Your daily dose of Chicano poetry
"I write poems on walls that crumble and fall
I talk to shadows that sleep and go away crying.”
Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008)
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Call for original poetry in celebration of the 40th anniversary of EL TECOLOTE, the bilingual newspaper serving the Latino community of San Francisco and beyond—
PALABRAS EN VUELO / WORDS IN FLIGHT: POETS IN CELEBRATION OF EL TECOLOTE
DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2010
El Tecolote newspaper began as a project in a La Raza Studies class at San Francisco State. Prof. Juan Gonzales created the class as a way to channel Latino students into journalism careers. Latinos and other people of color were virtually invisible in the major newsrooms at the time.
As a final project, the class produced a bilingual newspaper called El Tecolote, which hit the streets on August 24, 1970. The newspaper soon moved to the community and became a training ground for the community to learn advocacy journalism.
El Tecolote began as a volunteer effort and continues in that vein with approximately 90 percent of the staff dedicated volunteers. It is the longest running Spanish/English bilingual newspaper serving the Bay Area.
Since its inception, El Tecolote has had an open door policy that invites community members to join the volunteer staff, bringing a vast array of experiences and skills. The newspaper has also published several special supplements, including a literary section edited by major local Latino writers and a youth publication called Fuerza Joven, which provided training for neighborhood teens.
On August of 2010 El Tecolote will be celebrating 40 years of existence serving the Latino community of San Francisco and beyond. As part of this celebration the staff and volunteers of this bilingual community newspaper are preparing a special 10-page edition of El Tecolote Literario scheduled to be released on July 28m 2010. We are also planning a 124 page bilingual poetry anthology that will feature the works of established poets as well as those of emerging new voices.
Title of the anthology:
PALABRAS EN VUELO / WORDS IN FLIGHT
Poetas en Celebración de EL TECOLOTE
Poets in Celebration of El TECOLOTE
Partial list of poets (by alphabetical order) to be invited to contribute to this collection: Francisco X. Alarcón, Jorge Argueta, Cathy Arellano, Adrián Arias, Avotcja, Neeli Cherkovski, Diane di Prima, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Lucha Corpi, Esthela de la Cruz, Sharon Doubiago, Odilia Galván Rodríguez, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Juan Pablo Gutiérrez, Q.R. Hand, Juan Felipe Herrera, Jack Hirschman, Víctor Martínez, devorah major, Janice Mirikitani, Richard Montoya, Cherrie Moraga, Dorinda Moreno, Alejandro Murguía, Francisco Orrego, Naomi H. Quiñonez, Marc Piñate, Ramón Piñero, Margarita Robles, Rodrigo Reyes, John Ross, Orlando Ramírez, Nina Serrano, Herbert Sigüenza, Roberto Vargas, Alfonso Texidor, Bernice Zamora, among others.
- Poets are asked to submit no more than five poems with a brief bio, (50 words maximum) to be included at the end of anthology.
- Poems could be in Spanish, English, Spanglish, Caló, or any combination of vernaculars. Translations of orignal English poems into Spanish is encouraged.
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LA REVISTA LITERARIA DE EL TECOLOTE was co-founded by Carlos Morton, Francisco X. Alarcón and Sue Martínez in 1980.
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Editorial Board of the Special Issue of EL TECOLOTE LITERARIO and for EL TECOLOTE POETRY ANTHOLOGY: Alfonso Texidor, Eva Martínez, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Nina Serrano, Esthela de la Cruz, and Francisco X. Alarcón,
Proposed Deadline: June 1, 2010
Contact El Tecolote
E-Mail: poeta@accionlatina.org
Mailing Address:Acción Latina2958 24th
StreetSan Francisco, California 94110
Phone & Fax:Office Phone: (415) 648-1045
Fax: (415) 648-1046
Contact person at EL Tecolote: Eva Martínez
Fw: Open Letter to the Texas Board of Education
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Subject: Open Letter to the Texas Board of Education
The recent controversy over the revision of the public school curriculum by the Texas State Board of Education has led me to initiate a campaign in support of an open letter to the Board. Please post the following note, letter, and the site where people can provide their signature. The persons who should consider signing are faculty and researchers who incorporate any type of history in their work and that are affiliated with colleges and universities throughout the nation.
The organizing committee includes faculty from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at El Paso. The co-chairs are myself and Keith A. Erekson, Department of History, University of Texas at El Paso.
Emilio
April 12, 2010
Dear Colleagues,
Please read carefully, distribute widely, and consider signing the accompanying “Open Letter to the Texas State Board of Education.” We invite you to read it and add your name to the list of signatures by visiting http://sensiblehistory.blogspot.com.
The Texas State Board of Education will hold a final public hearing about the standards in the middle of May. Historians at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at El Paso have drafted the letter for presentation before the hearing.
As you have probably heard from reports in the national media, the Texas State Board of Education is revising the state’s social studies curriculum, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Though numerous errors are circulating in the media, it is true that a majority of the board has voted to approve a curriculum that minimizes the history and significance of diversity in the state and emphasizes narrow ideological partisanship over broader education and critical thinking. Information about the review process and an online archive of media coverage is available at http://tekswatch.utep.edu.
Those of us who teach and conduct research in colleges and universities have grown concerned, however, that social studies curriculum standards in Texas do not meet student needs. We also believe that the Texas State Board of Education has been derelict in its duty to revise the public school curriculum. In short, recent proposals by Board members have undermined the study of the social sciences in our public schools by misrepresenting and even distorting the historical record and the functioning of American society.
Some of the problematic revisions that they have proposed include:
· Weakening the study of constitutional protections for religious liberty that keep government out of matters of faith;
· Minimizing the struggle of women and ethnic minorities for equal and civil rights;
· Striking Thomas Jefferson from a world history standard about the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on political changes since the 1700s; and
· Excluding an important historical figure from Latin America because some board members did not recognize him
The integrity of the curriculum revision process has been compromised and we propose that the Board restore the trust of the public and the academic community by proceeding as follows:
· Delay the final adoption of social studies curriculum standards;
· Allow curriculum teams and a new panel of qualified, credentialed content experts from the state’s colleges and universities to review changes that the Board has made and prepare a new draft of the standards that is fair, accurate and balanced;
· Permit the public to review and comment on the new draft of the standards before final adoption; and
· Make final changes to the draft of the standards only after public consultation with classroom teachers and scholars who are experts in the appropriate fields of study.
Like all members of the Texas State Board of Education, we have a vested interest in giving our schoolchildren the tools that they need to succeed in college and their future careers. For genuine college and work readiness to occur the Board must adhere to a more transparent, fair, and inclusive process of curriculum revisions, and it must make full and effective use of the faculty and researchers from our colleges and universities in Texas who can offer expert assistance and guidance.
Again, if you wish to add your name to the list of signatures, visit the following site: http://sensiblehistory.blogspot.com
Thank you for your attention
Emilio Zamora, Professor
Department of History
1 University Station, B7000
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712-0220
512 475-8706
512 739-0168
E.zamora@mail.utexas.edu
2010 International Pocha Nostra Workshop
CONVOCATORIA:
2010 International Pocha Nostra Workshop
LA POCHA NOSTRA HOLDS INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP IN OAXACA, MEXICO IN AUGUST 2010.
This year, Gomez-Peña and the members of La Pocha Nostra return to the gorgeous Mexican City of Oaxaca to hold their legendary international performance workshop from Sunday August, 1 to Friday August, 13 2010.
Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Roberto Sifuentes and Emma Tramposch of La Pocha Nostra will conduct their 12-day intensive summer workshop on performance art with a focus on the human body as a site for creation, reinvention, memory and activism. This cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary and cross-generational workshop will host up to 24 performance artists and students (half will be from around the world and the other half will be Mexican). The summer performance workshop is La Pocha’s most important pedagogic endeavor of the year.
The prestigious ‘Pocha workshop’ is an amazing artistic and anthropological experiment in which carefully selected artists from several countries and every imaginable artistic, ethnic and sub-cultural background begin to negotiate common ground. Performance becomes the connective tissue and lingua franca for our temporary community of rebel artists.
This year the project is being co-produced with the ‘re-active art lab’ La Perrera run by Oaxacan artists Gabriela León and Isabel Rojas. Since 2007 La Perrera has being creating and producing art projects to incite the crossing of conceptual frontiers between art disciplines using ‘actions’ as a driving force/catalyst.
Space will be limited and is expected to fill quickly. Please submit your materials to us as soon as possible! Application guidelines are included below.
Where will it take place?
The spectacular colonial city of Oaxaca, located in Southern Mexico has already hosted several Pocha Nostra workshops. This year it will take place at la Curtiduria, the studio of artist Demian Flores located in Jalatlaco, one of the oldest barrios of Oaxaca. La Curtiduria is an old leather factory with lots of space and character which has been redesigned by Flores and is equipped with lights, sound, costumes and props. It is within walking distance from the Zocalo and diverse restaurants, bars and hotels.
What will be taught?
The exciting 8-hour per day workshop will offer two parallel processes: Participants are exposed to La Pocha Nostra’s most recent performance methodologies, an eclectic combination of exercises borrowed from multiple traditions including performance art, experimental theater and dance, the Suzuki method, ritual shamanism, performance games and live jam sessions. Parallel to this hands-on process, the group will analyze the creative process, the issues addressed by the work, its aesthetic currency, cultural impact and political pertinence. We will also organize various performance interventions into other city spaces including the old railroad station and various local museums. The workshop will culminate with a live jam session open to the local arts community.
Who should attend?
Performance artists, experimental actors, dancers, theorists, and students interested in the topics addressed by La Pocha Nostra. Ages can fluctuate from 20 to 80 years old. Applicants must have some performance experience, and must be familiar with La Pocha Nostra’s work. The workshop is extremely fun but rigorous. Both English and Spanish will be spoken.
Application process:
Participants will be carefully chosen by a selection committee comprised of Pocha Nostra and La Perrera members.
Applicants must submit the following:
(a) A one-page statement (in English or Spanish,) stating why you are interested in participating
(b) A one-page resume
(c) A sample of your work either on disc or online. Clearly describe the medium, title and any other contextual information.
(d) An optional letter of recommendation from a curator, director, producer or senior artist familiar with your work.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: The application deadline is Monday, May 31, 2010
Please submit your application to Emma Tramposch, Project Coordinator, La Pocha Nostra: pocha@pochanostra.com.
ARTIST LIVING IN MEXICO:
Please submit your application to La Perrera laperrera.oax@gmail.com
Please write APPLICATION: Summer 2010 in email subject line. Please note that we will consider applications as they arrive to us and encourage you to submit materials as soon as you are ready. If you are accepted or not, you will be notified no later than late May.
COST:
The workshop tuition is $650 USD. The fees do not include room or board. However La Pocha Nostra and our wonderful local hosts always aim to provide a selection of low cost housing and meal options to help participants defray costs. Please consider your daily costs when assessing if the workshop is feasible for you. Unfortunately, due to the financial crisis in Mexico, there is no funding for travel or tuition scholarships this year.
For more information about La Pocha Nostra visit www.pochanostra.com
TRANSBORDADOR POCHA-PERRERA was made possible in part by a grant from NALAC
Xican@ Poetry Daily 