Blas Falconer and Lorraine López coming to Washington
BREAKING NEWS:
Emma Trelles interviews Blas Falconer
about The Other Latin@
at Best American Poetry Blog
Letras
Latinas, the literary program of the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for
Latino Studies, is pleased to announce its collaboration with the Library of
Congress to present two events in Washington, D.C., this week. On Thursday,
April 26, Letras Latinas will partner with the Library’s Poetry and Literature
Center, Hispanic Division, and Center for the Book to present Latino poet Blas
Falconer and fiction writer Lorraine López, editors of the recently released
anthology The
Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity. “The Library of Congress is
pleased to finally be working with Letras Latinas, whose programs we’ve been
following with great interest,” said Rob Casper, the director of the Library’s
Poetry and Literature Center.
At noon
Letras Latinas Director Francisco Aragón will moderate a
discussion of the anthology. “This is a ground-breaking volume of essays by both poets
and fiction writers, and the Library of Congress seems like an appropriate
venue to discuss trends in a vital strand of American literature,” said Aragón.
The discussion, which will be video-recorded, will take place in the Mary
Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building, 101
Independence Avenue SE.
At 6:30
pm Falconer and López will read from their own works in the Mumford Room on the
sixth floor of the James Madison Building. Falconer is the author of the poetry
collections A
Question of Gravity and Light and The Perfect Hour. In addition to The Other Latin@, he co-edited Mentor and Muse: Essays
from Poets to Poets.
His honors include a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
and the Maureen Egan Literary Award. He is an associate professor of languages
and literature at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.
López
is the author of the story collections Homicide Survivors Picnic, which was a finalist for the 2010
Pen Faulkner Award, and Soy
la Avon Lady and Other Stories, winner of the inaugural Miguel Mármol Prize for Fiction.
She is also the author of three novels, including her most recent, The Realm of Hungry
Spirits. López is
professor of English at Vanderbilt University.
Letras
Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies, seeks to
enhance the visibility, appreciation and study of Latino literature, both on
and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame, with a focus on projects
that identify and support emerging voices. Letras Latinas’ programs in
Washington, DC, are funded, in part, by the Weissberg Foundation. For more
information, visit http://latinostudies.nd.edu/letras.
The
Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress fosters and enhances
the public’s appreciation of literature. The center administers the endowed
poetry chair (the US Poet Laureate) and coordinates an annual literary season
of poetry, fiction and drama readings, performances, lectures, and symposia,
sponsored by the Library’s Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund
and the Huntington Fund. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/poetry/.
Since
its creation by Congress in 1977 to “stimulate public interest in books and
reading,” the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress has become a major
national force for reading and literacy. A public-private partnership, it
sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages, nationally and
internationally. The center provides leadership for 52 affiliated state centers
for the book and nonprofit reading-promotion partners and plays a key role in
the Library’s annual National Book Festival. It also oversees the Library’s www.Read.gov
website and administers the Library’s Young Readers Center.
The
Hispanic Division, established in 1939, is the Library’s center for the study
of the cultures and societies of the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the
Caribbean, and other areas with significant Spanish or Portuguese influence.
For more information about the divisions resources and programs, visit http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/
