A Broken Thing: Poets on the Line

A Broken Thing: Poets on the Line, edited by Emily Rosko and Anton Vander Zee, University of Iowa Press, 2011

To read the introduction from the anthology, click here

“Whether oral or written, ancient or modern, from one hemisphere or another, most poetry has organized itself in basic units that English calls lines. In their energetic collection of brief essay-sprints, Emily Rosko and Anton Vander Zee offer us nearly seventy contemporary writers’ thoughts about poetic lines. The result is a rich and glorious variety of insights and formulations, lavishly inclusive and resolutely uncommitted to any single orthodoxy. The editors’ forthright introduction is illuminating, judicious, and open-handed. This is a book that anyone drawn to the study of poetic form and its largest meanings should know.”—Stephen Cushman, author, Riffraff, and editor, Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

“A Broken Thing is a lovely, useful, and well-conceived book. From the introduction’s astute and informative discussions of the historical embeddedness of tussles over the poetic line in poetry to the essays thereafter, readers and writers will be made aware that there is, as Rosko and Vander Zee note, no consensus, an awareness that can be vital for a young poet. A Broken Thing gathers the arguments and exchanges of the day. It does not offer essays that correct or offer definitive approaches to the line; on the contrary, it gathers the hubbub of voices that any critical approach would need to take into account.”—Lisa Steinman, author, Made in America, Masters of Repetition, and Invitation to Poetry and coeditor, Hubbub

“Negotiating segmentivities (a.k.a. line and sentence) defines poetry as a mode of practice. This energetic anthology examines the line from many poetic formations, assumptions, incarnations, platforms, and positions; it faces multiple debates with panache and frankness. The range and élan of the contributors present a strikingly pragmatic sense of contemporary poetics.”—Rachel Blau DuPlessis, author, Blue Studios and Drafts

Contributors:

Kazim Ali
Bruce Andrews
Hadara Bar-Nadav
Catherine Barnett
Charles Bernstein
Mei-mei Berssenbrugge
Bruce Bond
Marianne Boruch
Scott Cairns
Joshua Clover
Norma Cole
Brent Cunningham
J. P. Dancing Bear
Christina Davis
Johanna Drucker
Camille T. Dungy
John Olivares Espinoza
Kathy Fagan
Annie Finch
Graham Foust
Alice Fulton
John Gallaher
Noah Eli Gordon
Arielle Greenberg
Sarah Gridley
Gabriel Gudding
Kimiko Hahn
Raza Ali Hasan
H. L. Hix
Cynthia Hogue
Fanny Howe
Christine Hume
Catherine Imbriglio
Karla Kelsey
Sarah Kennedy
Ben Lerner
Dana Levin
Timothy Liu
Thomas Lux
Joanie Mackowski
Shara McCallum
Heather McHugh
Wayne Miller
Jenny Mueller
Laura Mullen
Molly Peacock
V. Penelope Pelizzon
Emmy Pérez
Carl Phillips
Patrick Phillips
Donald Platt
Kevin Prufer
Paisley Rekdal
Donald Revell
Martha Rhodes
Alberto Ríos
Dana Roeser
MaryAnn Samyn
Robyn Schiff
Tim Seibles
Ravi Shankar
Evie Shockley
Eleni Sikelianos
Susan Stewart
Stephanie Strickland
Terese Svoboda
Cole Swensen
Sarah Vap
Joshua Marie Wilkinson
Robert Wrigley
Rachel Zucker

Carmen de la Calle - Amalia Ortiz play in San Antonio

Sunday, July 24
2:00pm Carmen de la Calle
When: Sun, July 24, 2pm – 4pm

Where:Say Si Blackbox Theatre, 1518 s. alamo, san antonio tx 78204

Description: Concert Preview Performance of the New Musical “Carmen de la Calle” written by Award Winning poet Amalia Ortiz.

Must be comfortable learning basic dance choreography *

"Synopsis: Set in 1989 San Antonio and the present, this adaptation of George Bizet’s classic opera dives deep into the themes of passion and envy in portraying the lives and struggles of the marginalized and working classes of South Texas. “Carmen de la Calle” highlights the hybridity of Tex-Mex culture by incorporating the melodrama of novellas (Mexican soap operas), spoken word, bilingualism, and the musical confluence of Mexican standards, modern Tejano, Hip-Hop and the music of 1989 pop culture.

The story begins in present day with Mercedes, who sits behind her bar and tells us the tragic story of her friend, Carmen. With the musical help of her DJ nephew and the house band, Mercedes guides the audience through a flashback of her youth in San Antonio.

Through a series of musical performances and spoken word narration, audiences will be swept up in the lives of Carmen, a gorgeous and tenacious
femme fatale factory worker and Queen of the Theo Avenue Gs, her lover Joe, a straight laced all-American Military Police officer who grew up in the Valley, and neighborhood homies like Frasquita, a female emcee with big hair, big earrings and big attitude, and Don Cairo, Carmen’s macho equal, aspiring rapper, and leader of the Theo Avenue Gs.

With live musical accompaniment provided by members of the San Antonio musical group, Los Nahuatlatos, and original dance choreography, this groundbreaking New Musical by Amalia Ortiz will engage audiences like no other.

Produced by ColectivaSA"

from http://amaliaortiz.net/

Keep Los Lagartos in the Plazita de los Largartos

"Luis Jimenez' 'Los Lagartos' (Alligators) sculpture in the Plazita de los Lagartos (San Jacinto Plaza) in El Paso, Texas, is in danger of being removed due to redevelopment plans by the city. Installed as a site specific piece in 1993, the sculpture reflects the history of the plaza and has become an iconic symbol for the city. At the time of his death in 2006, Jimenez was the most important contemporary Chicano artists in the United States." Petition to help save the sculpture--a vital part of El Paso's history.

José Antonio Rodríguez Reading 7/10 4pm

José Antonio Rodríguez
reading from The Shallow End of Sleep (Tia Chucha Press 2011)
Barnes and Noble at Northcross Plaza (10th and Nolana)
McAllen, TX

Date: July 10th (Sunday)
Time: 4:00 pm

Reading and Q&A to follow.
Booksigning.

José Antonio Rodríguez's poetry collection The Shallow End of Sleep was published this April by Tia Chucha Press. A former editor of the national literary journal Harpur Palate, his work has received the 2009 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His work has appeared in cream city review, Paterson Literary Review, Rio Grande Review, The Spoon River Poetry Review, and elsewhere. He recently complted his PhD in English and Creative Writing at Binghamton University.

Blog http://joseorbust.blogspot.com/.

CantoMundo Fellows Reading in Austin, July 8th, 7:30pm

For immediate release

Nationally recognized Latino Poets from across the U.S. offer a free public reading in Austin, Texas.

Friday, July 8, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Free. Open to the public.
Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Arts Center
600 River Street Austin, TX 78701

More than 20 nationally recognized Latino poets from across the U.S. will gather in Austin, Texas, for CantoMundo, a national poetry workshop dedicated to supporting and developing Latina/o poetics.

On Friday, July 8, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., these poets will present a free poetry reading that will be open to the public at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Arts Center. A reception will follow the reading.

These participants in CantoMundo represent the best of Latina/o poetry in the United States. Some of the featured award-winning and nationally recognized poets include: Millicent Borges Acardi (New York City), Francisco Aragón (Washington D.C.), Oscar Bermeo (California), Eduardo Corral (Arizona), Carolina Ebeid (Austin, Texas), Amalia Ortíz (Texas/California), Luivette Resto (California), and ire’ne lara silva (Austin, Texas), among others.

CantoMundo provides a space where Latina/o poets can nurture and enhance their poetics; lecture and learn about aspects of Latina/o poetics currently not being discussed by the mainstream publishers and critics; and network with peer poets to enrich and further disseminate Latina/o poetry. For the complete list of CantoMundo poets, please visit www.cantomundo.org.

Biographies

Millicent Borges Accardi, a Portuguese-American poet, is the author of three books: Injuring Eternity, Woman on a Shaky Bridge (chapbook), and Only More So (forthcoming Salmon Press, Ireland). She has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, Barbara Deming (Money for Women), the Formby Foundation at Texas Tech as well as residencies at Yaddo, Jentel, Vermont Studio, Fundación Valparaíso in Mojacar, and Milkwood in Cesky Krumlov.

Francisco Aragón is the author of Puerta del Sol and Glow of Our Sweat, as well as editor of The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry. He directs Letras Latinas—the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the editor of “Canto Cosas,” a book series from Bilingual Press featuring new Latino and Latina poets. For more information, visit: http://franciscoaragon.net.

Born in Ecuador and raised in the Bronx, Oscar Bermeo is the author of the chapbooks Anywhere Avenue, Palimpsest, Heaven Below and To the Break of Dawn. He lives in Oakland, where he teaches creative writing to elementary school students, co-edits Doveglion Press and blogs.

Eduardo C. Corral won the 2011 Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. His first book will be published in April 2012.

Carolina Ebeid was born in West New York, NJ and now lives in Austin, TX where she is a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers and the poetry editor of the Bat City Review. Her poems appear in Agni, Poetry, West Branch, Gulf Coast, 32 Poems, Anti-, Memorious, and many other journals.

Amalia Ortíz is a performance poet and a playwright. After living in Los Angeles for almost five years, she is moving back to Texas this summer.

Luivette Resto was born in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico but proudly raised in the Bronx. Her first book of poetry, Unfinished Portrait, was published in 2008 by Tia Chucha Press and was named a finalist for the 2009 Paterson Poetry Prize.

ire’ne lara silva is the author of furia, a collection of poetry, and two chapbooks: ani’mal and INDíGENA. She is the 2008 recipient of the Gloria Anzaldua Milagro Award and an inaugural CantoMundo fellow. Website: www.irenelarasilva.webs.com.

For more information about the event, contact Celeste Mendoza at cmendoza@cantomundo.org or Deborah Paredez at dparedez@cantomundo.org.

International Latino Book Awards 2011

Best Poetry Book – English
First Place, Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing, Edited by Rigoberto González, University of Arizona Press

Second Place, Flamenco Hips and Red Mud Feet, Dixie Salazar, University of Arizona Press
Second Place, Glow of Our Sweat, Francisco Aragón, Scapegoat Press

Honorable Mention, Torch Song Tango Choir, Julie Sophia Paegle, University of Arizona Press
Honorable Mention, Each and Her, Valerie Martinez, University of Arizona Press
Honorable Mention, Furia, Ire’ne Lara Silva, Mouthfeel Press
Honorable Mention, Flexible Bones, Maria Melendez, University of Arizona Press

sandra cisneros: summer reading list

"Sandra Cisneros is tackling an entire library of books this summer as she looks forward to the Macondo writers workshops. A short list includes Lorraine López's 'The Realm of Hungry Spirits' ('she's just a terrific writer'), Valley poet José Antonio Rodríguez's 'The Shallow End of Sleep,' Ernest J. Gaines' 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman' ('we should teach history to kids with books like this one'), Manuel Muñoz's 'What You See in the Dark' ('delicious') and Jessica Hagedorn's 'Toxicology,' which is on her bedside keeping company with Edwidge Danticat's 'Create Dangerously.' "

new poetry collection

The Shallow End of Sleep

Congratulations to José Antonio Rodríguez... poet from la frontera/the Rio Grande Valley of Tejas. His first poetry collection The Shallow End of Sleep was just published by Tia Chucha Press.

Check out his book and blog.