La Bloga's Triple Threat!!!!!!!

Garcia and Ramos Appear in Anthology edited by Daniel Olivas

Rudy Ch. Garcia y Manuel Ramos have short stories coming up in Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature from Bilingual Press, edited by Daniel Olivas! BTW-- I also understand that Daniel is a contributor....Andale, hermanos!

Look for it on February 15, 2008. Rudy is a bilingual teacher in Denver and wrote "LAX Confidential" while Manuel Ramos, author of several crime-fiction novels and the Director of Advocacy for Colorado Legal Services, wrote "The 405 is Locked Down." The anthology can be pre-ordered from Tattered Cover, et al., in hardcover or trade paperback.

Morro Bay birding / book project

Michael Sedano

"It's the poor workman who blames his tools," I've heard said, and I totally agree. There's a corollary to this, "With the right tools, you can do anything."

The image of the blackbirds on the wing illustrates the truth of that corollary. I stood at the edge of a cow pasture watching two flights of birds sweeping through the air in a shiny black arc that turns in my direction and in a few moments hundreds of birds fly past me.

I have rented a tool. An automatic focus telephoto lens with a fast 2.8 aperture. I set the tripod solidly, lock the head to point straight across into the space where the birds will buzz the cows. As the birds circle past, twenty feet away, I press the shutter button on the digital camera half down. The lens whirls and sharpens on the moving mass of wings and movement. I press all the way down and the shutter flies open to capture the moment at 1/2000th of a second. It's not a bad shot but must be viewed in large print size or scaled up on the computer. So it's not a good shot, either. It was the birds' fault for not spreading out.

That's OK. I can take that picture again. All I need is the time and the right tools.

The right tools are trop cher. This lens sells for more than $4000! Hence the wisdom of renting it for $150 a week. The camera body was over nine hundred a few years ago; now it's selling for seven with two lenses. Canon has several feature-laden cameras on the market that far surpass what I own now. Maybe I can rent the whole modern outfit next time out.

The Morro Bay birding weekend offers brisk hikes in rugged to easy strolls. The boatride is de rigueur, as is the drive up the cost to the Elephant Seal birthing beach north of San Simeon. I hope you'll take a look at this selection of bird images. I am going to use those that fit in an A to Z alphabet photo book featuring birds.

Absolutely--make that absochingaolutely--stunning that January 2008 nears its final days. I'll see you the 29th day thereof, a day which will be quite special. A ver.

mvs

La Bloga welcomes your comments, questions, ideas. We welcome guest columnists! To be one you need only have something interesting to add, click here, or email one of the daily La Bloga blogueras blogueros. Tan facíl I'm surprised you haven't done it yet.

The Meaning of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

By Coretta Scott King

[from The King Center website.]

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example -- the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.

We commemorate Dr. King’s inspiring words, because his voice and his vision filled a great void in our nation, and answered our collective longing to become a country that truly lived by its noblest principles. Yet, Dr. King knew that it wasn’t enough just to talk the talk, that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible. And so we commemorate on this holiday the man of action, who put his life on the line for freedom and justice every day, the man who braved threats and jail and beatings and who ultimately paid the highest price to make democracy a reality for all Americans.

The King Holiday honors the life and contributions of America’s greatest champion of racial justice and equality, the leader who not only dreamed of a color-blind society, but who also lead a movement that achieved historic reforms to help make it a reality.

On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.

It is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood. Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples' holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream.

We commemorate on this holiday the ecumenical leader and visionary who embraced the unity of all faiths in love and truth. And though we take patriotic pride that Dr. King was an American, on this holiday we must also commemorate the global leader who inspired nonviolent liberation movements around the world. Indeed, on this day, programs commemorating my husband’s birthday are being observed in more than 100 nations.

The King Holiday celebrates Dr. King’s global vision of the world house, a world whose people and nations had triumphed over poverty, racism, war and violence. The holiday celebrates his vision of ecumenical solidarity, his insistence that all faiths had something meaningful to contribute to building the beloved community.

The Holiday commemorates America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence --- the man who taught by his example that nonviolent action is the most powerful, revolutionary force for social change available to oppressed people in their struggles for liberation.

This holiday honors the courage of a man who endured harassment, threats and beatings, and even bombings. We commemorate the man who went to jail 29 times to achieve freedom for others, and who knew he would pay the ultimate price for his leadership, but kept on marching and protesting and organizing anyway.

Every King holiday has been a national "teach-in" on the values of nonviolence, including unconditional love, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, which are so desperately-needed to unify America. It is a day of intensive education and training in Martin’s philosophy and methods of nonviolent social change and conflict-reconciliation. The Holiday provides a unique opportunity to teach young people to fight evil, not people, to get in the habit of asking themselves, "what is the most loving way I can resolve this conflict?"

On the King holiday, young people learn about the power of unconditional love even for one's adversaries as a way to fight injustice and defuse violent disputes. It is a time to show them the power of forgiveness in the healing process at the interpersonal as well as international levels.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not only for celebration and remembrance, education and tribute, but above all a day of service. All across America on the Holiday, his followers perform service in hospitals and shelters and prisons and wherever people need some help. It is a day of volunteering to feed the hungry, rehabilitate housing, tutoring those who can't read, mentoring at-risk youngsters, consoling the broken-hearted and a thousand other projects for building the beloved community of his dream.

Dr. King once said that we all have to decide whether we "will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. Life's most persistent and nagging question, he said, is `what are you doing for others?'" he would quote Mark 9:35, the scripture in which Jesus of Nazareth tells James and John "...whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant; and whosoever among you will be the first shall be the servant of all." And when Martin talked about the end of his mortal life in one of his last sermons, on February 4, 1968 in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, even then he lifted up the value of service as the hallmark of a full life. "I'd like somebody to mention on that day Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others," he said. "I want you to say on that day, that I did try in my life...to love and serve humanity.

We call you to commemorate this Holiday by making your personal commitment to serve humanity with the vibrant spirit of unconditional love that was his greatest strength, and which empowered all of the great victories of his leadership. And with our hearts open to this spirit of unconditional love, we can indeed achieve the Beloved Community of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.

May we who follow Martin now pledge to serve humanity, promote his teachings and carry forward his legacy into the 21st Century.

Charlie’s Angels to Coretta Scott King: Children’s Book Author Sundee Frazier’s World and How She Got There

The day I sat down to write this blog entry—an interview with fabulous new children’s author Sundee Frazier—was the day it was announced that her first middle grade novel Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It had won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award. I was thrilled and couldn’t imagine a more deserving book. The annual Coretta Scott King Award—presented by the American Library Association—recognizes outstanding African American authors and illustrators. Congratulations to Sundee and we are honored to have her interview appearing on La Bloga the week she received such an exciting and well-deserved honor.

Now, on to Sundee’s story.

Born in Seattle, WA, in 1968 to interracial parents, Sundee’s mother was told by a doctor that the child must be eating too many carrots because her skin was so much tanner than her mom’s. As Sundee put it, “It being the South in the late 60s, Mom decided not to enlighten him” As a child she wanted to be a detective, radio broadcaster, singer, magician, writer and geologist. Oh, and my personal favorite: one of Charlie’s Angels.

As it turns out her actual careers have been almost as varied. She has worked as a spiritual director for college students, a public relations person for the Easter Seal Society, and a director of admissions for an adult education university. Sundee has conducted seminars and conferences around the country and in South Africa on the relationship between music and faith, and co-led a musical team for a 20,000-person international convention focused on mobilizing college students to serve in the world. She is also the author of Check All That Apply: Finding Wholeness as a Multiracial Person (InterVarsity Press 2002).

But it is about her award-winning book that we talked about this week. This middle-grade novel is about Brendan Buckley, a bi-racial, ten-year-old scientist who studies Tae Kwon Do and keeps a top-secret notebook filled with questions he intends to spend the summer answering. He has adventures with his good friend, Khalfani, and spends time with his feisty paternal grandmother, Gladys. When he unexpectedly encounters his white grandfather, Ed DeBose, for the first time at a rock collector’s event, many of the questions begin to revolve around this man his mother refuses to speak about. The biggest mystery, one that he feels very deeply, is why Ed turned his back on his daughter and the grandson he never met.

It is an important and entertaining book that has that rare combination of a character kids will relate to, a story that will keep them engaged, and an important message that doesn’t come across as preachy. I was delighted to have the chance to ask Sundee some questions about this extraordinary novel.

In a recent conversation you told me that you discovered your desire to be a writer goes back to when you were even younger than your protagonist…can you tell us about that?

According to a family Christmas update letter from 1977 that I recently unearthed, I declared my intention to be a writer that year (when I was nine) and set about trying to figure out how to get a book published. It only took me 30 years!

Brendan is such a wonderful character, a smart, realistic boy with integrity. Can you tell me about the genesis of his creation?

First, thanks for the huge compliment. My greatest desire is to create characters readers want to read about – characters readers feel like they have come to know and love by the end of the story. Believe it or not, Brendan Buckley was originally Brenda Buckley (and no, my story was not an “edgy” middle grade about a girl who undergoes a sex change operation). Brenda, however, was elusive. I just couldn’t figure out who this girl was and the story wasn’t really going anywhere. Then one morning I woke up and out of my grogginess popped the clear thought, “My main character is supposed to be a boy. Brenda is actually Brendan!”

It still took me some time and much effort to get to know Brendan. He started as a very quiet, serious, thoughtful boy with several collections (not just rocks), and an urgent need to find the white grandparents he’d never met. Eventually I decided that Brendan needed to have just one collection, a scientific disposition, and a strong, inquisitive impulse that wouldn’t let him stop seeking an answer once he’d landed on a question. So when he realizes he’s discovered the grandpa he’s never met, and all the questions surrounding his absence are stirred up, the search for answers is on!

Brendan’s the kind of kid who wants to be noble and self-controlled, like his dad expects him to be, but whose commitment to the truth is even greater. This commitment sometimes compels him to do things he knows may get him in trouble, but the price is worth it in his mind.

I’m definitely inquisitive like Brendan, so that part of his personality didn’t really surprise me. But I’m nowhere near as courageous or dogged as he was in his pursuit of the truth and for that I admire him greatly.

It’s hard enough to write realistically in a ten-year-old voice (which you do SO authentically, I know I have a ten year old at home) but how was the experience of writing in the point of view of the other gender?

It was actually quite fun, and I think somewhat freeing. When I was trying to create Brenda, I just kept seeing myself as a girl, and I didn’t want to write about myself. I wanted to create someone new, someone from my imagination.

For my master’s critical thesis (I completed my MFA in Writing at Vermont College), I explored the portrayal of boys’ emotional lives in fiction – how it’s been done, how to do it authentically. I read a lot of child development and psychology books specifically about boys. I had read so much about boys that I was convinced when I got pregnant that I would have one! I don’t have a son (I have a lovely daughter), but after creating Brendan, I kind of feel like I do!

Ultimately what I discovered about creating an authentic boy character is that it’s not much different from creating an authentic girl character. Yes, there are generalities that we can observe in boys’ versus girls’ behaviors, but when you are creating a character, you’re not dealing in generalities. You must deal in specifics – at least if you want to create a compelling character. If a behavior does not ring true for the individual boy you have created, readers won’t buy it, regardless of how boys “generally” behave.

The theme of the struggles and blessings of growing up biracial is an important one, and one that many kids—and adults—will relate to. Do you see that as becoming a recurring theme in your future work?

My mission is to write the most heartfelt, truest stories that I can write. By “truest” I mean stories that ring true, in which readers see themselves, regardless of race, because they relate to the characters’ emotions. With that said, I’ve found that the truest stories I can write, at least so far, are ones with multiracial point-of-view characters, because that’s who I am and being mixed race has deeply shaped my identity and experience.

So yes, it will undoubtedly be a recurring theme in my work, and I’m fine with that because it’s a perspective that more and more people share and it needs to be included and reflected in the arts.

I can’t help but hope, is Brendan going to come back in another book?

Hmmm . . . you’re not the first to ask (including my editor). I’m starting to wonder if I should be considering it! But no current plans to write another Brendan story. I have considered letting Brendan’s best buddy Khalfani have his own book since he burst onto the scene after the manuscript was sold (neither he nor Brendan’s interest in Tae Kwon Do were anywhere in the story until after I sold the book to Delacorte). The scenes I wrote that involved Khalfani were some of the most fun to write.

What is your next project?

I’m working on another middle grade novel. This one features biracial twin sisters – one white-appearing, the other black-appearing – who go to stay with their black grandmother in the South. She wants them to compete in a pageant for young black girls. That’s all I really know so far in this treasure hunt without a map!

Tell us something that’s not on the official bio:

Well, speaking of pageants, I was Miss Pullman Jr. Miss 1985, in spite of scandalizing the town with my strapless gown, and was once crowned a county fair queen, in spite of never having lassoed a calf and all my previous horse-riding experiences having ended in disaster.

New Books, Award Winners, Opportunities

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PRESS
New books for Spring, 2008, from UA Press
Blurbs from the UA Press Catalog

If I Die in Juárez
Stella Pope Duarte
(March)
"From the red-light districts in Ciudad Juárez to remote villages hidden away in the mountains of Chihuahua comes a tale of one of the darkest crimes to be recorded in the history of humankind. If I Die in Juárez traces the lives of three young women -- Evita, a street child; Petra, a maquiladora worker; and Mayela, a Tarahumara Indian girl -- who together uncover Juárez's forbidden secret: the abduction and murder of young women. Bound together by blood, honor, an ancient chant, and a mysterious photo, the girls bring the murderous streets of Juárez to life. Based on the author's interviews with relatives of murdered women, If I Die in Juárez is brilliantly crafted to give readers the experience of walking in the shoes of women who daily risk being abducted and murdered in the capital city of murdered women, joining thousands of others who for more than a decade have disappeared from Juárez, las desaparecidas, brutally murdered by assassins who have gone unpunished. The agony of one of the darkest tales in human history brings to light a strange hope, illusive yet constant, resisting lies, betrayal, and the desert's silent sentence of death."


The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes: Selected Works of José Antonio Burciaga
Edited by Mimi R. Gladstein and Daniel Chacón
(May)
"Widely considered one of the most important voices in the Chicano literary canon, José Antonio Burciaga was a pioneer who exposed inequities and cultural difficulties through humor, art, and prose. In this anthology and tribute, Mimi Gladstein and Daniel Chacón bring together dozens of remarkable examples of Burciaga's work. His work never demonstrates machismo or sexism, as he believed strongly that all Chicano voices are equally valuable. Best known for his books Weedee Peepo, Drink Cultura, and Undocumented Love, Burciaga was also a poet, cartoonist, founding member of the comedy troupe Cultura Clash, and a talented muralist whose well-known work became almost more famous than the man. This first and only collection of Burciaga's work features thirty-eight illustrations and incorporates previously unpublished essays and drawings, including selections from his manuscript The Temple Gang, a memoir he was writing at the time of his death. In addition, Gladstein and Chacón address Burciaga's importance to Chicano letters. A joy to read, this rich compendium is an important contribution not only to Chicano literature but also to the preservation of the creative, spiritual, and political voice of a talented and passionate man."


Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems
Juan Felipe Herrera
Foreword by Francisco A. Lomelí
(April)
"For nearly nearly four decades, Juan Felipe Herrera has documented his experience as a Chicano in the United States and Latin America through stunning, memorable poetry that is both personal and universal in its impact, themes, and approach. Often political, never fainthearted, his career has been marked by tremendous virtuosity and a unique sensibility for uncovering the unknown and the unexpected. Through a variety of stages and transformations, Herrera has evolved more than almost any other Chicano poet, always re-inventing himself into a more mature and seasoned voice. Now, in this unprecedented collection, we encounter the trajectory of this highly innovative and original writer, bringing the full scope of his singular vision into view. Beginning with early material from A Certain Man and moving through thirteen of his collections into new, previously unpublished work, this assemblage also includes an audio CD of the author reading twenty-four selected poems aloud. Serious scholars and readers alike will now have available to them a representative set of glimpses into his production as well as his origins and personal development. The ultimate value of bringing together such a collection, however, is that it will allow us to better understand and appreciate the complexity of what this major American poet is all about."

Lisa Alvarado did a recent Bloga column on Juan Felipe Herrera, which you can find here. That post includes Herrera's classic piece, 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross The Border.



The Region of Lost Names
Fred Arroyo
(March)
"Remember that the dream of one is the dream of everyone. Ernest is searching for a place where he can live beyond his past. His family has returned to Puerto Rico, and Ernest remains in the States, desiring only distance from his memories of childhood displacement and work, his parents' tumultuous relationship, and his own love for Magdalene. Magdalene, too, looks to move beyond her memories as she follows Ernest's family home, seeking resolution to her mother's hurtful secrets, her father's unknown identity, and her love for Ernest. As Ernest moves through the fields of Michigan, as Magdalene traverses the jungles of Puerto Rico and the shores of the Caribbean, they discover that their dreams and identities are linked within the framework of their families and their pasts. Together, Ernest and Magdalene must come to terms with the secrets and mistakes made by the previous generation, the histories of disloyalty and abandonment, of secrecy and sorrow. Their struggles take place in a region of lost names, where loves and memories are banished and found. Fred Arroyo writes a story in two voices, following Ernest and Magdalene by turns in prose that is elegant and lyrical. His words evoke another world lush with the scent of salt spray, the taste of mangoes, and the rush of leaves, alive with characters whose ardors and pathos are achingly real. Arroyo explores the ebb and flow between past and present and themes that are enduring. Ultimately, Ernest and Magdalene must live with more than their memories; they must rediscover the intimacies of the region of lost names.'

MORE NEW STUFF
New World/New Words: Recent Writing from the Americas, A Bilingual Anthology
Edited by Thomas Christensen
Foreword by Gregory Rabassa
(University of Washington Press, 2007)
From the publisher: "This fully bilingual (Spanish/English) anthology of Latin American literature showcases the region's enormous vitality and variety of writing. New World / New Words includes selections by widely celebrated writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, and Senel Paz, as well as work by emerging authors just beginning to make their mark in the English-speaking world. The collection features many of today's leading translators, several of whom are also distinguished poets and writers.

"New World / New Words makes the literature of Latin America available to those who want to sample its scope and depth, and includes works published for the first time in English. With original introductions by the translators that focus on voice, tone, rhythm, context, and the role of the translator, New World / New Words offers a unique window on the translator's art while presenting an exciting cross-section of the latest Latin American writing. "

How I Learned English
Edited by Tom Miller
Foreword by Ray Suarezt
Afterword by Frank McCourt
(National Geographic Society, 2007)
From the publisher: "All over the world there are people struggling to master the quirks and challenges of English. In today's America, many millions of them are Latino—and in this eloquent collection, nearly 60 of the best known contribute fascinating, revealing, often touching essays on the very personal process each went through to achieve this common end. Their successes are inspiring. Their pieces, engaging and entertaining all, express the whole range of emotions that learning any new language entails.

"Congressman José Serrano, for example, describes learning English from Frank Sinatra records. Cuban-American author Oscar Hijuelos picked it up as a sick little boy in an American hospital bed. Many find it a daunting ordeal; for others English came easily. But from TV personality Cristina Saralegui to Hall of Fame baseball player Orlando Cepeda, every last one remembers what it felt like to do battle with bizarre idioms, irregular verbs, and all the other incomprehensible intricacies that tangle the tongue.

"And of course, every new English-speaker has a tale to tell: an immigrant yearning to assimilate and achieve, or a political exile suddenly far from home and alone, or a child who just wants to fit in. Their fears and triumphs will resonate with everyone who has shared this exasperating, exhilarating experience, whether last year or a lifetime ago. This wonderful, eclectic, inviting collection speaks to—and for—all of them, and goes directly to the heart of the national debate on language and immigration."

PURA BELPRÉ AWARD
The following is from the ALA website:

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA Affiliate.

The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. As a children's librarian, storyteller, and author, she enriched the lives of Puerto Rican children in the U.S.A. through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore.

Beginning with the 2009 award, it will be given annually.

The 2008 Award winners, announced on January 14, are:


The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano written by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Holt)

The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano, a collection of haunting poems, uses multiple voices to illuminate the daily terror and hypocrisy of the slave system. Celebrating Manzano's irrepressible spirit and creativity, this book is based on Manzano's autobiographical notes and poems. After witnessing young Manzano's harsh punishments for reading and writing, readers will marvel at his enduring strength and persistence to attain freedom.

“The Poet Slave of Cuba is a heartbreaking, memorable story of love, determination and hope. The stark language and vivid imagery provide a sensory experience that allows the reader to enter another time and place,” said Award Committee Chair Jean Hatfield.

For illustration:

Los Gatos Black on Halloween, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, written by Marisa Montes (Holt)

“A rhyming text describes spooky monsters of many types gathering for a ball in Los Gatos Black on Halloween. However, the rollicking fun is interrupted by the scariest creatures of all in a surprise ending that will delight readers of all ages. Morales' eerily glowing illustrations capture the blend of traditional Halloween and Día de los Muertos symbols, matching the humorous interplay of Spanish and English in the text. Historical allusions and whimsical figures delight the eye in this timeless story,” said Hatfield.

READ ACROSS AMERICA FEATURES THE NAVAJO YEAR
Salina Bookshelf announced that its 2007 children’s book, The Navajo Year, Walk Through Many Seasons, is featured in the National Education Association’s Read Across America’s 2008 Resource Calendar. The Navajo Year, written by award-winning author Nancy Bo Flood and illustrated by Billy Whitethorne, is the featured book for the month of November, which is National Indian Heritage Month.

The 2008 Resource Calendar is part of NEA’s year-long promotion of its Read Across America campaign, which is dedicated to building a nation of avid readers. The 2008 calendar is filled with art by well-known children’s illustrators, and each month highlights fun books along with book tips, links, activities, and events. Although Read Across America Day officially takes place March 3, 2008, the celebration extends throughout the entire year.

OPPORTUNITIES

APRIL POETRY EVENTS CALENDAR
To celebrate Poetry Month, the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, UC-Denver's Copper Nickel, and the Colorado Center for the Book at Colorado Humanities are compiling and printing a community calendar of April poetry events for all ages in the Denver metro area. Send news of your April 2008 poetry events to Josephine Jones, jones@coloradohumanities.org, by mid-February. If you have distribution lists or locations for the Poetry Month calendars after they are printed, let her know that, too.

Josephine Jones
Director of Programs
Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book
1490 Lafayette Street Suite 101
Denver CO 80218
303 894 7951 x15
jones@coloradohumanities.org

Fourth Annual Writers Studio Literary Contest
The Writers Studio will award cash prizes for the best unpublished work
by Colorado writers in Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction.
Submissions are accepted from January 1 through March 1, 2008. Winners
will be honored at the Writers Studio Annual Literary Festival
April 2008. For submission guidelines, go to the Writers Studio Web site.

Denver Women's Press Club Unknown Writer's Contest
Both men and women are eligible to enter in the categories of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. Cash prizes for winners! Deadline is February 23. Download contest rules and entry form here.

Indian Country Anthology
A call for submissions has been issued for an Indian Country Anthology to be released next year. I don't know much about this anthology except that the editors seek stories that take place in Indian Country, including Canadian reserves, U.S. reservations, Alaska, Hawaii and Mexican Indian land, and/or stories that revolve around Native characters. Stories may be historical, literary, or crime fiction, as long as they are previously unpublished. Writers of First Nation ancestry are especially invited to submit. Stories should be 3,000 - 6,000 words; deadline is May 15, 2008. Direct questions or send stories to IndianCountryAnthology@gmail.com. As I said, I don't know much about this, so please investigate thoroughly before submitting any work.


A word of congratulations to old pal Gary Phillips, who has started an online, serialized political thriller on The Nation's website. The series is entitled Citizen Kang, and Episode 1 is A Wide Stance. Just in time for the 2008 politics. Yeah. Those of you who are familiar with Gary's work will rush over to read the series, I'm sure. Those who have yet to catch up with the man, should get to it.

Later.

Michele Serros: Scandalosa y Fabulosa!

Michele Serros and Scandalosa

Named by Newsweek as "One of the Top Young Women to Watch for in the New Century" and by Tu Ciudad magazine as one of Los Angeles’ “Hip, Hot and Now” artists, Michele Serros is the author of Chicana Falsa and other stories of death, identity and Oxnard, How to be a Chicana Role Model, Honey Blonde Chica and her newest young adult novel, Scandalosa! In addition to being an award-winning poet, Serros has been a featured contributor for the Los Angeles Times' children's fiction section and a commentator for National Public Radio (Morning Edition, Weekend All Things Considered, Anthem, Along for the Ride, Latino USA). She has read her poems to stadium crowds of 25,000+ for Lollapalooza, recorded Selected Stories from Chicana Falsa for Mercury Records and was selected by the Poetry Society of America to have her poetry placed on MTA buses throughout Los Angeles County.

While still a student at Santa Monica City College, Michele’s first book of poetry and short stories, Chicana Falsa, was published. When the original publisher of Chicana Falsa went out of business, Michele continued to sell copies from her garage until Riverhead Books reissued Chicana Falsa and as well as a collection of short stories, How to be a Chicana Role Model. The latter instantly placed 5th on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list.

In 2002, Michele wrote for the ABC television sitcom, The George Lopez Show. "An opportunity," she says, "that hopefully with my contribution opens the door for a wider representation of Latinos in the mass media."

Serros’ work is required reading in U.S. high schools and universities and garners a diverse fan base ranging from Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers ("Michele is the great Californian writer who makes me proud of my state. When I read her books I cry and laugh.") to author Sandra Cisneros ("Michele Serros is the young, sassy writer whose brilliant weapon is her humor.”) The New York Public Library recommends Honey Blonde Chica as a “Book for the Teen Age 2007. Originally from Oxnard, California, Michele is currently working on a new novel, An Unmarried Mexican.

1. Scandalosa is a sequel to Honey Blonde Chica, with Evie a little bit further down the road of adolescence. Without giving too much away, what's going on with Evie?

In Scandalosa, Evie is now two months older than she was in HBC. She has also entered a new semester of school. In teenage years, such changes are paramount! She is excited to celebrate her Sweet Sixteen era and envisions her party to be similar to MTV's Sweet Sixteen but with all the traditional trappings (and birthday checks) of a quinceañera. BUT she is facing an obstacle. Will this obstacle interfere with her party... the pachanga of the school year? You'll have to read to find out!

2. You avoid a romantic portrayal of teens, yet Honey Blonde Chica isn't about the gang girl stereotype offered up as the YA Chicano/a experience. Can you also talk about the decision to write YA and it's significance to you, and your choice of
characters?

YA books saved me as a preteen. I grew up reading Judy Blume, Beverly Clearie, S. E. Hinton, and Louise Fitzhough. My first attempt at YA is an unpublished manuscript under my bed back home in NYC. It's titled Notes from a Medium Brown Girl. My agent has deemed it "took dark" and suggests that maybe I should focus on other projects but I haven't given up on Notes...just yet. The role of Evie is pretty much myself as a teenager. I dressed like a surfer but never flopped my belly on a board, ever. So the next best thing, of course, was dating a surfer. At 17, it was a dream for me to be the girlfriend of the tri-county (Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria) surf champion -- who was also Mexican (American) like me!

3. You seem to love and have a sense of playfulness concerning our pop icons and pop culture in general...I noticed on your site the gamine pose, where you're covered with chicharrones, as well as having seen a promos for Scandalosa where it looks like you're having fun with charreada and Flor Silvestre. Where does that love and that irreverence come from? How important an element is it for you in how you look at the world and how you approach writing?

Yes! The photo shoot with the chicharrones was for Estylo magazine. The editors had brought up Salma Hayek's Los Angeles magazine cover's version of Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream and other Delights. They suggested we push it a little further and had me wear a dress of pork rinds, rather than whipped cream. It was pretty funny. The photographer's assistant's sole job was to fan flies away and after the shoot, my skin was so greasy. My only regret is that too many people think I'm completely naked under the skins!

4. Who are the writers/artists that move you and how do you think they've influenced you and your work?

Oscar Zeta Acosta made a big impression on my while I was a college student. And Lester Bangs. I have more records and CDs than books and when I was younger I was always trying to write record or show reviews for underground fanzines and rags. One book I loved was I'm with the Band, by Pamela de Barres.

5. Where do you think the challenges lie for you as a creative person?

Discipline! It's challenging to pays bills based on your creativity.

Also, I tend to over think too much. It drives my friends and family crazy.

6. Are there people that act as mentors/sounding boards for you? If so, how does that mesh into how you work?

Oh yeah. I'm afraid that a current boyfriend is always put in the position of being the unexpected sounding board. I pity the man who is dating me in the middle or start of a new manuscript or project. They have to hear me whine about every little sentence that isn't going well. I'm really attracted to men who hold blue collar type jobs -- carpenters, contractors, UPS delivery guys -- men (in my experience) who don't typically read fiction a lot. So it's really good for me to share my work with them, because if they aren't "getting it" it's a sign for me to work a bit harder. Not saying that blue collar men are my entire "demographic" but I definitely don't want to write for other writers or, say, for the editors of The New Yorker. For me, the biggest compliment is from someone who admits that they don't like to read but confess that they actually read one of my books and liked it!

7. Where would you like to see yourself personally and creatively in ten years? In twenty?

I'd like to see Notes from a Medium Brown Girl published. I'm currently working on two manuscripts -- one of them is An Unmarried Mexican. It's about my first year in New York City after being newly separated from my ex-husband.

8. What something not the official bio?

That I was once married to the drummer of the heavy rock Queens of the Stone Age. It's something being a musician's wife. You're like in a little club with all the other band member's wives who can be really catty and extremely insecure. And you know if your man is getting kicked out of the band soon...because little by little all the wives stop inviting you to shop Melrose. This experience, of course, has inspired yet another manuscript I've been working on -- The Hair Club for Men.


Scandalosa
ISBN-10: 1416915931
ISBN-13: 978-1416915935

Michele's MySpace page

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GREAT TEATRO LUNA NEWS!

CURRENTLY PLAYING:

MACHOS

After a sold out run at Chicago Dramatists, MACHOS is moving to the 16th Street Theater in Berwyn, IL, conveniently located near the CTA/Blue Line Austin stop.

Tickets are already on sale, and I hope you will help spread the word!

Here's the scoop:
MACHOS At 16th Street Theater 4 weeks only! January 25 through – February 17, 2008

Fridays at 7:30 PM Saturdays at 5:00 PM Saturdays at 8:00 PM Sundays at 6:00 PM

BUY TICKETS ONLINE at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/25539


Lisa Alvarado

Celebrate Proyecto Latina's 2nd Anniversary!

It's a night to put your pen and papelitos away, and instead whip out your dancing shoes, and open up to inspiration. Proyecto Latina invites you to join us and celebrate our 2nd Anniversary Soiree Saturday, January 19th @ 7 p.m. to ?

Junior's Sports Bar (In Pilsen)
2058 W. Cermak Road.

No cover. Antojitos for the early arrivals. The spoken word artists will start at about 7:30 and the band should kick in by 8:00...y despues el baile. The afterparty will have a Morrisey Tribute night.