AWP Recap—Part Two

Thursday night at AWP in Chicago, I was a co-host of Ragdale @ AWP, a reception for Ragdale alumni. This was held in the penthouse (22^nd floor) of the Cliff Dwellers, on Michigan Avenue facing the lake. Here are some photos of the spectacular view out the windows and from the huge terrace outside the penthouse. Thanks to Mario Duarte and Miguel Morales for these photos.

 

One of my dear friends, José Faus, stands on the terrace outside the penthouse to enjoy the view. I was fortunate to be able to invite a number of friends who are fine writers to meet the wonderful Ragdale staff. I hope all of them will apply for a Ragdale residency. I know most of them will. And I had the added pleasure of introducing people I love to one another. This was a joyous occasion, bringing people I love together with Ragdale, which I love.

 Another of my beloved organizations, Macondo, had a fantastic session featuring the incredible Dagoberto Gilb (pictured here) and Luis J. Rodriguez in a creative dialogue moderated by John Santos.

Since Luis and I were the only ones to staff our table, I had to remain in the book fair so that he could make this great session. We've decided that, at the next AWP, we will ask some other people to make commitments to help us with the book fair.

We had book signings all afternoon beginning with Michael Warr and ending with Gloria Vando. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of those. They were quite popular, and we sold books, which is the purpose of such things. Our authors had a lot of fun with them, too.

Right after the book fair closed, I hurried down Michigan Avenue to Columbia College to give a joint Latino Writers Collective-Proyecto Latina reading. Here is Diana Pando, one of the Proyecto Latina masterminds, reading with the rest of the readers in the background.

We had a receptive audience of approximately 30 men and women, which surprised me since we were competing with dozens of other AWP offsite readings. The audience was illustrious with

Francisco Alarçon, Odilia Gálván Rodríguez, Diana Garcia, Carlos Cúmpian, and many other powerful writers. The material read, poetry and fiction, was strong, humorous, and dramatic, and afterward everyone enjoyed visiting with friends not seen for a long time.

Saturday morning, Ben and I had breakfast with Francisco Aragón and Luis before Ben left for the BkMk table and Luis and I headed back to the Tia Chucha/Scapegoat table.

On Saturday, the general public is allowed into the book fair, and it became truly hectic. By this time, I was losing my voice, and I had a panel coming up at 3:00 with other members of the Latino Writers Collective to discuss our writing workshops with the children of migrant workers. I'd been sucking on cough drops earlier, but Saturday I survived on herbal cough drops.

Here is part of our panel, right to left, José Faus, Miguel Morales, and me. Not shown in this photo, Gabriela N. Lemmons.

This panel is concerned with a central project that the LWC is involved with. The work we've done with these children of migrant workers has been emotional, draining, and satisfying since our first session with them. During our meeting back in Kansas City to prepare for the panel, we swore to each other that we wouldn't cry at the AWP, even though the stories and memories always throw us into tears. As we explained the program and the impact it had on these kids, as well as their great need, we each at one time or another broke our promise, but the audience cried also.

It was the next to the last session on a day when many attendees have already left, so it was a small audience--but such a passionate and involved audience! We felt grateful to be able to have a discussion with such attentive people.

I had to apologize since my voice was mostly gone--from three solid days of speaking to thousands of people a day in the book fair, I thought. This panel brought one more reward for me. Joy Castro and I have been communicating on Twitter and by email but had never met in person. Joy had shown up at the book fair on Friday, and we met. Now, she came to our panel, and Mario Duarte caught a photo of us together.

And that's an appropriate place to end. We left after the panel, and the great joy of AWP, as always, was seeing so many dear friends, most of whom were not photographed. Deborah Miranda, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhran, Susan Deer Cloud, Ruth Behar, Allison Hedge Coke, Travis Hedge Coke, Susan Page Tillett, Regin Igloria, Eduardo Corral, Richard Blanco, Sherwin Bitsui, Maria Melendez, Alice Friman, Marilyn Kallett, Robin Becker, Judith Podell, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Ching-In Chen, and many others. For some of us, far-flung across the states, AWP is the one time we get together. And it's what I always look forward to the most. My one regret this time was not having a chance to attend anyone's panels. Next year, we'll fix that, though. So good-bye , my friends, it's email, Facebook, and Twitter until we meet at the next AWP again. Next year in Boston!

AWP Recap--Part One

I got back from the AWP late Monday, but I came back sick and got sicker once home. So I haven’t managed to dig through all the email and mail and haven’t put up a blog post. Since I’ve received many photos from AWP, I thought I'd put up a little illustrated recap (which will take two days and blog posts). Then, on Monday, I will review Fred Arroyo’s new book of short fiction for the Books of Interest by Writers of Color series, getting back on track.

We got into Chicago late Wednesday afternoon and checked into the Hilton, picked up our registration for the conference, and began setting up the book tables. Ben had the two BkMk and New Letters tables to set up. My publisher and book table partner, Luis J. Rodriguez, and I set up the combined Tia Chucha Press/ Scapegoat Press table.

Here, my friend and publisher, Luis J. Rodriguez, and I sit down at the finished Tia Chucha Press/Scapegoat Press table. Once the AWP authorities chased us out of the book fair, we left for a nearby restaurant, Rhapsody, for the 25^th anniversary dinner of Tia Chucha Press authors. 

 

It was great to see old friends like Carlos Cumpian and LJR and to meet new ones such as Michael Warr, Patricia Smith, Patricia Spears Jones, Dwight Okita, and Luivette Resto. We had lots of fun and carried on until late. HIGHLIGHT: Patricia Spears Jones giving a “reading” of the rather pretentious dessert menu that had us in stitches. I have got to attend one of this woman’s poetry readings!

Here I am with Patricia Spears Jones, lovely NYC poet.

Next morning, the conference was on and the book fair opened. I was excited because we were displaying our newest Scapegoat Press book, Woven Voices: 3 Generations for Puertorriqueñas Look at their American Lives. I edited this anthology and am very proud of it. There’s really no book like this out there on the market.

The gorgeous cover got lots of attention from passersby, and a surprising number stopped and let me tell them about this unique book, which is a conversation in poetry among three members of a gifted Puerto Rican family—grandmother Anita Vélez-Mitchell, mother Gloria Vando, daughter Anika Paris. The book began to sell steadily, reviewers asked for copies, and I was a happy camper--even though I was missing all the conference panels.

I missed all the panels I wanted to go to because I was caught at the book table. I didn't make a panel until my own on the last day. 

There was a Celebration of Tia Chucha Press, my publisher.

Here’s Luivette (“I live in LA, but I’m from New York”) Resto after the Celebration of Tia Chucha Press.

 

My friend Francisco Alarçon was on a number of panels I would love to have attended but had to miss.

Still, thousands of people came through the book fair, and I had a chance to talk with many of them. Such a wild variety of people! What a feast of character for a novelist! Of course, it helps that I believe so strongly in all the books I was selling, both Scapegoat's and Tia Chucha's.

Thursday ended with Luis coming to take my place so I could hurry over to the Ragdale reception where I was a co-host. I'll post photos from that and the rest of the conference tomorrow.

Masterminds, AWP in Denver April 7-10, and Other Items

My writing office at Ragdale

National Poetry Month is here, as is the AWP and spring--three of my favorite things. Today's entry is full of random poetry- and AWP-related items.

First of all, a couple of long-promised Ragdale photos (courtesy of Irasema Gonzalez) and a link to Proyecto Latina's site where they have a slideshow of more photos taken during their visit with me at Ragdale and recordings of Diana Pando's interview with me and me reading some of my poems.

Ragdale House as Diana approaches

Now, for National Poetry Month, one of my poems about poetry readings.

COYOTE AT THE POETRY READING

He walks in late,

of course,

and sits in the back row

even though he’s on the program.

Coyote wraps a storm

around him like a protective shield,

wears his leather like armor,

stares the woman in business suit

and her partner in high-style casual

into dropping their eyes. Coyote

makes everyone nervous.

Whispers circle the room.

Who asked him to read?

“Must have been some woman,”

one bearded man says, with a sniff.

“A guy would have known better.”

“Probably thinks it’s some kind of slam,”

one professor tells another.

When they call his name,

Coyote stalks to the podium

and growls into the microphone,

while, around the room, the air

burns with after-lightning

ozone and smells of blood

and splintered bones.

---Linda Rodriguez

Published in Heart’s Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)

And a link to some others.

Next is the selection of the Latino Writers Collective as one of The PITCH's four Masterminds of 2010. This identifies us as one of the creative forces of Kansas City (and gives us a chunk of change to keep doing our work--Mil gracias, PITCH!).

Finally, for everyone going to the AWP national conference in Denver, come hear the Latino Writers Collective read at 4:30-5:45 pm in Rooms 102-104, Colorado Convention Center, Street Level on Saturday. And drop by the Scapegoat Press table, Exhibit Hall A, #B13, in the Bookfair any time--especially for my booksigning at 3:00 pm on Thursday, Francisco Aragon's (The Glow of Our Sweat, his wonderful brand-new book!) at 10:00 am on Thursday, and LWC's at 10:00 am on Saturday.