Latino Authors and Mentors Group Releases Anthology By Kathryn White June 12, 2024
Poet Ricardo LaFore turned the insult “What have your people ever doneLatino Authors and Mentors Group Releases Anthology By Kathryn White June 12, 2024
Poet Ricardo LaFore turned the insult “What have your people ever done?” into a poem.
“My Ancestors Built the Pyramids” appears in a new anthology to be released this month by the Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors (CALMA).
“Ramas y Raíces: The Best of CALMA,” edited by Mario Acevedo, contains essays, poetry and short stories by 24 writers who live or have spent significant time in Colorado.
The book’s title, which translates as “Branches and Roots,” reflects the breadth and depth of its themes, as well as the range of genres and literary forms contained within. Seeds for both the anthology and the organization were planted decades ago.
“I grew up at a time when I never ever ever saw a Spanish surname on a book,” said Dr. Ramon Del Castillo, a longtime activist, educator, researcher and poet. “There was a void, there was a link missing about who I was, about who we were. Until the advent of Chicano studies in the 1960s, during the Chicano movement, when one of the issues that came up was literature and poetry. And out of that, you had the birth of thousands of poets now, and a whole body of literature that will compete with anybody’s writing.”
LaFore said the anthology seeks to encourage new writers, but also to preserve and protect what’s already been written.
“We felt that there was a void in our community,” LaFore said. “We recognized from the beginning that in a functioning democracy all voices have to be heard. Our poetry, our literature, our writing, all have to be part of the American literary tradition. Otherwise, we don’t have a functioning democracy that values all voices. We have a proud and noble history, but it’s rarely known beyond our own community. And we had to fix that.”
CALMA itself started with a conversation. It was 2019, and Frank Dávila had published his memoir, “An Outburst of Dreams.” Written largely for his children and grandchildren, Dávila conducted extensive genealogical research in order to preserve and pass along family history. He wove in stories about his growing-up years picking cotton as a migrant worker, speaking Spanish and learning English as his second language. He wanted his family to know about the discrimination he faced.
That same year, Dávila helped fellow writer Christina Montoya with edits to her first book.
“We ought to think about forming a group,” Dávila said to Montoya, “where writers can support each other like this.”
Each knew a few others, and a small gathering at Raíces Brewing Company followed. By early 2020, the group had six founders, was hosting Zoom sessions and had grown to more than 30 Latino authors, both published and aspiring.
CALMA went on to host book fairs, lead workshops, and make presentations in high school and college classrooms. Several of the group’s members have taken on formal mentoring relationships.
“Since we formed CALMA,” Dávila said, “two Latinos have been inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame. Manuel Ramos was the first one ever in 2021. We promoted and advocated for him. And then, Lalo Delgado was selected last year, posthumously.”
Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado (1931-2004), known as the grandfather of Chicano poetry, published 14 books and inspired many, including Del Castillo and LaFore. In the early 1970s, Delgado visited a classroom at the University of Northern Colorado, where he met Del Castillo and noticed his poetry.
“It was Lalo who told me, ‘Use everything you’ve got Ramon. Your humor, your sadness, all of it.’”
“Ramas y Raíces” opens with the Mexican proverb, “Quisieron enterrarnos, pero no sabían que éramos semilla (They wanted to bury us, but they didn’t know that we were seeds),” setting the stage for a volume demonstrating the many ways love, family, personal struggle and the fight for justice have borne fruit.
“Ramas y Raíces” will be available for purchase at a book launch event on Saturday, June 29, from 2-4 p.m., at Lakewood United Methodist Church. Learn more about CALMA at www.calmaco.org.
In 2024, one of my reading goals is to read Rivers Solomon's entire body of published work, which includes novels, short stories and essays.
A short pIn 2024, one of my reading goals is to read Rivers Solomon's entire body of published work, which includes novels, short stories and essays.
A short piece, "A Brief Note on the Translation of Winter Women, Written by the Collective Dead, Translated by Amal Ruth," was published in Small Odysseys. Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories, 2022.
Solomon's clever structure initially baffled me. I wasn't sure which aspect of the writing was theirs - was it the footnoting? Was it a translation? I was delighted, and a bit relieved, to puzzle it through. The author's note said they had a lot of fun with the structure and concept. In the end, this reader did too.
This review and my 5-star rating apply specifically to the Rivers Solomon story within this larger collection....more
In my 2024 quest to read everything I can find published by Rivers Solomon, I came across an essay of theirs that had been published in the NYTimes DiIn my 2024 quest to read everything I can find published by Rivers Solomon, I came across an essay of theirs that had been published in the NYTimes Disability Series—and then in this 2019 anthology.
The short essay “I Have Diabetes. Am I To Blame?” describes Solomon’s daily struggles (and longer term cycles) with managing their blood sugar. In a few pages, they convey how all-consuming this process is, how invisible it can be to others, and many of the ways outside forces impact their experience of the disease. It was eye opening....more
In 2024, one of my reading goals is to read Rivers Solomon's entire body of published work, which includes novels, short stories and essays. The shortIn 2024, one of my reading goals is to read Rivers Solomon's entire body of published work, which includes novels, short stories and essays. The short story "Prudent Girls" was published in The New York Times Magazine during the pandemic, in the July 12 issue entitled "Decameron Project."
"Prudent Girls" took me to Caddo Texas, for a story that takes place over a single evening. As good short stories do, Solomon weaves character backstory, motivation and context into compact scenes. One of the things that struck me in Solomon's writing was how limited the dialogue was, yet how much it conveyed. ...more
I kicked off 2024 with last year's Printz winner for young adult fiction, All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.
Keeping it short: The power of Tahir's storytelliI kicked off 2024 with last year's Printz winner for young adult fiction, All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.
Keeping it short: The power of Tahir's storytelling held me throughout the book's intense and timely themes, leaving me feeling just enough resolved to know the characters will be okay. But not so much to be let off the hook in my own care and advocacy around the issues Tahir brings to the fore (Islamophobia, addiction, abuse).
A small thing, perhaps, but I also appreciated the way the trigger warning was handled in the opening pages. ...more
As part of my reading plan for 2024, I’m checking out (literally, from my local library) genre award winners from 2023.
Nettle & Bone took first placeAs part of my reading plan for 2024, I’m checking out (literally, from my local library) genre award winners from 2023.
Nettle & Bone took first place for the Hugo last year, and was a great read for me, as someone with little experience with Fantasy. It was an interesting read. Who can’t get behind a little magic and a clever assemblage of characters who have set out to do serious damage to an abusive king?!...more
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Denver author's debut book for middle grades. Thomas packed a LOT into 297 pages, and I was there for it. Every wordI thoroughly enjoyed reading this Denver author's debut book for middle grades. Thomas packed a LOT into 297 pages, and I was there for it. Every word. A great example of how a writer can deploy multiple perspectives without losing the through-line.
I ran into J.E Thomas last week (go local!) and heard she has two more books in the works. They may not pick up where Control Freaks left off, but I'm looking forward to seeing where Thomas goes next in her writing....more
Regis Professor Eric Fretz Breaks into Crime Fiction with ‘Groundswell’ By Kathryn White
Three chapters into “Groundswell” by North Denver debut novelisRegis Professor Eric Fretz Breaks into Crime Fiction with ‘Groundswell’ By Kathryn White
Three chapters into “Groundswell” by North Denver debut novelist E.J. Fretz, a reader could take pencil to paper and draw an accurate map of places they may never have seen: Ōhope Beach and the nearby town of Whakatāne on New Zealand’s North Island. They might feel the warm wind on their skin and salty coastal air filling their lungs as they embellish their map with features of the landscape like crimson-bloomed pōhutukawa trees, kawakawa plants and the finer lines needed to depict the spiky leaves of tall totara trees.
In those same chapters, readers will have met protagonist and private investigator Julian Braxton, his wife, Parvati, and Julian’s surfing buddies Toby, Nico and Ezra. Braxton has left a career as a lawyer in Los Angeles for a fresh start in Ōhope Beach, where Parvati would work at a local hospital and Braxton would become a P.I., learn to surf and, as readers will learn, escape the fallout from his last case in the U.S.
Friendships between Julian, Toby, Nico and Ezra take center stage in this novel, as does Fretz’s weavings-in of local politics, Māori history, culture and contemporary issues and the region’s connections to global issues.
Fretz, West Highland resident and Regis University professor, sets the scene for his debut novel in the coastal area of New Zealand where he and his family lived in 2017 and 2018. He invites readers into the surf culture he had himself come to know, detailing everything from the actual experience of surfing—get ready for a new vocabulary—to snapshots of iconic New Zealand surfers, surfer history, surfboard types and the mechanics of prepping and repairing boards.
And while the book is a satisfying immersion into the places and subcultures where the mystery unfolds, it is as much an exploration into undercurrents operating in a place where one death after another is being passed off to unlikely causes by local authorities.
Braxton won’t have it. He’s curious from the outset. Then, when one of his own friends is found dead on a trail leading from Ōhope to adjacent Ōtarawairere Beach, Braxton kicks into gear. Trying to find answers to his friend’s mysterious death, Braxton finds himself at an intersection between the high stakes interests of international drug cartels, corporate greed and Māori land rights.
“Groundswell” is a well-crafted first novel written from the vantage point of an author who, like Braxton, was a newcomer to Ōhope, who fell in love with his surroundings and the people he came to know. Fretz’s tale imparts an openness and curiosity about his temporary home in New Zealand, and reveals—through the way he approaches Braxton’s grief over the loss of friends—the emotional weight that comes when you’ve left a place you have fallen in love with.
I love where this series is going - new character details, depth to the Alzheimer's theme, end-of-life decision making. I was a bit devastated to readI love where this series is going - new character details, depth to the Alzheimer's theme, end-of-life decision making. I was a bit devastated to read in the Acknowledgements that Osman will be taking a break from The Thursday Murder Club series. In the meantime, I look forward to checking out his new protagonist....more
Carstens Reconciles with Change in 'Getting Over Vivian'
By Kathryn White
Jill Carstens, longtime “Letters to Miss Jill” columnist for The Denver North Carstens Reconciles with Change in 'Getting Over Vivian'
By Kathryn White
Jill Carstens, longtime “Letters to Miss Jill” columnist for The Denver North Star, has turned her writer’s observations to her own life in the new memoir “Getting Over Vivian.”
The book’s opening chapters describe Carstens’ life growing up with her brother Kyle on Vivian Street in Wheat Ridge. Middle class and carefree, young Carstens filled her time with art projects, appreciating the wildlife that frequented the empty fields neighboring their home and excursions into the city led by her dad to enjoy what Denver of the 1970s and ’80s had to offer.
The family drove West 26th Avenue from suburbia into the city so often that Carstens’ dad pointed her in its direction when she was learning to navigate Denver on her own.
And it was on West 26th Avenue, when Carstens came upon the rubble that had once been the original La Loma restaurant, that readers first encounter the themes of the memoir: how loss and loss of place impact how we come of age and perhaps even who we are as a larger community.
Carstens intertwines reflections on losing her family home on Vivian, and other milestone experiences in life, with the appearance and disappearance of her beloved “third places” in downtown and North Denver.
“Getting Over Vivian” takes readers through Denver’s economic ups and downs, as Carstens experienced them, and to places that will feel familiar to readers who have lived in the area a while — El Chapultepec, Wynkoop Brewing Company, Common Grounds coffeehouse and more.
In the chapters “The Pink Desk” and “The Red Schoolhouse,” we learn how Carstens became Miss Jill, the early childhood educator who believes we “rarely master subjects, but rather we ideally question them, test them and ponder them, get to know them.”
“And with fate sprinkling its dust of destiny,” Carstens writes, “at one point Mom found a charming 1880s wooden school desk that at first glance I would not have cared for, its worn natural wood seemed plain to me. Then she worked her magic and painted it a wonderful frosty pink, just like her lipstick.”
Change became so much a part of Carstens’ experience that when, in adulthood, she found herself at a place she and her brother had known as The Pillow Factory, she “was stunned but overjoyed that one of our special childhood places was still standing and remained firmly situated on our map of family places. I felt a pang of sentimentality, if not a vehement sense of ownership for this part of Denver that reached deep into the vault of my memories.”
“Getting Over Vivian” is a story of family, love and loss set against a backdrop of familiar Front Range settings.
And it’s a story about a changing place and the people who live, or lived, there.
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