Interviews

We Write Because We Must: Natashia Deon and Namrata Poddar Interviewed by Madhushree Ghosh

Two novelists discuss writing empowered women and against colonial expectations.

By: Madhushree Ghosh
FROM: Bomb

The women writers of color are producing spectacular work lately, almost as if the world—pandemic included—cannot control us anymore. Earlier this year, R. O. Kwon published the much anticipated list of 2022 women writers of color showing just how many of us are writing—and still writing. As I work toward the release of my own memoir, I am mesmerized by the brilliance of their work, but mostly, amazed at the camaraderie, support, and mutual cheering-on that’s pure, sincere, and exciting. The Lee and Low Diversity survey from 2019 notes that in America, only seven percent of published writers are South Asian, Asian or Native Hawaiian, and only five percent are Black, Afro-American, or Caribbean. Over seventy-five percent of published authors are white. That’s why we need to celebrate these two women of color whose journeys are so spectacular and most definitely worth our attention.

Continue reading “We Write Because We Must: Natashia Deon and Namrata Poddar Interviewed by Madhushree Ghosh”
Unknown's avatarBrian DunlapLeave a comment
Interviews

Carolina Rivera Escamilla on Poetrunner

FROM: Blog Talk Radio

This week’s episode of Poetrunner features Carolina Rivera Escamilla—Educator, writer, actor, and documentarian—Born in El Salvador. Exiled in Canada in the mid 1980s. Organize events as a cultural promoter in Los Angeles since the 1990s. Has been published in Analecta Literary Arts Journal, Texas Austin University, Hostos Review CUNY University, Pen America/ Strange Cargo Anthology. Collateral Damage: Women Who Write About War Anthology, University of Virginia Press, as well as in the Migrant Anthology, Somewhere We Are Humans By HarperCollins press. The Broad Museum, among others. Her book of short stories, entitled …after… was published in 2015.World Stage Press.

Continue reading “Carolina Rivera Escamilla on Poetrunner”
Unknown's avatarBrian DunlapLeave a comment
Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 07/04/22 – 07/10/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Monday Night & Wednesday Workshops at Beyond Baroque – On Hiatus This Week

The two free online Poetry Writing Workshops offered by Beyond Baroque on Monday and Wednesday, by Raquel Baker and Jose Hernandez Diaz, respectively, are on hiatus this week only.

Where: Beyond Baroque – Online events (tickets at Eventbrite)

Date: Monday the 4th and Wednesday the 6th

Times: 7:30 pm & 8 pm

Address: Zoom Online (cancelled)

Website: https://beyondbaroque.org/free_workshops.html  

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 07/04/22 – 07/10/22”
Unknown's avatarBrian DunlapLeave a comment
Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/27/22 – 07/03/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Quantum Book Club: The Candle and the Flame at The Book Jewel – In-Person Event

The Quantum Book Club reads selections from literary fiction and nonfiction, on the last Monday of every month. Join us to discuss the June selection, The Candle and the Flame, by Nafiza Azad.

This sophisticated debut novel combines basic Islamic concepts and Middle Eastern mythology in a YA fantasy set in a city along the along the Silk Road that is a refuge for those of all faiths, where a young woman is threatened by the war between two clans of powerful djinn.  This book weaves an immersive tale of magic and the importance of names; fiercely independent women; and, perhaps most importantly, the work for harmony within a city of a thousand cultures and cadences.

NOTE: See site for book purchase and details6259

Where: The Book Jewel

Date: Monday the 27th

Time: 6 pm

Address: 6259 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90045

Website: https://www.facebook.com/BookJewelBookstore/photos/pcb.731164534965353/731164484965358/  

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/27/22 – 07/03/22”
Unknown's avatarBrian DunlapLeave a comment
Literary Long Beach, Los Angeles Literary Events

Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/20/22 – 06/26/22

NOTE: There Are Both Online and Virtual Events Listed Here

Cleyvis Natera, with Steph Cha, & Neruda on the Park at Skylight Bookstore – In-Person Event

Cleyvis Natera, iin conversation with Steph Cha (Your House Will Pay), will discuss his new novel, Neruda on the Park, a beautifully layered portrait of family, friendship, and ambition. 

Neruda on the Park weaves a rich and vivid tapestry of community as well as the sacrifices we make to protect what we love most, announcing Cleyvis Natera as an electrifying new voice.

The Guerreros have lived in Nothar Park, a predominantly Dominican part of New York City, for twenty years. When demolition begins on a neighboring tenement, Eusebia, an elder of the community, takes matters into her own hands by devising an increasingly dangerous series of schemes to stop construction of the luxury condos. Meanwhile, Eusebia’s daughter, Luz, a rising associate at a top Manhattan law firm who strives to live the bougie lifestyle her parents worked hard to give her, becomes distracted by a sweltering romance with the handsome white developer at the company her mother so vehemently opposes.

As Luz’s father, Vladimir, secretly designs their retirement home in the Dominican Republic, mother and daughter collide, ramping up tensions in Nothar Park, racing toward a near-fatal climax.

NOTE: See site for tickets, link, and details.

Where: Skylight Bookstore

Date: Monday the 20th

Time: 7 pm – PST

Address: 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/event/skylight-cleyvis-natera-presents-neruda-park-steph-cha

Continue reading “Los Angeles Literature Events: 06/20/22 – 06/26/22”
Unknown's avatarBrian DunlapLeave a comment