Letras Latinas, the literary program of the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for
Latino Studies (ILS), has partnered with Noemi Press to launch the AKRILICA
series, which will showcase new books by Latino/a writers.
The
inaugural volume is Boxing the Compass by Sandy Florian, who read
from her work at Notre Dame in 2006 and took part in the Letras Latinas Oral
History Project.
The
new imprint aims to complicate the perception of contemporary Latino/a letters
in order to fully represent the complexity of Latino/a histories, politics, and
aesthetics. “The seed for AKRILICA was planted in the fall of 2010 when I
had extended conversations with Carmen Giménez Smith and J. Michael Martínez, who is Noemi’s poetry editor,” said Letras Latinas director FranciscoAragón. “It was during an NEA-funded residency at Ragdale for Latino poet-editors, and
we talked about wanting to create a space for work that thwarts common
expectations when a term like ‘Latino poetry’ is uttered or discussed.”
Sandy
Florian is the author of On Wonderland
& Waste (Sidebrow), Prelude to
Air From Water (Elixir Press), The
Tree of No (Action Books), Telescope
(Action Books), and 32 Pedals & 47 Stops
(Tarpaulin Sky Press).
Bin Ramke had this to say about the collection: Sandy Florian’s
gorgeous meditation, Boxing the Compass,
begins with kinds of unfolding, a sort of anti-origami of intention and desire:
like love letters or lover’s bodies, exposing and withholding simultaneously.
Any reader who opens herself, himself to this book is risking a special kind of
pleasure. But the presiding engagement is not pleasure itself, but experience
of unfolding, which can also be violent—an earthquake is a cosmic origami, and
an accurate account of the mind awakening in this extraordinary book.
The
next book in the series will be Titulada,
a bilingual collection by Los Angeles-based writer elena minor, who was also
present at the Ragdale poet-editors gathering and is the founding editor of PALABRA: A Magazine for Chicano & LatinoLiterary Art.
The
series name commemorates and revives a groundbreaking volume of poetry
published in Santa Cruz, CA in 1989, a collection in which the Spanish-language
original was rendered into its English-language counterpoint by a team of five
translators which included the author himself: Juan Felipe Herrera.
Noemi
Press, founded in 2002 by award-winning writer and editor, Carmen Giménez
Smith, strives to publish between 4 and 6 titles a year and administers two
national book prizes for poetry and fiction, respectively. Noemi has also
published chapbooks, including Heterotopia
by 2009 Letras Latinas Residency Fellow, John Chávez.
“We’re
thrilled to be partnering with Letras Latinas,” said Giménez Smith who, in
addition to its founder, is Noemi Press’ publisher. “The AKRILICA imprint
is going to be an important new presence, contributing to the ongoing
conversation about identity and contemporary poetry,” she added.
Letras
Latinas seeks to enhance the visibility, appreciation and study of Latino
literature both on and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame, and is
particularly interested in projects that identify and support emerging voices.
Noemi
Press is a literary arts organization based in Las Cruces, New Mexico,
dedicated to publishing and promoting the work of emerging and established
authors and artists.
Contacts:
