Friday, July 31, 2009
New Fiction Collection by Hemil Gracía Linares
“Cuentos del Norte, Historias del Sur” by Hemil Gracía Linares
With “Cuentos del Norte, Historias del Sur (Short Stories from the North, Histories from the South)” Hemil Gracía Linares gives us a fresh and descriptive look at life in the North with eyes from the South. The tales in this collection (Editorial Casatomada S.A.C., Peru, 2009) are quite believable and the characters jump off the page due to their human qualities which are emotionally drawn on the page for the reader. From “Ana y el sol (Ana and the Sun)” to “El Huracán (The Hurricane)” to “La noche que me acosté con el diablo" (The Night I Slept with the Devil) García Linares meticulously paints individuals with deep-rooted hopes and aspirations while succumbing to the realities of a hard life in order to continue the walk of life.
Clearly, with this collection of stories, Peru can add García Linares as one of its up and coming writers. It’s with anticipation that this reader looks for future works by him.
With “Cuentos del Norte, Historias del Sur (Short Stories from the North, Histories from the South)” Hemil Gracía Linares gives us a fresh and descriptive look at life in the North with eyes from the South. The tales in this collection (Editorial Casatomada S.A.C., Peru, 2009) are quite believable and the characters jump off the page due to their human qualities which are emotionally drawn on the page for the reader. From “Ana y el sol (Ana and the Sun)” to “El Huracán (The Hurricane)” to “La noche que me acosté con el diablo" (The Night I Slept with the Devil) García Linares meticulously paints individuals with deep-rooted hopes and aspirations while succumbing to the realities of a hard life in order to continue the walk of life.
Clearly, with this collection of stories, Peru can add García Linares as one of its up and coming writers. It’s with anticipation that this reader looks for future works by him.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Short Story Contest / An Anthology for Summer Reading
Short Story Award:
The Gival Press Short Story Award deadline set for August 8, 2009. For details about the contest, click on the link: Gival Press Short Story Award Guidelines
An Anthology for Summer Reading:
Kings Estate Press's 2008 anthology of poetry entitled Contrarywise: An Anthology can make interesting summer reading. This small press from St. Augustine brings together several familiar DC poets, among my friend Peter Klappert and many others well-known in the area.
One poem, a haiku, by Grace Cavalieri, Don't Undersell Yourself works on more than one level, while giving one a chuckle.
The only thing missing in the anthology is a table of contents, but then by reading the anthology, one finds gems unexpectedly.
The Gival Press Short Story Award deadline set for August 8, 2009. For details about the contest, click on the link: Gival Press Short Story Award Guidelines
An Anthology for Summer Reading:
Kings Estate Press's 2008 anthology of poetry entitled Contrarywise: An Anthology can make interesting summer reading. This small press from St. Augustine brings together several familiar DC poets, among my friend Peter Klappert and many others well-known in the area.
One poem, a haiku, by Grace Cavalieri, Don't Undersell Yourself works on more than one level, while giving one a chuckle.
The only thing missing in the anthology is a table of contents, but then by reading the anthology, one finds gems unexpectedly.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Call for Action Against Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation
Who knew that while on a quick trip to El Paso, Texas (I grew up here and my family lives here) that I would get involved in calling for action against an act of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Let me explain. In today's El Paso Times newspaper there is an article about an incident that happened on June 29, 2009 at Chico's Tacos, a Mexican restaurant. It appears several gay men were waiting in line for their fast food when two gays kissed each other on the lips. What happened next is what has many folks in El Paso and the ALCU in an uproar.
The restaurant's guard told the men they had to leave because of their lewd behavior; a discussion continued to the point of the guard having to call the local police to have the men escorted out of the restaurant.
What is insane is that the police told the men that the Texas law on homosexual conduct covered their lewd behavior and that they had to leave. Cut to the present: The ALCU is now looking into this because as they so ably reported the Supreme Court ruled the Texas law unconstitutional in 2003.
I have so far called the City of El Paso's Mayor office and was only able to leave a message to complain about the incident and also called the City of El Paso Police Department and just now filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General.
Now, if two straights had kissed, would they have been told to leave the restaurant?
I hope this is all resolved in an efficient manner and also to the point that the police in El Paso are educated better with regard to people's rights and current Texas law.
Let me explain. In today's El Paso Times newspaper there is an article about an incident that happened on June 29, 2009 at Chico's Tacos, a Mexican restaurant. It appears several gay men were waiting in line for their fast food when two gays kissed each other on the lips. What happened next is what has many folks in El Paso and the ALCU in an uproar.
The restaurant's guard told the men they had to leave because of their lewd behavior; a discussion continued to the point of the guard having to call the local police to have the men escorted out of the restaurant.
What is insane is that the police told the men that the Texas law on homosexual conduct covered their lewd behavior and that they had to leave. Cut to the present: The ALCU is now looking into this because as they so ably reported the Supreme Court ruled the Texas law unconstitutional in 2003.
I have so far called the City of El Paso's Mayor office and was only able to leave a message to complain about the incident and also called the City of El Paso Police Department and just now filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General.
Now, if two straights had kissed, would they have been told to leave the restaurant?
I hope this is all resolved in an efficient manner and also to the point that the police in El Paso are educated better with regard to people's rights and current Texas law.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Jules & Schimel Featured at ArLiJo.com / Paint Made Flesh
ArLiJo.com:
If you are in the mood for some poetry, take a look at the poetry by Jacqueline Jules and Lawrence Schimel at www.ArLiJo.com. Click here: ArLiJo.com
At the Phillips Gallery:
If you are out and about in Washington, DC, take an hour or so and stop by the Phillips Collection and see the latest exhibit entitled "Paint Made Flesh."
The works by such artists as Picasso, Bacon (a strange cookie he was), de Kooning (sorry I didn't pick up a small work of his over 10 years ago), and Lucien Freud (yes, a relative of Freud--perhaps even more strange than the Bacons).
Anyway, this collection more so than others works better because there is a theme going through the exhibit. There are many that make one stop and simply take in the images and contemplate: What was the artist doing here? What did he/she want to say? That perhaps is what makes me intrigued by art more than anything else--granted, a beautiful painting is wonderful but what I really enjoy is the provocation of forcing the viewer to think.
I don't recall the artists' names but these two really stood out: The featured artist on the post card for the exhibit (of two women's heads) and an artist's nude father walking (this one looks as though he is Lazarus risen from the dead and then I read that the artist's father had died--truly eerie).
If you are in the mood for some poetry, take a look at the poetry by Jacqueline Jules and Lawrence Schimel at www.ArLiJo.com. Click here: ArLiJo.com
At the Phillips Gallery:
If you are out and about in Washington, DC, take an hour or so and stop by the Phillips Collection and see the latest exhibit entitled "Paint Made Flesh."
The works by such artists as Picasso, Bacon (a strange cookie he was), de Kooning (sorry I didn't pick up a small work of his over 10 years ago), and Lucien Freud (yes, a relative of Freud--perhaps even more strange than the Bacons).
Anyway, this collection more so than others works better because there is a theme going through the exhibit. There are many that make one stop and simply take in the images and contemplate: What was the artist doing here? What did he/she want to say? That perhaps is what makes me intrigued by art more than anything else--granted, a beautiful painting is wonderful but what I really enjoy is the provocation of forcing the viewer to think.
I don't recall the artists' names but these two really stood out: The featured artist on the post card for the exhibit (of two women's heads) and an artist's nude father walking (this one looks as though he is Lazarus risen from the dead and then I read that the artist's father had died--truly eerie).
