AWP: All the World's Poets...and some of them speak Spanish...

This is a week I've been anticipating for quite a long time.

Take the Dodge Festival, the National Book Awards, the National Poetry Slam, every University Press, literary nonprofit, and writers' retreat you can think of, and cram it all into a Hilton Hotel on 6th Avenue. THAT, my fine friends, is AWP in New York. 7000 writers in one hotel. How many libraries could those stories fill?

Acentos plans to be in the thick of things with a panel discussion on the reading series scheduled for Friday morning, 10:30am. Panelists Raina Leon, Aracelis Girmay, John Rodriguez, Fishie, and myself will lay out the history of the series and our plans for its future. That night, we are throwing the biggest reading imaginable to celebrate the fact that so many poets of Latino/a descent will be in the same city. And well, you know. Just because I like to put on readings. It's fun.

Details for all Acentos-related events are listed below. I hope to see some of you, all of you, at the pachanga this week.



TUESDAY, JANUARY 29TH @ 7pm
ACENTOS Bronx Poetry Showcase
A reading in collaboration with Achiote Press
featuring JAVIER O. HUERTA and MARINA GARCIA-VASQUEZ
plus the Uptown's Best Open Mic

Javier Huerta is the author of Some Clarifications y otros poemas (Arte
Publico 2007), which received the 31st (2005) Chicano/Latino Literary
Prize from UC Irvine. He received his MFA from the Bilingual Creative
Writing Program at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2005 and is
currently a PhD English Literature student at UC Berkeley. He lives in
Oakland.

Marina Garcia-Vasquez is a California native from the Bay Area. She is
an MFA graduate from the University of San Francisco. Her poetry often
speaks of urban landscapes, a contemporary Mexican identity, and the use
of data and news. She currently lives in downtown New York, where she
works in publishing and journalism.

The Bruckner Bar and Grill
One Bruckner Blvd. (corner of Third Ave. and Bruckner Blvd.)
6 Train to 138th Street Station
Hosted by John Rodriguez
FREE! ($5 suggested donation)


THURSDAY, JANUARY 31ST @ 6pm
Con Tinta Annual Awards Presentation at AWP
The Chicano/Latino writers' collective honors the work of Nuyorican poets
TATO LAVIERA and SANDRA MARIA ESTEVES
Mojitos' Bar and Grill
227 E. 116th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Ave.)
6 Train to 116th Street Station
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC



FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST @ 6:30pm
ACENTOS: A Gathering and Celebration of Latino and Latina Poets

A reading of more than twenty-five Latino/a poets from New York City and
around the country, to coincide with AWP. Scheduled readers include Martín
Espada, Sandra Maria Esteves, Rafael Campo, Aracelis Girmay, Willie Perdomo,
Brenda Cárdenas, and many more!

Presented by El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños
and Acentos Bronx Poetry Showcase

The School of Social Work @ Hunter College
129 E. 79th Street (corner of 79th and Lexington)

6 Train to 77th Street. Walk two blocks north to 79th and Lexington.


FOR FULL BIOS ON ALL THE POETS, GO TO LOUDERARTS.COM/ACENTOS.