Writing Picture Books Presentation

Lupe Ruiz-Flores, www.luperuiz-flores.com, author of three picture books and a forthcoming one in the fall, will do a mini-workshop on “Writing Picture Books” on May 9, 2011, at the 7:30 p.m. regular meeting of the Society of Latino and Hispanic Writers at Barnes & Noble, San Pedro Crossing.

Her workshop will focus on touching young people’s lives and telling a story with pictures (she is not an illustrator). Writing for children can be just as challenging as writing for adults. She will talk about where she gets the ideas for her books, how to grow an idea into a story, how to write engaging stories that inspire the reader, and the collaboration between the author and illustrator.

Lupe has conducted writing workshops for OASIS, for Youth Writer Camps, and for middle-grade students. She has been a featured author at the Texas Book Festival twice. At present, she is the newsletter editor for the San Antonio chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a frequent participant in the Writers in Schools for Enrichment (WISE) Project sponsored by the Writers’ League of Texas in Austin. Copies of her books will be available for sale at the meeting.

Lupe Ruiz-Flores
Website: www.luperuiz-flores.com
Blog: www.luperuiz-flores.blogspot.com/

Awaken the Sleeping Poet

From our friends:

Awaken the Sleeping Poet, Barnes & Noble, Northwoods
Thursday! April 28, at 7 p.m.
The Laurel Crown Foundation Board of Directors

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Laurel Crown Foundation's Board of Directors are poets, too.
They work hard throughout the year to put on the Awaken the
Sleeping Poet Poetry and Art Festival. They receive little recognition
for their work, and because they are so selfless and work behind the scenes, I
wanted to give the poetry community the opportunity to show its
support and appreciation of this group of people who give so much.

Awaken the Sleeping Poet at Northwoods Barnes & Noble
Henderson Pass at 281 and 1604
Featured readers from 7 pm to 8 pm
Open mic from 8 pm to 9 pm
Bring yourself, bring a poem, and bring a friend!

Your Host:
Floyd (Michaud) L. Lamrouex
lamrouex@sbcglobal.net

Lupe Ruiz-Flores@Dia de los Ninos Celebration

Author Lupe Ruiz-Flores
Join us for Día de los Niños Celebration
Reading/Signing of The Battle of the Snow Cones
Barnes & Noble Bookfair, La Cantera, 210-558-2078
Saturday, April 30, 2011 – 12:30 p.m.
Performance by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Dance Academy

Poetry Reading

From Josie Mixon:

Good Day My fellow poets,

How wonderful it is that we have this opportunity as poets to unite as one and listen to stories, dreams and inspiration as our muses feast at our personal poetry festival. Our gratitude is extended to Barnes & Noble, Ingram Festival for providing us with this wonderful opportunity not to mention time, space, chairs and all they do for us.


Please join us early at 6:00pm for a wonderful poetry workshop followed by open mic at 7:00pm. Our featured guest will present at 8:00pm. Please view picture and read bio below.

Assef (Lahab) Al-Jundi:


Was born, and grew up, in Damascus , Syria . Attended The University of Texas in Austin , where he graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Not long after graduation, he discovered his passion for writing.

He published his first collection, “A Long Way”, in 1985.

His poetry has appeared in numerous literary publications, and many Anthologies including: “In These Latitudes, Ten Contemporary Poets”, edited by Robert Bonazzi, “Inclined to Speak, An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry”, edited by Hayan Charara, and “Between Heaven and Texas”, edited by Naomi Shihab Nye.

His poems were selected in 2009 and 2010, by The Poetry Society of America, for display on Dallas’ DART trains (Poetry In Motion Program), and on San Antonio’s VIA Transit system buses (Poetry On The move program).

His new collection “No Faith At All” is forthcoming from Pecan Grove Press in 2012.

He currently lives in San Antonio, Texas, with wife Sara, and their two cockatiels Yoda and Princess.

We will see you on Wednesday!
Josie Mixon
Jim Brandenburg

International Short Fiction Competition

Dear Writers' Group,


An international short fiction competition run by the Munster Literature Centre in Cork, Ireland, is currently open for submissions and we would be greatly obliged if you could forward this information on to your members. (Official poster attached.) Winners will be published in a journal which has previously showcased Haruki Murakami, Colm Toibin, Patrick Galvin and Tania Hershman amongst many other respected literary figures. The winner of the first prize will receive €1,500 (*approx USD $2000/ GBP £1300), publication in the literary journal Southword, AND a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat. Second Prize is €500 and publication in Southword. Four other shortlisted entries will be selected for publication in Southword and receive a publication fee of €120.

*Currency exchange amounts via XE.com, calculated 11.04.11
The Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition is an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland’s most accomplished story writers and theorists, sponsored by the Munster Literature Centre. If the winner comes to Cork to collect their prize, we will lavish them with hotel accommodation, meals, drinks and VIP access to the literary stars at the Cork International Short Fiction Festival (14-18 September 2011). The deadline is 31 July 2011 and this year's judge is author & Fish International Short Story Prize recipient, Ian Wild.

More information, including submission guidelines, may be found on our website: http://www.munsterlit.ie/SOF%20Page.html

or via our Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=378936538872

Southword Literary Journal (where the winning poem will be published): http://www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/issues_index.html

Entrants may contact me at info@munsterlit.ie with any queries they may have. If you would like to be removed from this list or would prefer to receive notification at a different address, feel free to let me know.

Thank you for your time!

Sincere regards,

Jennifer Matthews
Administrative Assistant
Munster Literature Centre
84 Douglas Street
Cork

Awaken the Sleeping Poet Reading

From Floyd Lamrouex:

Tuesday night, April 12 at the Twig
I have invited the winning and honorable mention poets from
the Laurel Crown Foundation's
Awaken the Sleeping Poet Poetry Festival
to read Tuesday night at the Twig.
You'll hear the best of the best from the Poetry Festival.
I've invited students and children as well, who will read
first and then leave, because it's a school night.
Come be part of the audience and support these poets,
and then stay for the open mic portion of the evening.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Featured readers will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Then it's open mic beginning from around 8:00
and lasting to about 9:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Twig Book Shop is the premiere poetry place in San Antonio.
Located at 200 E. Grayson, Ste. 124, San Antonio, TX in the
revitalized historic Pearl Brewery.

Bring yourself; bring a friend; bring a poem!
See you Tuesday night!

Host:
Floyd L. Lamrouex
lamrouex@sbcglobal.net
(210) 656-3131

Copyediting Services

Here's an email from Mirta Espinola offering copyediting services: ________ Dear Victor: It's been great getting to know some of you in your writer's group. Some, we stay in touch with on FB. I've attended one of your meetings when I worked with Chuy Ramirez as his publicist. I finally created my Editor's page and my services are available as of today. I am so happy to report, I have already had two authors interested, so this makes me very happy. If anyone is looking for a reasonably priced Basic Copyediting Editor contact me at your convenience. I can offer you specific references and additional information about what I can offer. For now, I am only editing Children's book and YA Literature._________ www.espinolaeditor.blogspot.com Thank you,___ Mirta Espinola

Monday's Meeting

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Monday, April 11, is the monthly meeting of the Society of Latino and Hispanic Writers of San Antonio. This month's meeting features "Cinco Minutos with You." The meeting will be at the Barnes and Noble, San P:edro Crossing, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Please come out and enjoy listening to our members read up to five minutes of their works in progrss. This event is free and open to the public. Here's a link to a book review I wrote that appears in today's San Antonio Express-News: The Fence

SARA Presentation

SAN ANTONIO ROMANCE AUTHORS present Mary Brand’s “What’s My Motivation/Acting 101 for Your Characters” and Linda Carroll-Bradd’s “Point of View or Whose Vision to Use” on Saturday, April 23, 2011, 10am-1pm at Unitarian Universalist Church, in the fireplace room - 4818 E. Beverly Mae Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229. Members: $5 Non-Members $10. For more information: www.sararwa.net

dfgdf

Carol Kilgore
VP/Communications
San Antonio Romance Authors

Bihl Haus News

Dear Friends of Bihl Haus Arts,

Just a quick reminder that a stellar evening awaits you when poets Wendy Barker and Victoria Garcia-Zapata Klein read from recent works at Bihl Haus Arts thisThursday, April 7, 6:30 pm!

For a little more about each poet, please read on:

Wendy Barker’s fifth book of poetry is Nothing Between Us, a novel in prose poems that was runner-up for the Del Sol Prize and was published by Del Sol Pres in 2009. Her third chapbook, Things of the Weather, was also published in 2009, by Pudding House Press. Her poems have appeared in many magazines, including Poetry, Georgia Review, Southern Review, and Gettysburg Review. She has received NEA and Rockefeller fellowships, and is Poet-in-Residence and a professor of English at the University of Texas at San Antonio. (photo attached)

Victoria Garcia-Zapata Klein is the author of two collections of poetry, Peace in the Corazon (Wings Press 1999) for which she won the "Premio Poesia Tejana" & Another Water Bug is Murdered While it Rains in Texas (Wings 2009). Her work has appeared in several literary magazines and journals, including the Texas Observer and in the anthologies, This Promiscuous Light: Young Women Poets of San Antonio (Wings,1996), Floricanto Si! -A Collection of Latina Poetry (Penguin, 1998) and Cantos Al Sexto Sol - An Anthology of Aztlanahuac Writing (Wings,2002). She has studied creative writing in Masters classes with Pat Mora, Gary Soto, Joy Harjo, and Martin Espada. Victoria has taught poetry to high school dropouts, drug rehab juvenile youth and elementary through college level students through the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Jump Start's Historias y Cuentos program. She has served as Vice President of the Board of Directors for San Anto Cultural Arts.
Hop to see you at Bihl Haus soon!
Kellen

P.S. Also, if you have not yet sone so, please mark your calendar for the opening reception of The Kitchen Goddess, an textle installation by Suchil Coffman-Guerra, with performances by Rebecca Coffey, kitchen poetry, and an edibl installation by The Magic Chef (chef Eric Chiapetta of Denver), and lots and lots of kitchen goddesses! See a video preview at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Lufw3-rU4&feature=related






Kellen Kee McIntyre, PhD
Executive Director
Bihl Haus Arts
P.O. Box 100806
2803 Fredericksburg Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78201
(210) 383-9723 (cell)
(210) 732-3502 (off)
kellenkee@swbell.net
www.bihlhausarts.org
www.RxArtSA.org
www.OnAndOffFred.org

The Kitchen Goddess

Poetry Venue--Barnes and Noble, Ingram Festival

From Josie Mixon:

Good day my fellow poets,

It's that time again for our poetry venue (at Barnes and Noble, Ingram Festival, Wednesday, April 6 at 7 p.m.) Come early for a great poetry workshop with Jim Brandenburg followed by open mic with Josie Mixon (me). Our special guest this Wednesday is Cathy Lee. Please read her wonderful bio below. It will be a wonderful evening of friends, music and poetry. I look forward to seeing you there.

Word Bop: Percussive Voices
Jazz Poet Catherine Lee-- Drummer Kory Cook

Catherine Lee received a BA in English, and through graduate-level technical study of grammar, applies linguistic transformational analysis in her poetics. In Boston, beginning in 1972, Catherine became a desktop publisher, helping create--and being published in--various small press and feminist publications (Sojourner, Maenad, Woman of Power, &c). She has been working poetry with jazz players since 1978, when she inhabited a 5th-floor walkup loft. There she combined literary interests, social change activism, and her deep love of jazz to found a music presenting nonprofit named Studio Red Top, Inc. which she ran for 13+ years, producing 350+ events featuring jazz women. The late Ted Joans, a rent-a-beatnik hipster and 1950s originator of Beat poetry, mentored her between 1986-87. In San Antonio since 2006, jazzers have found Cathy sitting in at Small World jam sessions and with the SA Jazz Poet Society Band. She also participates in Gemini Ink's Last Monday Writer's Workshop and other non-musical poetry events. Local kudos have come as Honorable Mentions and publication in 2 Dreamcatcher anthologies (2009, 2010), The Enigmatist (2010), and Austin Poetry Society 2nd and 3rd place Awards (2010). Cathy published an artist-handmade, signed, limited-edition chapbook, We Free Kin, in April 2009 to commemorate 2 appearances of her Word Bop Workshop band, and has exhibited other altered-book editions of poems in Kerrville and San Antonio. With videographer James E. Sanders, Jr., Catherine has begun producing multi-media editions of her poetry, found at . Photo courtesy of Melanie Rush Davis.

Drummer (and jazz radio 91.7 KRTU-FM’s Music Director) Kory Cook is a versatile, active musician who loves both playing and educating folks about jazz. He’s played with musicians from Alex Coke to the Sons of Hercules to the Central Time Jazz Collective. Favorite performances were in a percussion ensemble playing experimental compositions by Eugene Chadbourne and backing Roky Erickson after zero preparation. Genealogically speaking, he’s Dutch. Both great-great-grandfathers were drummers. His parents met in the mid-‘60s and formed a rock duo, with Dad on drums and mom on the Hammond B3 organ. He first tried drum kit when eight years old. Kory has been working in radio for almost 15 years and has led production on 600+ live performances. Before coming to KRTU, he served as Assistant Music Director at KUT 90.5 FM in Austin. With an appreciation for authentic art, Kory is both a steward of traditional straight ahead, improvisational jazz, and a critical, open eared explorer of those spontaneous and unplanned moments when the music uses his percussive skills to create itself.

We will be performing these poems:

What Makes it
Jazz Poet-try?
Bebop Tourists in Bird’s Yard
Fours Play
Charles Mingus Slipped Backstage
Eastwood Country, West Side Horns
Inspired by Ornette Quartet? Hell Yeah!
Under Tones
No Hassle, No Hustle
Copyright

OPTIONAL: My poetics FYI: I collaborate with jazz musicians in a rehearsed, yet improvised way. I intentionally fit my words—loosely as a jazz drummer might insert unanticipated beats—into the tune’s structure while musicians play it. The song may have other lyrics, or a well-known title. Just as jazz soloists express ideas to hipsters by “quoting” phrases from other compositions, my song choices deliberately—but subtly—embellish the message in my poetry lyrics with allusions to implied words or concepts. An English BA and master’s level technical study of grammar also influenced my poetics. I incorporate certain “pivot” words that demonstrate semantic and/or syntactic ambiguity, to encompass and reveal multi-layered meanings, somewhat like double-entendres, but deeper. For example, the title of my chapbook, We Free Kin, alludes to the Xmas song title, but can also be pronounced "we freakin'."

Josie Mixon
Jim Brandenburg

Palabra Punch

National Poetry Month

Happy National Poetry Month! Let's post some of your poems here.