Good stuff this edition and it's a long one - Ernesto Cardenal makes a rare visit to Denver for a celebration of his new book. XicanIndie XIII is up and running - my post, thanks to Tanya over at Su Teatro, includes a schedule, summaries of the films, trailers, and details about the festival, now a mainstay of the Denver cultural scene. Finally, two close friends of La Bloga are up for a book award - how cool is that?
______________________________________________________________
The Origin of Species and Other Poems
Ernesto Cardenal
translated and introduced by John Lyons
foreword by Anne Waldman
Texas Tech University Press, April, 2011
[publisher's website text]
Ernesto Cardenal, widely acknowledged as Latin America's greatest living poet, continues to craft works of striking beauty, as demonstrated in this collection’s title poem, an exquisite meditation on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Among the twenty new poems included here are many appearing for the first time in English, some for the first time anywhere. Cardenal has also added new cantigas, or cantos, to supplement his book-length masterpiece, Cosmic Canticle. “There is order even in the foam of a torrent,” affirms Cardenal. Evolution, natural selection, existence, and purpose figure into this complex symphony. In his characteristic blend of poetry, politics, and prayer, he grapples with elemental questions of life, delivering a thought-provoking, joyous vision of an earthly paradise in which humanity must find its role and calling.
Cardenal epitomizes what makes literature live in Central America today. —Booklist
One of the world’s major poets. —Choice
Cardenal is a major epic-histocial poet, in the grand lineage of Central American prophet Rubén Dario. —Allen Ginsberg
One of the most influential (and controversial) poets of his generation. —Robert Hass
Praise for The Origin of Species and Other Poems
The crowning work in the long career of this well-known Latin American poet . . . [whose] revolutionary fire is still evident, but it's subsumed in the subjects of the poems rather than manifest[ed] in slogans. —Ed Ochester
A Whitmanic embrace and . . . a timely political resonance with a particularly difficult and broken-hearted new century. —Anne Waldman, from the foreword
The author of more than thirty-five books, many translated into multiple languages, Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1965. His studies with Trappist monk Thomas Merton and his involvement with the Sandinista movement in his home country have informed his writing and political activism. He lives in
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 4/7/2011
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tim Z. Hernandez, CA Book Awards, Ernesto Cardenal, XicanIndie, René Colato Laínez, Add a tag
By: Manuel Ramos,
on 3/27/2009
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: XicanIndie, Latinos in Lotusland, Hit List, Add a tag
“Pulses with the hum of city life”—New York Daily News
“Constantly unpredictable”—Variety
April 2, 6:00 p.m. -- Opening Night Reception (Moctesuma Esparza will be in attendance); City and County of Denver recognizes April 2, 2009 as Moctesuma Esparza Day; Su Teatro presents Esparza with the XicanIndie Lifetime Achievement Award
7:30 p.m. -- Amexicano (distributed by Moctesuma Esparza’s Maya Entertainment)
$15 Opening Night Reception & Film combo
Call El Centro Su Teatro for tickets: 303.296.0219. Check out complete festival details online at: http://xicanindie.suteatro.org or the Denver Film Society website.
NEW BOOK
A Not So Perfect Crime,
Teresa Solana
Bitter Lemon Press, March, 2009
Another day in Barcelona, another slimy politician’s wife is suspected of infidelity. Luis Font discovers a portrait of his wife in an exhibition that leads him to conclude he is being cuckolded by the artist. Concerned only about the potential political fallout, he hires twins Eduard and Pep, private detectives with a supposed knack for helping the wealthy with their “dirty laundry.” Their office is adorned with false doors leading to non-existent private rooms, a mysterious secretary who is always away and a broken laptop computer picked up on the street. The case turns ugly when Font’s wife is found poisoned by a marron glacé from a box of sweets delivered anonymously. This is a deftly plotted, bitingly funny mystery novel. A satire of Catalan politics and a fascinating insight into the life and habits of Barcelona’s inhabitants, diurnal and nocturnal. Winner of the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the Best Catalan Mystery Novel.
SHORT STORY EVENTS
Don't forget the group reading and Q&A for Latinos in Lotusland scheduled for March 28, 2009, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.at Librería Martínez, 1200 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92701. Phone: 714-973-7900. Scheduled contributors to the anthology include Lisa Alvarez, Conrad Romo, Victorio Barragan, Alejandro Morales, Sandra Ramos O'Briant, Manuel Ramos, and the esteemed editor, Daniel Olivas.
And, this just in ... a reading and signing for Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery has been set for the Tattered Cover, Colfax store (Denver) for May 21 at 7:30 p.m. Join Mario Acevedo and me at the Tattered as we read from our stories in the new anthology and celebrate this publishing milestone - the first short story collection devoted to Latino crime fiction writers. I will post a complete list of all scheduled Hit List events (from New York to Houston to San Antonio to Denver to L.A.) in the weeks to come. Watch for it.
And while you are at it, watch for another interview with one of the people responsible for putting together Hit List - coming soon.
Later.
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 4/7/2011
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tim Z. Hernandez, CA Book Awards, Ernesto Cardenal, XicanIndie, René Colato Laínez, Add a tag
2 Comments on Ernesto Cardenal Visits Denver - XicanIndie XIII - Book Awards, last added: 4/11/2011
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By: Manuel Ramos,
on 3/27/2009
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: XicanIndie, Latinos in Lotusland, Hit List, Add a tag
El Centro Su Teatro, in collaboration with the Consulado General de Mexico and the Denver Film Society, proudly presents XicanIndie FilmFest XI: Latino World Cinema, April 2 – 5, 2009 at the Starz FilmCenter, 900 Auraria Parkway in Denver.
What began as a small celebration of independent Chicano film making, has, in a decade’s time, become the foremost Latino film festival in the region. This year’s XicanIndie will feature the Denver premiere of an award-winning and riveting new film from director Alex Rivera, Sleep Dealer; a beloved classic from Mexico’s golden age of cinema; a handful of exciting independent shorts - the Chones; and a special tribute to legendary movie producer Moctesuma Esparza (The Milagro Beanfield War, Gettysburg, Walkout).
Su Teatro announces the XicanIndie FilmFest XI opening night film: Amexicano (a Denver premiere)
Join us at 6:00 p.m. as we celebrate the living legacy of Chicano film producer Moctesuma Esparza (Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, Milagro Beanfield War, Selena, Walkout) followed by the Denver premiere of Amexicano - the story of an unlikely friendship between a down and out Italian-American and a Mexicano day laborer.
“Pulses with the hum of city life”—New York Daily News
“Constantly unpredictable”—Variety
April 2, 6:00 p.m. -- Opening Night Reception (Moctesuma Esparza will be in attendance); City and County of Denver recognizes April 2, 2009 as Moctesuma Esparza Day; Su Teatro presents Esparza with the XicanIndie Lifetime Achievement Award
7:30 p.m. -- Amexicano (distributed by Moctesuma Esparza’s Maya Entertainment)
$15 Opening Night Reception & Film combo
Call El Centro Su Teatro for tickets: 303.296.0219. Check out complete festival details online at: http://xicanindie.suteatro.org or the Denver Film Society website.
NEW BOOK
A Not So Perfect Crime,Teresa Solana
Bitter Lemon Press, March, 2009
Another day in Barcelona, another slimy politician’s wife is suspected of infidelity. Luis Font discovers a portrait of his wife in an exhibition that leads him to conclude he is being cuckolded by the artist. Concerned only about the potential political fallout, he hires twins Eduard and Pep, private detectives with a supposed knack for helping the wealthy with their “dirty laundry.” Their office is adorned with false doors leading to non-existent private rooms, a mysterious secretary who is always away and a broken laptop computer picked up on the street. The case turns ugly when Font’s wife is found poisoned by a marron glacé from a box of sweets delivered anonymously. This is a deftly plotted, bitingly funny mystery novel. A satire of Catalan politics and a fascinating insight into the life and habits of Barcelona’s inhabitants, diurnal and nocturnal. Winner of the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize for the Best Catalan Mystery Novel.
SHORT STORY EVENTS
Don't forget the group reading and Q&A for Latinos in Lotusland scheduled for March 28, 2009, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.at Librería Martínez, 1200 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92701. Phone: 714-973-7900. Scheduled contributors to the anthology include Lisa Alvarez, Conrad Romo, Victorio Barragan, Alejandro Morales, Sandra Ramos O'Briant, Manuel Ramos, and the esteemed editor, Daniel Olivas.
And, this just in ... a reading and signing for Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery has been set for the Tattered Cover, Colfax store (Denver) for May 21 at 7:30 p.m. Join Mario Acevedo and me at the Tattered as we read from our stories in the new anthology and celebrate this publishing milestone - the first short story collection devoted to Latino crime fiction writers. I will post a complete list of all scheduled Hit List events (from New York to Houston to San Antonio to Denver to L.A.) in the weeks to come. Watch for it.
And while you are at it, watch for another interview with one of the people responsible for putting together Hit List - coming soon.
Later.
2 Comments on XicanIndie, New Book, Short Story Events, last added: 4/6/2009
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I wanted to comment on the presentation by Brenda Cardenas. She did a really good job of keeping the audience interested in what she was talking about, especially with her humor, while still conveying a ton of information. Not only did she read some of her comical poetry, but she also shared the work of others. I especially liked the poem "Oh What a nice day to be aqui en Sears, Miss Conception." It showed the importance of code-switching and how using both English and Spanish creates much irony and humor. Rockhurst was extremely lucky to get the opportunity to see her presentation!
I'd like to comment on what seems like the ever-growing community of Latino writers and artists in the Kansas City area. I think the expansion of this literary area is incredible, and wouldn't be possible without informative medians such as La Bloga and the work of the artists.
Furthermore, it seems that the artists themselves take an impassioned interest in promoting the work of others. Both Xanath and Mr. Faus have worked to grow Latino literature in art in the area by organizing and directing literary and art events. In my limited experience with the LWC the authors have been very willing to share their work and encourage others to do so.