Last Saturday's post, "Diversity a food group best served frío," generated discussions, some of which
added more questions and information. Armando Rendon from Somos En Escrito magazine posted on LinkedIn, and I lead off
with it because it adds substantive layers about the publishing of First Voice latino
lit in the U.S. I highly recommend the article he mentions, in which two
statements caught my attention:
1.
"An issue mentioned by Garza de Cortés--that many of the children’s books
for Latina/os that she came across actually had damaging content."
2.
"The shocking news that at this year’s Pura Belpré Award--one of three
major awards given to Latino/a children’s book authors--the selection committee
did not select books for special honors. There were gasps in the room.”
I'll
try to find out more about both and report here.
 |
| Armando Rendon |
From
Armando Rendon:
"The problem you pose, Rudy, runs much
deeper than exclusion from these self-serving lists of best this and that for
kids' literature--the bias is obvious. But in order to get a full grasp of the
crisis of literature for American children of Hispanic/indigenous origin we
have to address the extreme lack of books that are written by us or include our
children.
"Here is a link to a guest essay published
in Somos en escrito magazine
representing a group of teachers, librarians, historians, writers in Austin who
are forging a coalition to expose these concerns and take action to address
this crisis.
"Some facts from the article:
In 2002, only 94 books were written about, and
48 books written by, Latinas/os: That number has not improved.
For instance, 2012 statistics reveal that out of
a total of 5,000 children’s books published that year, 54 of them were written
about, and only 59 were written by, Latinas/os.
In 2011, just over 3% of 3,400 books reviewed
were written by or about Latinos.
Only 18% of Latino fourth graders were
proficient in reading; meanwhile, 44% of their white peers were classified as
being proficient in reading.
In Texas alone, by the year 2050, another study
shows, public schools will serve 9 million students, from the 5 million at
present—of these, 6 million will be of Hispanic origin.
"Writing for little ones and young adults
is a growth market within our community. Unfortunately, the major publishers
have not or will not recognize the growing need for books, DVDs, whatever, that
feature Latino children, Latino culture, written by Latinos and Latinas. Imagine
the potential for reaching out to Latino youth to imbue readings with solid
values, exciting story lines, engaging characters.
"We have come to a point, because of this
looming crisis, that writing children's books has become a political act:
Schools, libraries, teachers, parents, legislators, communities must demand not
just more books about our communities but a national action to confront
publishers and state education departments to meet the challenge that the
country faces. Otherwise, as the Texas figures suggest, Latino kids will still
be reading Jack and Jill in 2050, when the classroom is filled with Ricardos
and Juanitas.
"As writers and teachers of writing, we
have to be part of the response as well. It's not easy to write for children,
but one has to be a competent writer to begin with. So the challenge is complex
but as writers we have a responsibility to encourage new writers to enter this
field and to try our own hand at writing for kids. It's immensely gratifying,
by the way."
by Armando Rendon
Latino
author will help aspiring latino writers
The renowned journalist-author San Quinones sent
us what's below. For those seeking FREE! professional help in telling their
story, you couldn't do better than this author. Note that space was definitely limited.
"My name is Sam Quinones. I'm a journalist
and LA Times reporter and author of two books of narrative nonfiction about
Mexico and Mexican immigration. I'll be offering a three-week writing workshop
at East L.A. Library beginning Saturday, Nov. 16 at 9:30 am.
"The workshop is funded by the library's
Chicano Resource Center and thus is free to participants. I'm hoping you will
spread word to your current and former students who might be interested in
something like this.
"The workshop is called TELL YOUR TRUE TALE
and gets new writers to tell their own stories, but with editing and editorial
help from me. We will focus on finding stories, and the gathering of detail
essential to all great storytelling, and then, of course, on story structure. The
goal is to have each participant produce a story from their own lives, or the
lives of people close to them. The best will be published on my website, and
displayed at the library, with multimedia treatment (slide show, author's
reading, photos, etc).
"My books have been used in many college
classes, including numerous community college English and Composition courses.
If you're unfamiliar with my work, you can find out more at my website and blog.
"I'd appreciate anything you could do to
get the word out to those interested in writing, and being edited and beginning
to think like a writer. Space is limited, so those interested should contact me at samquinones7@yahoo.com or Daniel Hernandez at the Resource Center: dhernandez@library.lacounty.gov
or 323-264-0155.
Cheers,
Tennessee
Williams Writing Contest
"This contest is open to writers who have not
yet published a book of fiction. We accept submissions by mail and online from June
1st through November 15th each year. The winner will be
announced by March 15th, 2014. Review the Eligibility, Guidelines, and FAQ
before entering the contest. Grand Prize: $1,500."
To my knowledge, no latino has won this prize, yet,
and if you have a submission, there's only one week left to get it in.
 |
| Daniel Alarcón |
Some good news
Daniel
Alarcón is featured this month on GoodReads, where he list his five favorite
books. It's called, "Good Minds Suggest—Daniel Alarcón's Favorite
Books by Young Latin American Authors."
From GoodReads: "San Francisco-based,
Peruvian-born author Daniel
Alarcón is the author of Lost City
Radio (2007), and a collection of short stories, War by
Candlelight. His second novel, At Night We
Walk in Circles, could be the one that brings the author a wider,
mainstream audience. Set in an unnamed South American country, this highbrow
suspense story follows a nascent actor at loose ends who lands a starring role
in a production of a controversial political play, touring across a land still
marked by the recent civil war. Alarcón's narration of the way things fall
apart is mesmerizing and thrilling."
Es todo, hoy,
RudyG
Somos
en escrito, The Latino Literary Online Magazine
is
doing a second annual Extra-Fiction Contest. So if you’re an
American writer of indigenous-hispanic background (Native American,
Chicanan, Latina/o/x) born in the USA or from Latin America residing
in the USA, and write in English, Spanish of Ingléspañol, click
that link and check it out.
Next,
I’m hoping to get my mind blown. This isn’t easy. I’ve been
soaking my brain in all kinds of weird stuff since I was a toddler in
East L.A. back in the Nineteen-Fifties. 
So
maybe you a story that is just too bizarre that most markets won’t
touch it (I have a lot of those), or have an idea keep tucked away
because, well, maybe it’s just goes too far, that
is
what I want to see.
