I was playing tennis today - about the only exercise I've managed to fit in this week and somehow, only the Supreme Surrealness knows how, when the tennis pro hit a ball to me hard to do a backhand volley, the ball hit my racket, the racket hit my glasses, the glasses hit my face and then went flying across the court.
End result - remember those really expensive new glasses I had to buy about a month and a half ago because the puppy ate my old pair? Well...those nice new (expensive) frames are kaput. As in broken. Beyond repair. Fortunately the extremely expensive complex lenses emerged relatively unscathed, despite one of them popping out of the frame when in broke.
So I'm back looking at life through puppy chewed glasses, and waiting to see if the slightly swollen, red eye ends up turning black.
Go freaking figure.
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By: Sarah Darer Littman,
on 5/29/2008
Blog: It's My Life and I'll Blog if I Want To! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 12/13/2007
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Stories on Stage, Junot Díaz, Latinos in Lotusland, Add a tag
Manuel Ramos LIBRARY JOURNAL SELECTS DÍAZ AS ONE OF THE BEST OF 2007
This post is quick and slim -- the holidays are bearing down and time is short.
Among the Library Journal's recently released list of the best books of 2007 can be found The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz (Penguin Group ). Here's LJ's take on this highly-regarded novel:
Díaz follows up his breathtaking story collection, Drown, with a brief and wondrous novel about a second-generation Dominican nerd nicknamed Oscar Wao. More than a coming-of-age tale—and more than an account of the Latino experience—this robust work uses Oscar’s sharp and distinctive voice to delineate the human struggle to define oneself. (LJ Xpress Reviews, 8/28/07).
Loosely based on the life of the great Spanish cellist Pablo Casals, Romano-Lax’s riveting debut novel follows a Catalan boy’s musical journey through 50 years of Spain’s tumultuous history. (LJ 8/07).
FOURTH ANNUAL WRITERS STUDIO LITERARY CONTESTFirst place winners win $250, publication in Arapahoe Community College's literary magazine, Progenitor, and a guest invitation to the annual Literary Festival in April. The winners read their work at the festival. See General Submission guidelines here. Writers Studio runs a yearly literary contest in fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. The contest is open to ACC students, faculty and the Colorado community. All entries are considered for publication in The Progenitor. Submissions for this year's contest will be accepted January 1, 2008 through March 1, 2008.
NEW LITERARY SITE
We recently received the following message:
I am very pleased to announce the creation of alternative-publications, a new virtual press devoted to publishing innovative Latina/o literature.
Alternative-publications intends to provide an outlet for innovative literature that may not be considered marketable by established presses, to encourage the public to play an active role in the literary process, to serve as a public action in favor of a literature that is not market-driven, and to create a database of
reader-responses for future use by researchers.
Please pay us a visit (and spread the word!): http://alternative-publications.ucmerced.edu
(Please note: if you get a message to the effect that the server is not found, please try again after a few minutes. If the problem persists, please let us know).
Looking forward to your comments,
Manuel M. Martin-Rodriguez
Professor of Literature and Founding Faculty
University of California, Merced
TALES OF MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE GREAT LOTUSLAND COVER
This book is finally on its way -- early 2008. More info on Daniel Olivas's website. You know you want it.
Later.
Manuel, that cover for Daniel's anthology fascinates. Thanks for the tip about the annual ACC competition and the note about The Spanish Bow, which sounds amazing. I'm reading The Brief Wondrous Life right now. K.
M -- Your post is hardly bits and pieces! It's great overview of reading folks should take time to investigate. And this isn't the first Daniel Olivas book cover (and contents) that fascinates!
lisa