Latino/a Poetry Now: installment 3: Saint Paul

Latino/a Poetry Now poets

Lorena Duarte, Rigoberto González, 

Xochiquetzal Candelaria

***

A little over a year ago, we kicked this thing off at Harvard University with Rosa Alcalá, Eduardo C. Corral, and Aracelis Girmay, in collaboration with the Woodberry Poetry Room and our national partner, the Poetry Society of America. The following spring saw us at Georgetown University, hosted by the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice, with additional collaboration from the Poetry and Literature Center and the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress---and the presence of William Archila, and the work of Ruth Irupé Sanabria, as read by Carolyn Forché. And just a few days ago--over the course of three days, really---we reached the half-way mark of this initiative (with two installments remaining) in the land of 10,000 lakes---specifically, the Cities, more specifically still, Saint Paul's Macalester College and Kristin Naca and her dedicated students. Also helping us out: the Loft Literary Center. But let me get back to those "three days." I say three because Rigoberto González arrived on Monday night and departed on Thursday morning. We were joined by Xochiquetzal Candelaria on Tuesday evening, and Lorena Duarte on Wednesday night for the public event. And in between, we met with quite a number of students. In this sense, installment three of Latino/a Poetry Now set the benchmark as far as integrating pedagogy and interaction with students. A number of classes adopted the books of our poets and this made for especially stimulating dialogues with them. Again, Macalester raised the bar a bit, and has given us something to emulate at our next two stops: the University of Arizona next April and the University of Notre roughly a year from now.  I don't think I speak for myself only when I say that the time spent with students made the experience all the more enriching and meaningful for our visiting writers. Without further delay, some pics:

poet imparting wisdom to local writing group made

up primarily of students, Tuesday at noon

poet signing

Rigo and Naca with Poster

 purple signage

colloquium/reception with "Adelante" students, Tuesday night

Minneapolis cityscape with two poetas, Wednesday noon

Macalester faculty with visiting poets, Wednesday afternoon

Colloquium with students

Macelester campus con tres #1

Macalester campus con tres #2

signing the poster #1

signing the poster #2

signing the poster #3

Three poets with poster

Sound check views of two poets, Wednesday night

Pre-reading jitters with three poets

Lorena Durate 

Lorena Duarte

Xochiquetzal Candelaria

Rigoberto González

 Waiting for Naca

Kristin Naca moderating the Q and A

View of audience with David Mura in the foreground
*
No less important a part of Latino/a Poetry Now are
the online roundtable discussions hosted on the website
of the Poetry Society of America.
Read our three poets discussing their art HERE.
*
Next stop:
The University of Arizona's Poetry Center,
featuring Carmen Giménez Smith, Roberto Tejada,
and J. Michael Martínez:
April 25, 2013.
***
Latino/a Poetry Now is an initiative of Letras Latinas,
the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies
at the University of Notre Dame
and the Poetry Society of America
and is made possible, in part,
thanks to the generosity of individual donors.

"PALABRISTAS: Latin@ Word Slingers"

Carl Marcum and Lorena Duarte
(photo credit: Emmy Pérez)

Emmy Pérez, Urayoán Noel, Francisco Aragón,
Carl Marcum, Venessa Fuentes, Lorena Duarte
(photo credit: Jerod Santek)

Aside, of course, from the readings themselves, The Wind Shifts TOUR aims to provide occasions for anthology contributors to connect with one another---particularly among those who haven't met or those who have, but barely.

If the reading in Palm Beach in February allowed the featured poets to connect with fellow anthology contributor Richard Blanco, and local poets Emma Trelles and Rita Marie Martínez, the reading in Minneapolis introduced us to fellow anthology contributor Venessa Fuentes, and local poets Lorena Duarte (a board member of The Loft, and gracious Minneapolis tour guide) and, later in the evening, Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria---both of them contributors to a chapbook anthology called Outside the Lines, and edited by Brandon Lacy Campos, Lorena Duarte, Tatiana Ormaza, and Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria and featuring "PALABRISTAS: Latin@ Word Slingers." (Rodrigo also gifted a number of us with his spoken word CD, DESCONOCIDOS, which I had the pleasure of listening to last night).

The preface to Outside the Lines, titled "Somos," articulates, towards the end:

"Palabristas formed to solidify our connection as Latino writers. But, it also formed with a desire to be teachers, activists, and truth-tellers. With a dedication to our community, we sought to form a group that would not only echo the hearts of Latino people, but also serve to share the beauty of our voices with the broader community. Our histories are mixtures of this land and El Salvador, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. Our words are mezclas of Spanish, English and mismatched dialects from anywhere we called home."

Próxima Parada: Seattle.