(I Won a Book!) Julia Alvarez Interviewed by Edwidge Danticat

I won a book.  *smiles and dances* Timing is everything. ; )

Last week, Being Latino promoted on their blog, a live webcast interview of Julia Alvarez that was set to take place later that evening on the Algonquin Books' website. They gave away two copies of Alvarez's novel, IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES, to the first two lucky readers to post the names of the Mirabal Sisters, las Mariposas, who were the inspiration behind this timeless book club favorite.

 *still dancing*

Thank you for the chance to win! I can't wait to read it.

(See Original Post: The Brilliant Julia Alvarez by Charlie Vazquez)

In this webcast, Julia Alvarez is interviewed by Haitian author Edwidge Danticat. They not only discuss Alvarez's inspiration behind the "butterflies," but also the effect the intertwined histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti have had on their writing. In a stirring exchange between the two women, Alvarez shares a dream she has about the border that separates their two countries.

I hope you enjoy this webcast as much as I did, not only for the history lesson, but also to get a glimpse into Alvarez's creative mind: how she "receives" characters, organizes her stories and picks point-of-view.

I've included a link here to the webcast and a bulleted summary of their discussion.

• The Mirabal Sisters
• Creative process (she made me smile)
• Challenges faced by authors who write historical fiction
• Truth according to "character"
• Movie adaptation of her novel
• "Memory"
• The Haitian Massacre of 1937
• Machismo in the D.R. during Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship
• Her current project ; )
• Stay for the Q&A -- Alvarez answers some tough questions (e.g. her response to books published by Trujillo's descendants, the importance of respecting privacy, where she sees Latino literature going and what she's been reading.)

I plan on reading IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES during the month of May. Let me know if you'd like to read along!

"Grant me the intelligence and the patience to find the true pattern."

-- Mayan Weaver's Prayer

RECOMMENDED READING:

• ONCE UPON A QUINCEAÑERA: Coming of Age in the USA (non-fiction): This is the book that led me to me discover this wonderful author. It's a revealing, sometimes disturbing report (with statistics) of the challenges facing young Latinas, and how the Quinceañera, a fifteen-year-old girl's "coming out" party might be sending our daughters the wrong message. Why not make education the priority, instead?
• HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS: This story unfolds in a reverse timeline. It follows the Garcia family's defection from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. and honestly portrays the challenges the four daughters face adapting to a new culture.

Stylish Blogger Award

I have a few words of gratitude for romance writer and on-line friend Layna Pimentel, who surprised me with The Stylish Blogger Award, recently.

Layna and I have been friends on Twitter since 2009, where we met just before our first Nanowrimo. She helped keep me motivated, challenging me to writing sprints while online. And because Nanowrimo wasn't stressful enough, we soon after tackled an on-line grammar class that taught us a thing or two about modifiers.

Thank you for your friendship and support, Linz. *big, big hugs* Looking forward to the next three years. To learn more about Layna or to visit her spicy (adults-only) romance blog, please click here.

So I'm supposed to reveal seven new things about me ... yikes.

Ready?

Here goes.

Seven Things:

1. I despise peas. I see peas and immediately think slimy, green, smashed caterpillars. 
2. I used to own a pet boa constrictor. I named her Chloe. She was so cute when I first bought her: the size of a No. 2 pencil. Then she grew. And grew. And grew. Her size never really bothered me. In fact I enjoyed her weight on my shoulders, as she ran the length of my arms, fingertip-to-fingertip. Our relationship, one based on mutual respect, changed the the day I attempted to move her after I'd  handled her food. She was a snake. Snakes smell with their tongues. And I hadn't washed my hands. As any snake would, she mistook my hand for the rat I was about to feed her. I never felt at ease handling her after she bit me. So I sent her to live with another boa named Buddha. As far as I know, they had no offspring.
3. I once entered a beehive competition when I worked for the Media Department at the Orange County Fair. 
4. My favorite place to visit in Southern California is the Griffith Park Observatory. When my sisters and I were growing up, our parents would take us there on weekends to explore the observatory's exhibits and surrounding grounds. It's a beautiful and tranquil place for a picnic.
5. I'm still petrified of spiders. Why? Because they're nasty little creatures that can do this. No lie.
6. I believe extra-terrestials exist. How could they not?
7. Yes. I'm so old that cars looked like this (below) when I was three. At least it's not a horse-and-buggy.

In the spirit of sharing, I'd like to direct you to a handful of sites I like to visit when I want to learn something new:

Being Latino | Informed group of Latino writers who blog about current events, cultural topics, women and issues affecting all Latinos.

Landless | Tony Noland: Flash fiction writer and all-around interesting guy. Once even wrote about bear-trapping.

Shournalista | Julieta Talavera: Amazing photo-journalist and bilingual Spanish-English writer. Love her Chinatown podcast.

Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar | Martha Brockenbrough: Educational and funny.

The Character Therapist | Jeannie Campbell: A psychologist's take on fictional characters.

Warrior Writers | Kristen Lamb: Invaluable blogging and writing advice with a touch of humor.

What to Read | Katie K.: Voracious reader and friend. : )

Writer in Progress | Judy Manning: A writer in the trenches who writes entertainment reviews and about all things paranormal.

The Guts of Fiction

This morning, while poking around flash fiction writer Tony Noland's blog, I came across this *clears throat* peculiar illustration. Looks organic, huh?

Landless: From Gilgamesh to Galactica: A Historical Map of Science Fiction.

At first glance, the way its body curved and waved, I thought it might be some kind of mutant jelly fish or octopus that belonged in a jar of formaldehyde. Maybe even somebody's intestinal tract. That was until I ZOOMED IN. Close.

Go ahead. Don't be afraid. It won't bite. Click on it to view it full-size on Tony's original's post. The detail is awesome.

I love it!

A STEP FROM HEAVEN by An Na

“Mi Gook. This is a magic word.” -- Young Ju, A STEP FROM HEAVEN

A collection of thirty-one vignettes, A STEP FROM HEAVEN is Korean-American author An Na’s first novel. When four-year-old Young Ju discovers her family plans to move to Mi Gook--America, she can’t help but be happy. Reading her parents' expressions, she knows that America means something "good" to them.

In Mi Gook, her Apa-father says:

“Everyone can make lots of money even if they did not go to an important school in the city …”

Upon reaching America, Young Ju's parents quickly discover that immigrant life is not easy. They end up making a meager living, only able to afford renting a dilapidated house in an unsafe neighborhood.

It’s not until her brother, Joon, is born, that Young Ju understands her position in the home. Gender roles are clear: fathers are never to be questioned, sons are favored, and women who do not acquiesce are punished.

The day her father brags that her brother could someday grow up to be president, is the day she sees an opportunity to win his favor, by suggesting she could also do the same. In reply, he laughs and says:

“You are a girl, Young Ju.” 

Although this statement hurts her deeply, it doesn't extinguish her spirit. By the time she’s reached the ninth grade, Young Ju has toughened up. She’s made the honor roll and become best-friends with a girl named Amanda Doyle. Amanda and her family provide the safety net she needs when her own parents are consumed by work.

Problem is that Apa doesn’t approve of his daughter’s American friend. Young Ju's defiance of her father when he forbids their friendship is what leads to the explosive scene in the novel that changes the family forever.

A STEP FROM HEAVEN is short but filled with many poignant scenes of a daughter yearning for her father's love, as she struggles with assimilation. It's also a sometimes sad, but thought-provoking read about the challenges immigrants face when they first come to this country.

Have you had to assimilate somehow? If so, what does assimilation mean to you? If not, what do you think it means? 

“Your life can be different, Young Ju. Study and be strong. In American women have choices.” -- Uhmma--Mother, A STEP FROM HEAVEN

Recommended Reading:

To learn more about the author An Na, please visit her author site.

To Purchase:

Barnes & Noble
Borders

PUSH by Sapphire

"I don't understand why some kids git a good school and mother and father and some don't. But Rita say forgit the WHY ME shit and get on to what's next." -- Precious, PUSH

Clareece "Precious" Jones' earliest memories are of being abused by her parents. Rather than act as the safety net she desperately needs, school administrators advise her teachers, who first notice her worrisome signs of withdrawal at age five, to "focus on the ones who can learn."

By the time Precious is sixteen, her life's been one of submission for survival's sake. She's in junior high, can't read or write, weighs two-hundred-pounds and is pregnant by her father for the second time.

When her second pregnancy is discovered by school administrators, she's expelled and referred to an "alternative" school, where she meets girls with similar backgrounds as hers, and a teacher who changes her life. Miss Rain does more than teach her to read and write; she teaches her to find her "voice."

It's through the process of journaling that Precious finds the strength she'll need to leave her mother and deal with the biggest challenge she's faced yet.

By the time I finished PUSH, I felt optimism for Precious' future. I also felt a sadness that stayed with me long after I read it. Sapphire's raw and uninhibited verse was evidence to me that she'd not created Precious in a vacuum.

PUSH is poetic and thought-provoking. But it's also graphic and disturbing. It's a book I'd only recommend to readers who are comfortable feeling uncomfortable.

Do you think a story is ever too gritty or shocking to tell? When you think of an author writing authentically, what books or stories come to mind that you've read?

KATIE COURIC SITS WITH AUTHOR SAPPHIRE:

In the following short video clip, Sapphire discusses her background, where she got the inspiration to write Precious' character, and the movie adaptation of her book. She's an inspiring lady. (Click here to watch the entire interview.)

"But I couldn't let him, anybody, know, page 122 look like page 152, 22, 3, 6, 5 -- all the pages look alike to me. 'N I really do want to learn. Everyday I tell myself something gonna happen, some shit like on TV. I'm gonna break through or somebody gonna break through to me -- I'm gonna learn, catch up, be normal, change my seat to the front of the class. But again, it has not been that day." -- Precious, PUSH

Suggested Reading:

How Author Created Film Character Precious Through Her Own Sexual Abuse

NPR: Sapphire's Story: How 'Push' Became 'Precious'
Rape Abuse & Incest National Network

HOW DO I LOVE THEE? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Every year on Valentine's Day, I remember English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning's love sonnet "How Do I Love Thee?" for it's simplicity and intensity.

I'd be withholding information if I didn't also tell you that it's one I chose to memorize and recite at a junior high school assembly long before I understood the true meaning of its verse.

I hope you enjoy this expression of pure love.

Do you have a favorite love poem? Better yet, do you write them? If you do, I invite you to post one in the comments. Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day! *hugs*

HOW DO I LOVE THEE?

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God Choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

Ignorance: Enough Is Enough

The last few weeks have ... well, how shall I put it? ... sucked.

Anyone who knows me off-line, and maybe some of you who are my friends on Twitter know by the content I retweet that I value children, education, diversity, civil rights and equality.

I have a zero tolerance policy toward any form of bullying or the targeting of any group based on ethnicity, religion, economic status, sexuality, gender or disability.

Further, I do not condone hate speech. Ever.

Particularly when said speech is delivered under the supposed guise of humor. What some seem to not understand, or wish to trivialize, is that these remarks demoralize and dehumanize, wear-away at the human psyche, incite hate, and feed intolerance. It is the kind of speech that perpetuates negative stereotypes.

For any of my non-Latino friends who haven't heard of the disparaging remarks made recently about Mexicans (hi, that would be me) by a respected organization for humor's sake, I invite you to pour yourself a cup of something strong and take a few minutes to watch the BBC's Top Gear Video.

If you've seen it and can't stomach watching it again (once was enough for me), please click through to their lukewarm apology.

My question: What might the media's response been if instead of Mexicans [insert another name] had been the group singled out with racial remarks?

I have a sense of humor. A twisted one, even. But this? This is not funny. It's indecent.

Telling me to go get a sense of humor when I feel personally attacked because of my culture is not the answer.

If you have a few minutes, please visit "All the Latest of the TOP GEAR Controversy" at author and Twitter strategist Julio Varela's blog to read about this important topic.

(Since the posting of this article, yesterday, a response issued by the BBC to the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, Being Latino, Inc., The National Council of La Raza and The League of United Latin American Citizens was made public, stating they'd remove the "objectionable" footage from episodes airing in America.)

"The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority." -- Ralph W. Sockman

BURRO GENIUS by Victor Villaseñor

“Mañana es otro milagro de dios.”

Tomorrow is another miracle of God’s.

Mexican Dicho-Saying

BURRO GENIUS is a memoir about a man who in my estimation is extraordinary.

Set in the1940s, Victor Villaseñor recounts with passion and searing detail his inspiring, sometimes incredulous story of growing up Latino, during one of the darkest periods for minorities in Southern California's history.

As a native Southern-Californian and Mexican-American in her early forties, I'm disturbed that this period in history is one I didn't know, until recently, even existed. (See: Mendez v. Westminster: Desegregating California)

Although Villaseñor learns English quickly and has an aptitude for math, he falls behind his peers in school, flunking the third-grade twice, because hard as he tries, he cannot read. Not for either of the two reasons ascribed to him by his teachers and fellow classmates, because he's a stupid, lazy Mexican, but because he has dyslexia, a developmental reading disorder that goes undiagnosed until he's forty-four-years-old, when his own children experience similar problems at school.

In spite of all the pain, loss and heartache that Villaseñor endures in his childhood, he crafts a memoir that's the literary equivalent of a family's embrace, penning a story threaded with vibrant imagery, magical realism, Mexican folklore and an intriguing (much appreciated) perspective on gender roles within the family.

I don't want to ruin this story by disclosing too much of his journey, but I'll end by saying that twice in his life, mentors played a significant role in inspiring him and encouraging him, in spite of his mysterious disability, to write. He persisted, studied, wrote every chance he had, until after 256 rejections, he accomplished his goal.

BURRO GENIUS is about what it takes to make the seemingly impossible possible. No excuses.

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

Have you read any memoirs or fiction that have rocked you to your core recently? Or learned something about your ancestry's history that changed your world-view?

If so, I'd love hear about it.

***

"And I thanked mi papa who'd always said to me that we, los Indios, the Indians, were like weeds. That roses you had to water and give fertilizer or they'd die. But weeds, indigenous plants, you gave them nada-nothing; hell, you even poisoned them and put concrete over them, and those weeds would still break the concrete, reaching for the sunlight of God." -- Victor Villasenor, BURRO GENIUS 

UCSD Interview:



To learn more about Victor Villaseñor and the HBO mini-series due to start filming in the Spring of 2011 based on his other work, please visit his Author Site.

You can also check out his books at Barnes & Noble and Borders, among other book sellers.

41st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast, Boston Convention Center

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

My morning got off to the most amazing start yesterday. 

This was my first year attending the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. 

By chance I came across an announcement for the event in the Boston Business Journal a few weeks ago during my lunch hour. I'd been so disheartened by some mean-spirited comments I'd come across in the "comments sections" of articles I'd read on-line discussing immigration, and others referencing the recent banning of Ethnic Studies by the state of Arizona, that when I saw Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s image emblazoned on the half-page ad, I told myself I had to go.

So I went.

And-I-LOVED-it. 

I didn't know what to expect and was immediately overwhelmed by the number of people I encountered in the lobby. The room of 1,000 attendees was as ethnically diverse as the recipients of the many scholarships awarded that morning.

To my surprise, the State of Massachusett's newly elected Auditor Suzanne Bump sat to my left, and a retired school teacher who'd taught English for thirty-years and had not missed the event since its first year, sat to my right.

And although I came away from the event feeling uplifted, I was still troubled. Why? Because even with all the progress we've made in our country, intolerance and hate-speech really haven't changed.

The questions weighing heavily on me, as asked by key-note speaker Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University, when quoting King:

"Where do we go from here?"

... Chaos or Community?

I bet you probably already know which way I'd like to see our beloved country go.

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Some pictures from the event: Boston Herald
Clip of Dr. Harris-Perry's address on Boston Channel

Relevant Articles:

Civil Rights Veterans: Today's Hate Rhetoric is Deja-Vu

Mississippi to Teach Civil Rights History In Every Grade

Arizon Bans Ethnic Studies and, Along With It, Reason and Justice

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN is a thought-provoking story about a fourteen-year-old boy named Junior, living an impoverished and hopeless existence on a Spokane Indian "rez."

Junior is an endearing and complicated character whose energy and voice hooked me in the first page. In spite of his having overcome several medical conditions, this witty, sarcastic and intelligent young boy has all but given up on aspiring to a better life. He spends his days indoors for fear of being bullied, and on a near daily basis loses a friend or loved one to alcohol abuse.

He offers the reader a glimpse of how he perceives himself when he says:

"It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it." 

What changes for him?

A teacher who recognizes his artistic talent tells him he's a fighter and encourages him to seek out a better life outside the reservation, advising him, in what I think is one of the most crucial scenes in the book, that the only way he'll find hope is by getting as far away from the reservation as possible:

"When I first started teaching here, that's what we did to the rowdy ones, you know? We beat them. That's how we were taught to teach you. We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child."

"You killed Indians?"

"No, no. It's just a saying. I didn't literally kill Indians. We were supposed to make you give up being Indian. Your songs and stories and language and dancing. Everything. We weren't trying to kill Indian people. We were trying to kill Indian culture." 

A couple pages later the teacher goes on:

"If you stay on this rez," Mr. P said, "they're going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. We're all going to kill you. You can't fight us forever."

It took a teacher encouraging Junior and planting a seed of hope for him to get the courage to ask his parents' permission to transfer to a wealthy, all-white school outside his reservation. And although just getting to and from the school is a challenge, he adjusts, makes friends, gains confidence, overcomes preconceived ideas and exceeds expectations.

But Junior's success comes at a cost, as nothing prepares him for the feelings of guilt and betrayal that plague him for having left his tribe. Can he still be Indian and be successful? If so, then why is it that the more successful and confident he becomes, the less Indian, more White, he feels?

I loved this book and don't believe it should be banned. Junior's use of profanity is minimal and his thoughts on masturbation are probably authentic to that of any fourteen-year-old boy.

Oh. And before I forget. The illustrations are hysterical, helping to relieve some tension during what might otherwise be a very heavy read.


BOOK TRAILER:




INTERVIEW AT UCSD:



"Read. Read one-thousand pages for every one page that you write."
-- Sherman Alexie

Author Site

Other Reading

Barnes & Noble

Borders