Interview with Manuel Ramos (¡y reseña!)

Manuel Ramos

LG: Can you tell me a bit about the selection process for this collection of stories? What thread(s) run through them all?

MR:  The first cut for selection was to include all my published stories up to the date of publication of The Skull. Then we added a few new ones that had not yet been published.  The stories primarily deal with Mexican Americans and their experiences in the United States and are in a variety of formats -- some are crime fiction, some are historical, Chicano noir, flash fiction, others are simply stories. I think the collection says something about the lives of my characters that others can relate to, even if only for the brief time it takes to read a short story.

LG: The stories span almost three decades… Do they reflect your trajectory as a writer? What characterized your early fiction, and what fuels your later writings?

MR:  Yes, the collection includes my first published short story, "White Devils and Cockroaches," as well as recent and more experimental pieces. I hope the reader will see development in me as a writer over the years, but I also am proud of the early stories, of course, and am pleased that they have been gathered in one place, so to speak.

My early fiction often reflected the politics of the times. I frequently wrote about the harsh (and beautiful) realities of Chicano life in the United States, but I also wanted to tell good stories without beating readers over the head with an ideological club.  Today, the basic idea of telling a good story is the "fuel" of my writing projects.  But a good story means a believable plot that resonates with readers and that reflects universal conflicts and aspirations, and characters that readers will care for (even if they don't necessarily like the characters.) So, I may be trying to do the same thing today as when I first started to write fiction, more than thirty years ago.

LG: Why is the last section called “Chicanismo”?   

MR: This section features five stories that, at first read, are very different from one another. For example, "La Visión de Mi Madre" is an early story that I like to say is my "La Llorona" story - a story that, in my opinion, almost every Chicana/o writer has to tell in one form or another. Meanwhile, "2012" is very recent and is an exploration of point-of-view and voice.  The narrator is a modern professional dealing with 21st century anxieties.  "Kite Lesson" was published early in my career and, years later, became a chapter in my recent novel "King of the Chicanos."  Just like Latinos in the U.S., the stories are dissimilar in many ways but they also share important similarities. Three of the stories feature young boys in coming-of-age situations, in the 1950s; the other two have urban, contemporary settings. One common aspect all these stories have, I believe, is a "feel," an intangible emotion shared by the characters as they confront life as Chicanos (Mexican Americans in the U.S.). And for many of my characters, life in the U.S. indeed has been a confrontation. That feeling, that intangible, that response to the confrontation, is a huge part of what I think of as "Chicanismo" and that is in these stories, to one degree or another.  

LG: The women in your stories seem not-so-bright, yet… Is this more characteristic of noir as a genre than a reflection of Latino culture?

MR:  Well, I don’t agree that all my women characters are not-so-bright.  Corrine, for example, in “The Skull of Pancho Villa,” obviously is in better shape, mentally and otherwise, than her brother, Gus Corral.  I could point out other examples, but to get to the point of your question – “less-than-bright” women certainly are not a reflection of Latino culture. Our culture has smart and dumb people, men and women, as well as good and bad, lovers and haters, etc. Fiction will deal with all types of characters, and the various genres, like noir, will portray a wide range of human interactions and emotions among these characters.  A “less-than-bright” woman is not a characteristic of noir, but “less-than-bright” women may appear in noir stories, just as they may appear in other types of fiction.

Having said all that, it’s important to acknowledge that many of my stories are about criminals or people on the edge of disaster.  These people are about to make a big mistake, or have already done so.  Criminals usually are not the brightest people – noir crime fiction often points that out.  The main character, male or female, may be doomed from the beginning because of his or her mistakes, or because the gods are against him or her (fate.)  So, in that sense, a “not-so-bright” woman (or man) often show up in a noir story as the main or a primary character.

Thank you, Manuel, for your kind answers.
Denver, CO
5/27/15 

This interview came about as I was reading The Skull of Pancho Villa for review in EFE-Libros (see review below). Unfortunately, the news agency released an archive photo of the wrong author!!! So most links to this review online will show a photo of Víctor Manuel Ramos, not our Bloga brother, Manuel Ramos. In an attempt to correct this, here's the review with the proper photographic accompaniment:

 

  Colección de cuentos que destacan el valor universal de la identidad chicana

Denver (CO), 27 may (EFEUSA).- La nueva colección de cuentos del escritor Manuel Ramos, “The Skull of Pancho Villa”, rescata temas significativos para la literatura chicana y les da un giro irónico a menudo disfrazado de tragedia. Poetas, borrachos, veteranos y rancheros son algunos de los personajes que transitan por las páginas de esta amena colección.

La selección de cuentos cubre casi tres décadas de creación literaria, evidencia del puesto que ha ocupado Ramos sostenidamente en las letras chicanas.

“Creo que la colección cuenta algo sobre las vidas de mis personajes con lo cual otras personas se pueden relacionar, aunque sea por el breve tiempo que toma leer un cuento”, dijo Ramos a Efe.

Aunque la mayoría de los cuentos tratan temas universales, la colección evidencia una gran diversidad de género que incluye desde ficción histórica, ficción flash, hasta historias de crimen y Chicano noir. En su novelística, Ramos se ha destacado en la detectivesca y el género negro tanto por sus evocadores escenarios como por la precisión del diálogo, características que se evidencian también en su ficción corta.

La colección incluye también un cuento en verso, “El olor de la cebolla”, que relata el aislamiento del inmigrante y la transmutación de la nostalgia en el exilio económico del trabajador agrícola.

Ramos también relata su versión de leyendas harto conocidas para lectores latinos, como la de La Llorona o la cabeza de Pancho Villa. Son leyendas sobre las cuales cada escritor chicano tiene su versión, explica Ramos.

En el caso de La Llorona, en “La visión de mi madre” Ramos combina el relato tradicional de la madre destinada a llorar a sus hijos eternamente tras haberlos ahogado en el río con el abandono que siente un joven soldado en Vietnam. El cuento se relata desde los últimos momentos en la vida del joven después que una bala le atravesó el vientre. En ese instante, el espíritu de su abuelo se le acerca y sosteniéndole la cabeza como a un bebé, le susurra algo en español al oído. De ahí nos transporta a su niñez, recuerdos marcados por la voz del abuelo, quien lo cuidó tras el abandono de sus padres. El niño de ocho años interpreta el llanto de La Llorona como el remordimiento de su propia madre al haberlo abandonado. El encuentro relata poéticamente el dolor de crecer y la desilusión que a menudo le acompaña, de la cual no se descansa hasta el verdadero final.

El cuento “The Skull of Pancho Villa” que le da título a la colección se inspira en el robo de la cabeza de Pancho Villa. Según cuenta la leyenda, en 1926 un buscafortunas le cortó la cabeza al cadáver y esta, supuestamente, llegó a manos de un prominente estadounidense al norte del Río Grande. En esta versión la cabeza queda en la familia de Alberto Corral, un chicano de Los Ángeles también presente en el panteón, pero quien desde entonces desapareció de las páginas de la historia como a menudo suele pasar con los personajes chicanos, añade el narrador.

La cabeza es símbolo de herencia y motivo de celebración y afecto para la familia hasta que misteriosamente desaparece de la nevera portátil donde estaba guardada. La maravillosa historia de la cabeza esconde temas de peso como la falta de confianza en el proceso legal y la justicia del barrio que eventualmente es lo único que puede ofrecer tranquilidad.

La colección también recoge los primeros escritos de ficción de Ramos, de la década del ochenta, que aun entonces ya reflejaban una compleja textura cubierta por un diálogo escueto.

“Mi ficción temprana a menudo reflejaba la política de la época”, dijo Ramos. “A menudo escribía sobre las ásperas -y hermosas- realidades de la vida chicana en Estados Unidos, pero también quería contar historias sin golpear a los lectores en la cabeza con un garrote ideológico”.

Por eso algunos de sus cuentos se refieren a situaciones humanas -amor, decepción, pobreza- con las cuales cualquier lector podría identificarse. Algunos de ellos están recogidos en la sección titulada “Amantes”, al tratar de situaciones comunes aunque en ambientes extraordinarios.

El propósito de forjar una trama universal y verosímil, explica, es algo que ha tenido en cuenta desde que comenzó a escribir sus primeras ficciones hace más de 30 años.

El cuento “Por qué Boston es su ciudad favorita”, toma lugar en un bar donde una joven le cuenta a un colega sobre cómo conoció a su novio y su inminente mudanza a Boston donde él reside. En pocas páginas repletas de diálogo se nos revela el proceso de enamoramiento a través de la palabra, de las imágenes que ella evoca, quizás coloreadas por la bebida, y la esperanza del futuro que el título y el final pronostican.

Aunque la mayoría de los cuentos se había publicado anteriormente, resulta conveniente tenerlos en un solo volumen para apreciar el hilo que hilvana esta colección miscelánea, lo que Ramos describe como “ese sentimiento intangible que comparten los personajes”.

Esa respuesta intangible a la confrontación, explica Ramos, “es gran parte de lo que abarca el ‘Chicanismo’, y es algo que está presente en estos cuentos en mayor o menor medida”.

(THE SKULL OF PANCHO VILLA. Manuel Ramos. Arte Público. 181 páginas).

Mango, Abuela, and Me/ Mango, Abuela y yo

by Meg Medina

Illustrated by Angela Dominguez

•             Age Range: 5 - 8 years
•             Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3
•             Hardcover: 32 pages
•             Publisher: Candlewick (August 25, 2015)
•             Language: English
•             ISBN-10: 0763669008
•             ISBN-13: 978-0763669003

When a little girl’s far-away grandmother comes to stay, love and patience transcend language in a tender story written by acclaimed author Meg Medina.

Mia’s abuela has left her sunny house with parrots and palm trees to live with Mia and her parents in the city. The night she arrives, Mia tries to share her favorite book with Abuela before they go to sleep and discovers that Abuela can’t read the words inside. So while they cook, Mia helps Abuela learn English ("Dough- Masa"), and Mia learns some Spanish too, but it’s still hard for Abuela to learn the words she needs to tell Mia all her stories. Then Mia sees a parrot in the pet-shop window and has the perfect idea for how to help them all communicate a little better. An endearing tale from an award-winning duo that speaks loud and clear about learning new things and the love that bonds family members.

Meg Medina is the Pura Belpre Award–winning author of several books for young readers, including the highly acclaimed YA novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and the picture book Tía Isa Wants a Car, for which she received an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Angela Dominguez has created many picture books, including Maria Had a Little Llama, for which she received a Pura Belpre Honor for illustration. She also teaches art at the Academy of Art University. She lives in San Francisco.

La Palabra Wraps May. Muralists of LA. On-line Floricanto Welcomes June. Submissions & Notes

5th May Sunday Brings La Palabra to Avenue 50 Studio
Michael Sedano

La Palabra hosted by Karineh Mahdessian ordinarily brightens the fourth--the final--Sunday of every month, but because May 2015's calendar quirk brought a fifth Sunday, La Palabra bided its time until the fifth, final, Sunday.

Dynamic hostess Karineh Mahdessian confessed to butterflies fifteen minutes before the two o'clock curtain. She looked across the empty main gallery of Highland Park's Avenue 50 Studio and saw an empty circle of chairs.

As La Palabra has proven year after year, month after month, people thronged through the front and side doors and by 2:00, Mahdessian was smiling broadly at the full house. Mejor, as the reading progressed, the house added visitors until La Palabra became an SRO event.

Featured Poets: Jenuine Poetess and Thelma Reyna

Tempus fugit! One of the featured readers, Jenuine Poetess, was on her way to LAX to board a flight to Italy. The ticketed passenger motivated the on-the-dot start.

Jenuine Poetess wrapped her reading and headed out the door toward her 100 Thousand Poets for Change event in Salerno. The next global 100TPC event comes in September. More information, and sign-ups here.

The second featured poet, Thelma Reyna followed the as-always fully subscribed Open Mic.

Reyna, Poet Laureate of Altadena, recently launched her ALTADENA POETRY REVIEW: ANTHOLOGY 2015. Reviewer Carol Davala observes, "This well-rounded book showcases work representing a broad spectrum of poetic style and subject matter, and it includes details indicative of spanning generations, cultural diversity, and a special blend of topical life experiences. From traditional formats to free-flowing verse, rhyming acrostics, elemental haiku and tankas, the poetic voices illuminate childhood memories, observe modern technology, and reflect on nature for both its beauty and consequences." Here's a link to the full review.

Thelma Reyna knows how to hold an audience. Today's reading threaded her work with a running commentary focused on a poet's sources of inspiration. She transitioned between readings telling biographical stories, current events items, and other material that lent her compositional urgency.

Among the places a poet finds poems is familia. Victor Reyna, Thelma's husband, beamed throughout the reading, knowing first-hand the sweat and tears that produced the works that Thelma reads so effectively, as if the poems were writing themselves in the moment.

Open Mic Frequent Guests and a Debut

Poetry at Avenue 50 Studio is a regular event, with La Palabra and the Bluebird series. The Open Mic sign-up fills quickly with local poets as well as visitors to the region making their first time presenting in Highland Park. 

Given the relaxed atmosphere, many sign with only their first name. Some poets arrive while the reading is in progress, or do not sign up yet elect to join the readers on-the-fly.

Karineh Mahdessian watches the time carefully but generously finds space for readers not on the list. "Anyone want to read?" The hapless photographer is left high and dry by that, able to create an image but unable to ID some readers.

Ni modo; among the frustrations of a poetry foto essay is being unable to share the poems themselves, so what's one additional frustration? Lacking the poet's name, or last name, simply adds to the reasons to attend the next poetry event at Avenue 50. 

Left to right, top-bottom: Don Kingfisher Campbell. idi. Jackie. Art. Mahdessian insisted Art
return with his gut-strung guitar to play a bit of Bach.

A fabulous reading about the poet's notches on a bed post entertained.
Mira Mataric. Poet in a black shirt works from memory. Briony James.

Among the pleasures of an Open Mic, a debut! Marsha Oseas shares her first public reading.

Seven, Brian Dunlap, energetic G T Foster uses the full area; an unidentified gentleman.

Prof Jonathan Vos Post, like Foster, used the space available to maximum advantage. His Space Shuttle necktie
mirrors his subject, the ghost in the machine.

Victor, Vos Post, Pauline Wiland, C E Jordan

C E Jordan invites gente to an upcoming poetry event

Photography note: ISO3200, plus 2 stops against the bright windows produces acceptable images, most 1/50 f/5.6. The seating circle creates challenges for photographer and poets. Reading from one's seat severely limits the effectiveness of text-bound readers. The photographer leans and twists to capture near-by readers. All-in-all, such a setting is fun.

Fabulous Mural Event Features Stellar Artists

La Bloga friend, Isabel Rojas-Williams, Executive Director of Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles (MCLA) sends the following:

It would be wonderful should you be available to join us at Couturier Gallery for "L.A. Muralists: In Their Studios ll," an exhibition showcasing pioneer muralists, mid-career, and emerging artists, thereby giving a new generation of artists the opportunity to connect with some of LA’s most prominent public artists. 

10% of the proceeds will benefit The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles. Looking forward to seeing you there & thank you for your support!

What: L.A. Muralists: In Their Studios ll

When: June 6th, 6-8pm (opening reception)

Where: Couturier Gallery, 166 N. La Brea Ave, LA 90036

Who: Angelina Christina, David Botello, Pablo Cristi, Wayne Healy, Judithe Hernández, Alex "Defer" Kizu, Kofie, Lydia Emily, Kent Twitchell, John Valadez, and Richard Wyatt

Sixth Month's First On-line Floricanto
Francisco X. Alarcón, Carl Allen Begay, José Hector Cadena, Ángel Mario Escobar, Sam Hamod, Briana Muñoz, Sharon Elliott


With Father's Day an upcoming June ritual, today La Bloga-Tuesday happily celebrates the first of two On-line Floricantos. The Moderators of Poetry of Resistance: Poets Responding to SB 1070, led by peripatetic poet Iris de Anda, nominate seven poems to launch the pair of June On-line Floricantos.


POETA MACEHUAL*
por Francisco X. Alarcón

soy un poeta
macehual, seguidor
de mariposas

un trovador
sin corte, sin cuartel
que anda a pie

por los senderos
sin caminantes fuera
de los linderos

mi voz es flor,
canto silvestre libre
como el rocío

la Luna de abril
es mi madre del cielo
que me bendice

el río revuelto
que un huracán desata
es hermano mío

soy un poeta
hacedor de versos
de vida y lluvia

sin otro templo
que la cima del monte
bajo el Sol

mi cara la hallo
en las caras y sonrisas
de mi gente

soy un poeta
macehual, seguidor
de mariposas

sin otro techo
que el cielo raso
lleno de estrellas

mi bandera es
blanca nube del cielo,
paloma de paz

el mundo entero
-ya sin fronteras- es
mi casa y solar

* Macehual: término náhuatl (azteca) para la gente común que forma la mayoría del pueblo y cuya labor constituye el meollo vital de la sociedad.

MACEHUAL (COMMON FOLK) POET
by Francisco X. Alarcón

I am a macehual
poet, a follower
of butterflies

a troubadour
with no court or quarter,
a hiker on foot

trekking paths with
no other walkers, beyond
well travelled ways

my voice is a flower,
a wild song free
like the dew

April’s Moon is
my mother blessing me
from the sky

the unruly river
a hurricane brings about
is my own brother

I am a poet,
a wordsmith of verses
for life and rain

with no other temple
than the mountain summit
under the Sun

I find my face
on the faces and smiles
of my people

I am a macehual
poet, a follower
of butterflies

with no other ceiling
than the open sky
full of stars

my sole flag is
a white cloud in the sky,
a dove of peace

the whole world
-already borderless- is
my home and backyard

Macehual: A Nahuatl (Aztec) term for the common folk, the bulk of the people, whose labor constitutes the vital core of society.

FOWK POET
Francisco X. Alarcón

am a fowk makar,
a follaer
o butteries

a fowk singer
wi nae coort or quarter,
a traiker on fuit

traikin peths alane,
ayont
weill-traikit weys

ma vice's a flooer,
a wull sang lowse
lik the deow

Aprile's muin's
ma mither sainin me
frae the lift

the gurly watter
blowster steert
is ma ain brither

am a makar,
wrochtin verses
fir life an weet

wi nae ither tempel
than yon muntain peen
unner the sin

a fin ma neb
in aw the smiles
o ma ain fowk

am a fowk makar,
follaer
o butteries

wi nae ither ruif
nor the apen lift
fou o sterns

ma yin flag's
a fite clud i the lift,
a doo o Pace

the hail warl
-a'ready mairchless -
is ma hame, ma back coort

Scots translation by John McDonald

Modern Day Warrior

By Carl Allen Begay - Navajo Nation - Nakai Dine/Tahnezahi Clans.

I am a modern day warrior

from the Navajo Nation 

I am

living and surviving

the holocaust

on my people

the Indigenous People 

of Turtle Island 

aka America 

We have survived 

in spite of all 

the tactics 

by the u.s government 

and all political corporate bullsh*t 

of this country

We will not be wiped 

off the face of this earth. 

We are here 

with loud voices

strong hearts

strong minds

strong bodies

strong spirits. 

We are still here

and 

We Shall Remain. 

Cruzando 
Por José Hector Cadena

¿Qué estrategias existen para calmar las ansias que surgen
cuando el border agent me cierra la reja?
Me hubiera comprado una nieve de limón pero
es demasiado tarde para buscar un alivio frío azucarado
no hay remedio más que esperar en mi carro encajonado
entre cámaras y letreros y perros enloquecidos por encontrar droga,
todo esto es un juego para ellos, un juego

Con la música de la radio me tranquilizo y me doy cuenta
que tal vez deba practicar la paciencia,
pronto regresará el borde agent de llevar a otro sospechoso
al secondary inspection a que le pregunten de todo y de más

Al abrirse la reja, el border agent me señala que me arrime
y pregunta de donde vengo, porque fui, que traigo, en un tono
que intenta hacerme sentir desposeído, pero al ver que no
me tiembla la voz, sigue a inspeccionar mi carro, revolviendo y
azotando con un tubo de metal, tap, tap, tap,

An Apology to My Children

By Ángel Mario Escobar

In the distant sleep

bodies I love

rest underneath

an old Amate tree

I smile

to ease

my broken

years

thirty-six

familiar

needles

knitting

histories

across borders

leaning on

secret tears

my children

know nothing of

Salvadoran rezos

prayers that won't give up

a long journey

echoing desperate footsteps

back in Morazan

a lineage crackling

like dry leaves

a child crying out for help

leaping red puddles

Now opening doors

so that tender kiss

can be passed on

to his children

who demand

to know

why daddy

mourns

while he

gazes

at the

deep

sea

What Shall We Say Today: What Shall We Do Today  

By Sam Hamod

what now

can we say

about israelis...

who shoot young girls

or young soccer players

      just for fun—

and what is worse,

they get away with it

not only that,

but

what can we say

about America

or

the americans who

support these atrocities,

whose government

gives money freely

to Israel,

while letting americans

go hungry,

go malnourished

lets cities go bankrupt

      while their citizens still pay taxes

      to this same government

      that doesn’t care about them

what can we say

to a world

that allows this to go on

day

after day

after day

after day  after day

while the world

looks the other way,

while the American president

preaches peace and justice, but

closes his eyes to these killings,

these brutalities,

who ignores it when Israelis

kill innocent American kids

who go to Palestine

to help

in humanitarian ways

  what are we to say,

what are we to think,

what are we to feel,

are we to love Israel?

are we to love our

corrupt u.s. government?

are we to stand by

and let this evil continue?

shall we let ignorant alleged pastors,

lead ignorant people to love

this Israel that commits these crimes?

this is a day

we should all stand up,

this is a day

we should all write in protest

this is a day

we should all work and pray for justice

in a world gone mad,

in a world in the hands of devils,

especially those who run Israel and America 

What Shall We Say Today: What Shall We Do Today

what now can we say about israelis... who shoot young girls or young soccer players just for fun—and what is worse, they get away with it

not only that, but what can we say about America or the americans who support these atrocities, whose government gives money freely to Israel, while letting americans go hungry, go malnourished lets cities go bankrupt while their citizens still pay taxes to this same government that doesn’t care about them

what can we say to a world that allows this to go on day after day after day after day after day

while the world looks the other way, while the American president preaches peace and justice, but closes his eyes to these killings, these brutalities, who ignores it when Israelis kill innocent American kids who go to Palestine to help in humanitarian ways

what are we to say, what are we to think,

what are we to feel,

are we to love Israel?

are we to love our corrupt u.s. government?

are we to stand by and let this evil continue?

shall we let ignorant alleged pastors, lead ignorant people to love this Israel that commits these crimes?

this is a day we should all stand up, this is a day we should all write in protest this is a day we should all work and pray for justice in a world gone mad, in a world in the hands of devils, especially those who run Israel and America

Raíz     

By Briana Muñoz

      

You tell me that my scars are hideous.

I respond by saying “Hideous, tu madre.” 

You formally inform me, in a Times New Roman letter 

That my school work is “below average” 

I ask you, “And exactly what is your definition of average?”

     

You laugh at the music blaring out of my 

’93 nearly broken down pick-up truck

Rusty paint, chipping away like the old folks at the country club

But my music,

     

My music es de mi papá

This music represents beautiful colored women

In beautiful colored dresses

Multicolored ribbons

Floral head pieces

     

Canciones del país de mis abuelos

México Lindo

What my nana calls it.

    

So please, continue making fun

Of her thick Spanish accent

While you sit there

Ordering wet burritos and carne asada fries

From the Mexican food restaurant 

Down the street from the multi-million dollar houses

In Del Mar

       

Because my culture is pinche beautiful

And so is my abuelita in her plaid mandil and sweaty forehead

And those mariachi lyrics I yell out proudly

Beautiful are my dark eyebrows which you make fun of

But I know they were passed down from my hard working mother

My culture is pinche beautiful; I refuse to allow you to tell me otherwise.

        

   

Violent Domesticity

by Sharon Elliott

what is it

they want
when they break a woman

wring her eyes dry
into a room
no bigger than a shotglass

carve her bones
into
a leftover casserole

sift her blood
into a bend
in the river

gag her
with her
own tongue

it must be
nothing
a momentary leap of groin

a game of tag
with eternity
theirs not hers

or maybe
the only something they can feel
is her suffering

through their
hands
her heart is broken

pumps only
at their whim
from its place underfoot

a power
so intoxicating
they refuse her escape

keep her breath
in a box
by the fireplace

like a match
to burnish
the night

Copyright © 2015 Sharon Elliott. All Rights Reserved.

Meet The Poets
Francisco X. Alarcón, José Hector Cadena, Ángel Mario Escobar, Sam Hamod, Briana Muñoz, Sharon Elliott

Francisco X. Alarcón, award-winning Chicano poet and educator, was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, and now lives in Davis, where he teaches at the University of California. He is the author of thirteen volumes of poetry, including his most recent books, Canto hondo / Deep Song (University of Arizona Press 2015) and Borderless Butterflies / Mariposas sin fronteras (Poetic Matrix Press 2014). He is also the author of six acclaimed books of bilingual poems for children on the seasons of the year originally published by Children’s Book Press, now an imprint of Lee & Low Books. He is the founder the Writers of the New Sun community in Sacramento and also the creator of the Facebook page “Poets Responding to SB 1070.”

Jose Hector Cadena is a writer, poet, and collage artist. He grew up along the San Ysidro/Tijuana border. VONA fellow 2014, Jose’s work can be found in Cipactli, Transfer Magazine, Pacific Review, and more. He currently teaches at San Diego State University and Southwestern College.

Mario A. Escobar (January 19, 1978-) is a US-Salvadoran writer and poet born in 1978. Although he considers himself first and foremost a poet, he is known as the founder and editor of Izote Press. Escobar is a faculty member in the Department of Foreign Languages at LA Mission College. Some of Escobar’s works include Al correr de la horas (Editorial Patria Perdida, 1999) Gritos Interiores (Cuzcatlan Press, 2005), La Nueva Tendencia (Cuzcatlan Press, 2005), Paciente 1980 (Orbis Press, 2012). His bilingual poetry appears in Theatre Under My Skin: Contemporary Salvadoran Poetry by Kalina Press.

Sam Hamod is an internationally awarded poet, nominated for the Nobel Prize by Carlos Fuentes and for the Pulitzer Prize by Ishmael Reed and Ray Carver; he has published15 books of poems and runs the websites, www.contemporaryworldpoetry.com
and www.contemporaryworldliterature.com     He  has a Ph.D from the Writers Workshop and has taught at the Univ of Iowa and at other leading universities in America and overseas. He may be reached for readings, books and lectures at:   drsamhamod@gmail.com

Briana Muñoz is a writer from San Marcos, California. She is a full time student and enjoys writing about what she observes around her on her free time. She writes fictional short stories, creative non-fiction and poetry. Briana is striving to publish her works some time in the near future.

Born and raised in Seattle, Sharon Elliott has written since childhood. Four years in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua and Ecuador laid the foundation for her activism. As an initiated Lukumi priest, she has learned about her ancestral Scottish history, reinforcing her belief that borders are created by men, enforcing them is simply wrong.

She has featured in poetry readings in the San Francisco Bay area: Poetry Express, Berkeley, CA in 2012 and La Palabra Musical, Berkeley, CA in 2013.

She was awarded the Best Poem of 2012, The Day of Little Comfort, Sharon Elliott, La Bloga Online Floricanto Best Poems of 2012, 11/2013, http://labloga.blogspot.com/2013/01/best-poems-of-2012.html



On-line Poetry Anthology: Chicanas en Italia

In her column Monday,  Xánath Caraza announced the publication in Italy of seven Chicana poets. Here's a YouTube that includes readings of the works, in Spanish and translated into Italian.

The cover arte is by noted Chicana artist Pola Lopez. Pola's Los Angeles studio shares space in Avenue 50 Studio.


Submissions
Razorhouse Magazine

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Now There Is One

Once there were two Raza-Centric Writers Conferences. With the suspension--or demise--of the National Latina Latino Writers Conference formerly hosted by the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque NM, only the East Coast iteration remains, the Comadres and Compadres Latino Writers Conference in New York City.

Offering workshops, camaraderie, keynote addresses, comida, and, most importantly, individual interviews with influential gente in the publishing industry, the 4th annual conference helps open the door that quality work keeps open.

Click here for registration datos.

Chicanos & Chicanas in Italy

Xánath Caraza

La Palabra en el Mundo, Venice, Italy

 

Find out what is going on with these Chican@s in Italy: Alejandro Murguía, Natalia Treviño y la que escribe--from Rome to Mantova y de regreso.

Upcoming at the Instituto Cervantes in Rome, Italy, Alejandro Murguía, poet laureate of San Francisco, CA, will be part of the reading series, El Latido, organized by Zingonia Zingone on June 5 at 7 p.m.  At the same event, he will also have his book realease of Offerte di Carta (Gilgamesh Edizioni, 2015). This should be a wonderful opportunity for the Roman literary community to hear and learn about Murguía’s work. 

In addition to the reading Murguía will have in Rome, he has recently had one in Italy.  See the series of photos of his book release in Mantova, Lombardia during the International Poetry Festival Virgilio 2015. Buena suerte! 

Offerte di Carta (Gilgamesh Edizioni, 2015) by Alejandro Murguia, Mantova, Lombardia, Italy

 

 

Alejandro Murguia and Igor Costanzo

The International Poetry Festival Virgilio 2015 had the participation of dos Chicanos this year.  In addition to Murguía, I had the wonderful opportunity to be part of this festival too, and on Sunday, May 24, with the support of Silvia Favaretto, who kindly translated several of my poems into Italian.  As well, Emily Pigozzi read and performed my poems in Italian, we had a meaningful bilingual event in Mantova with a full house.  Viva la poesía!

Silvia Favaretto, Xanath Caraza and Emily Pigozzi

 

In addition to Murguía and myself, another Chicana in Italy is Natalia Treviño who is working on her second book of poetry focused on La Virgen.  Here is a photo of her writing desk.  I am looking forward to seeing her second book of poetry be published soon.  Más y más, Natalia.

El escritorio de Natalia Trevino

 

What is more, additional Chican@ writers, artists as well as musicians are being celebrated in Italy.  Today, Progetto 7Lune released a wonderful Chicana Issue, Plaqueta Digital, in Venice, Italy. Seven Chicanas were translated into Italian, in addition to one artist and a Chicano Band.  Find out who they are. 

In Other News:

As part of presenting Chican@ literature in Italy, I’d like to take a moment to thank Zingonia Zingone for the invitation to be part of the Poetry Reading Series, El Latido, on May 22, in Rome, and to thank Cinzia Marulli for reading/performing my work in Italian. 

Los libros de Xanath Caraza

Xanath y Zingonia

 

Cinzia Marulli

Not only Chican@ literature, but also additional international literature is on the horizon it Italy.  In the city of Salerno, Italy the 100 Thousand Poets for Change World Conference will take place June 3-8. 

 

Yet, one more story of celebrating Chican@ literature while in Italy, I would like to share with La Bloga readers that I received a pleasant surprise in the middle of the night, when I learned that my book of poetry, Sílabas de viento / Syllables of Wind (Mammoth Publications, 2014) is the Award-Winner in the “Poetry” category of the 2015 International Book Awards.  Parts of Sílabas de viento / Syllables of Wind were written with the support from the Beca Nebrija para Creadores 2014 award from the Instituto Franklin in Alcalá de Heneares, Madrid, Spain.  Translators, Sandra Kingery and Tirso Bautista Cárdenas, art by Adriana Manuela and foreword by Carlos J. Aldazábal.  Viva la poesía!

Syllables of Wind, Award-Winner in the "Poetry" category of the 2015 International Book Awards