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Lisa Alvarado - Interview with Luz Maria Umpierre

Luz Maria Umpierre has wrought a legacy, a challenge, a history, a love letter, a sinuous and sentient record of personal identity, revealing the crosshatched scars and singing victories of a warrior, the yielding body and the body politic in
"I'm still standing- 30 Years of Poetry -available through her website http://luzmaumpierre.com

"Luz Maria Umpierre is, quite simply, one of my heroes in a postmodern world that insists on rid­ding us of icons and pedestals in an attempt to level all people and institu­tions. Paradoxically, some institutions seem to merit such debasement when they never miss an opportunity to hound the historically marginal­ized and alternative voices out of the academy." Dr.Eric Pennington (Seton Hall)

She is an established scholar in the fields of Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Latina/o Studies, Poetry, and Gender Studies, with multiple publications in leading journals, including Hispania, Latin American Theatre Review, Revista do Estudios Hispánicos, Bilingual Review, Chasqui, Explicación do Textos Literarios, Chicana/Latina Studies and The Americas Review. Co-founder of the journal, Third Woman. Also published in internet journals, including La Acera, Diálogo Digital, Cruce and La Bloga.

Author of two books of literary criticism, ten collections of bilingual poetry, numerous book chapters and over 50 articles of literary criticism on Latin American scholars and writers from several generations, including a seminal article on writers and migration published in MELUS in 2002 and currently included in an anthology of essays in honor of Isabel Allende.

Her collected works and personal papers currently housed at De Paul University, Latina rare book collection housed at Bryn Mawr College.

She is recognized internationally as an authority on the interdisciplinary study of Literature, the Social Sciences, History and Language, especially regarding race, culture, gender identity and ethnicity. Complete list of publications available on request.

What do you believe is the purpose of poetry?
The purpose of poetry is to liberate the spirit, our soul, so that it has a concrete expression that is palpable. And as Julia Alvarez said in one of my favorite poems of all times, to be able to say "Whoever reads this poem, touches a woman." I am hoping that I am quoting her correctly because my copy of her book is at my rare book collection at Bryn Mawr. I can and will accept to be corrected in my quote but not in my idea. LOL

What do you consider to be "Latino/a" themes?
All themes are Latina themes. It is the vision or the approach we take as Latinas what gives them a sabor or authenticity that is ours. For example, many years ago I took Vanguardista poetry which was highly non-politicized and turned it into political poetry. From there, for example, emerged my Poemas Concretistas.

To say that there are Latina themes is to reduce us. Granted there are subject matters such as identity that we explore more than other groups of writers but I would not say that there are Latina themes and non Latina themes. All themes are human themes and that is overall the most important theme to me.

Describe the intersection of sexual identity and culture as it lives in your writing?
I learned from Audre Lorde years and years ago that I cannot be asked to divide my Self into separate pieces of identity and ignore some in favor of others. That to me would be mutilation. I refuse to mutilate my rich identity for the sake of pleasing the eye of a beholder or for an aesthetics of a political correctdness of beauty. Thus all aspects of my identity and culture live in harmony in my works.

What would you say to critics of your lesbian-identified work?
That they get a life and start living in the 21st. century. I never forced them to leave their heterosexist and nationalist macho agenda views through meanness, non inclusion or actual shuning. On the contrary, I questioned them publicly and made my dissenting opinions known to them. I did not go back stabbing them, making calls to bad mouth them into being denied jobs, I did not refuse to teach them in my classes. To the contrary, I included them because I wanted to have an open dialogue about difference. But "I'm Still Standing" as the only dancer on that inclusion floor because some of these people are so petty that they refuse to engage me in public and face to face or, as Lorraine Sutton marvelously said in one of her poems: "to cunt-front" me.

How has academia enhanced/impinged upon your creative process?
They have always wanted to deny me a claim to my poetry as an academic achievement. However, I have not allowed them to infringe on my freedom to write. I have used my academic struggles precisely to question antics and tactics in academia and make fun, mock and criticize their elitism and snobbery.

Who are some authors who move you and why?
 Adrienne Rich, her book The Dream of A Common Language has been my Bible since the 1980s. Nemir Matos Cintron has poems in her collections A través del aire y del fuego pero no del cristal and in Aliens in NYC that have made me cry time and time again because of her portrayal of genuine human identity angst. I recently re/read a poem by Ana Castillo entitled: "I Ask The Impossible" and I am afraid that I ruined the Thai Lemon Tilapia dish that I was eating while reading it because I began to cry uncontrollably. I feel that we have all have wanted to be loved that way and her poem is a voicing of a human need that I had never read exposed in poetry. Lorde also moved me with some of her poems on women. Marge Piercy's book The Moon is Always Female has some of my favorite poems of all times because of her delving into what constitutes to be a strong woman. Julia de Burgos, of course she is part of our collective unconscious as Puerto Ricans. The theme of the river in her poetry and the sea attracts me.

What are some thoughts you would share with newer poetas/poetisas/Nuyorican poets?
To remember that many people paved a path for them and they should be honored, not bullied, harassed, shunned and most importantly, not disrespected.

I think Puerto Rican poets of the younger generation have no respect towards their elders, their sages, those who broke a path for them now to enjoy. They are not like other Latina groups. I am marveled by the respect of Mexican Americans towards their wiser older Latinas/Latinos something that is totally lacking among young poets be they Puerto Rican or Nuyorican.

I would like to let them know that one day they will inevitably be older and if they do not change their ways and attitudes, they too will be the subject of disrespect.

What sustains your creative and spiritual longevity?
The power to love, to find love, to see everything with fresh eyes, to be able to marvel at beauty and to be passionate about living. But also, as the poem says: "To be of use."

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Children's Book Week continues with Alisa Valdes...

Bestselling author Alisa Valdes Rodriguez is best known for her women's fiction. Now she's also dabbling into the young adult market with this her new paranormal romance series, The Kindred. The first book, Temptation, hit the shelves on April 24th. I read the first three chapters free on Kindle and I have to say, the story is quite engrossing. I plan to download the complete book soon. 

Let's support this talented Latina author! Be sure to check out her website and blog and read an excerpt of her newest novel, Temptation. 

About Alisa Valdes:

Alisa Valdes is a New York Times and USA Today best­selling author of six commercial women's fiction novels, including the dirty girls social club. She has a Masters in journalism from Columbia and is a Pulitzer-nominated, award-winning former staff writer for the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times. Alisa has written and sold pilot scripts to Nickelodeon, NBC, and Lifetime Television, as well as a teen crossover feature film based on The Kindred.
Book description:

His touch was electric.
His eyes were magnetic.
His lips were a temptation. . . .
But was he real?
Shane is near death after crashing her car on a long stretch of empty highway in rural New Mexico when she is miraculously saved by a mysterious young man who walks out of nowhere. She feels an instant energy between them, both a warmth that fills her soul and a tingle that makes her shiver. But who, or what, is he? For the first time in her life, she believes in the term "soul mates"�Travis is her destiny, and she is his. But she soon discovers that Travis is dead and strict rules govern kindred spirits of different dimensions. Even a kiss could destroy both their souls. And while Travis is almost impossible to resist, temptation proves to be the kindest enemy they encounter.
In this part romance, part supernatural thriller, true love discovers it may not be able to surpass all—especially the power of pure evil.


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by Estella Gonzalez, guest bloguera

Estella Gonzalez was born and raised in East Los Angeles, which inspires most of her writing. Her work has been anthologized in Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature published by Bilingual Press and Kaleidoscope published by Pima Press. Her writing has also appeared in Puerto del Sol, Sandscript and Eleven Eleven.

Back in the 80s I knew I wanted to become a writer when my high school’s literary magazine published one of my stories. It was called “The Brotherhood” and it was about a girl who wanted to infiltrate her crush’s group of male friends so badly, she actually became a boy. Very corny but seeing the story in print and appreciated by my teachers boosted my confidence. Still, I wouldn’t seriously consider pursuing fiction writing until about 15 years later when I finally built up the courage and confidence. For many writers the decision to commit to writing can be harrowing, especially if you’re a writer of color from a working class background. For me it was particularly scary since I didn’t personally know any active Chicano writers and wouldn’t read any Latino literature until well after college. Becoming a writer, a real published writer, seemed like a pipe dream but despite the self-doubt I began writing in earnest and eventually publishing.

Flash forward to 2010 and WriteGirl, a Los Angeles-based volunteer mentoring organization I wish had existed back when I was in high school. WriteGirl provides high school girls a safe, supportive community to express themselves through the exploration of writing including poetry, journalism, songwriting, screen writing, etc. I found this wonderful organization on the Internet when I was looking for a Latina writing group close to East Los Angeles.

Little did I know that WriteGirl would offer a writing group and then some. About once a month I not only get to participate in writing workshops with a group of professional writing women, I also get to mentor enthusiastic high school girls, many of whom are Latina and African-American. And WriteGirl doesn’t mess around. At the organization’s first poetry workshop held at the Miguel Contreras Learning Center, writing began as soon as the girls walked in to the writing space. In this case the cafeteria. After signing in, the girls quickly partnered up with their mentors to write haikus on various topics including love, family, and hunger before they went on to join larger groups of writers to create living tableaus of their poetry. After the group performance, local Angeleno poets Xotchil-Julisa Bermejo and Eloise Klein Healy led us on some invigorating poetry exercises. It was the first time in years that I had written some meaningful poems.

Founded by songwriter, poet and freelance writer Keren Taylor, WriteGirl is an activist feminist writer’s dream. In addition to participa

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