Poet Sandy Shakes interviews poet, performer and mental health advocate Carlos Ornelas on the occasion of the release of his new poetry collection “Villains Vernacular.” He discusses tackling the difficult topics, building community and more. Continue reading Poet Carlos Ornelas on Why He Writes and Tackling the Difficult Topics Head On, While Building and Being in Community
In poet Matt Sedillo’s book “Mowing Leaves of Grass” he discusses lived experience, a Chicano growing up in the barrio, all while critiquing American society and history. Continue reading POETRY: Mowing Down Statues and Tipping Sacred Cows
By Viva Padilla
FROM: Dryland
Chicano revolutionary poet Matt Sedillo met up with Viva Padilla (proper masks were worn) in El Sereno this past weekend to catch up and talk about his newest poetry collection Mowing Leaves of Grass (published by FlowerSong Press). During this interview they drove around the Eastside. They came upon a squeaky clean Black Lives Matter/Defund the Police protest in Pasadena, boarded up and tagged “R.I.P. George Floyd” storefronts in the belly of high gentrification in Highland Park, and the homeless encampment at the Veteran’s Monument in El Sereno–a proper backdrop for the political insight Sedillo delivers like a gun-slinger in his book where American institutions rooted in white supremacy are dragged out by the hair and left on the side of the road to rot.
Continue reading “Like Bullets For Fascists: Q+A with Political Poet Matt Sedillo”
FROM: VoyageLA
Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Cardenas.
Juan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was originally born in Leon, Guanajuato Mexico and raised in the City of Van Nuys in San Fernando Valley, California. My story is about migration, displacement and belonging. Crossing the Tj border for the second time at 10, and not feeling welcomed by family or city left tremendous scar in my heart. It was when I discovered expression through art and writing that I was able to heal and discover who I am, and I always had been a Chicano.
By Mike Bravo
FROM: Venice Beachhead
Matt, thanks for your time I know you’re a busy dude. I’ve never done one before but congratulations on being my first interview. I’ve known you for about 5 years now maybe. I feel I know you pretty well. How would you summarize yourself and your artistry for those that don’t know you?
For those that don’t know me I’m a poet, I write political poetry a political poet. I write a lot about the important and contentious issues that are facing us in this time and age. On top of that I’m a Chicano poet and very proud of being part of that lineage as well. I write a lot about the struggle of the Chicano peopl and the struggles of all working class people in general. I also write about topics surrounding the fact that we’re living on a planet that’s being destroyed by the very wealthy.
Continue reading “Venice Beachhead Interview with Poet Matt Sedillo”
Viramontes’ passion for bringing erased communities to the forefront of literature and history has materialized into several acclaimed literary works.
By Jackie Swift
FROM: research.cornell.edu
Helena María Viramontes, English, brings people and places erased from history to life again. For years, she has focused her lens on the Latino experience in the United States, writing award-winning fiction that draws from her own heritage as a Chicana from Los Angeles. In her latest novel-in-progress, The Cemetery Boys, she explores the experiences of three generations of East Los Angelenos mired in three different wars. During this exploration, she highlights the mix of ethnicities and marginalized communities that flourished and then faded away in the California of the early-to-mid twentieth century.
Los Angeles Literature 