The intimacy of a literary event in a private home is something that appeals to me more and more. Two years ago, around this time (November), Letras Latinas hosted a reading/fundraiser in a private home in Santa Fe, NM, featuring Gabriel Gomez and Michelle Otero.
What took place in Washington, D.C. last Friday evening was something else. First, Friday's event was more a conversation than a reading, though a few poems were read. And second, everyone present (or, every household present) went away with a book, courtesy of Letras Latinas. In this sense, it wasn't a book party where books were sold. Rather, guests were invited to learn about Steven Cordova, the writer, in his own words, and hear him read a few poems, as well as engage him in dialogue. In fact, an essay of Steven's, forthcoming in an edited volume, was e-mailed to the invited guests ahead of time to give them the option of learning a little more about Steven, his work, and his journey as a writer.
Steven Cordova with the spread
(photo credit: Francisco Aragón)
Dan Vera and Robert Giron
(photo credit: Francisco Aragón)
pre-salon eats
(photo credit: Francisco Aragón)
getting started:
Steven Cordova, interviewed by Francisco Aragón
(photo credit: Dan Vera)
guests look and listen (1)
(photo credit: Dan Vera)
Steven makes a point
(photo credit: Dan Vera)
guests look and listen (2)
(photo credit: Dan Vera)
*
Letras Latinas programming in the Washington, D.C. area
is made possible, in part, to the generosity
of the Weissberg Foundation
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