano.

Michael Sedano at the Homestead Museum

Michael read from his one-act play "The Feral Child of Temple City: A Horror Narrative in One Act. The dramatic and, yes, horrifying elements to the story are the first surprise. The entire show was a surprise because not everyone read work about the road, diners, or cars, stereotypical icons of Route 66. In fact, Sedano's story could be set anywhere. Lucky for the audience, it is set in Temple City on Route 66. The second surprise, which shouldn't come as a surprise at all, given the fact that Michael has offered coaching to writers on how to read their own work at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, is how well he read, projecting and addressing both sides of the bifurcated audience.

Sedano Makes the Lectern Disappear 

Although my photographs, all taken on my iPhone, do not adjust well for the tricky backlighting, you can see how Michael kept his eyes off the page and on his audience. He used his facial expression and hands for dramatic emphasis, although he could have read the piece keeping his nose to lectern and it still would have held the audience's attention. Another favor he offered to the audience was a copy of the one-act play. I'm not sure if everyone received a copy, but I was fortunate to have been gifted one by the author. The nice thing about hearing a piece that's longer than a poem, is it gave me the opportunity to take several photographs and absorb the content of the writing (not an easy task). I have renewed respect for Michael who attends a vast number of performances, takes professional photographs with his camera, and then writes very thoughtfully about the works. I was especially moved by Andrea Watson's Frida dream poem, "The Poem in Which Frida Khalo Commandeers My Car and We Drive Like Bandits to L.A." The title says it all, a great poem. You had to have been there. I was so mesmerized by the poem that I did not take any pictures of Andrea reading it. I now understand why my husband Steve sometimes fails to take photos of my while I'm reading. Even though he's heard all of my poems read aloud a million times, he still gets caught up in my performance of them. I finally understand this phenomenon. As Michael said in his La Bloga post and write-up of the show, I hope this Detour to Route 66 becomes an annual spring offering.

Michael reads the dramatic conclusion to "The Feral Child of Temple City" by Michael Sedano

Andrea L. Watson and Madelyn Garner Read after Michael Sedano.

La Bloga in the House: Melinda Palacio and Michael Sedano

Going the Extra Mile

Melinda Palacio

Driving to Phoenix

The past two weeks have proven anything but dull. I ended poetry Month with a presentation at UCSB's College of Creative Studies on Wednesday, April 30. I arrived at the building a little early and thought the audience would be slim, given the beach weather. 

A man in charge of filming each presenter asked me to test out the podium. From the stage's vantage, I was sure glad my two friends had accompanied me. For a while, I thought that Emma and Susan might be the only ones in the audience, but little by little, the auditorium began to fill up. Speaking to the creative writing students was a special treat because many in attendance have a keen interest in writing and some have already published books of their own.

 

beach view from UCSB

The questions from the students were very thoughtful. I could tell they were very engaged in my presentation of prose and poetry. Even more exciting was the feedback I received via email and twitter from students who expressed their gratitude for my reading. It was humbling to hear that my talk was inspirational to this group of student authors and poets. 

 

Obliq Gallery

The next day, May 1st, I drove to Phoenix for Ekphrasis: Sacred Stories of the Southwest, a pairing of original poetry and artwork, hosted by Larry and Sandra Ortega at Obliq Art and Gallery. Curator, Karen S. Cordova, organized the show with artists and poets from as far away as Hawaii. 

I first met Karen Cordova when Michael Sedano invited me to be part of the Festival de Flor Y Canto, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow at USC, September 2010. Karen was very diligent about giving the poets plenty of time to respond to the artwork. In order for the artwork, poems, and labels to be positioned and displayed, the poems needed to be framed and sent to the gallery weeks before the show.

 

Melinda Palacio and Karen Cordova

I chose The Turntable by Ruben Gonzales from Phoenix. His piece is, you guessed it, a turntable made from found objects and recycled bicycle gears. 

One of the best moments from the show was seeing Ruben's face light up as he read my poem in response to his artwork. Gone were all the misgivings I had had of traveling 500 miles to read one poem. The rough winds made the trip more treacherous than usual. There were a few times when I felt my car being pushed out of my lane by forceful winds.

 

Ruben Gonzales reads the poem in response to his Turntable, pictured above

By the time I arrived in Phoenix, I was a nervous wreck, but my mood quickly bent to elation when I received news that I was among the finalists for the Rita Dove Poetry Award through Salem College's Center for Women Writers. The winning award went to Joseph Bathanti. As it turns out the judge, Veronica Golos, is the acquisitions editor for 3TaosPress and the publisher, Andrea Watson, was among the poets in the show. She presented a poem based on Reefka's Schneider's La Confluencia de Fé. The variety of poetry and art was stunning and none of the SRO audience wanted the evening to end. Moments like these make going the extra miles worth it. 

Upcoming Events:

Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural holds its 9th Annual Celebrating Words Festival, May 17 at Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima, 1pm to 7pm

Beyond Baroque Presents its Connecting Cultures Event, May 22 at 7:30pm.