Brief dispatch from San Antonio

The welcome dinner at the Macondo Writers' Workshop, which takes place on the Sunday evening before the first day, is a special time. Aside from visiting with friends you haven't seen in a year, and meeting new ones, there are usually a few special guests.

This year was no exception. As a small press publisher, it was a particular treat dining beside Tino Villanueva, and picking his brain about what I consider one our legendary publications, which published a total of six numbers back in the 80s:

And of course it was great to ask and learn more learn about two books I've long admired:

It was also exciting to learn of a new, many-years-in-the-making poemario by Tino Villanueva inspired by the figure of Penelope. And since Tino lives in Boston, it was with great pleasure that I personally invited him to the special program that Letras Latinas and the Poetry Society of America will be presenting on November 8, in collaboration with the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University. I told him it would be an honor at have someone of his stature present at the inaugural reading of the multi-year "Latino/a Poetry Now."

Tino Villanueva

Tino Villanueva

CantoMundo 2011 (photo courtesy of CMAS)

An Interview with Paul Romero: Poetry at Bryant Park, NYC

Paul Romero

Paul Romero, who created the Word for Word Reading Series at Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan behind the Public Library, graciously agreed to answer a few questions by e-mail about his series. Letras Latinas will be presenting its slate of writers next month on August 16 (the rest of the schedule is below). But first, the interview:

Could you give our readers how the idea for the Word for Word Poetry Reading Series came about, and how long the series has been in existence?

The original Reading Room began in 1935 as a public response to the Depression Era job losses in New York. With nowhere to go during the day, and no prospects for jobs, the New York Public Library opened an “Open Air Library” to give these out-of-work businessmen and our citizens a place to go where they did not need money, a valid address, a library card, or identification to enjoy the reading materials.

In 2003 the Bryant Park Corporation repeated history by creating the Bryant Park Reading Room. It is modeled after the NYPL original.  With the reappearance of the open air library, custom-designed carts to hold an eclectic selection of books, periodicals and newspapers were included.  The following year readings and programs were added at lunchtime and after work for the enjoyment of our Reading Room patrons.  It was important to include all age groups at the Reading Room so kid-sized carts, books and furniture for children were added.  With the addition of Bryant Park’s iconic movable furniture the result was an intimate environment for visitors to Bryant Park to enjoy an open air library.  The Bryant Park Reading Room and its contents is available to everyone for free, without any need of cards or identification.  As the Reading Room matured, the programming metamorphosed from a few author and poetry readings into a full calendar of book inspired activities.  In 2011, we are hosting 83 literary programs.  The Reading Room programs include presentations by authors, poets, a book club, writer’s workshops, lectures, film talks, and two literary programs for children.  The attraction of the Reading Room and our programming results in 96,000 annual visitors to the Bryant Park Reading Room.

One of the things I find refreshing about the series is how you, as a curator, cast what I'll call a "collaborative net" and manage to involve a diverse entity of literary organizations that help you shape your season. Could you share how this modus operandi came about, and what informs it?

Since we began programming in 2004, our mission has been to bring as many voices as possible from the literary community to the Bryant Park Reading Room.  From the creative, to journalism, to writers of non-fiction, our goal is to make the Bryant Park Reading Room a destination for bibliophiles.  In New York City we are fortunate to live in an environment that is rich in cultural diversity.  Our thinking has been that it’s important that our programming reflect that diversity.  In order to achieve that goal, we reach out to publishers, poets, poetry organizations, creative writing programs, online journals and cultural institutions as resources for our programs.  We are always searching for new and interesting ways to present what is going on in the world of writing.  By being inclusive we learn from the creative writing community and stay informed with respect to the richness of social, cultural, and ethnic perspectives and what they bring to the language of writing in general and poetry specifically.  Despite our relatively recent arrival on the literary scene, we have always included what is described as statistical subgroupings of the general population.  For the Bryant Park Reading Room it translates as communities of writers who offer different experiences and new perspectives.  Writers from the Latino, Asian, African American, and Gay and Lesbian communities are a standard part of the roster of participants in our poetry series.  The reward for Bryant Park habitues has been outstanding poetry readings.  These writers in turn recommend the Bryant Park Reading Room to their fellow writers and so it goes full circle. 

In looking over the roster of poets who have read in Word for Word over the years, it's a nice mixture of both more well-known poets and less established voices. It's a nice mix. What's your thinking behind this?

We believe the voices of emerging poets need a place to be heard; they are a resource for new poetics, new vision and they complement the work of established authors.  We like to think our poetry programs bridge these different facets of the creative writing community.  Although it’s not always possible to achieve, an ideal poetry reading for us is the combination of well known authors on the same program with readings by first-book poets or writers whose manuscripts have been recently accepted for publication.  A very good example of that framework was the Caribbean poets program we did on July 12, 2011, with Poets & Writers, featuring readings by Lynne Procope, Cheryl Boyce Taylor and Mervyn Taylor.  It was a perfect evening of remarkable poetry at the Bryant Park Reading Room because it combined new poets with established writers.  

What do you envision for the series in the next few years? Any changes or modifications on the horizon.

The future of the Bryant Park poetry series is that it will continue to be a place for writers to be heard and read.  We will explore different ways for poets to be presented – perhaps in combination with music or musicians, or visual or performance artists.  One of poetry’s strengths is its malleability and how it fits perfectly with all the other creative arts.  For his recent June program at St. John the Divine, Robert Bly included ethnic music from Iran with his reading.  Bly commented on how poetry and music somehow were separated from their traditional link in the 20^th century. By including music in his program he confirmed how the two creative forms complement each other.  I have to agree with him.  The enjoyment of Bly’s poetry was magnified several times by the addition of this beautiful, ethereal music.  Patricia Smith’s powerful 34 from her beautiful book, Blood Dazzler,  has successfully been turned into a modern dance piece.  It’s always a revelation when multiple art forms combine to create a new reality.  A few of our 2012 programs will include a musical component.  The core of our poetry series will continue to be about the expression of ideas through the language of creative writing; that will remain unchanged but we will also explore opportunities to make the experience of poetry more enjoyable, to bring the listener/reader closer to what the writer is saying.

Anything else you'd like to add?

No other comments to add at this time except to say thank you for this opportunity to tell you about the Bryant Park Reading Room and how much we value the work you do.  We hope to continue to make the Bryant Park Reading Room a literary destination for writers in particular as well as the general population, to bring poetry and good writing into the lives of New Yorkers and at some point in the future, that the Bryant Park Reading Room will be the site of a poetry festival.  If you’d like to work with me on that project, I welcome your collaboration. 

                              

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM

July 19

Nick Flynn

Cleopatra Mathis

John Murillo

Co-hosted by Fine Arts Work Center Provincetown

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July 26

David Cho

Marcus Jackson

Gray Jacobik

Baron Wormser

Co-hosted by CavanKerry Press

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August 2

Joseph Legaspi

Rona Luo

Sonia Mukherji

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Co-hosted by Kundiman

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August 9

David Baker

Kimiko Hahn

Rosanna Warren

Co-hosted by W.W. Norton

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August 16

Cynthia Cruz

J. Michael Martinez

Maria Melendez

Toni Margarita Plummer

Co-hosted by Letras Latinas

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August 23

Eve Grubin

Ken Chen

Kathleen Ossip

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August 30
E.J. Antonio
Michael Cirelli
Marie-Elizabeth Mali
Patricia Spears Jones

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September 6

Erica Campbell

Reginald Harris

Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Special time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM

Co-hosted by Cave Canem

CantoMundo 2011 (2)

2011 CantoMundo Fellow

Manuel Paul Lopez

(photo credit: Eduardo C. Corral)

Among the many highlights of the recently concluded CantoMundo gathering was finally getting to meet and hear San Diego-based poet, Manuel Paul López. I had first come across Paul's work back in 2004 when he submitted a manuscript to the inaugural edition of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. In our initial e-correspondence, he expressed what an impact Andrés Montoya's work had had on him when he first encountered it, and that he wanted to be a part in that first edition of the Prize--by submitting to it. Although his manuscript was not selected, it wasn't long before he made a terrific debut, winning The Dorothy Brunsman Poetry Prize leading to the publication of Death of a Mexican & Other Poems (Bear Star Press, 2006). He's recently published a chapbook of prose title 1984, which I'm looking forward to reading:

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In the meantime, Eduardo C. Corral has posted more pics!

CantoMundo 2011 (1)

Courtesy of Eduardo C. Corral, this first installment of CantoMundo photographs

A friend of Letras Latinas in San Antonio

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Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize Initiative

Documenting the Academic Year: 2010/11

LETRAS LATINAS: 2010-2011 (highlights)

Around this time of year, in preparation for the Institute’s “annual report,” I am asked to submit a document that highlights the activities Letras Latinas has been directly (and indirectly) involved in. Because Letras Latinas is part of a university, our frame of reference is the academic year. It’s occurred to me to post here a version of the document I had to prepare and submit. This is meant as a form of documentation; a record, if you will, of what took place during the 2010/11 academic year. I’ve tacked on a brief “summer” section. Here it goes (though without hyper-links):

Fall semester

On September 15, Letras Latinas co-sponsored two events. Letras Latinas partnered with the Poetry Foundation and the Guild Complex in Chicago to present a program featuring former Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize judges Silvia Curbelo and Valerie Martínez. This was part of the PALABRA PURA series, which is currently in its sixth season

On the Notre Dame campus, Letras Latinas partnered with the Creative Writing Program in the English Department to present a reading by Mexican-born fiction writer Salvador Plascencia. In addition to meeting with creative writing graduate students, Plascencia was interviewed for the Letras Latinas Oral History Project.

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On September 16, Letras Latinas co-sponsored two events. Letras Latinas partnered with the Poetry Society of America and the Arts & Humanities Initiative at the University of Southern California to present “Celebrando Chicana Poetry” in Los Angeles. The reading was an evening presentation at “Festival de Flor y Canto. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.” It featured Diana García, Maria Melendez, and Emmy Pérez. The multi-day festival was organized by Michael Sedano. The Letras Latinas session was introduced by then Poetry Society of America Program Director Rob Casper.

In Washington, D.C. on the same date, Letras Latinas partnered with Cave Canem and the American Poetry Museum for an event. Featured poets were: R. Dwayne Betts, Brenda Cárdenas, Paul Martínez Pompa, and Ines P. Rivera Prosdocimi. The post-reading discussion, which is a feature of APM events, was moderated by Fred Joiner.

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On September 17, Letras Latinas partnered with Cave Canem and The Writer’s Center in Bethsesda, MD to present Brenda Cárdenas, Teri Cross Davis, Gregory Pardlo, and Paul Martínez Pompa.

These two back to back Cave Canem/Letras Latinas events were co-curated by Kyle Dargan

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From October 13 – 20, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Letras Latinas partnered with the Ragdale Foundation to carry out a special initiative--years in the making--that brought to Ragdale House in Lake Forest, IL eight Latino and Latina poet/editors from around the United States. Poets remained in residence to discuss issues facing those poets who are also literary editors, in addition to working on our own creative projects.

On the last evening of the residency, the eight poets read from their work at Ragdale House for members of the local Lake Forest community. The poet/editors were: Francisco Aragón, David Dominguez, Carmen Giménez Smith, Roberto Harrison, Raina J. León, J. Michael Martínez, and Maria Melendez.

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On November 8, Letras Latinas partnered with other campus units and professor  Marisel Moreno in Romance Languages to present Salvadoran-born poet William Archila. In addition to visiting professor Moreno’s undergraduate class, “Migrant Voices,” Archila gave a public reading from his work for the campus community. Archila was interviewed for the Letras Latinas Oral History Project.

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On November 11, at the Latino Art Now! conference in Los Angeles, Letras Latinas, in collaboration with Chicano artist Malaquias Montoya, launched the “Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize Initiative,” a two-year fundraising effort to benefit the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize and the publication of a posthumous volume of poetry by Andrés Montoya. Malaquias unveiled “Untitled,” a specially commissioned silkscreen print inspired by the poetry of his late son, Andrés. The volume in question, colon-ization, has been edited by Daniel Chacón will be published by Bilingual Press, in collaboration with Letras Latinas.

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On November 19 and November 21, Letras Latinas presented two special events. On the 19^th, Letras Latinas hosted a literary salon in a private home in Washington, D.C., featuring Steven Cordova, who discussed his work and signed copies of Long Distance, which were given to attendees, courtesy of Letras Latinas. On the 21^st, Letras Latinas partnered with Busboys and Poets and Split This Rock Poetry Festival and presented a poetry reading featuring Steven Cordova and Dan Vera.

Spring semester

From February 3 – 6, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), hosted their annual conference in Washington, D.C., attracting 9000 attendees.

Francisco Aragón, director of Letras Latinas, served as Conference Chair. Letras Latinas, with the assistance of the Weissberg Foundation and Institute for Scholarship and Liberal Arts (ISLA) at Notre Dame, was a co-sponsor of the conference at the “Patron” level.

During the conference, Letras Latinas hosted a reception for the Macondo Writers’ Workshop, a national collective of writers that gathers every summer for a week in San Antonio, TX.

The 2011 AWP Conference Program featured a full page ad officially announcing the creation of the “Letras Latinas / Red Hen Poetry Prize,” which will support the publication of a second or third book by a Latino or Latina poet. Notre Dame English professor Orlando Ricardo Menes will serve as final judge. The inaugural deadline is in January of 2012.

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On February 28, Letras Latinas partnered with Folger Shakespeare Library and the Poetry Society of America to present Naomi Ayala, J. Michael Martinez, and Valerie Martínez in the O. B. Hardison Poetry Series in Washington, D.C.

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On March 14, Letras Latinas Blog posted an exclusive interview with Eduardo C. Corral, the first Latino/a poet to win the Yale Younger Poets Award, chosen by Carl Phillips.

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On May 13, Letras Latinas announced the recipient of the 4^th Letras Latinas Residency Fellowship: Chicago-based poet Jacob Saenz. This initiative identifies a Latino or Latina writer working to complete a first book. This initiative is a partnership with the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN, whose Executive Director is poet and translator Robert Hedin.

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On May 25, at the Museo del Barrio in New York, NY, the organization Latino Literacy Now hosted the 2011 International Latino Book Awards celebration.

137 awards in 53 categories were announced. Honorees were from USA, Latin America, and Spain.

Here are the full list of awardees:

http://labloga.blogspot.com/2011/05/international-latino-book-awards-2011.html

Summer

On June 14, the Word for Word Poetry series in Bryant Park featured CantoMundo fellows Diana Marie Delgado, Deboarah Parédez, and Carmen Tafolla. Letras Latinas director Francisco Aragón was in attendance.

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On July 1, The Austin Chronicle published a piece (by Macondo writer Belinda Acosta) on the second annual CantoMundo gathering:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/books/2011-07-01/come-together/

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On August 16, Letras Latinas will present a slate of writers at the Word for Word series in Bryant Park: Cynthia Cruz, J. Michael Martínez, Maria Melendez, and Toni Margarita Plummer.

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LETRAS LATINAS could not carry out its work 

without the generosity of its individual donors, 

and the Weissberg Foundation


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Special thanks to Oscar Bermeo, who regularly
contributes to Letras Latinas Blog