Anthology of Contemporary Chicanx Writing

Anthology of Contemporary Chicanx Writing

Xánath Caraza

Our La Bloga friend and 2018 City of McAllen Poet Laureate, Edward Vidaurre invites our readers to submit for a Special Anthology of Contemporary Chicanx.  See the following guidelines.

“Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts and The Black Earth Institute are collaborating to publish an Anthology of Contemporary Chicanx Writing. 

We are accepting online submissions from August 1, 2018 to October 1, 2018 for a special ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY CHICANX WRITING TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2019.

GUIDELINES: For this anthology we are looking for Chicanx writers of poems and prose (short stories, flash fiction, hybrids, essays, memoir pieces) from the rasquache to the refined.  We want writing that goes deep into the culture and reveals our heritage in new ways.  We want experiences, from blue collar gigs to going into higher education and pursuing PhDs.  We want work that challenges.  That is irreverent. Than is both defiant and inventive.  That is well-crafted.  That is puro Chicanx.

SEND 3-5 POEMS, 100 LINE LIMIT PER POEM, ONE SHORT STORY, ESSAY, MEMOIR PIECE OR FLASH FICTION UP TO 4000 WORDS.  DO NOT SEND MORE THAN ONE SUBMISSION DURING A READING PERIOD UNLESS YOU ARE ASKED TO DO SO BY AN EDITOR.  WE WILL DISQUALIFY MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONSIN THE SAME GENRE. 

Online submissions only at www.cutthroatmag.com

Payment in contributor copies. 

All book profits are donated to Raices, the International Inmmigration Law Center and other worthy Chicanx nonprofit organizations.

Editorial and Advisory Boards include Luis Alberto Urrea, Matt Mendez, Octavio Quintanilla, Beth Alvarado, Edward Vidaurre, Carmen Calatayud, Pam Uschuk, and William Root.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, CALL US AT 970-903-7914 OR SEND US AN EMAIL TO CUTTHROATMAG@GMAIL.COM”

Better Late than Never: Eleven Ebooks for Bilingual Press

Melinda Palacio

Photo by Nell Campbell

Last month, I received news that my 2011 novel, Ocotillo Dreams, was now available as an ebook. I pestered Bilingual Press to make my title available at the time of publication. Four years ago, it wasn't standard for University Presses to automatically publish an electronic version in addition to a hardcover and paperback. My first experience with Arizona State University's Bilingual Press was with a short story in Latinos in Lotusland: an Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature in 2008. In 2008, editor and fellow Bloguero, Daniel Olivas, did not anticipate having an electronic version of the Latino literary anthology. As a contributor to Latinos in Lotusland, I'm happy to see that there is an ebook now available. Also, Lucrecia Guerrero's Tree of Sighs was on the list, as well as Stella Pope Duarte's Fragile Night, published in 1997. However, the winner for longest wait goes to Ron Arias, whose book, Road to Tamazunchale, was published in 1987 and predates electronic media technology. While I'm glad for these electronic titles, I'm still clinging to paper bound books and do not own a special device for reading electronic books. I have a few books on my cell phone, but I can't say I've read a title cover to cover. Before receiving the following email and announcement of the new 11 ebook titles, I stumbled on the electronic version of Ocotillo Dreams by accident. 

Ocotillo Dreams

Eleven Bilingual Press titles now available as ebooks

The Bilingual Press is pleased to announce that it has released 11 of its titles as ebooks. The titles are Stars Always Shine by Rick Rivera; Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature, edited by Daniel A. Olivas; Tree of Sighs by Lucrecia Guerrero; Barefoot Heart and Corazón Descalzo by Elva Treviño Hart; Road to Tamazunchale by Ron Arias; Memories of Development by Edmundo Desnoes; Fragile Night by Stella Duarte Pope; Heart-Shaped Cookies by David Rice; Ocotillo Dreams by Melinda Palacio; and The Scoundrel and the Optimist by Maceo Montoya.

They are available through Amazon, Apple iTunes Store, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Overdrive.

The project to convert the titles to ebook formats was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

***Here's An Early Announcement. Save the Date.***

April 18, 7pm

Because April is the ever busy National Poetry Month, I thought I'd give everyone a preview of this event, curated by Marisela Norte:

Cut Along The Line: An evening of readings in conjunction with The Big Read
Saturday, April 18 | 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30) at Craft and Folk Art Museum
A small reception with the poets will follow the evening's reading
Free
In celebration of Luis Alberto Urrea's novel Into The Beautiful North, writer Marisela Norte brings together authors Luis Alfaro, Melinda Palacio and Kenji Liu for a reading of poetry and prose on the immigrant imagination, erasing borders and the great divide. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. More information can be found at www.NEABigRead.org.
RSVP requested to rsvp@cafam.org

In Good Company, a Week of Literary Love

Melinda Palacio

All week, I felt so nervous and excited I couldn't sleep. There was so much good news and so much seemed to be happening this week in New Orleans, my home away from home. Over the weekend, I found out my poetry book was a finalist for the Binghamton University Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award. The website has yet to be updated to reflect the 2013 winner, but shows that Martin Espada won the prize last year. This year the Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award went to Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Marilyn Nelson, for Faster Than Light: New and Selected Poems, judged by Charlie Rossiter. Finalist for the poetry book prize include Paola Corso, Natalie Diaz, Colleen J. McElroy, Heather McNaugher, and Peter Serchuck.

Recording my poetry book for WRBH, session one. Next week, I finish reading the book, air time TBA.

Monday rolled around after the good news and a packed weekend in New Orleans. At 10:30, I began recording How Fire Is a Story,Waiting for WRBH, radio for the blind. I learned about WRBH while flipping through stations on the local radio and I heard a novel being read. I was impressed by listening to news stories being read alongside poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. I finish recording my poetry book next week. Originally, I had auditioned to read the news for the station, but the director was familiar with my work. I was bumped up to celebrity status.

Nordette Adams, Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane, Jim Davis, Melinda Palacio, Darrel Bourque, Gina Ferrara

Two days later, I also felt like a celebrity because I was asked by Julie Kane, Louisiana's Poet Laureate, to participate in the JustListen to Yourself event. The name of the event isn't a judgment on my diligent marketing, in fact, I'm not sure who thought up the name, but it's a fun hour of Louisiana poets reading poetry to state employees during the lunch hour at the State Library. I was honored to be included as Louisiana poet by marriage, even if I only live in New Orleans part time. Laura Mullen, a candidate for the next Louisiana Poet Laureate, was also from California, and strangely enough, also from Santa Barbara.

Discussing Luis Alberto Urrea's Into the Beautiful North for the NEA's Big Read Program and CD

Thursday duty called in the form of the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA asked me to contribute to the conversation and CD for their Big Read pick which will be Luis Alberto Urrea's Into the Beautiful North. Luis Urrea is one of my favorite authors and I admire how seamlessly he writes fiction, poetry, and non-fiction with a lyrical and humorous style. I was honored that they asked me to contribute to the national conversation on this year's Big Read pick. The NEA reserved studio space at WWNO in New Orleans. My second radio visit in one week. Back to the drawing board.

Events, Events, and More Events

Saturday, April 13, 2013, The Poetry Zone presents a special reading for National Poetry Month at the Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21 W. Anampamu, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. If you are in the central coast, enjoy this free event and reception.

Next week, the Los Angeles Times Book Festival takes place, April 20-21. I will be on the Writing American Identity Panel (Conversation 1134) with Reyna Grande, Luis J. Rodriguez, David Treuer, and our interviewer Hector Tobar at Taper Hall, THH 201 at 3:30 pm, Saturday April 20.

La Bloga's Olga Garcia wrote a beautiful post about the women writers at Eastside Cafe in El Sereno. Alejandra Sanchez, creator of Weavings Words, Creating Worlds Workshop will read at Beyond Baroque's Hitched Series with Abel Salas, Mat Sedillo, and David Romero, Sunday April 21 from 5pm -7pm.

April 25, Melinda Palacio will be the featured poet for National Poetry Month at the Jefferson Parish Library, 4747 W Napoleon Ave, Metairie, LA 70001 at 7pm.

April 26, Melinda Palacio joins LSU Poets for a National Poetry Month Finale in Baton Rouge at the LSU Student Union, 7pm.

Special Announcements:
Sunday, Look for an interview with Daniel Olivas and Melinda Palacio in the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Martin Espada in the news. Drumroll Please:

Martin Espada wins Shelley Memorial Award. Photo by Melinda Palacio

Announcing the 2013 Shelley Memorial Award, Martín Espada and Lucia Perillo

Librotraficante in New York Guest Post. La Bloga Represents in Brooklyn.

Rich Villar adjust the mic for Librotraficante and banned book author, Martín Espada 

The Decisive Act: On Orwell, Arizona, and 50 For Freedom

by Rich Villar, special to La Bola

They didn't show up, and I shouldn't be surprised.  A press release was generated, an email address and phone number was distributed, the messages went to the right people, and my phone didn't ring, and no messages hit my inbox.  None of them showed up, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, because there are always more important things to be discussed, like Mitt Romney's ignorance about the physics of airplane cabin pressure, or striking football referees, or the technical specs behind the iPhone 5.

There will be no articles written, no reporting, no witness from the press (except for what we do on our own, clearly).  They've got to report on the Presidential election, and the issues surrounding our economy, and health care, and illegal immigration.  No time for a bunch of rabble rousers talking about banned books, books you can still buy on Amazon.  Because if you can still buy things on Amazon, then all is well.

Did you know that Amazon once banned George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm?  Of all the books to ban.  Supposedly it was a dispute over rights, but it led to a massive outcry—similar, it could be said, to the outcry over Tucson's book ban.  But it's okay, Amazon said at the time, because it offered refunds to the buyers.  Point being, the technology to control what you read exists.  Point being, if Arizona had known this sooner, perhaps they wouldn't have to physically remove any books from the classroom.

Let's be clear.  The issues in Arizona are only peripherally about books.  Though it should be said, the first thing you do—if your aim to disappear a nation—is to throw their literature in the trash.  Burn it, ban it, box it, just don't read it.  And so they did just that, Arizona: they banned the books, and they boxed the books, and they made the Mexican-American Studies program in Tucson disappear, along with their teachers, along with any mention of it in the schools.  Ah, but they told us, they reassured us, that the books are not banned.  They just can't be used to teach Mexican-Americans about being Mexican-American.  And they told the rest of their teachers, that any attempt to teach any of the banned literature, all 80 titles on the list (it should scare you, to death, that there's a banned books list, and that it used to be a curriculum), could result in their termination, should any complaint about their rabble-rousing content be raised by a concerned parent.  Or, anyone, really.

This is where the story ended, even after Tony Diaz and the group Librotraficante had the audacity to quote the law in public, show its unconstitutional application toward one group of people, report to us the students' discontent, and organize a series of panels and lectures around the years-long battle between Arizona and the teachers, which is still ongoing in the courts.  They told us about the school district suing the former teachers for damages.  They told us about the threats to other people's jobs, to keep them in line, to silence them.  And they (meaning Luis Urrea) told us about the Orwellian implications of banning books, unbanning Shakespeare, and rewriting history, and covering themselves in doublethink and Newspeak.

Aurora Anaya-Cerda, owner of La Casa Azul Bookstore welcomes the SRO crowd, along with Rich Villar

We gathered, though the press did not, last Friday at the 50 For Freedom of Speech reading, because this is not simply about banning books.  Banned author Martín Espada knows that; which is why, when I asked him to do the reading, he brought himself from Amherst, Masschusetts, on his own dime, to be with us, the very night before another reading in Boston.  And banned author Luis Urrea knows that; that's why he drove straight to La Casa Azul from the airport when Tony Diaz made the call.  (And Tony flew up from Houston himself.)  It's about freedom, the fundamental right to know that down is down, and up is up, and that 2 + 2 = 4. 

Sergio Troncoso, Tony Díaz, Martín Espada, Melinda Palacio, Luis Alberto Urrea

What do you think it means when a government entity does not want you to read a book called 500 Years of Chicano History?  Do you honestly believe it has anything to do with the ideology of the authors?  Has anyone in the state of Arizona actually met these authors on the banned list?  They are not concerned with how well the students do in school.  They've admitted that much: despite the success of the program in sending children to college, the program was cancelled anyway.  The state of Arizona is concerned with what, and how, children learn in school.  But it is not the facts they're concerned about, specifically.  It's the narrative they're worried about.  The story.  They are concerned, as Big Brother was concerned, with controlling the past; as Orwell points out to us, whoever controls the past controls the future.

The United States has a past that it would like to forget.  The United States has, in its past, summarily executed brown people, Hispanics and Latinos from every walk of life.  The trouble for Arizona, and everywhere else, is that there are history scholars, activists, students, thinking people, some with U.S. college educations, who had the audacity to write textbooks, and to think to themselves the following: Hispanics and Latinos did not drop from the clear blue sky, or from some mystical war-drawn border.  In Arizona, we're actually learning the same story again, about whitewashed history, and changed facts, and misleading narrative.  We're learning about context, the same kind of context that created activists like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez, Pedro Albizu Campos, Lolita Lebron, and James Baldwin, who was also banned in Arizona.  Today, it's Mexican-Americans.  Take you pick as to who's next.  Who's due, as it were.  Where the fire will be next time.

If Chicanos have a context, and a history, before the advent of white supremacy, before the advent of European conquest or Pax Americana, there might be a reason for them to walk a little straighter, to understand their histories in context, to see themselves in a continuum from Aztlan, to zoot suits, to The House on Mango Street.  500 years ago, Chicanos existed.  Africa existed.  Latinos existed.  They had just different names.  When will we learn these names?

And when will the media learn to write long pieces about the systemic dismantling of civil rights?  When will they show up to poetry readings by authors on the banned list, in community spaces like La Casa Azul bookstore, in other states besides Arizona and Texas?  When will they tell you about Latinos uniting against their own genocide?  When will they tell you about the counterspells being cast by poets and writers, the ones who still believe in language, and history, and meaning, and roots?

Maybe when they find themselves being downsized, or commanded what to say, by their bosses, by their governments, by financial concerns.  Maybe that day is already here.

What's left for us, poets, Latinos, is to wake up and understand what is happening, to understand it in the context of lightning-fast information being passed and passed over.  We have to speak, and we have to speak often, in new ways and old ways, to keep these fights fresh.  And we must always be ready to tell the world our history, never tiring of the truth, never weary when people tell you they don't get it.  Never scared when the media doesn't show up.

Rich Villar at La Casa Azul (Luis Urrea posing for another photo in background)

And we have to remember love:  that's what was present in massive amounts last Friday at the Casa Azul, and in many places around the country, reading banned literature out loud, casting counterspells into the universe to reverse the trends, defy conventional wisdom, and survive the way we always have.  We have to remember love because our children thrive on it, because we thrive on it, because we will not become automatons unless we allow ourselves to be.  We have to remember love, because love banishes indifference, and because love will keep us rooted, our histories intact, our people whole.

Remember love, now and until the day you die, by reading every book that the state of Arizona tells you not to.  Read them, and quote from them, and steep your children in them.  Love every day, and do not give in to indifference.

While you're at it, write some of these things down.

"To mark the paper was the decisive act."

–George Orwell, 1984

***

Some of Melinda's photos from last weekend's Brooklyn Book Festival

Melinda Palacio works the crowd at the Brooklyn Book Festival

Lucrecia Guerrero, Luis Alberto Urrea, Melinda Palacio, Toni Margarita Plummer, and Reyna Grande at the Brooklyn Book Festival

A trip to Brooklyn would not be complete without a walk across the  Brooklyn Bridge. 

Melinda Palacio and Reyna Grande sightsee.

Toni Margarita Plummer and Melinda Palacio

La Bloga's Melinda Palacio will make a return trip to New York for the Las Comadres y Compadres Writers Conference, Saturday, October 6 in Brooklyn, NY. Don't miss the poetry panel moderated by Rich Villar.

Bloguero Garcia en Albuquerque mañana

LaBloga-ero Rudy Ch. Garcia will do a reading & signing of his Chicano fantasy novel tomorrow Sat. Sept. 29th at 2:00pm in the National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 4th St. SW, in Albuquerque. Please inform anyone you think might be interested. The Closet of Discarded Dreams on sale for $16. (NHCC contact Greta Pullen 505-724-4752)

Spring is Bustin' Out With ... Writers

This next week is busy busy with literary events throughout Colorado. Here are a few.

2012 Evil Companions Literary Award

The Oxford Hotel is proud to host the 2012 Evil Companion Luis Alberto Urrea

Thursday, April 12, 2012
The Oxford Hotel – 1637 Wazee Street, Denver
Valet parking available for $10

6 p.m. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
7 p.m. Award presentation and author remarks
Book signing will immediately follow

Purchase tickets securely online

Tickets: $70
Patron Tickets: $150 (includes signed book & signed event poster)
Book Club Special: ten tickets for $600
Students & Educators: $60
Proceeds benefit the Denver Public Library

Luis Alberto Urrea, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph.

Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Urrea has published extensively in all the major genres. The critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 14 books, Urrea has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. The Devil's Highway, his 2004 non-fiction account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, won the Lannan Literary Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize.

Urrea's 2010 novel, Into the Beautiful North, imagines a small town in Mexico where all the men have immigrated to the U.S. The Hummingbird’s Daughter, an historical novel, tells the story of Teresa Urrea, sometimes known as the Saint of Cabora and the Mexican Joan of Arc. In November, 2011, the sequel to The Hummingbird’s Daughter, Queen of America, was released to widespread critical acclaim.

Urrea lives with his family in Naperville, IL, where he is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Luis Alberto Urrea's books:
Queen of America
Into the Beautiful North
The Hummingbird’s Daughter
Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush
The Devil’s Highway
Nobody’s Son: Notes from an American Life
Six Kinds of Sky
Vatos
In Search of Snow
Wandering Time: Western Notebooks
Ghost Sickness: A Book of Poems
By the Lake of Sleeping Children
The Fever of Being
Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border

The Evil Companions Literary Award is presented annually in April to a poet or writer who embodies the spirit of the original Evil Companions. The award pays homage to a group of Denver writers who met in the 1950s and '60s to drink and discuss writing, and dubbed themselves the Evil Companions.

The Evil Companions
Working to preserve the memory of the original Evil Companions are Joyce Meskis, owner of the Tattered Cover Book Store, Dana Crawford, owner of the Oxford Hotel, and Colorado State University Professor of English, David Milofsky. The trio created the literary award and its accompanying event to promote and build upon Denver’s deserved reputation as a center for writing and literature. The Evil Companions event has now become a local favorite. Proceeds from the event benefit the Denver Public Library.

Become a fan of Evil Companions on Facebook!

Celebrating 20 Years of Evil Companionship.

Contemplative Education as a Catalyst for Social Justice: Art as the Communicator and Organizer of Action

Date: Wednesday, April 11th
Spoken Word Performance at 6pm
Location: Naropa University, Arapahoe Campus, Student Center, Boulder, Colorado

Three Naropa alumni will explore the intersections between contemplative education, art, social justice, and service. More so they will examine how these concepts do not exist exclusively of each other rather exist as components of larger whole which propel and support each other. Drawing from their experiences the
presenters will address this phenomenon as art and action.

Free to all members of the community!
Co-Sponsored by: The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics & The Missing Peace

Lora Fike is a writer and public servant hailing from the Land of Cold Air, Minnesota. She recently finished her bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Peace Studies, Writing & Literature, and Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University. Since graduating she has worked in Boulder with the "I Have a Dream" Foundation as an after-school Program Coordinator with at-promise youth ranging from 4th-10th grade. Her translations of Rosario Castellanos' poetry were published in Naropa's literary journal Bombay Gin, issue 37.2. She is passionate about spoken word poetry and can be found performing at Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez events in Boulder County.

Luis Humberto Valadez is a writer/musician/performer emanating from Chicago Heights, IL. Since graduating from The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, he has worked actively as an artist, educator, and community servant. His first book of poetry “what iʼm on” was published by University of Arizona Press in 2009. His first extended play release “wat ahm on (ep)” was released by Last Minute Records 2009. He performs regularly and has an album and chapbook being released this spring. He currently works as Program Director for Chicago HOPES, an afterschool education and arts program provided in homeless shelters and as a teaching artist with Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education.

Tim Z. Hernandez is an award winning writer and performer originally from California. His debut collection of poetry, Skin Tax, received the 2006 American Book Award, and his debut novel, Breathing, In Dust was featured on NPRʼs All Things Considered. It went on to receive the 2010 Premio Aztlan Prize in
Fiction, and a 2010 International Latino Book Award, and was a finalist for the California Book Award. In 2011, Hernandez was named one of sixteen New American Poets by the Poetry Society of America. He is a frequent visiting author at Universities and institutions across the U.S. and has performed in venues such as L.A.ʼs Getty Center, Stanford University, Dixon Experimental Theater in New York City, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He holds a B.A. in Writing & Literature from Naropa University, and an M.F.A. from Bennington College in Vermont. He currently lives in Colorado and works for the Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book.

Tim & Luis will also be performing at The Laughing Goat on Monday, April 9th.
For more information, contact Megan Frewaldt at mfrewaldt@naropa.edu

This Festival is sponsored and brought to you by Friends of the Longmont Library.

To learn more about the Friends and support their activities and programs please visit their website.

All programs below are presented FREE to the public through the generosity of the Friends of the Longmont Library.

The line-up of events:

Monday April 9, 7:00 - 9:00 PM

The Grand Kick-Off Party!

Join us for food, music and the introduction of our anthology, The You Belong Collection: Writings and Illustrations by Longmont Area Residents, as we kick off the week's activities. The book will be available for purchase at the Kick-Off Party for $15/copy. For more information click here.

Tuesday April 10, 7:00 - 8:30 PM

Jayme Stone Concert

World renowned banjoist Jayme Stone and his bandmates take us on a world tour.

Wednesday April 11, 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Manuel Ramos

Denver-based lawyer and award-winning crime fiction author Manuel Ramos will present an author talk and offer a book signing in the Library Meeting Rooms.

Thursday April 12, 7:00 - 8:00 PM Presentation, 8:00 - 9:00 PM Reception

Kathy Brandt

Undersea diver, mystery writer, and Bi-polar disorder advocate Kathy Brandt will present an author talk at 7:00 PM at the Central Presbyterian Church, followed by a reception and book signing in the Library meeting rooms.

Friday April 13, 2:00 - 5:00 PM

Colorado Authors Open House and Book Signing

Over 70 Colorado authors will be on hand to sign their books and talk one-on-one to visitors.

Friday April 13, 7:00 - 8:00 PM Presentation, 8:00 - 9:00 PM Reception

Gail Carson Levine

Newbery Honor Recipient Gail Carson Levine will present an author talk at 7:00 PM at the Central Presbyterian Church, followed by a reception and book signing in the Library meeting rooms. This event is free, but tickets are required for the author talk due to limited space. Tickets available beginning April 2nd at the Children's & Teen Services desk. No tickets or registration are required for the reception & book signing.

Saturday April 14, 10:00 AM - NOON

Creative Writing Workshop for Young People

Gail Carson Levine will present a writing workshop for tweens & teens ages 10-18. This event is free, but due to limited space, interested youth must apply to participate. Pick up an application at the Children's & Teen Services desk between March 1st - March 30th. Applications are due April 2nd. For more information about this event, call Children's & Teen Services at 303-651-8477

Saturday April 14, 1:00 - 5:00 PM

Melanie Tem and Steve Rasnic Tem

Join dark fantasy authors and Bram Stoker Award winners Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem as they present readings, storytellings and a basic writing workshop.

Saturday April 14, 6:00 - 9:00 PM

The Library After Dark for Grades 6 - 12

Make plans to attend a special evening just for teens! Gaming, food, movies, prizes, body art, and special performances all happening after the library closes Saturday, April 14th from 6:00 - 9:00 pm.
Register at the Library or by phone at 303-651-8477.

Sunday April 15, 2:00 - 3:30 PM

Steve Jenkins

Join Caldecott Honor Recipient Steve Jenkins for a presentation about writing and illustrating books. For ages 6 and up. This event is free, but due to space limitations, registration is required. Stop by the Children's & Teen Services desk or call 303-651-8477 to register beginning March 1st.

Sponsored by Longmont Public Library and Friends of the Longmont Library

Later.

Perfecting Tree of Sighs: Spotlight on Lucrecia Guerrero

Lucrecia Guerrero’s debut novel, Tree of Sighs, Bilingual Review Press, took many different routes and forms in the rough draft stage. The author of the short story collection, Chasing Shadows, thought about starting her novel with the third section of the book, In the Presence of Memory. Even in draft form, the narrative was so compelling portions of the work-in-progress won a Christopher Isherwood Foundation Award. She also tried different points of view before settling on a closer first person. A first person narrative works well for a story with a protagonist whose Mexican identity, Altagracia, is erased as a child. Altagracia, later, Grace must piece together her Mexican past before moving forward into adulthood.

The wind plays an important role in Tree of Sighs and Guerrero says her Nogales upbringing brought to life the many stories surrounding the wind. The idea of spirituality in nature is where Tree of Sighs gains its strength.

“Growing up in Nogales, the wind is always there. It’s something that sticks in your mind. As a kid, I liked the sound of the wind through the trees. It seemed as if it were carrying voices.”

The ease in which the author discusses both sides of the border fortifies this bi-cultural tale. Guerrero’s own life parallels the dual US/Mexican cultures. Lucrecia’s mother is from Kentucky and her father is from Puebla. When her parents divorced, the divide between them grew bigger as Guerrero moved away from the Mexican border to live with her mother in Ohio.

However, the stories her Mexican tías told her of looking for the treasure of Pancho Villa, of a stolen girl from Nogales returned to her family, and of women enslaved in prostitution inform the details in her novel. Guerrero prefers a positive spin of strength when portraying abused children who have no power, such as her protagonist, Altagracia, a survivor of abuse.

The author herself has a strong sense of self and feels comfortable writing within both cultures. As a tall blond, blue-eyed woman, her international students don’t think she is “American” while others type cast her looks and would never assume she is Mexican; she was once warned at a greyhound station not to talk to Mexicans. Call her what you will, Guerrero feels grateful to incorporate her rich heritage into her writing. “It’s such a gift to write,” she said. “I always tell people, if you have a gift, you have an obligation.”

This Week in Ohio

Lucrecia Guerrero will teach at the Antioch Writer’s Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, July 9-15 during the afternoon, fiction seminar.

Looking Ahead: Next month, August 12, Denver, The Tattered Cover

Lucrecia Guerrero and La Bloga's Melinda Palacio will read from their debut novels, both Tree of Sighs and Ocotillo Dreams, are published by Bilingual Review Press this year. Both authors will sign books at the Tattered Cover, Colfax location, Friday, August 12 at 7:30 pm, 2526 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO, 80206.

Back in Califas, the San Diego One Book Voting Is until August 5 at Noon

Vote for the San Diego One Book. In the running are La Bloga friend, Luis Urrea, Into the Beautiful North, currently second place, début novel, Sky of Red Poppies, by Zohreh Ghahremani, taking first place, and Molokai by Alan Brennert in third.

Of Lucrecia Guerrero's Tree of Sighs, Luis Alberto Urrea says, "I have been following Lucrecia Guerrero's writing for several years with great pleasure and fascination. Tree of Sighs takes her art to a whole new level. Full, alive, and stately. This novel really delivers."

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush

Luis Alberto Urrea's fantastic short story Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush was recently published by Cinco Puntos Press as a graphic text with illustrations by renowned artist and political muralist Christopher Cardinale.

As the story unfolds, we soon realize why Cardinale was indeed the perfect artist for this project. Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush is the story of a graffiti artist, "Rey de Graffiti en todo México", whose paintbrush is always ready to denounce injustice, hypocrisy or simple ill-manners in whatever surface is available at the time... If you'd like to read my review, you can find it here.

Warning: this is not for kids! I found my 6-year old reading it intently, especially the part in which Mr. Mendoza's paintbrush strikes the narrator's buttocks. She thought it was hysterical...

NHCC Literary Prizes; Tomás Rivera Conference; Melinda Palacio at Tia Chucha

Michael Sedano

National Hispanic Cultural Center Awards Two Literary Prizes

The National Hispanic Cultural Center and the National Latino Writers Conference is pleased to announce the winners of the NHCC’s two literary awards. The first is the Premio Aztlán awarded to an emerging author who shows promise as a writer. The second is the bi-annual NHCC Literary Award given to an established writer with an impressive body of work and who has impacted the productivity and success of other writers.


Luis Alberto Urrea has won the NHCC Literary Award for the breadth of his work in non-fiction, poetry, novel, short fiction, essay and memoir. Mr. Urrea has published fourteen books and several titles are forthcoming. He has been a past faculty member of the National Latino Writers Conference. From his presence at the NLWC we know him to be generous with his attention and knowledge in a workshop setting.

Urrea has been the recipient of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize for fiction, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for non-fiction, winner of the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for non-fiction, the Premio Fronterizo Award/Border Book Festival, the Latino Literary Hall of Fame award and the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, among others. Luis Urrea is presently a Professor of English/Creative Writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The selection committee for 2010 included: Francisco Aragón, director of Letras Latinas, the Institute for Latino Studies literary program at Notre Dame University; Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Chair and professor of the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies; Rigoberto González, Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University; E.A. Tony Mares, Professor Emeritus of English, University of New Mexico; and Demetria Martínez, author, activist, lecturer and columnist.

Other nominees included: Francisco X. Alarcón, Alurista, Gloria Anzaldúa, Norma Cantú, Ana Castillo, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Ray Gonzalez, Juan Felipe Herrera, Graciela Limón, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, John Phillip Santos, Sabine Ullibarrí, and Helena María Viramontes.

The National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award has been given since 2002. Past award recipients include: Rudolfo Anaya, Denise Chávez, Pat Mora and Martín Espada. The award will be presented to Luis Alberto Urrea on Friday evening May 21st during the National Latino Writers Conference banquet. The NHCC Literary Prize is $2,500.00 and Mr. Urrea will be in attendance to accept the award and make remarks to the National Latino Writers Conference.

Gloria Zamora, a native New Mexican has been awarded the Premio Aztlan for her book, Sweet Nata: Growing Up in Rural New Mexico. Her book was one of the most successful titles published by the University of New Mexico press in 2009.

The Premio Aztlán was established in 1993 by famous local author Rudolfo Anaya and his wife Patricia, who passed away several months ago. Established at the University of New Mexico, the Premio Aztlán was moved to the National Hispanic Cultural Center in 2008 as part of the Center’s annual National Latino Writer’s conference. The conference will be held May 19-22, 2010 for the eighth consecutive year and draws writers from throughout the country.

Ms. Zamora will offer a short lecture at this year’s conference, where she will receive a prize of $1,000.

The selection Committee for 2010 included: Rudolfo Anaya, Professor Emeritus (creative writing), University of New Mexico; Orlando Romero, Angélico Chávez Library (retired); María Teresa Márquez, UNM Zimmerman Library (retired); Rafaela Castro, UC Davis, Shields Library (retired) and Greta Pullen, NHCC Senior Librarian.

Tomás Rivera Conference at UCR Focus on Latino Health

Click image for a magnified view. Click title, above, for additional conference details.

The University of California, Riverside is generating intense interest for Latino medical issues among Inland Empire cities including Redlands, San Bernardino, Riverside, Yucaipa, and Cucamonga; Bryn Mawr, Loma Linda, Hemet, Fontana, Banning, Beaumont, and Palm Desert, home to thousands of medical professionals and millions of patients.

Tomás Rivera is a pioneering Chicano writer and educator. Rivera became the UC system's first Chicano Chancellor in 1979, eight years following publication of Rivera's magical novel, ...y no se lo tragó la tierra with Octavio Romano and Herminio Rios' celebrated Quinto Sol Press, later re-published by Arte Publico Press. Rivera died in May 1984.

The University of California, Riverside reflects Rivera's polymathic interests with its annual Tomás Rivera Conference. Conference themes have ranged across the full spectrum of knowledge and art, from literature to law, film to medicine, activism to business. The 2010 conference, the twenty-third in the series, includes lectures, discussions, poetry readings, and an art exhibit.

The Tomás Rivera Conference is funded and coordinated by UCR Tomás Rivera Endowment/Department of Creative Writing and co-sponsored by UCR Chicano Student Programs, the Tomás Rivera Library – and Special Collections, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences F1rst, Department of Theatre, Palm Desert Graduate Center, Riverside City College-Academic Support Program and the Inlandia Institute of Riverside. Added generous support comes from Mrs. Concha Rivera, Chancellor Tim White and Dean Stephen Cullenberg.

Melinda Palacio Reads from Folsom Lockdown



Melinda Palacio's recently released chapbook, Folsom Lockdown, from Glen Ellen CA's Kulupi Press, presents 22 superbly compact poems that won Palacio the publisher's Sense of Place Chapbook Contest.

Hearing Palacio read adds to her distinctive work depth that can be enjoyed only via the spoken word. Melinda reads with precise articulation at a comfortable pace that gives every word its own space in one's ear. She reads from individual sheets rather than the book. Her distinctive vocalics and aural smile imbue the reading with the poet's joy in creativity, adding dimensions that challenge her poetry's intense emotion and often violent events.

Buy the chapbook in advance and read along for a truly involving experience with text. If Melinda Palacio reads in your neighborhood, consider attendance de rigueur for you and your friends.

You can buy Folsom Lockdown at Tia Chucha's, or directly from Kulupi Press for gente outside San Fernando. Help your friends discover Melinda Palacio with a gift of the $12 title. Perhaps your local brick and mortar bookseller would be open to stocking copies, if you place your order locally. A ver.

That's the view from this final Martes of March, a Martes like any other Martes, except You Are Here. Thank you for visiting La Bloga. See you next week as we test one poet's insight that April is the cruelest month. Shall we see lilacs blooming?

les wachamos.

mvs

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