Monday, April 27, 2009

Arroyo Literary Review

Despite the crashing economy, people who love and appreciate literature continue to bring fiction, poetry, essays and interviews to hungry readers. What’s my evidence? Just open any issue of Poets & Writers and turn to its classifieds. There you’ll find the many calls for submissions from print and online literary journals, all wanting your best work. Well, our reading life is a little brighter with the introduction of a handsome new publication, the Arroyo Literary Review.

Arroyo is a print-based publication produced annually by the Department of English at California State University, East Bay. The editorial staff of Arroyo is dedicated to showcasing both new and established writers from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. In addition to quality contemporary fiction and poetry, each issue of Arroyo features an interview with a distinguished writer.

The premier issue, which just hit the shelves, includes an interview with novelist and critic Eric Miles Williamson, author of East Bay Grease, Two-Up, and Oakland, Jack London, and Me. The issue also includes the work of Marvin Bell, Dan Bellm, Lucille Lang Day, Stephen D. Gutierrez, Jeremy Halinen, Trebor Healey, Nellie Hill, Ilyse Kusnetz, Jan Heller Levi, Sara McAulay, Richard Peabody, Patrick Ryan, Patty Seyburn, Lisa Solomon and Mark Svenvold. The cover art is by James Jean.

Arroyo Literary Review is funded through the university and the generous contributions of individual donors. It is edited, designed, and managed by students in the English program, and advised by faculty members.

For more information, or to purchase a sample copy of Arroyo, contact the Editors by e-mailing them. You may also visit Arroyo’s website.

Submissions, read until May 31, 2009, should be mailed to:

Arroyo Literary Review
Department of English - MB 2579
California State University, East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd.
Hayward, CA 94542

◙ Well, Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery (Arte Público Press), edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez, continues to receive rave notices. This time, Lydia Gil writing for the Latin American Herald Tribune, opines that Hit List, “a collection that is ideal for reading on the metro or at the beach or cafe, delivers some of the best stories in that genre to have been published in English in recent years.” Read the entire review here.

◙ And now a message from Abelardo de la Peña, Jr., editor of LatinoLA:

I serve as acting director of the Mexican Cultural Institute at El Pueblo AKA Olvera Street. Just a few hours a week, thanks to the active work of other board members who are also volunteering their time and energy. Yesterday, I presented our annual report for 2008 to the El Pueblo commissioners. A simple power point presentation detailed the diverse programming of the Institute -- art shows, movie screenings, book reading, and more -- to an attentive audience. I wore a jacket, which must have been impressive, because they applauded at the end. I'm glad they appreciate the value of our mission, which we undertake under the various challenges that come with being a non-profit in these times.

We're working at making 2009 even better. Check out our MySpace page (needs updating ... sorry!).

If you have a few hours to give, think about getting involved with organizations / agencies / schools/etc. that meet your personal mission. You'll be applauded, too.

Later,

Abelardo
abelardo@latinola.com

◙ Speaking of LatinoLA, here are a few links to recent posts you might enjoy:

Situational Awareness by Al Carlos Hernandez, Contributing Editor

When the Diaper Hits the Fan... by Susie Albin-Najera

I Thought You Were My Penguin by mia soto

TOP Ten Ways Prominent Latinos Celebrate Earth Day by Al Carlos Hernandez, Contributing Editor

A Perfect LatinoLA Play: $20 Special! by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.

Review: Flamenco at the Gypsy Den in Santa Ana by O. Ian Ávalos

News from the Brown Side of Town, April 21 by Frankie Firme ~ Contributing Editor

A Little Pampering by Lisa Zion, Contributing Editor

◙ Award-winning author and man-of-a-big-corazón, Luis Alberto Urrea, has a new poem up on his website. Powerful, thought-provoking, something you should read. It's called, "Valley of the Palms" and is dated April 20. While you're there, note that Urrea also has a piece on "This I Believe." Check it all out. And don't forget that his new novel, Into the Beautiful North, comes out next month. I've read it...I loved it. So will you. More on this book soon.

◙ Chon Noriega, director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, will be on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) next month.

Professor Noriega and Robert Osborne will co-host a series of 40 films demonstrating the progression of how Latino characters and culture are depicted in cinema. “Race And Hollywood: Latino Images in Film,” airing on Turner Classic Movies television on Tuesdays and Thursdays, May 5-28, is the fourth in a series of film festivals exploring Hollywood's portrayal of racial groups. TCM has a site up dedicated to the month-long event. For more information, click here. It looks like a really interesting slate of films as well as some old favorites.

◙ That’s all for now. So, in the meantime, enjoy the intervening posts from mis compadres y comadres here on La Bloga. And remember: ¡Lea un libro!

1 comment:

antonio said...

MUCHO LATINO, MUCHO LATINA
MUCHO HISPANO, MUCHO HISPANA,
MUCHO LATINOAMERICANO
MUCHO HISPANOAMERICANO.
PERO ESCRIBEN EN INGLES.