As Groucho sang, "I have come just to say I must be going." Compays, personal needs require that I take a new role with La Bloga, one where I will post as time and circumstances allow. I would still love to hear about your novel, poetry joint, your visual art, and I hope to continue to offer occasional interviews and personal rants. But the frequency will have to be much less often, at least for the near future. You can always contact me through my site: lisaalvarado.net, and [email protected]., and I hope you do.
I am hugely humbled and grateful for the chance to share my scribbling, my POV, to interview and review awe-inspiring work. La Bloga has given me a way to be up close and personal with the likes of Martin Espada, Demtria Martinez, Achy Obejas, Margo Tamez, Luis Rodriguez, and a galaxy of writers and artists. Although I hope to be here in a different way, you will be continue to be regaled, illuminated, challenged, entertained and delightfully provoked with the writing of : Annette Leal Mattern Viva Liz Vega! tatiana de la tierra Olga Garcia Echeverria Daniel Olivas Rene Colato Lainez Lydia Gil Manuel Ramos Ann Hagman Cardinal msedano.
I'd like to end this post with some quotes about that which I love best:
A poet can survive everything but a misprint. ~ Oscar Wilde
Poetry is not a profession, it is a destiny. ~ Mikhail Dudan
Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life. ~ William Hazlitt
Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted. ~ Percy Shelley
My favorite poem is the one that starts 'Thirty days hath September” because it actually tells you something. ~ Groucho Marx
Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. ~ Percy Byshe Shelley
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. ~ from Dead Poet's Society
A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else is just a footnote. ~ Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Hasta Pronto, Lisa Alvarado
"Down to the Bone is a funny, bold, and poignant novel readers will quite enjoy. I loved the great characters, and the setting of Miami! I’ve never been to Miami, but reading these books set there (this and Total Constant Order, most recently) really makes me want to go! Also the fact that I am freezing here makes the weather there sound like heaven…
I loved this fresh, engaging, and honest book about love of all kinds, friendship, heartbreak, family, and life in general. Down to the Bone is a promising debut novel, and I look forward to Mayra Lazara Dole’s future writing." Jocelyn Under, Teen Book Review Reviews & News on Young Adult/Teen Fiction
From Mayra's editor, Rosemary Brosnan, Executive Edior. Children's Books/Harper Collins
"I’m delighted to share with you Down to the Bone, a first novel by Mayra Lazara Dole, a Cuban-born author with a fresh new voice. When I first read this manuscript, I was struck by Mayra’s portrayal of a Cuban Miami that is rarely written about—a Miami that is so alive that it almost becomes a character in her book. Mayra exposes intolerance on many levels within her community—an act of bravery on her part. But most of all, she reveals how her protagonist, Laura, learns how the word family can be defined in many different ways.
Mayra suffers from M.C.S., or Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and must live in a “bubble” in order to survive—a glassed-in room. A chemical injury from pesticides damaged her immune system. I have never spoken with her, as it is too exhausting for her to speak on the phone. When she feels well enough, we communicate by e-mail, and our work together was done on the computer, rather than with hard copy, as paper and ink contain chemicals. Unless she recovers, Mayra will not be able to hold her book in her hand when it is finished; however, her life-partner, Damarys, who helped us a great deal throughout the book production process, will hold the book up to the glass so Mayra can see it, and she will read it to her via speakerphone.
Working on this book was a meaningful experience to me in many ways. I am glad that Mayra wrote this important and vibrant novel, and I’m proud to be publishing it."
My take: First, much in the way Rigoberto Gonzalez cracked the lavender ceiling with prose and poetry, LGBT youth, young women especially can see their lives reflected in Down to the Bone. This books breaks the invisibility of young lesbians in Latino/a lit, and it does so with heart, with a finely etched, portrait of the protagonist, Laura. Laura falls in love and commits the cardinal sin of getting caught reading a love letter, and must face isolation from her family and expulsion from school.
But that's only one aspect of this book. Laura is layered, tender, self-aware, and shows the struggle to between an authentic life and the closet---what losses she faces and what precious truth. This is a coming-of-age story worthy of a close read for anyone who wants to feel that razor's edge many LGBT youth face day in and day out. Down to the Bone is certainly a bright mirror in which our young women-loving sisters can see themselves. It's also a loving touchstone for those adult hermanas that have come before, and open the closet door.
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Hailed as a “truth-telling visionary” by Brass Magazine and a “lyrical prophet” by the Caymanian Compass, CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ is a leading voice at the vanguard of the oral poetry movement. The iconic slam poet, actor, and playwright is a Russell Simmons' HBO Def Poet and 2006 International Poetry Slam Champion. He co-stars in Spike Lee's #1 box office smash hit film "INSIDE MAN," with his breakout lead role as “Steve” alongside Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen. The award-winning New York artist recently closed the soloNOVA Theater Festival with a sold-out run of his one-man play, “MAN UP,” which he then took to Scotland for a critically acclaimed month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Carlos, described by Underrated Magazine as “raw and intense…a rebel Don Juan with a sensitive edge,” was called “a must-see” and given five out of five stars by Hairline Magazine in England.
A former social worker and public school teacher who has become a favorite on the college/university circuit, he just wrapped his 26-date REBEL WITH A CAUSE NATIONAL TOUR.
Most recently, he collaborated with Tony Award-winning tap dance legend Savion Glover at The Town Hall on Broadway. Their much lauded performance, featured as part of the Nuyorican Poets Café’s “Aloud and Alive at 35” anniversary show, received a standing ovation from the sold-out audience.
This is the central hub for all information regarding Carlos' touring schedule and upcoming gigs/projects, as well as a networking forum for fans of his work.
It will also include special "SECRET SHOW" invitations exclusively for friends on FACEBOOK - so keep checking in for those forthcoming announcements.
Want to know where to get tickets for one of his shows?
Wondering if he'll be visiting your city or town sometime soon?
Interested in bringing him to your college or university?
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To book CARLOS for a college/university show or other engagement:
[email protected]Contact Info
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/CarlosAndresGomez
Office:
www.CarlosLive.com
Location:
New York, NY
Recent News
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
*Aug. 23rd -- "FATE BY THE THROAT" Double Album Release Show/Party @ Bowery Poetry Club (New York, NY)
PLUS special guest appearances by:
- Felice Belle
- Celena Glenn a.k.a. Black Cracker
- Roger Bonair-Agard
- Lynne Procope
*Aug. 30th&31st -- Toronto Urban Music Festival (Toronto, Canada)
*Sep. 3rd-28th -- Travel to Kenya & Rwanda (shooting for MYTH OF THE MOTHERLAND documentary film)
*Sep. 29th-Oct. 4th -- POETRY AFRICA Festival
(Durban, South Africa)
United States Poetry Representative
*Oct. 21st-26th -- KOSMOPOLIS International Festival of Literature
(Barcelona, Spain)
*Dec. 10th-13th -- Individual World Poetry Slam Championships
(Charlotte, NC, United States)
NYC/louderARTS representative
Lisa Alvarado
Lost Girls
Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie
Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie have created a groundbreaking work of genius in Lost Girls. Genius? Unequivocally, and absolutely, yes. It is a trilogy of supremely drawn, lush, graphic novels, but it is so much more than that.Lost Girls brilliantly deconstructs three childhood female icons, Dorothy, Wendy and Alice. Moore and Gebbie create a universe where Oz, Neverland, and the Land through the Lookingglass are recast as a landscape for desire unbound, a landscape set in pre-World War I. This duo casts an unblinking eye on sexual desire, its myriad permutations, with every kink and taboo brought into the light. But rather than create the standard motif where woman is solely object of male desire, it takes those icons, flips the storyline to create a female centered erotic world where the women are the actors, rather than acted upon. In this universe, our heroines find each other, reveling in each other and their sexual past, with liberal lashings of fin de siècle plus, Colette, Apollinaire, Mucha, Wilde and Schiele.Lost Girls is hallucinatory, elegant, and profoundly arousing, a masterpiece of more than one genre, apocalyptic in its intensity and its ultimate message. Do not allow yourself to be lulled into a sense of false security. Do not write off Lost Girls as a mere pillow book. Lost Girls is a stunning liberatory and cautionary tale.After more than one read of this mind-blowing work, it's the ending that resonates at the deepest level, forcing the reader to look at the double edge sword of sexual liberation, what we use sex to feel or not feel, to see or not see, the erotization of violence. I have had only a few experiences that have so deeply challenged and excited me. Read Lost Girls, and I dare you not to be changed.Top Shelf Comix http://topshelfcomix.comISBN 1-891830-74-0xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
NALAC Receives $475,000 from the Ford Foundation
Grant to Support NALAC Fund for the Arts and a New Transnational Arts FundSAN ANTONIO – The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) has been awarded $475,000 from the Ford Foundation to support the NALAC Fund for the Arts and launch a new regranting initiative designed to promote intergenerational cultural transmission and community participation in the United States, Mexico and Central America.NALAC, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2009, delivers important services to the national Latino arts and culture sector through a series of core programs. These programs include direct funding support, leadership training, regional and national convenings, and field research.“It is an honor to receive this generous award,” says NALAC Executive Director Maria Lopez de Leon. “This grant will enable NALAC to provide much needed support to an innovative community of Latino artists and organizations whose work greatly enriches the cultural life of the nation and promotes understanding among culturally and economically linked populations in other communities in the Americas.”The NALAC Fund for the Arts (NFA), which was launched in 2005 with major support from the Ford Foundation and JPMorgan Chase, has awarded more than $379,000 in three years to 128 Latino artists, ensembles, and small and mid-size Latino arts and culture organizations. The grantees reflect every discipline and region of the country.The new Transnational Cultural Remittance (TCR) initiative builds on NALAC’s longstanding leadership role in supporting artistic work that addresses issues of social justice, cultural transmission and economic empowerment. The TCR initiative will support the creation and dissemination of new artistic works that directly explore, engage and articulate the complex issues facing transnational communities in the United States, Mexico and Central America.“We are thankful for the Ford Foundation’s continued support,” says Abel Lopez, Chair of the NALAC Board. “Through their partnership in programs such as the NFA, the Ford Foundation is making a difference in the quality of life in communities across the country. Through the Transnational Cultural Remittance initiative, we look forward to addressing serious cultural issues and creating new avenues for artistic, social and economic participation throughout North America and Central America”The NALAC Transnational Cultural Remittance initiative builds on NALAC's experience administering the NALAC Fund for the Arts and its long-term commitment to empowering artists and arts and culture organizations working on issues vital to communities in the United States, Mexico, Central America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Guidelines for the new NALAC Transnational Cultural Remittances regranting initiative will be available later this year.About the Ford Foundation: The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Russia.About NALAC: Founded in 1989, NALAC is the only national Latino arts and culture service organization in the United States. It plays a vital role in fostering understanding, providing advocacy, conducting original research, creating networking opportunities, and providing leadership instruction that ensures the health and sustainability of the national Latino arts. NALAC’s core programs include the NALAC Fund for the Arts, the annual NALAC Leadership Institute, Regional Arts Training Workshops, the NALAC National Conference, El Aviso Latino arts magazine, and the monthly eBoletin online newsletter. NALAC is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.Support: NALAC receives generous support from the Ford Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Southwest Airlines, MetLife Foundation, Heineken USA, Texas Commission on the Arts, The Tobin Endowment, City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs, Tucson Pima Arts Council, PEC United Charities Inc., H-E-B, Our Lady of the Lake University, NALAC members, individual donors and volunteers.For more information, call 210-432-3982, email [email protected] or visit www.nalac.orgGALLERY OPENING
Lisa Alvarado
La Bloga friend, Rigoberto Gonzalez wrote this review
about Carmen Tafolla's wonderful new book. Gente: if you haven't bought this book, run, do not walk to your nearest indy bookseller. And if you can't quite ambulate, click here. Lisa Alvarado
I'm sure your Guardian Muse has you in her sights, Lisa. Looking forward to what comes when the wind changes again.
mvs
Much love and many abrazos I am sending your way from L.A., Lisa. We have been enriched and entertained by your presence on La Bloga. And we await with anticipation your future posts which might be infrequent but no less satisfying.
You say goodbye, I say hello. Thank you for all you brought to La Bloga, and will bring again. You made quite an impact. Abrazos,
Manuel
Thanks for all your support for La Bloga and for your wonderful posts. This is your casa.
I can't think of anything better than what the other boys said, Lisa, so I'll just wish you, if not a peaceful life, then the peace to enjoy each moment.
And send tus pensamientos y sentimientos whenever you wish, however you wish.
RudyG
This is very sad news. Thank you for your commitment to our community of writers. Thank you for your generosity of spirit. Thank you for your sharp eye and your sensitive ear. Thank you for everything. I'll be rooting for a comeback.