Unfinished Portrait: Author Reading and Book Signing

Unfinished Portrait
Author Reading and Book Signing
with Luivette Resto
Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore
Saturday, March 26, 2011
from 1pm to 3pm

Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore is proud to present author Luivette Resto and her book Unfinished Portrait on Saturday, March 26th, 2011 from 1pm to 3pm. She will be reading from her book and signing afterward. Copies of the book will be available for sale. The event is free.

Unfinished Portrait is a collection of poetry focused on bilingualism, codeswitching, and the importance of documenting people, places, and events that haven't been documented or discussed enough.

Luivette Resto was born in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, but proudly raised in the Bronx. She received her BA in English Literature with a concentration in Latino Studies from Cornell University in 1999. In 2003, she completed her MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on poetry at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her first book of poetry Unfinished Portrait was published in 2008 by Tia Chucha Press. Her book was named a finalist for the 2009 Paterson Poetry Prize. For more info on the author Luivette Resto check out: www.luivetteresto.com.

A unique bookstore, art and cultural space that began in 2001 in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore continues to make the arts, dance, music, writing, theater, indigenous cosmology, and literacy the centerpiece of an on-going economic/cultural revival for the largely neglected Northeast Valley communities. Tía Chucha’s artistic and educational resources are a much-needed creative stimulus in the midst of these hard economic times. “In fact, it’s precisely in hard times that the arts become the engine for community renewal and regeneration—the only way through today’s chaos and uncertainties is with creativity,” asserts Luis Rodriguez, co-founder and author of the best selling memoir, Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in LA.

Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides arts/music/writing/dance/theater workshops with a bookstore, internet access, art exhibits and performance space. Activities include Open Mics, film nights, author readings, writing circles, musical events, healing circles, and community dialogues. Tía Chucha’s also houses Tía Chucha Press, which in January 2009 celebrated twenty years of publishing quality cross-cultural poetry from around the country; a CD production project, Dos Manos Records; and Young Warriors, an arts-based youth empowerment project. Tía Chucha’s new location as of March 2009 is off the 210 Freeway, Hubbard Street exit, left at the Gladstone Avenue signal light, in the new yellow structure (across from the Fresh & Easy).

Reading by Poet and Translator Francisco Aragón

Reading by Poet and Translator Francisco Aragón
Thursday Mar 24, 2011, 7:30pm
Harmon Room, DeWitt Wallace Library
Macalester College, St Paul MN
Free and open to the public

Mediating influences of English and Spanish language poetry - Walt Whitman to Jack Spicer, Ruben Darío to Federico García Lorca - Francisco Aragón’s voice is unusual, multicultural, innovative and wholly contemporary. His second collection of poems, Glow of Our Sweat, realigns translation as critical to the poet’s craft, reminding us of its status as a preeminent mode of discourse in poetry through the ages. Francisco Aragón also plays a major role in shaping contemporary, U.S. bilingual poetry traditions as editor of Canto Cosas, a book series out of Bilingual Press and as a Vice President on the board of directors of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP). His is the author of two books of poetry, Glow of Our Sweat and Puerta del Sol (Bilingual Press 2005). He also edited the anthology, The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press 2007). Before publishing his own volumes of poetry, Aragón made a name for himself as translator of Chicano poet Francisco X. Alarcón, García Lorca, and Gerardo Diego. Born in California, Aragón lived for a decade in Madrid before returning to the U.S. to complete his MFA at the University of Notre Dame, where he is the director of Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS). His reading will be followed by a reception.

Free and open to the public - sponsored by the Dept of English.

The New Face(s) of PALABRA PURA

Mike Puican, the president of the board of directors of the Guild Complex in Chicago, and one of the co-founders of PALABRA PURA, recently agreed to answer a few questions about the facelift this signature reading series has recently undergone, as it enters into its 6th season. Pictured above are the poets who took part in the launch of season 6. They're names were listed earlier, HERE.

Tomorrow evening, season six continues with a special edition of PALABRA PURA. Here is more information about what promises to be a special event. And now, the interview:

Letras Latinas Blog:

PALABRA PURA has recently inaugurated its 6th season. Could you share with our readers what some of the recent developments with the series have been. The first thing that one notices is that the curation has been de-centralized somewhat. Could you talk about that process and what informs this evolution in the series?

Mike Puican: One of the secrets of running a successful reading series is to not only make sure that the talent is fresh and interesting but to keep the format fresh and interesting as well. Call this new direction the Palabra Pura 2.0 version.

For five years Palabra Pura has been guided by a handful of people deeply involved in Latino literature. This group was responsible for putting together each year’s lineup of features. There was a Chicago group who reached out to local talent and Francisco Aragón tapped into his vast network for the out-of-town features.  For the first five years this formula worked well. However as we began to plan for our sixth year, we felt the need to take another look at the format.

Mary Hawley, who has worked on this series from the start (she made the initial connection between Francisco Aragón and the Guild Complex when she began talking to Francisco in the salad line of a Notre Dame event), suggested the guest curator model. The basic idea is that every month there would be a different curator for the evening. Each guest curator would plan and present the entire evening. This could include bringing in an out-of-town writer of their choosing.

We didn’t know how these changes would be received.  We reached out to some of the writers who’ve been featured at Palabra Pura and asked if they were interested in planning an entire evening. We’ve been blown away by how positive the reaction has been. We now have enough guest curators to take us into the middle of 2012! And we have additional requests for curators beyond that. Given the wide range of aesthetics represented by our features, you can imagine how each evening is going to vary. It’s been very exciting to watch this unfold.

LLB: Could you address what the mission of the series was when it was founded and how that mission has evolved?

MP:

I have to say the mission is pretty much the same now as it was in the beginning: to provide the opportunity for established, emerging, and new Latino writers to share their work and ideas. Palabra Pura is a monthly reading series that allows writers to present their work regardless of their country of origin and in whatever language they write—Spanish, English or a combination of languages.

The aim of the series is to foster dialogue through literature in Chicago and beyond. Most evenings pair a local poet with a visiting writer along with an open mic to foster the interaction of diverse voices, ideas, and aesthetics.

LLB: As you look back on the first five seasons of the series, could you share with our readers what in your mind, have been some of the highlights or high points of the series?

MP:

One of the best nights for me is still the very first Palabra Pura in February of 2006. A group of us had been working on this new idea for over a year.

We spent that year talking with people involved in Latino literature and social concerns. From those discussions there grew a central group who developed the series. The group included individuals from Letras Latinas at the Institute for Latino Studies at Notre Dame, the Center for Latino Studies at University of Illinois, the excellent Spanish-language newspaper, revista contratiempo, the Arena Cultural supplement of the newspaper, La Raza, and the Guild Complex.

Despite the fact that Chicago has the third largest Latino population in the US, there was no regular venue for Spanish-language writers to share their work. We worked together to determine the format, line up the readers, find a venue and obtain funding. The first night was at a bar in Humboldt Park called the California Clipper. It’s a good-sized bar and, for the opening night, the place was packed. It was a thrill to see the reception to what had just been an idea for so long.

Other noteworthy nights included readings by well established writers such as Lorna Dee Cervantes, Victor Hernandez Cruz and Juan Felipe Herrera. It’s always a treat to see big-name writers perform in our series. I should also point out, though, that the programming we have done with these more established voices was possible thanks to the generous collaboration of the Poetry Foundation, with whom we’ve partnered on these occasions.

Another definite high point was this past week’s launch for our new curating format. It was a fabulous night! 22 poets who have been previously featured at Palabra Pura read one poem each. It was stunning to experience such a wide range of quality writing and performance styles. A lot is being written lately about the huge range that defines Latino writing in this moment. This week’s Palabra Pura was clearly a testament to that.

been many other high points. I could spend a long time answering this question.

LLB: What have been some of the challenges and how were they

overcome?

MP: Anyone who puts on a monthly series over time knows the challenges—finding good features, last-minute cancellations, venue changes, emcee switches, securing consistent funding, etc.

One big challenge for any long-running series is how to keep each event fresh and exciting. You can’t just put things on automatic pilot and expect that audiences will continually be excited about coming out to see it.

We’ve found that we need to think hard about how to create the most interesting evening for each event. We owe that to our audience. We also found we need to give a lot of attention to getting the word out. Creating publicity is key. For each event we try to look for what is special about these particular readers. We ask who would be interested in this event and how can we use this to generate publicity for the event.

We’ve found an important part of that publicity is also getting each one of the features to promote the event. Almost everyone has a Facebook page and many have their own websites and mailing lists. Each feature has his/her own fans.  We encourage each feature to be a big part of getting the word out.

LLB: What are some of the continuing challenges of running a series like this and what plans does the Guild Complex have to address these?

MP: The answer to this flows right out of the last question. After five successful years we asked ourselves what could be done to continue to make Palabra Pura fresh and relevant. After quite a bit of discussion with those inside the Guild Complex and those outside of it, we decided to try something new. That’s where the guest curator model came in.

Last Question:

LLB: Can you talk about about being president of the board of directors of the Guild Complex, and how that has been for you? If you had to summarize the ethos and philosophy of the Guild, what would it be?

MP: The Guild Complex has been a force in Chicago’s literary scene for 22 years. I’ve been president of the board for five years. From the beginning, the Guild Complex has been strictly dedicated to presenting literature. Our focus is on presenting under represented voices and emerging artists. We also love to find new ways to mash up literature with other art forms.

We’re a small organization run by our very talented Executive Director, Kimberly Dixon. That means that the board gets involved in many functions of the organization—fundraising, long range planning, programming, marketing, and building alliances with other organizations. While many nonprofit organizations are looking for moneyed people to join their boards, we are only interested in people who are passionate about the work of the Guild Complex. These are also people who are involved in socially oriented causes and literary endeavors, and who have networks outside of the Guild Complex. Our board is made up of important ambassadors for the work we do.

A few years ago I read a study that found that the two main reasons that volunteers and board members leave an organization are: 1) the meetings are poorly managed 2) they don’t feel that they have any impact on the organization. As president of the board I see my main job as making sure meetings are efficient and effective, and that each person has the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution.

This is a great organization. I feel lucky to work with so many interesting and talented people.

Olmecas Singing in the Flowers

Olmec Head, de Young Museum
Flickr photo courtesy of The Mindful One

Olemcas en las Flores
Friday, March 18th at 7:00pm
Koret Auditorium, de Young Museum, San Francisco
Free Program

“Olmecas Singing in the Flowers” will gather Bay Area poets and musicians to pay tribute to an ancient Mexican literary form, flor y canto (flower and song). The 1,200-year history of poetic expression from the time of the Toltecs to the time of the Aztecs continues in communities throughout Mexico and the southwest United States. The Nahuatl people of the Americas (central Mexico) revered poets and musicians because of their ability to capture beauty and “truth” (flowers) enhanced by sacred music (songs). The poetry weaves philosophical ideas into social, political, and cultural commentary.

Creating a ceremonial ambiance based on indigenous concepts of cycles and the four cardinal directions, poets Adrian Arias, Leticia Hernandez, Avotcja Jilontrillo, Paul Flores, and Naomi Quiñonez and musician Martin Espino will offer their talents in the tradition of flor y canto. As a special addition, a poem celebrating spring written by legendary Aztec poet Nezahualcóyotl will be performed in Nahuatl, Spanish, and English by several of the poets and special guest artist Jim Berenholtz. Organized by members of the de Young Olmec Advisory Committee, with special thanks to Naomi Quiñonez.

Dr. Naomi Quiñonez is a poet, educator, cultural studies scholar, and cultural worker. She has published three books of poetry, including Hummingbird Dream, The Smoking Mirror, and The Exiled Moon. Quiñonez enjoys producing and organizing collaborative cultural events. She is currently a faculty member at San Francisco State University.

This programs is free with no tickets or reservations. Tickets are required to visit the galleries (free to members).

Special exhibition admission is required to visit Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico (free to members).

For more information, please visit the De Young Museum's website.

The New PALABRA PURA launches...

One Poet/One Poem Event 

with past Palabra Pura Readers 

and 2011 Curators

Date:  Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Time:  7:30pm

Cost:  Free

Location:  La Bruquena, 2726 W. Division

Celebrating the past and looking toward the future, this cavalcade of readers will be a mix of past writers from PP's six-year history and the dream team of guest curators creating this year's exciting season. And it's all happening at PP's brand new venue, Humboldt Park's La Bruquena. So come grab some food/drink, reminisce on past palabras and get a preview of what's to come.

Appearing at Palabra Pura kick-off:

Eduardo Arocho

Beatriz Badikian

Roger Bonair-Agard

Cristina Correa

Carlos Cumpián*

Rafael Franco-Steeves*

Jorge Frisancho

Juana Goergen*

Gregorio Gomez

Irasema González

David Hernández*

Leon Leiva Gallardo

Miguel López Lemus

Olivia Maciel

Elizabeth Marino

Carmen Alicia Murguía

Bernardo Navia

Yolanda Nieves*

Raul Niño

Jennifer Patiño

Coya Paz

Xenia Ruiz

Jacob Saenz

Luis Tubens

Luis Humberto Valadez*

Febronio Zataraín

*PP Curator

***

Stay tuned for an interview with Guild Complex

board president about the evolution of Palabra Pura

Letras Latinas Exclusive: Eduardo C. Corral

Eduardo C. Corral graciously agreed to answer a few questions in the wake of his recent good news. Letras Latinas Blog sent him six questions, which he worked on while in residence at the MacDowell Colony.

FA

Letras Latinas Blog:

Can you contextualize how you learned that Carl Phillips had selected your manuscript as the next winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award? Where were you, what were you doing? Did getting the news while at the MacDowell Colony add anything to this experience that you’d be willing to share? If so, what?

Eduardo C. Corral:

My studio at the MacDowell Colony is deep in the woods so I don't get all my phone calls.  On February 12th, after dinner, as other residents played ping-pong and chatted in Colony Hall, I checked my voicemail and discovered three unheard messages.  I listened to the first message.  A voice said, Hello Eduardo Corral this is Carl Phillips.  My first thought?  He must be calling to tell me he liked one of my poems he'd  read in a journal.  Then I remembered two things.  That never happens.  I've never included my phone number in a contributor bio.

I saved the first message, heard the other two.  Three messages!  In each message he said he looked forward to talking with me, that I should call him back.  It must be good news, I told myself.  Then I started getting worried, thinking, What if he changed his mind, picked another poet because I hadn't called him back ASAP!  I immediately called him.  He didn't answer so I left a message on his machine.  After that, I walked around Colony Hall dazed.  Another resident, a non-fiction writer with an MFA in poetry, asked if I was okay.  I muttered, Carl Phillips left three messages on my voicemail.  The resident smiled, said something sweet and sensible, Calm down, let's go sit down.  We walked to the dinning room.  I sat down at a long table with a few other residents.  My head was spinning.  I felt like I was going to pass out.  All the other residents looked at me kindly, knowingly.  One of them said, Wait for him to call back, don't jump to conclusions.  

I tried to make small talk but my mind kept going back to those three messages.  I got up from the table, walked to a corner, called my friend and mentor in New York City.  I quickly filled him in, then asked, It has to be good news, right?  He said, Yes, but don't get crazy, wait for him to call back.  We talked for a few minutes; his humor and his advice reminded me again why I always turn to him.  After I hung up, I realized I needed some fresh air.  I was going to faint at any minute. 

I left Colony Hall, walked to the library, a stone building with tall windows.  The air was cold.  Patches of snow littered the road.  The library was empty.  I logged onto my Facebook account, sent a few frantic messages out.  I had to talk to other poets while I waited for the call.  A few immediately answered my messages.  I told them about the calls and what it might mean.  They all were ecstatic and excited beyond words. 

Then my cell phone rang.  I walked over to the piano, rested my elbows on it, and answered.  After we exchanged a few pleasantries, Carl Phillips asked, Is your manuscript still available for publication?  I said, Yes.  Then he said, Good, because I've just selected it for the Yale Series of Younger Poets.  I honestly don't remember much of the conversation after he said that.  But I do remember three things.  I thanked him.  I asked him to repeat the news.  I quietly sobbed while he said amazing things about my poems. 

LLB:

Readers of your blog know that it had been something of a challenge for you to mail off your manuscript to book contests.  Now that you have won one, is there any sense of relief in terms of working on your second book? Can you share your thoughts on this, as well as what your second book project is?

ECC:

Listen: It's a huge relief!  I now can earnestly begin work on my second project.  I don't want to reveal too much about it because I'm still fleshing out the details, but I know it will be a book-length sequence.  I already have a notebook full of images/lines that are waiting to be hammered into poems.  In fact, this past fall I wrote two short lyrics I thought belonged in my first manuscript but I soon realized they belonged to the book-length sequence.

Also, I now know that my instincts didn‘t let me down.  People kept telling me to send out my first manuscript; it didn't matter if I wasn't completely happy with it, a so-so book was better than no book.  People kept reminding me I wasn’t getting any younger, a horde of younger poets was nipping at my heels.  Honestly, this kind of advice filled me with despair and it amplified my self-doubt.  Maybe I was incapable of completing a manuscript.  Maybe I was writing the wrong poems.  Maybe I wasn’t a poet.  Thankfully, I didn‘t listen to their advice.  I knew I had to trust my guts; when my manuscript was ready, I would know.  So I kept revising older poems, drafting new ones, and tinkering with the order. 

I had a major breakthrough in 2007.  I went through my manuscript, threw out any poem that didn’t surprise me as a reader.  I tossed out about twenty pages.  It broke my heart.  Some of the poems were published in great magazines like Colorado Review, The Nation and Quarterly West.  I shed a few tears.  I ate a lot of cookies.  Then I moved on.  I began drafting new poems.  I starting thinking of my manuscript as a space to highlight my strengths as a poet, as a space to take risks.  Sounds obvious, no?  But no one at Iowa told me this; none of my friends told me this.  I arrived at this realization on my own, which freed me to write, in my opinion, the best poems in my forthcoming book. 

LLB:

When is your award-winning book slated to appear (What's the title?)? Have you thought about what you will be doing between now and the publication date to pave the way for the book? If so, what are some of the things you hope to accomplish to this end?

ECC:

It will be published in April 2012.  Just in time for National Poetry Month!  I'm thrilled Yale University Press will be doing my first book; Yale designs and publishes gorgeous books.  Just check out It Is Daylight by Arda Collins and Radial Symmetry by Katherine Larson

I sent out the manuscript with Border with Violin as its title.  I don't love the title.  More importantly: the title doesn't gesture toward the whole book, the varied themes and images weaving in and out the poems.  Right now, I'm reading and reading my poems to find a phrase or a word that might serve as a new title.  Serve is the wrong word; I'm looking for a word or phrase that will reverberate through the whole book.  Fortunately, I have a few months to finalize the manuscript. 

I have thirteen months to prepare for the publication of my first book.  That might seem like a lot of time, but I know once I send in the final manuscript the months and days will fly by.  But I'm lucky.  Many of my friends have gone through this process.  I've had a front row seat all these years and I've learned a lot by watching them set up readings and websites, and arrange reviews and interviews.  I will be doing all that.  And more.  I will be knocking on many doors and asking friends and strangers for help and advice.

I'm very interested in how some writers are using social networks like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to potential readers.  Right now, I'm researching the pros and the cons of using these social networks to launch a book.  Though I blog, I've never thought of my blog as a marketing tool.  It's been a space for me to chew the fat, vent and act silly.  I will be posting updates about the book on my blog: cover art, blurbs, forthcoming readings.  But I won't be gross about it.  I've seen some bloggers go too far; turning their blogs into marketing machines.  A constant barrage of updates and self-congratulatory posts about their upcoming books.  Yuck.  Manic self-promotion turns me off as a reader.  I won’t be doing that. 

LLB:

What will your strategy be for the year or two after your book is published? Is it too early to start thinking about how many readings you hope to give, and where? Do you have any models in mind in terms of how to successfully promote a first book of poetry?

ECC:

My strategy?  Readings, readings, readings!  Plus, reviews and interviews.  I want to give a ton of readings.  Where?  College campuses, Latino cultural centers, bookstores, cafes, galleries.  In short, everywhere!  I will work hard to arrange readings before and after the book is published.  Hopefully, I will get the chance to read with Carl Phillips.  That would make me very happy.

LLB:

You are the first Latino poet to win what is arguably the most prestigious first book prize in American poetry. Therefore, you have made history. Do you feel any sense of responsibility because of this fact? If so, have you begun to think about how you might channel this sense of responsibility?

ECC:

I’m proud that I’m the first Chicano to win the Yale Series of Younger Poets.  But this fact, when I think of all the enormously talented Latino/Chicano poets writing today, also angers me.  This is 2011.  I shouldn’t be the first Chicano winning the Yale. 

I didn’t get here on my own.  The other day I went to the MacDowell Colony library to locate the exact spot where my first book will be shelved.  Let's face it: Not many Chicano writers are shelved here.  (Apply, gente!)  My book will be shelved next to Alfred Corn.  And though my name will be printed on the spine, I won’t be the only Chicano poet next to Alfred Corn.  My poems are scored with the influence and the words of Gloria Anzaldúa, José Montoya, Robert Vasquez, Lorna Dee Cervantes and Angela de Hoyos.  These poets, these teachers of mine, helped me win the Yale Series of Younger Poets.  They will keep me company at the MacDowell Colony library.

VONA/Voices Workshop for 2011

The Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA) at the University of California at Berkeley invites applications from unpublished as well as published writers of color -- anyone dreaming of writing as a serious pursuit.

The Voices Workshop is a special gathering of writers who spend 1 week working with authors s of color. This workshop honors the literary traditions of heritage and culture and promotes the styles, voices, forms and concerns of writers-of-color and their connections to the literary world. All workshops are intimate gatherings of writers who take their writing seriously and are looking for an experience that will nurture them as writers; heighten their awareness of writing as a political, social and literary tool; and provide a community that supports each writer as they explore issues that require a profound sense of trust and professionalism.

This year, we offer workshops for everyone in: Poetry, Fiction Writing, Memoir, and Political Content in Story, Memoir and Poetry

Workshops for Alums in: Fiction, The Poetry Collection, Memoir.

We also offer two Residencies which are directed to writers who are interested in a one-on-one mentorship and concentrated writing time. The week is spent with the master writer who guides them through rewrites and toward a greater awareness of the writing process and their identities as writers.

2011 faculty: Elmaz Abinader, Faith Adiele, Junot Díaz, Ruth Forman, M. Evelina Galang, David Mura, ZZ Packer, Willie Perdomo, Diem Jones.

Application Deadline: 04/18/2011. To apply, go to the VONA website.

J. Michael Martínez: "Circumscribing the Parellel"

In the wake of Brenda Cárdenas' eloquent and moving piece from the trenches of Wisconsin, Letras Latinas Blog encourages a look at this work-in-progress by J. Michael Martínez which, I think, is in part a response to Claudia Rankine's call (Open Letter) to write about that elusive subject of race.

HERE

 J. Michael Martínez
at the Folger Shakespeare Library
on February 28, 2011.

(photo credit: Dan Vera)

Dispatches from Poets on the Ground: Brenda Cardenas in Wisconsin

After a Rally at the Carlos Cortez Mural, Milwas, WI

Bread of the Earth: One Worker’s Perspective on the Wisconsin Struggle for Justice

The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and German working class people who at one time belonged to Wisconsin’s Socialist Worker’s Party, I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the 60’s and 70’s. I’ll never forget my grandpa Cardenas’ stories about the abuse he and his brother suffered as non-union tannery workers, how his brother died of an illness related to those labor conditions, and how only when my grandfather finally, in his 40’s, got a job as an assembly line worker in a union shop, did he feel like he was treated as a human being at work. His gratitude was such that years after he had retired, he would march on the picket lines with his union brothers when they were on strike. My father started his working life in a factory; my mother, in her 70’s, still works an office job because she cannot afford to retire. Aunts and uncles on both sides of the family labored as electricians, clerical staff, telephone operators, bookkeepers, truck drivers, grocery clerks, foundry workers, and barkeeps. They always worked, sometimes two jobs, in both the public and private sectors, both with union support and without, but no matter, they never believed that the right to collective bargaining was anything but a human right. Even the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (item 2A) defines “freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain” as an essential right of all workers. Scott Walker is in contempt of the United Nations.

Read the rest of Brenda Cardenas' account of the Wisconsin Workers' Demonstrations at www.montevidayo.com.

Arizona Between Nosotros: ¡Performance art & baile de cumbia!

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Hotel Congress
Club & patio. 311 East Congress Street, Tucson
doors 7pm, 21+ after 9pm. $5

FEATURING:

Michèle Ceballos Michot
member of renowned troupe La Pocha Nostra
performs new work with Tucson collaborators

Salvador Duran
on the patio

Logan Phillips
performing bilingual poetry

Mexico / Arizona video art showcase
work from Adam Cooper-Terán, Heather Wodrich, León de la Rosa y más

DJ Dirtyverbs (Verbo•bala)
spinning cumbia, dub & bass: ¡puro baile!

All money raised at this event will assist in transportation and production costs to bring cutting-edge Mexican artists to Arizona to respond to current events.

Special opportunity
for advance purchase tickets to summer 2011 show,
VIP access, advance preview of video art, and ABN merchandise.
All donations tax deductible.

Arizona Between Nosotros:
Artists from Mexico Respond in Video and Performance, summer 2011.
More information: http://www.ArizonaBetweenNosotros.org/

Event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130522043683502

Book Release Celebration: Steady, My Gaze by Marie-Elizabeth Mali

Steady, My Gaze
by Marie-Elizabeth Mali
(Tebot Bach, 2011)

Marie-Elizabeth Mali is a poet of extraordinary sensitivity who picks up the signals of joy and suffering and puts that music out into the world. She takes delight in everything from the mist of a waterfall in Venezuela to her husband’s creative use of bananas. She confronts mortality in a moving elegy for her father, in the suicide of her husband’s first wife, and the haunted words of a firefighter who dug up a human foot from the rubble of the World Trade Center. She is a spiritual and a sensual poet both, utterly honest and unafraid, capable of wonder yet grounded in compassion, writing from a tactile awareness of the body in all its grace and vulnerability. This is a steady gaze indeed.

—Martín Espada

BOOK RELEASE CELEBRATION
Steady, My Gaze by Marie-Elizabeth Mali
With music and readings by Robby Baier, Elana Bell, Suzanne Gardinier, Tyehimba Jess, and Sarah Kay
louderARTS: the Reading Series

Monday, March 21, 7:30 pm

Bar 13
35 E 13th St at University Place, NYC
$6/$5 students, 2-for-1 drinks all night

Steady, My Gaze will be available at the event for 20% off ($12 total)

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Marie-Elizabeth Mali is hardwired to notice and celebrate the world “where the kiss comes from a mouth that bites.” Having grown up between three cultures—American, Venezuelan, and Swedish—she translates the fluid sense of identity she experienced as a multi-cultural child and spiritual seeker into work that moves between a sense of unity and discord, exploring in poems that startle with their shine “this beautiful, terrible world where we are opened / and crushed."

Steady, My Gaze is a necessary book full of fire and desire, wings and water. It emerges out of the full consent of the self to the glorious and wounding matrix of experience. Marie Howe calls it “a metaphysical page-turner.” A spiritual and sensual poet both, Mali writes from the body toward that which lies beyond the body, whether in Venezuela or at a seven-day silent retreat, whether with her husband or an acupuncture client, whether observing hummingbirds or a one-legged child playing with her family on a beach during wartime.

As a co-curator for a popular poetry reading series in New York City-louderARTS: the Reading Series—Mali understands the importance of crafting poems that have an immediate visceral impact on a reader or listener. Her poems are grounded in the music of language, at home being heard out loud as much as being read on the page.

Mali draws from varied inspirations—from Jeffrey McDaniel to Frida Kahlo, from the Vedas to the circus, from sex to death—to make a distinctive sound in a world where it’s easy to get lost in the din. The poems in Steady, My Gaze neither preach nor explain but cast a clear eye on the ordinary and surprisingly divine, on that which might otherwise be easily overlooked.

Supporting the necessary work: Valerie Martínez

“I’ve been able to count on her support for Letras Latinas in various ways. Valerie has served, for example, as a final judge of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, which supports the publication of a first book.”

—Francisco Aragón, February 28, 2011

Washington, D.C.

Those were words I spoke two nights ago at the Folger Shakespeare Library. I was introducing Valerie Martínez, our third reader in a stellar line-up that included J. Michael Martínez and Naomi Ayala.

But I’m highlighting Valerie Martinez’s latest gesture of support because it underscores the depth of her commitment to one of Letras Latinas’ flagship initiatives: she has purchased Malaquias Montoya’s beautiful silkscreen print, inspired by the poetry of his son, Andrés Montoya, after whom our first book prize is named, a prize that published the first books by:

Sheryl Luna

(chosen by Robert Vasquez)

Gabriel Gomez

(chosen by Valerie Martínez)

Paul Martínez Pompa

(chosen by Martín Espada)

Emma Trelles

(chosen by Silvia Curbelo)
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Francisco X. Alarcón 

will be selecting our next poet 

one year from now in the spring of 2012

Simply put: Letras Latinas could not function without the generosity of individuals. Please consider joining Valerie Martínez and others (writers and non-writers you’ll be learning about at Letras Latinas Blog). Click on the link below and learn more:

ANDRÉS MONTOYA POETRY PRIZE INITIATIVE

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Note: Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about any aspect of this initiative, including about alternative ways to support the work Letras Latinas carries out. faragon@nd.edu

February 28, 2011: Washington, D.C. (photo credits: Dan Vera)

Francisco Aragón

"Thank you Joe. And thank you all for being here. As Joe mentioned, I direct Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. I do so from an office here in the district, and crucial to our work are partnerships. I’m grateful, therefore, to be collaborating tonight with the Poetry Society of America and the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series here at the Folger Shakespeare Library. But Letras Latinas programs in Washington would not be possible without the generosity of the Weissberg Foundation. So I’d like to offer my gratitude to them, as well.

Years ago in a bookstore in San Francisco, I picked up a journal called New American Writing. In the table of contents, I read a name I’d never seen before, the name of our first reader this evening: J. Michael Martínez. His poem, titled “Xicano” (spelled with an X), was a revelation. It deployed strategies often associated with the more innovative or experimental tendencies in American poetry. The poet-critic Rigoberto González, in referring to his first volume, writes: “Martinez’s book is nothing short of a breakthrough for Chicano poetics.”

A native of Colorado, Martínez is also an essayist and librettist. In addition to New American Writing, his work has appeared in various publications, including Crab Orchard Review, Mandorla and The Denver Post. A recipient of the 2006 Five Fingers Review Poetry Prize, Martínez has received residencies from CantoMundo, the Ragdale Foundation, and the Vermont Studio Center. Heredities, his debut book, was winner of the Academy of American Poets’ Walt Whitman Award, and published by Lousiana State University Press. He holds an MFA from George Mason University and is currently a PhD candidate in English at University of Colorado at Boulder.

J. Michael Martínez

My work with Letras Latinas allows me to interact with writers from the U.S. One bonus of moving to Washington in 2007 was being able to work more closely with our second reader this evening, Naomi Ayala, whose work I’ve admired for years. She has read at Notre Dame and she’s read in Palabra Pura, the series I've curated in Chicago. It’s a particular pleasure, therefore, to be introducing her tonight. A native of Puerto Rico, Ayala is the author of Wild Animals on the Moon and This Side of Early, both with Curbstone Press. Of this latter volume, distinguished poet Naomi Shihab Nye writes: “Haunting secrets scuttle along beneath the rafters of every day—she hears them in the mystery of animals and culture and time, connection and disconnection, sings their resonant song.”  Naomi Ayala distinguishes herself as a poet who writes and publishes in English and Spanish. A resident of  Washington, she is also a community activist who, until recently, served as the founding Executive Director of 826DC. Naomi is on the board of directors of DC Advocates for the Arts, she teaches at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, and she teaches at the Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences at UMASS-Boston.

Naomi Ayala

Our third and final reader tonight also embodies what it means to be a conscientious citizen in the literary community. Not only have a I been fan of Valerie Martínez’ work for over a decade, I’ve been able to count on her support for Letras Latinas in various ways. Valerie has served, for example, as a final judge of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, which supports the publication of a first book. In addition to a poet, Valerie is a translator, teacher, playwright, librettist, and collaborative artist. She is the author of six books, including Absence, Luminescent, winner of the Larry Levis prize, Word to World and, more recently, Each and Her, of which the poet Joy Harjo writes: “Each word in Valerie Martínez’s elegant lament is planted with urgent purpose. Each word is watered with grief.” Her poems have appeared widely, including in Best American Poetry, the Washington Post, and the Poetry Foundation’s Poetry Everywhere series. She’s read her work all around the country, including at the National Book Festival here in Washington on the mall. She’s the Executive Director of Littleglobe, Inc., an artist-run non-profit that collaborates with communities on art and community dialogue. Valerie holds an MFA from the University of Arizona and was the Poet Laureate of Santa Fe, New Mexico from 2008 to 2010.

Valerie Martínez

Please join me in welcoming our poets, beginning with J. Michael Martinez."

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Introducing the discussion

The discussion

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Letras Latinas programs in Washington, D.C.
 are made possible, in part,
thanks to the Weissberg Foundation