Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Throne Room
Busy weekend everybody. El Centro Su Teatro sponsored their annual Pablo Neruda Poetry Festival. Friday night was the awesome slam poetry competition.
Saturday night, poet supremo, from San Francisco, Paul Flores, gave us a preview of his new upcoming show, Representa, Bilingual Theater for the Hip-Hop Generation.
(And as an aside, Paul quit his day job and now pays the bills as a poet! How's that for hustle?)
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that my Read of the Week was Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, about the events leading up to, and the aftermath of a school shooting. While her book hovered at the top of the NYT Bestseller list, the Virginia Tech massacre happened, adding to Jodi's reputation for her "clairvoyant" observations about American society.
Later, in a mention about literary vs. commercial fiction, Publishers Lunch quoted Picoult: "Most people in America want an easy read. I call it McFiction - books which pass right through you without you even digesting them. I don't mean a book that has two-syllable words. I mean chapters you can read in a toilet break."
Well guess where I read most of Nineteen Minutes? Jodi, I love you (and your hair!) but don't knock reading on the throne.
This Read of the Week is writer/director Jesus "Chuy" Trevino's novella, The Fabulous Sinkhole.
A sinkhole suddenly appears in Mrs. Romero's front yard and from its mysterious watery depths, the hole regurgitates a host of forgotten objects: a silver dollar, a typewriter, even a '49 Chevy Fleetline. A funny, poignant look at the foibles and heroism of barrio life. In one chapter a house fly channels the spirit of Pancho Villa to help a young girl transition from tom boy to young woman. In another, a vato saves the world from avenging Mexican lowrider zombies.
Finally, un aplauso for Marta and the great reviews for Midnight Brunch. ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 5:14 PM
Saturday night, poet supremo, from San Francisco, Paul Flores, gave us a preview of his new upcoming show, Representa, Bilingual Theater for the Hip-Hop Generation.
(And as an aside, Paul quit his day job and now pays the bills as a poet! How's that for hustle?)
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that my Read of the Week was Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, about the events leading up to, and the aftermath of a school shooting. While her book hovered at the top of the NYT Bestseller list, the Virginia Tech massacre happened, adding to Jodi's reputation for her "clairvoyant" observations about American society.
Later, in a mention about literary vs. commercial fiction, Publishers Lunch quoted Picoult: "Most people in America want an easy read. I call it McFiction - books which pass right through you without you even digesting them. I don't mean a book that has two-syllable words. I mean chapters you can read in a toilet break."
Well guess where I read most of Nineteen Minutes? Jodi, I love you (and your hair!) but don't knock reading on the throne.
This Read of the Week is writer/director Jesus "Chuy" Trevino's novella, The Fabulous Sinkhole.
A sinkhole suddenly appears in Mrs. Romero's front yard and from its mysterious watery depths, the hole regurgitates a host of forgotten objects: a silver dollar, a typewriter, even a '49 Chevy Fleetline. A funny, poignant look at the foibles and heroism of barrio life. In one chapter a house fly channels the spirit of Pancho Villa to help a young girl transition from tom boy to young woman. In another, a vato saves the world from avenging Mexican lowrider zombies.
Finally, un aplauso for Marta and the great reviews for Midnight Brunch. ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 5:14 PM
