CantoMundo @ the Poetry Foundation: December 5, 2013

Letras Latinas wound down its 2013 calendar year with a four-partner event in Chicago at the Poetry Foundation (with CantoMundo--the featured presenter--and the Guild Literary Complex). As we like to do, when we can, here is a photo gallery:

The Poetry Foundation

Poetry Foundation (courtyard entrance)

 Behind the Glass

(photo credit: Deborah Parédez)

The Program

The Green Room

Steve Young: welcome

Deborah Parédez

Eduardo C. Corral
(photo credit: Deborah Parédez)

Sheryl Luna
(photo credit: Deborah Parédez)

Sheryl, reading

Carmen Giménez Smith
(photo credit: Deborah Parédez)

Carmen, reading

The Reception

The Spread

Deborah Parédez, Jacob Saenz, Don Share

Sheryl Luna, Carmen Gimenez Smith, Diego Baez

Eduardo and Don 

Carmen and Sheryl
(photo credit: Deborah Parédez)

Carmen, Erika L. Sánchez, Deborah

Sheryl and Lauro Vazquez

Lauro, Diego, Eduardo

Deborah, Carmen

CantoMundo represents
(Poetry Foundation Library) 

Greetings from Chicago

from the Guild's e-mail blast today:

Can you believe it? Palabra Pura will launch its fifth season tonight, Wednesday, January 20. The series has featured a breadth of Latino/a voices from coast-to-coast as well as plenty of our homegrown talent. What started as something small has a grown to have a national reputation. We hope that you'll join us for the new season -- and every third Wednesday after -- for a wonderful night of poetry and camaraderie.

This month, Palabra Pura presents Kristin Naca and Cristina Correa. A longtime member of Sandra Cisneros' Macondo Workshop, Kristin Naca currently is a visiting professor of English at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her book of poems, BIRD EATING BIRD, was selected for the National Poetry Series mtvU Prize and appears with Harper Perennial. She is a frequent practitioner of Bikram yoga and an avid sports fan. She follows the work of Mexican and Mexican American poets and painters; some of whom are the predominant artistic influences behind Naca's bilingual poetry.

Cristina Correa is a writer who uses words to observe and analyze the world. Her work is both politically and creatively charged by the several cultures she claims. As a native Chicagoan, she participates in local non-profit organizations and social justice groups.

Hope your new year is hitting a great stride,

The Guild Complex 

In Praise of Partnerships--Old and NEW

Four years ago, on the Notre Dame campus, my boss asked me to sit in on a conference call by speaker phone. Afterwards, those of us present in his office weighed in on a possible partnership between the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS) and a Spanish-language monthly in Chicago.

I’m speaking of contratiempo.

A week later contratiempo’s then Executive Director and associates drove to South Bend to tell us more about their journal. The partnership was sealed and, since then, in every issue, contratiempo translates into Spanish an ILS article from our department of research and publishes it. Our section is called, latinidad. The journal, which I would describe as multi-faceted and progressive, is broken up into various sections: editorial, dossier, the aforementioned latinidad, mirada cómplice, tiempo extra, tiempo de sobra, and a literary section: deshoras which, in one issue, published a selection of poems by Francisco X. Alarcón. I remember him specifically telling me he'd read, cover to cover, the issue in which he appeared. He was very impressed. Its circulation goes well beyond Chicago and, for that matter, the United States. Currently at the helm of contratiempo is Moira Pujols, whom I've had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with at various events in Chicago.

With the Guild Complex, it was the same: I got a phone call, followed by a visit to South Bend from Executive Director, fiction writer and Macondista Ellen Wadey and current board president and poet Michael Puican. Over lunch we hammered out the details of our collaboration. PALABRA PURA was born. We will be launching season four the day after Barack Obama takes office.

But as coincidence would have it, the Guild Complex had also reached out to contratiempo and they, too, have helped promote PALABRA PURA in their pages and have helped the local curation committee by recommending Spanish-language poets in the Chicago area. In other words, the partnership between the Guild, Letras Latinas and contratiempo has been flourishing now for four years. My sources tell me that the Guild had a modest hand, behind the scenes, in helping spark the beginnings of a new partnership---one that merits our attention and support:

contratiempo and Poetry

Tomorrow, at Café Efebos in Pilsen in Chicago, contratiempo and Poetry magazine will be presenting a bilingual poetry program---a program featuring, to be sure, two PALABRA PURA alums: Jorge Frisancho, who will be reading the poems of the late Roberto Bolaño and Jorge Sánchez (who has a poem in the November issue of Poetry), who will reading his own work. So if you’re in Chicago, please consider checking this out; if you’re not and you know someone who is, encourage them. In short, spread the word.

CLICK HERE for more information.

Any literary partnerships out there worth knowing about?

The Guild + Andrés Montoya + Cave Canem =

PRIZE WINNING POETS TO READ IN CHICAGO
The Guild Literary Complex, Cave Canem
and Letras Latinas launch collaborative program

CHICAGO, IL -- On July 23, 8:30 pm, poets Dawn Lundy Martin and Sheryl Luna will read from their prize winning books at the California Clipper Lounge, 1002 North California Avenue, Chicago. Recipients, respectively, of the 2006 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and the inaugural Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, Martin and Luna will appear in connection with a cohort residency at The Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL, piloted in 2008 by the Guild Literary Complex, Cave Canem Foundation and Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. With support from the Joyce Foundation, in addition to a two-week residency, the organizations awarded each of the poets a $1000 honorarium. The California Clipper's doors will open at 8 pm. The public, 21 years of age and older, is invited to attend.

BACKGROUND

In 2006, Ellen Wadey, Director of the Guild Literary Complex, conducted research about diversity initiatives at artist residencies across the country. She learned that many writers of color are unfamiliar with residency opportunities, and that many of those who do attend feel they are overly representative of their racial and ethnic backgrounds. At the same time, participants cited benefiting from the creative space and camaraderie the experience provided. Wadey's findings formed the basis for piloting a cohort residency for the winners of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, a first book prize for African American poets, and the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, a first book award for Latino/a poets.

THE POETS

Dawn Lundy Martin was awarded the 2006 Cave Canem Poetry Prize by Carl Phillips for her manuscript, A Gathering of Matter / A Matter of Gathering (University of Georgia Press, 2007). She is the author of The Morning Hour, selected in 2003 by C.D. Wright for the Poetry Society of America's National Chapbook Fellowship. In 2002 and 2006, she was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Artists Grant for Poetry. Her poems have appeared in several journals, including Callaloo, nocturnes and Encyclopedia. She is the founding member of the Black Took Collective, a group of experimental black poets, and is the co-editor of a collection of essays, The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminisim. She is an Assistant Professor of English at University of Pittsburgh.

Sheryl Luna's collection of poetry, Pity the Drowned Horses (University of Notre Dame Press, 2005), was selected by Robert Vasquez for the 2004 Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. A graduate of Texas Tech University, she earned a doctorate in contemporary literature from the University of North Texas and an M.F.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso. She also holds an M.A. in English from Texas Women's University. Her work has appeared in Amherst Review, Feminist Studies, Georgia Review, American Literary Review, Notre Dame Review, and many other journals. She has received scholarships from the Fine Arts Work Center and the Napa Valley Writer's Conference. She was a finalist for the National Poetry Series, the Perugia Press Prize and the 2006 Colorado Book Awards. She teaches at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

The Guild Literary Complex, Chicago, IL, is a community-based organization that presents and supports diverse, divergent and emerging voices through innovative programs, including performance and readings. For nearly 20 years, the Guild has looked at literary culture and asked, "What's missing?" The organization twice has been selected as a model literary center by the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to the Andrés Montoya and Cave Canem cohort residency, its signature programs include Palabra Pura, Poetry Performance Incubator and the Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Award.

*

NOTE

The winner of the 3rd edition
of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize
will be announced in mid-August.
The final judge,
who is still deliberating,
is Martín Espada.

Palm Beach Recap: New Latino Poetry ON TOUR

One of the things we were a tad concerned about was the fact that the reading was scheduled for 11 am on a Saturday morning. Molly Charland, our host at the Society of the Four Arts, wasn't completely certain what kind of attendance to expect, though their poetry events in the past had done well. Weather would be key. Thankfully, it was a sunny morning as the four of us strolled out of The Chesterfield down Cocoanut Row to the King Library. We were told to arrive around 10ish for a sound check, though that didn't seem urgent when we got there. We had time to relax, take a stroll in their gardens, which are quite beautiful, and begin to have our first "King Sling:" Molly, the director of the library, believes that every library should have its signature cocktail, and the one we sipped that morning was called the "King Sling." I can't precisely remember what was in it, though I do recall frozen berries of a sort. Eduardo, do you remember what kind of berries those were?

The reading took place on the second floor, which one got to by elevator after walking past a special glass display case that held first editions of James Merrill, whose family had a home in Palm Beach. By the time we got started, which was a shade past 11, my guessestimate is that there were around 40-45 people in attendance---which is about what PALABRA PURA in Chicago averages (I'm increasingly less a fan of the mega crowds where poetry readings are concerned; I find myself enjoying more intimate spaces and audiences). In fact, I had assured Molly that equally important to this initiative (The Wind Shifts TOUR), in addition to sharing work from the anthology with the public, was providing an opportunity for poets in the anthology to meet and interact with each other. This was very much part of the grant narrative that I put together and it is one of the driving philosophies behind PALABRA PURA and, increasingly, the work I find myself doing at Letras Latinas: bringing people together.

And so yes, the reading was great. Eduardo, Kevin, and Sheryl all read beautifully. In addition to hearing them read their own work, Eduardo read a poem by Emmy Pérez; Kevin read a poem by Naomi Ayala; Sheryl read a poem by Gina Franco; I read a poem by Deborah Parédez as my contribution. The comments from the audience during our Q and A were glowing with regard to the work they heard performed that morning. At the reception back downstairs, it was gratifying to see our three poets seated at a long wooden table signing books---the anthology, Pity the Drowned Horses, The Night Tito Trinidad KO'ed Ricardo Mayorga---and interacting with the public. We sold around 20 copies of The Wind Shifts. One of Molly's assistants (whose name I am forgetting) took pictures with her digital camera which I hope to share here very soon. All this was great.

But equally great, in my view, was being joined by Emma Trelles, poet and journalist; Richard Blanco, fellow anthology contributor; and poet Rita Marie Martínez (author of the forthcoming, Jane in the Box, which was a finalist for the 2007 Noemi Press Chapbook Award) afterwards for our "salon meal." After the reading, the seven of us strolled over to Worth Avenue to Taboo, which became our choice space during our stay (Eduardo, Kevin and myself had a late dinner there the night before; Eduardo, Sheryl and I had a late dinner there the night before our departure). We sat at a large round table and had a wonderful time talking about a plethora of subjects, including Cuban American poets we were eager to learn more about, including a poet Emma and Rita mentioned, who is a firefighter and has an MFA Florida International University. This prompted me to tell them about Sarah Cortez and How to Undress a Cop. Kevin, Richard and Eduardo were having simultaneous conversations among themselves. Eduardo had never met Kevin before this reading. Richard had never met Kevin, either. I was meeting Emma for the first time, in addition to Rita, whose work I'm now looking forward to reading. Sheryl shared with the table what an interesting time she was having teaching African American literature in Colorado, and Zora Neale Hurston in particular. It was a pleasure to be able to convey to her how much Cornelius Eady and Joyelle McSweeney enjoyed 7, the manuscript she submitted to the Sandeen Prize and which is is now going to be published by University of Notre Dame Press. In short, the camaraderie that was enjoyed was as important an experience as the reading itself---creating the opportunity for it: that's what this tour is also about.

Of the 25 poets in the anthology, 23 have agreed to take part, for which I am grateful. All the players involved in this first installment, including the special guests mentioned, made for a memorable launch.

And finally, a heartfelt thanks to the Guild Complex and Ellen Wadey for her crucial logistic coordination in getting all the poets to Palm Beach. It's an organization I feel very fortunate to be associated with and with whom Letras Latinas has been partnering now for nearly threes.


Gracias, as well, to our two private donors who more than doubled the modest grant NALAC gave us, which got this ball rolling.

Next Stop: The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis on May 31.

Origins of PALABRA PURA

PALABRA PURA was a gift. It's been the most gratifying project I've been involved with in the last year and a half. The context from which it arose and how it has unfolded, and continues to, is emblematic of the main points I've been trying to convey here.

Gracias to Lisa Alvarado for asking, and gracias to La Bloga for inviting her on board.

PALABRA PURA recap from Albuqueqrue

One of the hallmarks of PALABRA PURA is its pre-reading dinner. In addition to inviting a visiting poet to perform for a Chicago audience, we host a meal at a local restaurant—usually at Lula—with invited guests, starting with the Chicago poet our out-of-town artist will be sharing the stage with. Those present at the dinner usually include Guild Executive Director (and fiction writer) Ellen Wadey, Guild board member and poet Mike Puican, and poet Mary Hawley. The four of us form the PALABRA PURA steering committee. Attendance at these dinners fluctuates from as few as the steering committee and the out-town-poet to the steering committee, both featured poets and two or three additional guests. When María Meléndez and Carlos Cumpian read for PALABRA PURA during its first season, for example, special guest included poet Carl Marcum, who lives in Chicago and teaches at DePaul. When Victor Hernández Cruz read last month, special guests included Achy Obejas, the Cuban-born writer, Stephen Young of the Poetry Foundation, and Lisa Alvarado, Chicago writer and performer.

The idea is this: we want poets who read for PALABRA PURA to have as pleasant an experience as possible. Because we are not in a position to offer large honoraria, we try and make up for it in other ways. And one of those ways is to create opportunities for meaningful connection and dialogue. Last night was no exception. In some ways, the steering committee was spoiled in that we had Lisa to ourselves. Among the things she shared was her experience at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, where she performed her work (to where I was flying the next day). We also learned more about the circumstances that led her to become a regular contributor to La Bloga. She hopes to increase Latino GLBT visibility in that space, for example.

After dinner we head to the California Clipper, the bar that graciously hosts PALABRA PURA. The inside décor reminds one—with its throwback red booths and dimmed lights—of a speakeasy from another era. Our readings take place in the backroom, which is presided over by a painting of a reclining nude that reminds one of Goya’s famous La maja desnuda. Last night Gregorio Gomez was already present at the bar of the Clipper with who I took to be a modest entourage of his enthusiasts. Like my experience with ACENTOS in the Bronx, the evening sort of eases into itself. When we’re ready to begin, our MC, the poet Johanny Vasquez Paz (author of the recently released Streetwise Poems with Mayapple Press), gets things started by introducing the open mic readers, who include this time a public school teacher who recites two poems from memory, including one where he deploys with success the repetition of the word: “Chicago.” Johanny later gives a more-personal-than-usual introduction of Gregorio Gomez, who is originally from Veracruz and has been part of the Chicago open mic poetry scene for some twenty years and runs one of the longest-running series called Weeds. The highlight of his reading, in my view, is the encore his fans demand: he recites from memory his poem “The City” which he half chants, as if praying aloud. I notice that there are people in the audience who seem to know the poem by heart and are almost reciting parts of it with him. In short, it was one of the evening’s highlights.

Lisa Alvarado, for her part, has that rare knack, where poetry readings are concerned, of being able to connect with an audience in an indelible way. It’s a combination of humility, humor and knowing just the right dose of pre-poem commentary. She had given me The Housekeeper’s Diary back in March, but I had not really had the opportunity to engage with it until last night. I brought it and read along while she performed. She’s a wonderful reader and, I would say, had the audience in the palm of her hand. She then read from a mixed genre piece about her mother who, it seems, had been a model in her youth. A moving, heartfelt piece. All in all, it was one of PALABRA PURA’s best installments.

I finish up these comments in Albuquerque, where I’ve just returned from a memorable group dinner following the opening reception of Poetas y Pintores at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. More tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to hearing José Montoya read his poetry.