MIERCOLES MUDO: Apredizaje

L4LL Día Blog Hop 2014: Children's Author James Luna

I'm honored to share that I was invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Latina's for Latino Lit (L4LL) Día Blog Hop in celebration of Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros. The blog hop is a collaboration of twenty-four Latina bloggers who support increasing Latino children's literacy. But it's not just literacy that we support, because as important as it is that our children learn to read, we need to ensure that they have access to books and stories that reflect their lives and validate their experiences by supporting Latino authors.

Today, Sincerely Ezzy hosts twice published children's book author James Luna. In the following piece, James discusses why it's so important that we read culturally relevant stories to our children.

I know you'll enjoy it!

The Delicious Souvenirs of Memory

By James Luna 

Who will you be?  Not what do you want to be when you grow up, blah, blah, blah. Who will you be later today when you open that book, or turn on your reader?  Will you live now in 2014, 200 years in the future, or 150 years ago? What will you do? Will you evaluate evidence and formulate theories to solve the crime?  Will you face the dilemma of deciding between the two guys vying for your affection?  Will you be human, animal, or android?  And after you are done, after that pause, the breath held between the last word read and the moment you re-enter the non-book world, how will you have changed?

That to me is the wonder of reading, of stories and storytelling.  Through books, through words woven through pages, we can become someone or something other than ourselves, and through that transformation, expand our identities, and deepen our understanding.  How many times have you recommended a book because the story made you cry?  How many times have you read an event or remark in a book then laughed out loud in a silent room? Make no mistake, this can and does happen to kids at the earliest of ages when they hear stories read, and when they read even the most humble of picture books.  I believe firmly in experience as a great teacher, in long walks, telescopes and digging in the dirt. Yet reading is its own experience, an inner experience, where a character’s journey moves me to understand myself and my world better than before I read it. 

If you have read to kids, you know that they’ll moo, bark, or repeat a refrain before they can read it.  They will say an entire sentence before they can speak the individual words!  Like adult readers, they want to see themselves as part of the story, to be IN the book.  They can’t wait to partake in the adventures that happen between the page one and “The End.”  Why shouldn’t they?  There are so many wonderful places children can go when we read to and with them.  From places that are old and familiar to adults like the Hundred Acre Wood, or the small, small room, to new places like a wrestling match with Niño in “Niño Wrestles the World,”  or in the kitchen with Jorge Argueta’s wonderful poetic celebrations of food.  Adults are the guides to these new destinations.

In these new worlds, these book worlds, many precious gifts await our children. A book can develop child’s sense of empathy when we read about Rene in “I Am Rene, the Boy.”  She confirms her own worth when a character faces and overcomes the same problems she does.  Our kids explore new horizons when they read books like Monica Brown’s “Waiting for the Biblioburro.”  We open the world to wonder and awe when we ask, “What will happen next?”  An unturned page fills us with anticipation, with hope, and, eventually, relief. 

As a writer, the first person I want to experience my story is me!  I want to know what will happen to my characters, who they will meet, how they will face their fears or troubles.  I miss them when my work (teaching) keeps us apart for weeks.  I worry about them, and hope that they won’t get lost without me (I am always lost when we don’t see each other).  Of course, each of my characters reflects some part of me.  My Piggy is me, running away from everyone.  Rafa, my little mummy, is a first-rate wonderer, an explorer that eventually misses the familiarity of home.  When I read my stories to kids, I’m sharing a part of me, the wonderer or the escape artist.  I hope that the story speaks to the fugitive cookie or adventurer in them. 

When the child reading the book is a little Latino or Latina, and the book’s character speaks Spanish, or visits her abuelita, her connection to the story is so much stronger.  That being said, I relish multicultural stories that show my kids (and by “kids” I mean my 3 children and the students I teach) that there are universal truths and experiences, such as family, change, fear, loss, and new friendships.  Yet when the characters have names like Roberto, or Flor, or Rafael, I see a light go on in the faces of Latino kids.  They smile and exclaim, “My sister is named Flor” or “Rafa?! Like my Tío Rafa!” And if the character’s name happens to be the same as someone in our class, they point with the grandest of smiles.  These stories reflect something of their lives back on them, becoming affirming their place in the literary world, their spot on the bookshelf. 

Though I write in the hope that all types of children will read my books, I consciously choose to put my stories in neighborhoods similar to the one I grew up in, and similar to the one my students inhabit.  My characters’ lives and situations purposely mirror the ones I hear about daily as I teach and learn with my class.  My book “A Mummy in Her Backpack” began when a student of mine returned from a trip to Guanajuato.  My friend Rene Colato Lainez wrote about his journey from El Salvador to the United States in “My Shoes and I.”  Memories of a Cuban girl who loved to sing became Laura Lacamara’s book “Floating on Mama’s Song.” One day in the future I may write about kids from other places.  For now I’m not done mining the riches of where I live, because the stories I find there are rich.  They contain truths and humor, emotions and experiences that interest me.   We authors invite you and your children to come along, to walk, sing, and dance, and to take with you the delicious souvenirs of memory.

My stories and all the stories by Latino/Latina authors are more than a little niche or a special section in the bookstore.  Where’s the fun in that? I know our stories make all kids laugh, wonder, and root for our characters.  The settings are places where kids will want to go over and over.  All kids repeat our refrains, finish our lines, and demand an author’s favorite quote, “Read it again!”

So, who will you be soon?  And where will you go?  What travel plans are you making for your kids?  Book your trip now, and ¡Buen viaje!   I’ve got to go. A character named Roberto needs to finish telling me a strange story…

MY BELOVED WORLD by Sonia Sotomayor

I picked up Sonia Sotomayor's memoir MY BELOVED WORLD expecting to find within its pages a measuredly guarded Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, because, really, how much would an active representative of our country's highest court be willing to disclose?  I'll tell you that her unexpected candor surprised and delighted me.

Sotomayor's Advocacy Skills Apparent Early

The reader gets a glimpse into the strong-minded woman she will mature into when at a tender age she is diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, a serious life-long illness. Rather than look to her parents for strength and support, she advocates for herself and assumes responsibility for monitoring her condition and insulin injections. She does this knowing that it will relieve tension between her parents in the home.

"Does it seem strange that a child should be so conscious of the workings of her own mind?"

I read about her family's dynamics: her somewhat strained relationship with her mother, conflicted relationship with her father, and authoritative relationship with her younger brother. She was in a sense, Puerto Rican in the home and with extended family members, as they came together as a family often to eat, sing and dance. She'd soon learn, however, at Princeton and Yale Law School that as she's part of a minuscule minority of students, who are mostly White, she learns that being Puerto Rican comes in varying degrees of authenticity. It's not until she becomes active within Latino groups at  both schools that she questions herself.

Reading Sotomayor's writing and following her logic as she addresses the challenges facing this country's English Language Learners (ELLs), the masses of college readiness resources and tools available to the "haves" and scarcity of the same for students who have access to little to nothing, gives me great hope to know that a person of her caliber represents the people. Her worldview is not one of privilege. She understands the challenges facing underserved youth and immigrants in this country.
Having said that, though, the lens through which she views social conditions serves as just that -- a lens -- that informs her decisions, not one that directs them.

"I would warn any minority student today against the temptations of self-segregation: take support and comfort from your own group as you can, but don't hide within it."

Four IMPORTANT Lessons From MY BELOVED WORLD

1. Do not self-segregate in communities that remove themselves from the mainstream. Power is diluted by doing so.
2. Punch the self-esteem monster in the face every time it tries to block you from going after what's in your heart and mind. It shocked me to learn that Sotomayor has questioned her intelligence and "belongingness" so many times in her career. Sotomayor. The first Latina Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Even she's plagued by mind monsters.
3. "Bigotry is not a value."  
4. View issues from all perspectives, not just the one you champion. Right is usually somewhere in the middle.

I have nothing but the greatest respect for writers who speak their truth. Sonia Sotomayor is an inspiration to young women everywhere. We might have all benefited from watching a little Perry Mason in our youth.

WHERE DID MOMMY'S SUPERPOWERS GO? by Jenifer Gershman

Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of the book to review. Opinions, as always, are my own.

WHERE DID MOMMY'S SUPERPOWER'S GO? by Jenifer Gershman

 

Helping Young Children Cope With Stress

To be effective, school guidance counselors need to be agile. It's imperative that we possess the requisite skills to address the spectrum of social and emotional needs diverse student populations experience. Students face all types of stressors that sometimes lead to depression, which in turn affect their being able to access the curriculum. The stressors are as varied as the students themselves and include peer pressure, poor self-esteem, adjustment issues, domestic violence, abuse, poverty, homelessness, crime, bereavement, or coping with a critically ill parent or loved one. When available, age-appropriate resources, such as books, are a blessing to the helping profession. I recently came across one such book.

This Author Writes From Personal Experience

Author Jenifer Gershman

Jenifer Gershman's WHERE DID MOMMY'S SUPERPOWERS GO? is a poignant story told from the perspective of a young boy whose mother undergoes treatment for a serious illness. The boy's sweet narrative voice and the book's beautiful illustrations guide child readers through his journey, as he watches his mom lose her "strength," copes with her absence as she undergoes treatment, and later notices how her appearance has changed when she returns home.

What makes this book special is that the author who wrote it writes from experience. WHERE DID MOMMY'S SUPERPOWERS GO? is the book she wishes had been available to her to read to her four-year-old son as she underwent high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplants for a rare blood disorder, that if left untreated, could've taken her life.

I'm grateful to have another tool to add to my school guidance counselor's toolbox. WHERE DID MOMMY'S SUPERPOWERS GO? is a book I would be comfortable reading with a young child because of the compassionate manner in which Gershman handles the technicalities of illness, sadness and a child's capacity to understand both.

To Learn More About The Author Or To Order A Copy: 

Author's Blog
Facebook Page
To Purchase

Jenifer and her son.

THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY by Maria E. Andreu

ARC of The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu

Thanks to mí amiga Ruby, I had the chance to read an advance reader's copy of Maria E. Andreu's debut novel The Secret Side of Empty. All I knew before starting it was that the story revolved around an undocumented high school senior.

In many ways, M.T. is a typical teenage girl. She worries about school, is in love with a boy and enjoys spending time with her classmates. Yet, while her friends are applying to colleges and learning to drive, all M.T. can do is watch. Because of her parents' undocumented status and her having been brought into the U.S. as a small child, she has no Social Security Number, no birth certificate, none of the documentation needed to apply for a driver's license or for college. Because of her circumstances, she's forced to be a spectator. M.T.'s experience is not unique, except for the fact that she's able to hide her undocumented status because of her fair features.

"A little chunk of me will always be a stranger everywhere, different chunks of stranger in different situations."

As she nears graduation, M.T. finds herself in an increasingly desperate situation as her home life spins out of control. She's trapped at home and at school with little to look forward to in the only country she knows. With the threat of being deported to Argentina in her shadow, she becomes despondent and nearly gives up on life.

"For a split second I feel like I've forgotten my stuff, but then I realize I'm just an observer. Someone who can look but can't touch."

This novel is loosely based on the author's life and is one that will touch many readers for the simple fact that we may have watched friends, family members, or neighbors suffer in silence, or give up on their hopes and dreams altogether. I'm confident The Secret Side of Empty will soften the most hardened of hearts and give readers a glimpse into what it feels like to be the victim of circumstances.

Hop on over to GUB Life to read my friend Ruby's review!

Gracias Amiga and thank you Maria for the ARC.

TED Talk: The Danger of A Single Story By Chimamanda Adichie

This TEDTalk by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie has surfaced three times since I started school. The first time I came across it was while doing research, the second time it was shared by the administrators at my internship and the third it was shown in my Multicultural Counseling class. That it's surfaced three times in as many years is a sign that I should share it with you, too.

Are You Too Optimistic For Your Own Good?

THE OPTIMISM BIAS: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain by neuroscientist Tali Sharot is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I read last year. She got me thinking a little more about how our minds work.

Are you too optimistic for your own good? Or are one of those glass-is-half-empty type of individuals who has difficulty being positive about anything? Personally, I've always viewed life through a lens of optimism, even when circumstances didn't warrant it.

The good news is that we benefit in several different ways from having an optimistic outlook on our lives. The bad news is that not having at least one foot firmly set in reality can leave us exposed to all types of ruin: financial, health, emotional, etc.

Did you know that 80% of the population has an optimism bias and the other 20% who don't are mildly depressed?

Interesting Findings:

• We tend to underestimate the negative and overestimate the positive?
• Although we're optimistic about ourselves, we're pessimistic about others (surprise, surprise).
• We overestimate everything about ourselves (from how interesting we are to how modest).

Do you see a beautiful, young woman or old lady?

Not So Surprising:

• The higher our expectations, the happier we are!
• We're happiest when in anticipation of something -- anticipation enhances our well-being.
• Optimism makes us want to try harder. Yes.
• People who are mildly depressed have been found to have a pessimistic outlook; they don't expect much from the future.

Moving forward, I'll continue to be my optimistic self. My health, happiness and dreams for the future expect it of me. What I won't do is ignore cues to change course when needed. It's the wise thing to do.

How would you describe your outlook on life?

Do you wish you could change it?

"The idea behind the self-fulfilling prophecy is that it is not a forecast of a future, but a cause of the event." - Tali Sharot

What Books Will You Read In 2014?

Have you set a reading goal for 2014? In previous years, I've attempted to read a book a week, something that would probably be more achievable if I weren't in school. I'm not complaining, though. Although I've never met my reading goal, except for a book or two, I've been pleased with my choices.

If you follow me on Goodreads, you've probably noticed that most of my ratings are 4 or 5 stars. I know some might be annoyed by that. What can I say? I enjoy most of what I read. If a book touches me personally, teaches me something, or makes me laugh, it's almost certain I'll give it a high rating.

So, rather than set a number goal for 2014, I'm picking several titles from those scattered about my home. These are books that have traveled from room-to-room without being read, for no good reason. I need to read them!

Aside from these, we'll see what piques my interest.

Here's my short list. 

Non-Fiction

A History of Women in America
The Particle at the End of the Universe
The Brain That Changes Itself
Across the Wire
In Her Wake

Fiction

Dr. Zhivago
Les Miserables
The Satanic Verses
The House of Spirits
Wench

What's on your list?

Finding Humor in Books

It was a horribly tense week here in Boston that started with the senseless loss of several lives and that ended, yesterday, with two more families mourning the loss of their loved ones. I'm thankful that members of my husband's family living near and in Watertown were able to sleep soundly last night, but am grieved for all whose lives will never be the same. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

I finally turned off the television and went searching for something to lift my spirits this a.m. and found this awesomely nerdy TED Talk given by two Harvard scholars, Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel. They discuss Google's mass digitization of the world's books and documents and how their historical record chronicles cultural trends (culturomics) through the number of times a word or phrase (n-grams) appears in text through history.

Although it made me chuckle, I was left wondering how what happened at the Boston Marathon and in Watertown this week will trend into the future.

Love Affair

© 2013 Ezzy G. Languzzi

Love Affair


What kind of love is it you offer
when you flee from me
after just a few days?

Tease

Stay, so I can love you.
I fear that I'll forget
the way you made me feel

Capricious.

Won't you linger for a while?
Hold my hand on this journey,
save me from disappointment,
shallow words
a mere flicker, here and there

Impossible

"I must prepare you for the next."

Destiny

What is it I seek?

Passion

Mercurial love that melds you,
to my starving hands
silky pages
seductive story
I love you

Please stay stay with me,
a little while.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Kindergarten Bookworm

Look What I Found

Don't you love it when you find something you thought you'd lost? You know. Like that pair of earrings you only wore once? Or a phone number scribbled on a scrap piece of paper belonging to someone you'd promised to call, but never did? How about ... a book?

I'd gone to visit my brother knowing that I'd be poking around several shelves of books that had belonged to my father, thinking I might find something to bring back. Well. I did find something. The original leather bound copy of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE I'd read as a kid. The first classic I'd ever read, in fact.

I couldn't pluck that red book from its shelf fast enough. Once in my hands, I opened it to sniff its old book smell and remembered how much I'd disliked Mr. Darcy, and being so moved by the ending that I'd attempted to write a scene of my own. Even back then.

This book and a few others made it back to the East Coast. They stowed away under the plane seat in front of me, because there was no way they'd get checked with the luggage. I mean, what if they lost me, again? Yeah the husband thought I was nuts.

My brother has agreed to set aside a few other books that belong to this collection that I'll grab the next time I'm in California. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find a few surprises inside them, too.

Interview with INK Author Sabrina Vourvoulias & Book Giveaway

INK by Sabrina Vourvoulias

Today I'd like to share an interview with Sabrina Vourvoulias, the author of INK. I had the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of her debut early this fall and to chat with her at #Latism12, a couple weeks ago.

About INK:

Imagine living in a society where the government requires that immigrants from certain countries be branded with color-coded tattoos to denote their immigrant "status," or desirability. A place where speaking any language other than English would be punishable by law and where a minor traffic violation could lead to imprisonment at an inkatorium.

I don't want to give too much away, but these are just a few of the hair-raising situations that the four characters in this novel struggle with as they attempt to find justice and make sense of the world around them.

Eerily familiar, INK reminded me of the U.S. government's 1930s mass deportation of Mexicans, many of whom were citizens, the forced relocation of Native Americans, and the sterilization of Native American women.

GIVEAWAY:

Sabrina will be giving away a signed copy of INK on Friday, November 16th. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents, and the winner will be chosen via random drawing. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment. :-)

Sabrina Vourvoulias

INTERVIEW:

INK depicts a grim American society and brings to mind some of our country's dark history. As you worked on this novel, did you worry how readers might react to it? What kind of response have you received?

Interesting question. Actually, no, mostly I didn’t think about the reader’s reaction as I was writing. I got caught up in the circumstances along with my characters, and so the escalation of events and restrictions felt organic and inevitable as I was writing. Also, because I was basing all of the different restrictions on what already exists and then taking them up a notch — or basing them on historical precedent — I think I simply assumed that any future reader would understand what I was doing. And in large part they have.

I did get a comment on Librarything or Goodreads — I forget which — that said the reader found the book so plausible she had to set it aside because it bothered her so much.

Look, I think there are disturbing and difficult passages in INK, but I think that is as it should be given the kind of dystopia I set up. Still, it is a book full of hope, and love, and one that acknowledges the power and strength of community.

INK deals a lot with Central-South American folklore. What influenced you to incorporate the supernatural into your novel? What were some of the resources you'd recommend to someone interested in learning more? Is there any region's folklore that is more interesting to you, than another? Are you believer?

I grew up in Guatemala, a country with an incredibly rich tradition of pre- and post-colonial myth and folklore. I’ve always loved legends and the tales that live not only on the page but off it as well, in the telling from person to person. I fit myself into a very long Guatemalan and Mexican literary tradition when I incorporate the unseen in my fiction, and it feels as integral to me as breathing.

In terms of Guatemalan myth and legend, you can’t go wrong reading pre-colonial books like the Popol Vuh and El Varón de Rabinal. Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemala’s Nobel laureate for literature, wrote a collection of short stories titled Leyendas de Guatemala, and most of his novels are infused with the country’s myth and lore. A lot of the best stuff isn’t written down, of course, so if you have a chance to listen to storytellers live that can be the best resource of all.

I love mythology, fairytales, tall tales, legends, folklore and folk art from a wide variety of cultures. I’m very familiar with Greek myth because it was one of the only ways I connected with my father’s ancestral heritage, but what I really love is more anecdotal folk tale than structured myth. Los Cadejos, el Cucuy, la Siguanaba, la Llorona, el Tzipitio, los nahuales — they’re the stuff that keeps finding its way into my work.

Sabrina Vourvoulias signs books
at #Latism 12

I do believe in the unseen. I believe in science and art and spirit, and the ways they intersect in us. So, I light velas and create ofrendas so that ancestors and saints will intercede for me at the same time as I delight in reading about morphic fields, the dance of invisible particles and sound that, no matter how inaudible, never stops resonating. I love paradoxes, particularly the ones in our natures. ;)

Do you remember how the idea for INK came about?

I’ve been listening to the personal stories of undocumented immigrants for the past twelve years as part of my work in newspapers, and in writing for my blog, Follow the Lede. I've noted how much the discourse about documentation has deteriorated through those years, and how much of it has turned, at its core, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino.

For a long time I was content to write advocacy on my blog, and journalism in the newspapers where I was editor. Then, I ran across a small newspaper article tucked into the back pages of "El Diario/La Prensa of NY," about an undocumented immigrant who worked with a landscaping company in Westchester County, who had been “given a ride” by a couple of guys on the way home from work one day. Except they took him over the border into Connecticut and dumped him there without money, cell phone or any identification, but with the warning to stay out of their state. And, according to the article, he wasn’t the first undocumented immigrant to experience this sort of “border dumping.”

The story so horrified and fascinated me it turned into the impetus for me to write fiction -- and to push what I knew undocumented immigrants were already experiencing, the two or three steps necessary into all-out dystopia.

How long did it take you to write INK?

I can’t give you a real total. I’ve actively been writing INK for about five years, but some sections, characters and settings are much, much older. Ten, maybe even fifteen years older. It’s a bit like raising a kid, actually. Sometimes the changes you make are radical game-changers, sometimes they’re more subtle, but if you’re diligent one day you stand back and think, “Hello. You’re all grown up.”

How many books did you write before this one?

I had started other novels but never finished them. INK is my first book.

What was your publishing journey like?

My first short story sale ("Flying with the Dead") was to Crossed Genres magazine and the publishers, Kay (Holt) and Bart (Leib) were just lovely to work with. I grew to be friendly with Kay through social media, told her about a critique I had gotten on what was then the first chapter of my novel — which was in various stages of draft and revision, and unfinished. She very generously offered to read it. Then she asked me for more chapters. When she was done, she made me promise to finish the novel because she wanted to know how it ended. I want to think I would have finished the novel anyway, but who knows? I do know if not for Kay's enthusiasm it might have been an even longer process. So, I sent her the final chunk of INK when it was done, and she passed it on to Bart, and at some point they told me they wanted to publish it.

The rest has been wholly wonderful. Whatever advantage there is in working with a big, mainstream press with money, a wide distribution network and a big marketing budget is more than made up for by Crossed Genres’ collaborative bent, and Kay’s and Bart’s absolute belief in the work of their writers.

You are a journalist by profession, what are some of the issues or topics that you mainly write about?

I write about Latinos in America — the challenges and triumphs, the heartbreak and hardship and the resilience of our communities. I like to focus on individuals, but I’ve written a lot about the need for humane immigration reform, about SB 1070 and its copycat legislation proposed for Pennsylvania, about the use of the term “illegal” and how that has affected the way people view all Latinos regardless of documentation status. I’ve written about how voter ID and redistricting is being used to disenfranchise Latino voters; about the high attempted suicide rate in young Latinas between the ages of 12 and 17, and about Mexican-American history and literature being taken off the shelves of schools in Tucson.

We have complicated challenges ahead of us. I don’t believe we should blind ourselves to them. But I also think we should celebrate who we are and why we are — proudly, loudly — as frequently as we can. ;)

What do you read for pleasure?

Fiction, short-stories and novels. Non-fiction, journalism, poetry. In Spanish and English. I’m in love with reading.

Did you read in your genre while writing INK?

Yes. Not exclusively, but speculative fiction is my favorite reading. ;)

Do you consider yourself a genre writer?

Yes. But I’m not a genre purist. The norm of anything bores me. I like the crossroads, the intersections, the places where people eye the wall of limitations before them and fly right over them.

Who are some of the authors that have influenced your work?

In the speculative fiction genre, I’d say Octavia Butler, Emma Bull, Charles de Lint and Ursula Le Guin are the writers I most admire. Outside of genre, I love Francisco Goldman, Sandra Cisneros, Denise Chavez, Ana Castillo, Julia Alvarez, Cristina Garcia, Amy Tan and Barbara Kingsolver.

I've heard on more than one occasion that it's more difficult for Latino/a authors to get published? Do you believe that to be true?

I think our voices are distinct from what the publishing mainstream is used to, and so perhaps we don’t fit perfectly in the mold, or seem difficult to market. Add to that the fact that literary and genre magazines publish a shamefully small number of writers of color, and you’ve got a bunch of talent with a narrower “platform” than what traditional book publishers look for in a first time novelist.

It’s also been brought to my attention recently that there are only five Latina literary agents in the U.S., so that’s got to be a factor in how many Latino/a authors get a publishing contract. Small presses have a much better record of publishing works by writers of color but, by their nature they aren’t able to attract as much attention for the writers or works on their list.

And last, but not least, what advice would you give to a writer battling self-censorship?

We all battle it. The real trick is to sink yourself deep into the story or into the character’s head. So deep, in fact, that you can’t think about where you want or don’t want it to go but just let yourself be dragged along. It’s probably one of the reasons I don’t outline. It’s way too easy to start listening to that horrible little naysaying censor’s voice if there’s an outline staring me in the face.

But even without an outline sometimes the self-censor gets through. So, I put music on loud and start writing. If the censor becomes insistent, I get up and dance. Then, back to writing. Dance. Write. Dance. Write. The censor will get tired long before you do. Trust me on this.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

"Sabrina Vourvoulias is a Latina newspaper editor, blogger and writer.

An American citizen from birth, she grew up in Guatemala and first moved to the United States when she was 15. She studied writing and filmmaking at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y.

In addition to numerous articles and editorial columns in several newspapers in Pennsylvania and New York state, her work has been published in Dappled Things, Graham House Review, La Bloga’s Floricanto, Poets Responding to SB 1070, Scheherezade’s Bequest at Cabinet des Fees, We’Moon, Crossed Genres Magazine #24, the anthologies Fat Girl in a Strange Land and Crossed Genres Year Two, and is slated to appear in upcoming issues of Bull Spec and GUD magazines.

Her blog Following the Lede was nominated for a 2011 Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) award. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter. Follow her antics on Twitter @followthelede."

High School Reading: For the Birds?

Do you remember what you read in high school? Did you like it? Or did the assigned reading stay in your book bag (like mine did) because the Cliffs Notes were much less painful? You know what I'm talking about. Or maybe you loved it all, in which case, you get a gold star.

I bring this up because I recently came across an interesting article in the HuffPost, suggesting alternate titles to some of what's been the meat and potatoes of our high school English curriculum. Titles that look delicious to me, such as Gabriel García Márquez's 100 Years of Solitude and Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. If you can, take a minute to flip through the slideshow.

The article got me thinking about how little I enjoyed what I read back then (actually hated it). Was it because I was an unsophisticated reader? Or maybe the material didn't resonate, or was too difficult? What would happen if I revisited these titles, today? And lastly, what might my young mind's reaction have been to authors such as Laura Esquivel, Sandra Cisneros, Isabel Allende, Julia Alvarez and Victor Villaseñor? I can only speculate.

Here are a few of the titles my memory coughed up from those years:

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

See any common threads, aside from them being classics? Hello. They're all depressing as all heck. Between the exploitation, murder, injustice and pathological apathy and boredom (Mr. Caulfield), it's no wonder I wasn't a depressed kid. Perhaps twenty plus years of life experience would give me enough of a repository to draw from to help me appreciate them, today? I have to find out.

So I'm curious. Did you love all of what you read in high school? I'd love to know what high school students outside the U.S. are reading.

Please share! :-)

I Think I'm Gonna Read It ... You Know What

The highly controversial and wildly successful 50 SHADES OF GREY by EL James

A funny thing happened to me on the way to New York a couple weeks ago. 

My husband's seventy-one year-old aunt from Rome, who's a retired high school English teacher and probably one of the most brilliant and engaging conversationalists I've ever met, accompanied me on the four-hour drive from Boston to the Big Apple. When I tell you she's an engaging conversationalist, that's code for SHE-CAN-TALK-YOUR-EAR-OFF. Which I don't mind, since conversation always includes a little literature, philosophy, and some of her colorful-crazy life experience. I should probably mention at this point that before teaching, she'd studied philosophy and literature at the University of Rome (in retirement she's studying economics and computer science). 

Back to the story...

On our way out of Boston she said, sounding really excited, "I found something on the plane -- a brand new book in the front seat's pocket. Even had the receipt in it. Whoever it belonged to is going to be upset." You can imagine my reaction. Might as well have been a hundred dollar bill. So I probed her about the book. She didn't remember the title or the author's name but said it looked really good and promised to show it to me when we arrived at the hotel.

After sitting in an extra hour's worth of traffic and rushing to make a tour, I'd completely forgotten about her book. Later that evening as we dressed for dinner, with the RNC blasting on the TV in the background, she says to me (my back's to her), "Oh, here's the book I told you about." I turned to her handing me a shiny, new copy of EL James' 50 SHADES OF GREY. Hello! The book I've been ambivalent about reading, mainly because of all the hype (good and bad) surrounding it.

"You're reading this?" I asked, half-embarrassed, half-incredulous. "Of course," she replied, and went on to show me the places she'd underlined with pen; these were words she planned to look up. Was it wrong of me to assume this book's effects had rippled over to Italia? I mean, it's the all-time most downloaded book in the UK. So I took it upon myself to educate her with the little bit I've gleaned from social media and Saturday Night Live. You can imagine how that went.

Turns out she didn't know the alternative meaning for the word "bondage," which she completely grasped after I'd made several whipping and binding gestures. Yes, I know, ridiculous. I expected her to be appalled. Nope. Didn't bat an eyelash. In fact, she got a twinkle in her youthful blue eyes and said, "Really?" I laughed, "Yeah, really. You still going to read it?" "Well, why not?" she said. "I'm not that easily influenced. Now I'm looking forward to it." Although, she did later say that she'd have to hide the cover so people wouldn't know what she read.

So there you have it. If it's good enough for a lit and philosophy major, it's good enough for me. Except mine will be on the Nook.

Troublemakers in Times Square

Here's another title that looks interesting. :p
50 SHAMES OF EARL GREY by Fanny Merkin

Summer's Bounty

Some days I wish that placing my finger on time might keep it from slipping away ... 

Moments, blessings, memories ... beauty streaked with Blue.

Some days I wish that placing my finger on time might keep it from slipping away... 

My boy,

Growing!

Curiously gazing,

Seizing everything new.

Some days I wish that placing my finger on time might keep it from slipping away ...

A canvas splattered,

An arc of color,

Phosphorous kisses,

Fire bleeding into you.

Some days I wish that placing my finger on time might keep it from slipping away ... 

Books weighted in honesty.

Sharing, showing, cracking open their souls.

They fill me with sadness.
The realization of what is true.

Some days I wish that placing my finger on time might keep it from slipping away ...

New friends

Old souls

Who knew?

Reading THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, Chapters 3 & 4

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

This post is part of a read-along hosted by Plaza Familia. Chapters 5 and 6 will be discussed the week of June 18 and readers may post their reactions to the book at a Linky provided on Thursday, 6/21 at their site. To read my thoughts on Chapters 1 and 2, click here.

Interesting that my memory held on to only the humorous aspects of this story, por que verdaderamente, what woman would want to remember another woman's desgracia? Madre mia.

In Chapter 3, the reader meets Oscar's mama, Hypatia Belicia (Beli) Cabral, an orphaned Dominicana who's saved from a locked chicken-coup by her mother-aunt, La Inca. Beli, whose parents were rumored to have been murdered by Trujillo's regime, comes from a high-profile familia in the DR. Her father had been a doctor and her mother a nurse and young Beli's pagina en blanco, or Lost Years are so horrible that the author only alludes to them.

La Inca reminds Beli every day that she will go to college and grow up to be somebody important like her parents. Trying to instill ambitions in her, she arranges for her to attend prestigious schools, where disillusionment sets in for Beli when she realizes that lineage means nothing in a country where European features are valued above being morena. Rather than bury herself in her studies to get ahead (as her daughter, Lola, does later), Beli turns her attention to the opposite sex, which is where her tragic story turns more tragic.

In Chapter 4, the reader meets Yunior, Lola's, womanizing ex-boyfriend and the first-person narrator, who becomes Oscar's roommate to help keep an eye on him. I'm not too crazy about this guy. Seems to have the best intentions, but rather than helping Oscar, he ends up making matters worse. It's at this point in the story that Oscar is so depressed, he takes a flying leap off the New Brunswick train bridge, and fails at taking his own life. Oscar's brief wondrous life has a few more chapters to go. I wanted to see Oscar succeed and find his peace, but the reader already knows that the nerd's future is bleak.

The cane fields where Beli's beaten within inches of her life at the end of Chapter 3 will come into play, again.

Reading THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, Chapters 1 & 2

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz

This post is part of a read-along hosted by Plaza Familia. Chapters 3 and 4 will be discussed the week of June 11 and readers may post their reactions to the book at a Linky provided on Thursday, 6/14 at their site.

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz smoldered in my hands the first time I read it two summers ago. Literally. I'd never read anything like it and once I got over being embarrassed by some of the language, I was lost in another world. It's edgy and pushes the limits of decency, at times, with its sexual content. Also shocking to me was the sad but honest portrayal of the mother-daughter-relationship often experienced by Latinas. I believe that to fully appreciate the author's prose, the reader must have some basis in Latino culture and language, otherwise much of what is between the lines will be lost. It is a book written by someone who fully embraces his bicultural persona and is not afraid to surrender to the page. Without censorship. Without apologies.

The book opens with a discussion of the fukú, a curse believed to have been unleashed by Colonialism and how the dictator Trujillo, who in my opinion might as well have been the Antichrist, was the fleshly embodiment of this curse: a man who raped and pillaged his people and island. Worst for me was to learn that his dictatorship was backed by the U.S. How's that for a healthy dose of American reality, Pollyanna?

We meet Oscar, our protagonist, in Chapter 1. He's a Dominican nerd of epic proportions, living in Jersey, who's into science fiction, reading and writing. He's huge, wears glasses and is essentially a social outcast. No girl wants to have anything to do with him. At this point in the novel, the narrator is third-person and anonymous.

Chapter 2 is narrated in the first-person by Lola, Oscar's older sister, who is a strong and independent girl with a wild spirit. She's beautiful, thin, has long, straight black hair, is dark and intelligent. Her mother, a hard-working mujer, treats her cruelly and cuts her down every opportunity she has. What's beautiful about Lola is that she doesn't take it and although she could make "better" choices, more than anything, she has a will to survive.

I'm already into Chapter 3 and enjoying the rereading!

Are You Sleeping With Your Smartphone?

Sleeping With Your Smartphone by Leslie A. Perlow
(Burlington, MA -- Barnes & Noble)

Look at what I stumbled on while perusing the new non-fiction at B&N this morning. LMAO over this one, partly because of how ridiculous the title sounds, but also because this shamefully applies to me. Just add some rizos to this wackadoodle and replace the Blackberry with the iPhone.

Apparently I'm not the only one ailing from cell phone separation anxiety. Here's my explanation: I reason that if the phone's on the nightstand, should there be an emergency in the middle of the night, you know the kind that involves a house fire, or no electricity, it's within arm's length.

Let's be real. The temptation is too hard to resist. Pinterest. Twitter. Work email. Personal email. Facebook. Da blog. You know what I'm talking about.

Me thinks it's time to set some boundaries. Sorry, Chulo, but it's time to move you across the room.

What do you say? Are you enraptured by your smartphone?

p.s. I have this habit of taking pictures of books and uploading them to Evernote for archiving. It's helpful for when I'm not in the mood to buy but want to archive (without adding to Goodreads). Call me eccentric. :-)

Terminamos Esperanza Renace

Photo by clanderos1
Zona Centro, Aguascalientes, MX 

Estoy triste que terminamos este libro. Sí tenemos suerte, la autora Pam Muñoz Ryan escribirá un segundo libro continuando la vida de nuestra heroína Esperanza Ortega en los E.U.

Toda la acción succedé en los últimos tres capítulos. En Los Espárragos, Esperanza trabaja en los cobertizos donde empaca la cosecha de espárragos bajo la proteccion de guardias porque los huelguistas tienen decidido interrumpir el negocio. Dentro los baldes que vienen del campo y donde las trabajadoras meten sus manos, los huelguistas esconden ratas, serpientes, cuchillas y vidrio.

Empeorando la situación, se enteran que trabajadores de Oklahoma vienen a pescar algodon por una miseria. Al fin de este capitulo, les cay la inmigracion, llevandose los huelgistas, incluyendo ciudadanos con papeles. La joven, Marta, que se había burlado de Esperanza al principio del libro se escapa, escondiendose en unas cajas. Esperanza la descubré, pero no dicé nada. La protegé.

"Esperanza miró el campo que había estado lleno de gente que pensaba que podía cambiar las cosas, que trató de llamar la atención de los agricultores y el gobierno para mejorar sus condiciones de trabajo y también las de ella."

Esteban Cavrico

En Los Duraznos, la niña Isabel sueña de ser elegida la Reina de Mayo, pero sabe que la maestra  siempre escoge una "reina güera de ojos azules," buenos grados o no, y es exactamente lo que succedé, quebrandole su corazón.

Los campesinos mexicanos descubren que los dueños del campamento instalarán cabañas y una alberca para los trabajadores que vienen de Oklahoma, y que los "oakies" tendran retretes e agua caliente. Esperanza se engrifa y se pelea con Miguel diciendole que todavia es sirviente -- ciudadano de segunda classe por que su situación no había cambiado. Miguel no se deja y le dicé a Esperanza:

"Aqui al menos tengo una oportunidad, aunque sea pequeña, de llegar a ser algo más de lo que era."

El capitulo termina con Esperanza regalandole su muñeca de porcelana (la ultima que le había regalado su papa antes de murirse) a Isabel y con su mama regresando a casa. Cuando Esperanza va a enseñarle los giros postales que ahorraba para traer su abuelita de Aguascalientes, descubre que se desaparecieron de la maleta. Todos sospechan a Miguel porque él se había ido a buscar trabajo al norte.

Photo by La Grande Farmers' Market

Las Uvas, el ultimo capitulo me hizo llorar! Termina el libro con Hortensia y Alfonso llevando a Esperanza a la estación de autobuses a encontrar a Miguel. Cuando llega el autobus, no solo baja Miguel, pero también la abuelita de Esperanza! Ay. La reunion entre la viejita y la mama de Esperanza es inolvidable. : )

_____

Una entrevista con la autora ... (en ingles)

Algunas Palabras Nuevas ...

consignas (órdenes) = intructions

abuchear = too boo

azadón = hoe

agredir = to attack

redada = raid

leal = loyal

torbellino = whirlwind

además = moreover, besides; also

capullo = bud (de flor)

lirio = iris

aleilí = violet

novena = nine days of worship

decepción = disappointment

esbelto = slender

delantal = apron

cavar = to dig, hoe

superficie = surface

mueca = face, expression

MY FIRST SPANISH READ! I DID IT!
Tara, thank you for reading along.
<3