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)
Demeter Press: Seeks Submissions on Latina/Chicana Mothering
Demeter Press
Publication Date: Spring 2011
Editors: Dorsía Smith Silva and Janine Santiago
We are very excited to edit an interdisciplinary book on mothering in the Latina and Chicana communities. We seek papers that examine the narratives, histories, practices, and theories of Latina and Chicana mothering as they reflect the realities and complexities of diverse perspectives. Latina and Chicana mothering is a rich experience, which engenders a sense of identity, multiple viewpoints, and cultural orientations. Here, the Latina/Chicana mothering experience seeks to provide a site for inquiry of those life histories and legacies, which have been marked by undergoing childbirth, raising children, or becoming mothers, as well as transatlantic mothers. One of the main goals of this text will be to examine the complex representations of Latina and Chicana mothering and to address the space where Latina and Chicana perspectives are in many cases rendered invisible.
We encourage varied approaches from across the humanities and social sciences including, but not limited to topics as the following: theoretical, historical, cultural,feminist, maternal, transgender, and gender studies; personal and reflective essays; ethnographies; oral histories, cultural studies; literary representation; mother activists and activism perspectives; constructions and hybridity theories of identity and changes in identity; constructions of ethnicity and changes in ethnicity; Latina and Chicana/mothering in global and transnational contexts; issues of immigration, diaspora, citizenship, national identity, embodiment theories; feminist philosophies of mothers and mothering; film and media representations; mothering conflicts; ideological and social debates and tensions within discussions of Latina and Chicana mothering; mothering critiques; issues of Latina and Chicana mothering, especially as they intersect with categories of race, discrimination, class, gender, economics, nation, family, community, education, and language; law, political, or scientific issues; politics and public policies; poverty; health, health care, reproduction,and reproductive rights; the role of web communities and technology; spiritual, cultural, emotional, communal, or social influences; support services for Latina and Chicana mothers; self-sponsored Latina and Chicana mothering communities and institutions; ideologies in Latino and Chicano communities
Abstracts/Proposals (250-400 words) due October 31, 2008
Acceptances made by December 1, 2008
Accepted and completed papers (15-20 pp. double-spaced, MLA format) due: March 31, 2009
Please send inquiries and papers, along with a brief biography, to:
Editors, Dorsía Smith Silva and Janine Santiago at latinachicanamothering@yahoo.com
About the Editors:
Dorsía Smith Silva teaches English in the College of General Studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. Her research and teaching focus on Ethnic and Caribbean Literature, the Latino community and the Diaspora, and feminism. She is the author of several articles and is the co-editor of The Caribbean without Borders: Caribbean Literature, Language, and Culture (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008).
Janine Santiago is an Assistant Professor of English at University of Puerto Rico, College of General Studies. Santiago was granted a Ph.D. in American Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2003. Her research interests are in the areas of Gender Studies, Oral History, Caribbean Women Writers, and Hispanic and Latino/a Literature and Popular Culture. She has published several articles, including her work in Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia (2006).
Submissions Guidelines: Arte Público Press
Arte Público Press, affiliated with the University of Houston, specializes in publishing contemporary novels, short stories, poetry, and drama based on U.S. Hispanic, Cuban American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and other themes and cultural issues. Arte Público also is interested in reference works, non-fiction studies, especially of Hispanic civil rights, women’s issues and history.
Manuscripts, queries, synopses, outlines, proposals, introductory chapters, etc. are accepted in either English or Spanish; the majority of our publications are in English. All submissions must be typed, double-spaced, and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) to return those not selected for publication. Address all submissions to:
Arte Público Press SUBMISSIONS
University of Houston
452 Cullen Performance Hall
Houston, Texas, 77204-2004.Manuscripts not accompanied by an appropriately sized SASE will not be returned. Queries and proposals take 2-4 months and manuscripts take 3-6 months to respond. We are NOT responsible for any damages or loss of any manuscript.Please be advised that we do NOT accept, review or respond to any submissions via Internet. Please take time to familiarize yourself with our current and previous titles, as well as specialized fields, and send only the material relevant to our publishing needs. Due to the overwhelming amount of submissions we get each year, we would advise that the writer take time to distinguish whether or not his/her work is appropriate for APP so that response time is diminished. We recommend that writers include a one-page cover letter specifying relevant information and brief description of the manuscript, and an introductory sample of the manuscript instead of sending the manuscript in its entirety first. We do not accept digital files of the work until it has been accepted for publication. For further information of our previous publications, please visit our website.
Accepted manuscripts should be accompanied by a digital file of the work on disk. (Microsoft Word v.6.0 or later, for Macintosh or Windows.)
Piñata BooksPiñata Books is Arte Público Press’ imprint for children’s and young adult literature. It seeks to authentically and realistically portray themes, characters, and customs unique to U.S. Hispanic culture. Submissions and manuscript formalities are the same as for Arte Público Press.
IllustratorsSend us a resumé and color copies of your illustrations, art, and/or photos to be considered for illustrating opportunities with Arte Público Press. Material that is sent to Arte Público Press will not be returned and will be kept in our files for reference. You are welcome to update files by submitting new art samples as often as you like. If you have any questions or want to submit samples, contact:
Arte Público Press
University of Houston
452 Cullen Performance Hall
Houston, Texas 77204-2004Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary HeritageThe Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage series publishes recovered literature written by Hispanics between the colonial period and 1960 in the geographic area that has become the United States. For further details, contact Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, Director, at this address.
The Fire and the Word, Gloria Muñoz Ramírez
Beautifully illustrated with drawings and the most emblematic photo collection of Zapatista history, The Fire and the Word is an inspiring testimony of resistance and hope.
Salud, Mujer
Como la obscuridad de la noche
Brillante como una estrella
Por voluntad sagrada
Eres bella.
Tu sonrisa es universal
Tu coraje tal vez igual
Tu mundo el infierno de la vida
Gobernada por la sociedad.
Al aire le entrego mi canto
Un humilde mensaje es ser…
Salud, Mujer.
Cheo Garza
This poem is from Capirotada (1980), a Trucha Publication, illustrated by Nephtalí De León
Xican@ Poetry Daily 