Kansas
City Chronicle
by
Xánath Caraza
In celebration
of Hispanic Heritage Month, Fred Arroyo and Richard Blanco
were invited to read from their recently published books, Western Avenue and
Other Fictions (University of Arizona Press, 2012) by and Looking for
the Gulf Motel (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012), respectively. Arroyo
and Blanco made appearances at The Writers Place and the University of Missouri
Kansas City (UMKC). Their visit was co-sponsored
by Bernardin Haskell Funds, the UMKC Latina/Latino Studies Program, the UMKC
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Letras Latinas, the
literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre
Dame, The Latino Writers Collective, the Riverfront Reading Series, and The
Writers Place in Kansas City. I’d like to take a moment to thank Miguel
Carranza, Ph. D., Director of the Latina/Latino Studies Program at UMKC and
Francisco Aragón, Director of Letras Latinas, who both graciously supported
every step in creating this event. Scott Baker, Ph.D., Chair of the
UMKC Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures also supported what in the
end was a wonderful two-day event.
A welcome
brunch at The Writers Place with the Latino Writers Collective launched the
series of activities planned for both Arroyo and Blanco on Sunday, September
16th. Subsequently at 4 p.m., a reading at The Writers Place, hosted
by Riverfront Reading Series, took place. The reading started with Blanco
reading his poetry and finalized with Arroyo’s reading from his short story
collection. After their presentations, there was time for a book signing
and an opportunity for our audience to visit informally with our guest authors.
On September
17th, UMKC celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with Arroyo’s and Blanco’s campus
visit. A reading took place at 11 a.m. at the Language Resource Center
for the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. The program was
kicked off with a reception followed by Dr. Carranza’s introductions. Angela Elam and her team from New Letters on The Air recorded
the event and, in the near future, this recording will be available
on-line. Approximately fifty people, including students and faculty,
attended.
After a
reading and Q and A session, both Arroyo and Blanco went beyond their pages and shared personal stories and anecdotes. For example,
when asked about a poem Blanco had shared in which he code-switched, Blanco
discussed how his use of both Spanish and English tended to be within different
contexts. Spanish was an affective language for him he used with his
family and English happened to be the language he felt comfortable in for
professional endeavors. Arroyo, answering a similar question about
influences from both Spanish and English, shared that as he studied and
developed his writing style, he began to realize how he had melded a
“latinization” into his writing style in English.
Arroyo’s and
Blanco’s visit to Kansas City wrapped up with classroom visits that resulted in
meaningful and enriching dialogues with students. What a great way for Kansas
City to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Thank you, Fred. Thank you, Richard. And now for your viewing pleasure, some photos.
Fred Arroyo
reading at The Writer's Place
Richard Blanco and the audience
at The Writer's Place
UMKC
students enjoying Fred's and Richard's books
before
the reading at UMKC on 9/17
before
the reading at UMKC on 9/17
Los
libros:
Looking for The Gulf Motel
Western Avenue and
Other Fictions, The Region of Lost Names
Miguel Carranza, Director of Latina/Latino Studies Program
introduces Poet Richard
Blanco
and Author Fred Arroyo at UMKC on 9/17
Richard
Blanco reading from Looking for The Gulf Motel
at UMKC on 9/17
Fred
Arroyo reading from Wester Avenue and Other Fictions
at UMKC on 9/17
Q&A
after the reading at UMKC on 9/17
Richard
Blanco, Miguel Carranza, Fred Arroyo, Scott Baker,
Xanath Caraza at UMKC on
9/17 at the end of their reading
Richard
Blanco at UMKC on 9/17
Fred
Arroyo at UMKC on 9/18
Fred
Arroyo at UMKC on 9/18
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