tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131540632024-03-23T11:32:03.303-07:00you are hereUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger471125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-80868056618378025202009-09-28T23:25:00.000-07:002009-09-28T23:26:54.210-07:00leeherrick.wordpress.comI have a new blog :<a href="http://leeherrick.wordpress.com"> leeherrick.wordpress.com</a>. Thanks for following me there.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-79321122569897023212009-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:002009-09-26T09:04:07.557-07:00Here Is a Pen: An Anthology of West Coast Kundiman Poets<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNVCYtsc1hw_UcLkdYhOKJeJEc76zOur5_xjr5gqm-8fErAFMosfMLpHQprWIA9T9ClsjOpNXRcVmM8wQnUAEMXViGh_9mpDCt89RQor2apnzFXiMVw1PJfC2gOKTJBr_-Y12/s1600-h/kundimanown.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNVCYtsc1hw_UcLkdYhOKJeJEc76zOur5_xjr5gqm-8fErAFMosfMLpHQprWIA9T9ClsjOpNXRcVmM8wQnUAEMXViGh_9mpDCt89RQor2apnzFXiMVw1PJfC2gOKTJBr_-Y12/s400/kundimanown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385806830267804882" /></a>Neil Aitken, Tamiko Beyer, Ching-In Chen, Marilyn Chin, Oliver de la Paz, Vanessa Huang, Janine Joseph, Joseph O. Legaspi, Ngoc Luu, Sally Wen Mao, Noel Pabillo Mariano, Soham Patel, Jai Arun Ravine, Margaret Rhee, Melissa Roxas, Brynn Saito, Sharon Suzuki-Martinez, Yael Villafranca, Andre Yang, and Debbie Yee. Maybe the best seven dollars you'll spend all year --- <a href="http://achiotepress.com/kundiman.htm"><i>Here Is a Pen: An Anthology of West Coast Kundiman Poets</i>, available now from Achiote Press. <br /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-9358202517545006902009-09-19T14:58:00.001-07:002009-09-19T15:06:18.889-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2-7IBw94bVpctLS9iJDHmXrW6dTAXKe7OxI9zO8cK722-cQAmBz0zfxYguFXHSjxImIeFeqRfn_tLbglzkD9Y6lEFlfuVqLQDUdFMFpl3zzi3pSKiN8RkDW4WnSwOCQgvBbI/s1600-h/The+Packinghouse+Review+Cover+Vol+1+.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2-7IBw94bVpctLS9iJDHmXrW6dTAXKe7OxI9zO8cK722-cQAmBz0zfxYguFXHSjxImIeFeqRfn_tLbglzkD9Y6lEFlfuVqLQDUdFMFpl3zzi3pSKiN8RkDW4WnSwOCQgvBbI/s400/The+Packinghouse+Review+Cover+Vol+1+.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383303186351279426" /></a><br />I will be reading on <a href="http://thebloodjet.wordpress.com">The Blood-Jet Writing Hour</a> on blogtalkradio with Host Rachelle Cruz on Friday, November 20, 2009 @ 10:00 a.m. I hope you can tune in. This fall's guests include Jayne Cortez, Kim Addonizio, Dorianne Laux, and others.<br /><br />You in the Valley --- I will be reading and signing copies of my book at Reedley College on October 7 @ 1:00 p.m. Hope to see you. Maybe the premier issue of <i><a href="http://www.thepackinghousereview.com">The Packinghouse Review</a></i> will be there.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-86401185851506792142009-09-16T21:24:00.000-07:002009-09-16T21:29:35.563-07:00Kundiman - Achiote Press - PAWA Readings, Sept. 17 & Sept. 19<a href="http://pawainc.blogspot.com/2009/09/kundiman-achiote-press-pawa-readings.html">This week there are two incredible readings in Berkeley and San Francisco on Sept. 17 & Sept. 19 --- poets include Joseph Legaspi, Oliver De La Paz, Ching-In Chen, Debbie Yee, Margaret Rhee, Neil Aitken, and Mari L'Esperance. This is what it's about. Go and enjoy. </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-79651861274825285502009-09-10T20:01:00.000-07:002009-09-10T20:06:58.730-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYvzsCtfL7R8ieJglv4NSMLra9TPODIMkn-ylvGoHcu3xnaDLqg5coNjs85Z53oUAPI-YJUWfosw3-CO5X8z7_X11LGTyKwX6n-iwG2Q2E0VtWgzEFeqeQaos9FHPSk-aImtb/s1600-h/lytle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYvzsCtfL7R8ieJglv4NSMLra9TPODIMkn-ylvGoHcu3xnaDLqg5coNjs85Z53oUAPI-YJUWfosw3-CO5X8z7_X11LGTyKwX6n-iwG2Q2E0VtWgzEFeqeQaos9FHPSk-aImtb/s200/lytle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380040861054872034" /></a>NPR calls <i>Yours Truly, The Commuter</i> "one the year's best albums," and you can hear some of it here:<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112467067"> Jason Lytle performing live at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on July 11, 2009</a>. I've seen Grandaddy twice---once at Slim's in San Francisco and once in Modesto in a tiny bar. Here they are in NYC, one night after playing in Brooklyn. Great new album, Jason.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-5908593052212846942009-09-02T15:30:00.000-07:002009-09-02T15:42:58.735-07:00Michael Luis Medrano's Born in the Cavity of Sunsets Forthcoming from Bilingual Review Press<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-gzrX6wIrHy9sVdH_Z0QcIH_euwTGFoquwPtZAfRLtSaHXA1P4iarMaecEQ4kJ2xZOhimwEw2-L23nlTwLpqWl4Bo9M25haREWngKYCDFELeDK6_fRSu04Ii3v9p_IJXep4S/s1600-h/BornInCavitySunsets.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 129px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-gzrX6wIrHy9sVdH_Z0QcIH_euwTGFoquwPtZAfRLtSaHXA1P4iarMaecEQ4kJ2xZOhimwEw2-L23nlTwLpqWl4Bo9M25haREWngKYCDFELeDK6_fRSu04Ii3v9p_IJXep4S/s200/BornInCavitySunsets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377002927044782066" /></a>Can't wait for this---available for pre-order now, due September 30, 2009 from Bilingual Review Press: Michael Luis Medrano's first collection of poems,<span style="font-style:italic;"> <a href="http://www.asu.edu/brp/newandforthcoming/BornCavitySunsets.html">Born in the Cavity of Sunsets</a></span>. This press is the one that brought you Andres Montoya's <i>the ice worker sings and other poems</i>. I've respected Mike's poems for years and have looked forward to this book for a while now. Exciting to see it happening. Mike's got an MFA from the University of Minnesota, and he is the creator and co-host of the poetry radio program, <i>Pakatelas</i>, here in Fresno. His poems bristle with new images collaged with a rare visionary grit. I hope you'll check out the book.<br /><blockquote>"This collection is amazing. It soars, leaps, and also bows down to the earth and its dark bones. What I love about Medrano's work is his sincerity and his touching reach, his tender voices. . . . Medrano is ahead of his cadre. His reach is expansive." --- Juan Felipe Herrera, University of California, Riverside</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-50168070061334633592009-08-30T19:21:00.001-07:002009-08-30T19:25:20.618-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZC2RNgJNgsK1Yo67fwzzoqDmIaBs9aGIrySW9Qh-vncxa-soIHoka1LHEg7TIZ789dpR7xcmV2pglpFfno8r4tl1OUE1X5_MLOqekRSrF2vdfFrzrJNHgewnGIGlXIxUsMJ92/s1600-h/Poetry+Prize+logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 307px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZC2RNgJNgsK1Yo67fwzzoqDmIaBs9aGIrySW9Qh-vncxa-soIHoka1LHEg7TIZ789dpR7xcmV2pglpFfno8r4tl1OUE1X5_MLOqekRSrF2vdfFrzrJNHgewnGIGlXIxUsMJ92/s320/Poetry+Prize+logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375947642217605538" /></a>The Kundiman Poetry Prize, Published by Alice James Books. Emerging and established Asian American poets. Details and guidelines<a href="http://kundiman.org/%5BCLB%5D_Brightside/1.Source/prize.html"> here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-19295844895869962422009-08-27T16:11:00.000-07:002009-08-27T16:14:49.964-07:00Philip Levine Prize in Poetry<span style="font-weight:bold;">Philip Levine Prize in Poetry</span><br /><br />$2000 prize and publication by Anhinga Press <br />Final Judge: Garrett Hongo <br />Postmark Deadline: 9/30/09 <br />Previous Winners: Shane Seely, Neil Aitken, Lynn Chandhok, Roxane Beth Johnson, Steve Gehrke, Fleda Brown. <br /> <br />Manuscript should be original poetry, not previously published in book form, 48- 80 pages, no more than one poem per page. Include two manuscript title pages: one with name and contact information and one with the name of the manuscript ONLY. Manuscripts are screened and judged anonymously. Multiple submissions are fine as long as the manuscript is withdrawn immediately upon its acceptance elsewhere. The entry fee is $25. Checks should be made out to “CSU Fresno Levine Prize.” Poets can submit more than one manuscript, but each will be considered a separate entry and must be accompanied by the $25 fee. More details <a href="http://www.csufresno.edu/english/philip_levine ">here</a> or e-mail Connie Hales at connieh@csufresno.edu. - Please post and/or distribute freely -Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-61594279236507492222009-08-23T14:19:00.001-07:002009-08-23T14:19:49.269-07:00<a href="http://www.startribune.com/yourvoices/53749702.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUKcOy9cP3DieyckcUsI">Bao Phi is blogging for the <i>Star Tribune</a></i>---yet another reason to love Minneapolis.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-51383236746199277652009-08-23T14:09:00.000-07:002009-08-23T14:28:23.413-07:00Loved The Nest reading in Oakland last week---APA & Latino Night---where Vickie, Kenji, Mai, Barbara, and Oscar gave powerful readings, surrounded by the latest art installation by <a href="http://www.adiamillett.com">Adia Millet</a>. Can you identify the two poets in the last picture? Hint---<i>Heaven Below</i> and <i>from unincorporated territory</i> authors. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aZMDXw0aY-fjSZQH43AVYl4jh_5i_fNWWC5DygdsL3uNjqJw5jka8RfBARtB56NdcgG9inkVsLPkl6Oe5YUgy4DLr48TXOUAgWBqn5yFSxw6pRYa9C0Blx9Mql3oeld_2H_8/s1600-h/millet.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aZMDXw0aY-fjSZQH43AVYl4jh_5i_fNWWC5DygdsL3uNjqJw5jka8RfBARtB56NdcgG9inkVsLPkl6Oe5YUgy4DLr48TXOUAgWBqn5yFSxw6pRYa9C0Blx9Mql3oeld_2H_8/s200/millet.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373270741705667298" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncqT6nP7TcMVt4NjeCFi4A_qLRO5FUzk4c0GZ3bTUyUFi26Kq7enZslEU92R6PbhIfqGHJLZNhtTfR9IHo7MXtfQ5JRa70DGF1kQy41D92yAWfMZWBvt3TEpxT1FtIHOpP5Fi/s1600-h/bjrthenest.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncqT6nP7TcMVt4NjeCFi4A_qLRO5FUzk4c0GZ3bTUyUFi26Kq7enZslEU92R6PbhIfqGHJLZNhtTfR9IHo7MXtfQ5JRa70DGF1kQy41D92yAWfMZWBvt3TEpxT1FtIHOpP5Fi/s200/bjrthenest.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373271149398967602" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsN6GLvYya9Z1ZfofT89vcEhWoZYptEZSDhujLq4VKUVb4eCUDLoXymb0nnK9kgJBwkwKu9sz2QNHUdxBrlUdjR8jdPqLXHXmldJwl9gPPnq-WXuOoq88RKqYTj905zGfyK2T/s1600-h/osarbermeothenest.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsN6GLvYya9Z1ZfofT89vcEhWoZYptEZSDhujLq4VKUVb4eCUDLoXymb0nnK9kgJBwkwKu9sz2QNHUdxBrlUdjR8jdPqLXHXmldJwl9gPPnq-WXuOoq88RKqYTj905zGfyK2T/s200/osarbermeothenest.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373271317022031346" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-Bu6LLy5d6xzU-nJG2FxQ396zhweWc8j8k09mv-Dv2ayKREEJW46RzxXBEJuuBwLgNZ5o2ldE-bp28fJEPOYL-PBIoOmeLbHVagXgErSVMP0p6MYKBdrFfAB4HR0Y58USPz5/s1600-h/oscarandcraig.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-Bu6LLy5d6xzU-nJG2FxQ396zhweWc8j8k09mv-Dv2ayKREEJW46RzxXBEJuuBwLgNZ5o2ldE-bp28fJEPOYL-PBIoOmeLbHVagXgErSVMP0p6MYKBdrFfAB4HR0Y58USPz5/s200/oscarandcraig.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373271493447694786" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-31984188455484674342009-08-19T21:19:00.001-07:002009-08-19T21:23:44.874-07:00East Coast ReadingsIf you're on the East Coast in November, I will be reading <a href="http://leeherrick.com/readings">here</a> in New York City on November 8 -- and in Boston on November 10 (time, location TBA). Hope to see you. You can see my fall California reading dates--Salinas, Riverside, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, and Sacramento--<a href="http://leeherrick.com/readings">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-57760913365874798712009-08-19T17:21:00.000-07:002009-08-19T19:23:50.312-07:00Barbara Jane Reyes at Harriet<a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/author/bjreyes/">Barbara Jane Reyes is blogging at Harriet, the Poetry Foundation Blog.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-53780434825193364412009-08-04T13:13:00.000-07:002009-08-04T13:19:33.424-07:00A Letter from Ken Chen, Executive Director of the Asian American Writers' WorkshopYou're a reader, staying up past your bedtime, devouring stories and poems at a time when most Americans no longer read for fun. And you're a particularly uncommon reader--one who believes Asian Americans offer something unique to American culture. Like us, you believe in nurturing anyone who has a story to tell. We believe in showing every American, no matter what the color of her skin, that the Asian American story is a central chapter of the American story.We are asking you to invest in our efforts to build a national home for Asian American ideas.<br /><br />This year, the Workshop faces a perfect storm that's left us fighting for our survival. While the recession has affected everyone, we were also hit with a lawsuit from our landlord, who sued to evict us for a more profitable tenant. We've successfully settled the suit, but just as the Workshop began as a grass-roots community of friends, we once again depend on you--the individual readers and writers who've made the Workshop what it is--to step in and nurture us. <br /><br />Thank you,<br /> <br />Ken Chen<br />Executive Director<br /><br />*<br /><br />To read a longer version of Ken's letter and to donate, <a href="http://www.aaww.org/aaww_donations.html">please visit the Asian American Writers' Workshop today. </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-29131370000716740232009-07-31T06:08:00.000-07:002009-07-31T06:19:41.418-07:00Sonya Chung's Long For This World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJZhrCn2himjN730E2xeuQ6k-rM4FTNkfRZpS3zwX15lxX6MtdS3cd0v7w2aCx8xq_X3malvgg8pjlVVxyNJbbSa4JeJZkUN5UyFuOZWGsE-cj-fr9KBQfb45nsoVBpWRBibo/s1600-h/long-for-this-world-sks3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJZhrCn2himjN730E2xeuQ6k-rM4FTNkfRZpS3zwX15lxX6MtdS3cd0v7w2aCx8xq_X3malvgg8pjlVVxyNJbbSa4JeJZkUN5UyFuOZWGsE-cj-fr9KBQfb45nsoVBpWRBibo/s320/long-for-this-world-sks3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364611185772479410" /></a><br />There's a new novelist you will want to keep your eye on---<a href="http://sonyachung.com">Sonya Chung</a>, author of <i>Long for This World</i>, due in March 2010 from Scribner. Visit her website and <a href="http://sonyachung.com/books">read about the novel </a>(there are two excerpts), her thoughts on the book and the process of writing it and getting it published, as well as the interesting "<a href="http://sonyachung.com/stories-essays/how-to-become-a-writer-or-not-a-memoir/">How to Become a Writer: A Memoir</a>." I'm excited about this one. Mark your calendars---<i>March 2010.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-23275310178808416902009-07-27T18:13:00.001-07:002009-07-27T18:15:43.809-07:00New Poetry and Fiction at In the GroveHave you read the new story by Tim Z. Hernandez and the poems by Charles Hood and C. Dale Young? You can find them at <i><a href="http://inthegrove.net/issue_17.php">In the Grove</a>.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-27331463512512836052009-07-25T13:19:00.000-07:002009-07-25T13:24:43.395-07:00International Incheon Women Artists' Biennale, 8.1 through 8.31.2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtyM13hggisS5uaoNew1Kv7MqoB7XnqeU8T1zMllga72UjMvAuzv4vqVxYsbIBsMxBQjk2y7YPXibIRji-VBboy0LN4QHJzy-JPp_AfpfM3gd-7l0SgRS_mZj-m5XnMTSQlnA/s1600-h/poster.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtyM13hggisS5uaoNew1Kv7MqoB7XnqeU8T1zMllga72UjMvAuzv4vqVxYsbIBsMxBQjk2y7YPXibIRji-VBboy0LN4QHJzy-JPp_AfpfM3gd-7l0SgRS_mZj-m5XnMTSQlnA/s320/poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362495374087895922" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-37171160738425658582009-07-23T11:03:00.000-07:002009-07-23T11:13:00.743-07:00On October 17th, 7:15 pm I will be reading at <i>Litcrawl</i>, the last night of Litquake, San Francisco's Literary Festival (details and location to be announced soon at <a href="http://www.litquake.org">litquake.org</a>). I am grateful to <a href="http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/camille_t_dungy/">Camille Dungy</a> for the invitation to be part of a reading for <a href="http://fishousepoems.org">From the Fishouse</a>, co-founded by Dungy and Matt O'Donnell. For a taste of how much there is to love about Dungy's work, I recommend "The Preachers Eat Out" and "Requiem" as good entry points. For a good night of poetry and socializing, I recommend Litcrawl in October. Hope to see you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-10720793870091163522009-07-20T12:53:00.000-07:002009-07-20T16:09:05.315-07:00Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Arrested -- This is WrongI was disturbed to read about Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s arrest last week in Cambridge, Masschussetts. At 12:44 p.m. in the afternoon, a woman named Lucia Whalen called the Cambridge Police Department to report a break-in. Gates Jr. -- for those who do not know -- is one of the nation's pre-eminent historians and scholars. A professor at Harvard University, he had locked himself out of his home and was trying to get in. When the officers arrived, Gates Jr., who is African-American, was understandably bothered at being harassed at his own home, in his own neighborhood, on his own property. The officers handcuffed him and took him to the police station. <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html"> You read can an article about the incident here, and in the article you can also read the police report</a>, which is enlightening. He states the officer may be racist (would Malcolm Gladwell or Margaret Atwood have been handcuffed and arrested, much less even reported as a potential burglar?), but by all accounts he is neither belligerent nor incorrect in his reading of the situation. Too many of these incidents still occur---and too many voices, unfortunately, do not comprehend the person's outrage, and by that lack of comprehension and the dismissal or mockery of it, they only make matters worse.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-14668238253812513842009-07-15T13:56:00.000-07:002009-07-15T14:16:11.552-07:00Title for the second book manuscriptI've found the title of my second manuscript: <i>Bone Echo</i>. I'm relieved and excited about it. I'd like your feedback, whether it appeals to you or not. I'd thought for several months that the title would include the word "acoustic" or "acoustics," as some of you may recall. I appreciate the e-mails and comments I received about the possible titles. But it wasn't happening. <br /><br />Last night, during a great conversation with a friend whose creative spirit and energy is among the most expansive I've ever known, we were talking about poetry and poets, bookstores and books. We'd talked about book titles before, and last night it came up again. I explained what I liked about the word "acoustic" but why it wasn't working in the title. I won't explain the details of the conversation, but the result was that in some strange moment of synchronicity, we arrived at a title at the same time---she said it out loud, "How about 'Bone Echo'?" --at the exact moment I thought to myself, "Bone Echo." It captures much of the second manuscript's direction thus far---poems about certainty, the body, foundations, simplicity, one's own voice, and resonance or reverberation. There is a certainty or finality in many of the poems, including the more expansive series of poems I've been writing as of late: poems like "Gardening Secrets of the Dead," "Fire," and the new one, "Eschara." At any rate, I'll let this simmer for a while, but I like it quite a bit. Your two cents are welcome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-87784206636495179152009-07-14T14:06:00.000-07:002009-07-14T14:09:55.516-07:002009 Philip Levine Poetry Book Prize$2000 prize and publication by Anhinga Press, Final Judge: Garrett Hongo <br /><br />Postmark Deadline: 9/30/09. Previous Winners: Shane Seely, Neil Aitken, Lynn Chandhok, Roxane Beth Johnson, Steve Gehrke, Fleda Brown. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.csufresno.edu/english/philip_levine">Guidelines and more details here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-87931607503924377192009-07-02T12:06:00.001-07:002009-07-02T12:12:04.851-07:00Historic step for adoptee rights, adoptees urge full inclusion in adoption law revision process<a href="http://leeherrick.blogspot.com">Visit my new blog here</a>.<br /><br />******<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">PRESS RELEASE</span>, from TRACK<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Historic step for adoptee rights, adoptees urge full inclusion in adoption law revision process</span><br /> <br />Seoul, July 1, 2009 (TRACK) – Fifty overseas Korean adoptees and their allies participated in the second public hearing on the revision of South Korea’s civil and overseas adoption laws Wednesday at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family’s second public hearing sponsored by the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI). The discussion marked the first time in 56 years of international Korean adoption that overseas Korean adoptees represented their own interests in a governmental forum.<br /><br /> The ministry is revising both the laws on domestic adoption and intercountry adoption, called the “Special Adoption Law,” which has been amended nine times since its enactment in 1961, each time without adoptees or birth families as shareholders.<br /><br /> Adoptees were able to participate because professional simultaneous translation was provided by KWDI. The first public hearing held Feb. 26 did not include professional translation despite requests made by Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK), a nonprofit organization aimed at healing the relationship between adoptees and Korean society. The language barrier prevented 30 adoptees and supporters from speaking about the proposed law revisions.<br /><br /> Jane Jeong Trenka, president of TRACK, saw the provision of professional translation this time as a step in the right direction, but recommended that translation into both English and French be institutionalized by the government. “Any fair, democratic process on adoption law, as well as any just and humane adoption and social welfare policy about us must include us,” Trenka said. “We need translation every time. The adoptees did not create the language barrier.”<br /><br />During the hearing’s open discussion, seven adoptees and supporters addressed Professor Huh Nam-Soon of Hallym University who leads the ministry’s research committee. Adoptees asked how the central authority will help them gain better access to their files, histories and original identities and questioned its objectivity. They also criticized the government for not creating a comprehensive social welfare system and for failing to include adoptees and single mothers in the creation, development, and discussion of the revisions.<br /><br />Professors and professionals monitoring the law revisions process from overseas said in a solidarity statement read by TRACK, “We urge Korea to include the adoptees’ and mothers’ voices as equal partners in the creation, development, and discussion about Korea’s new adoption law.”<br /><br /> This public hearing was originally intended to be the last one before the ministry sends its suggested revisions to the adoption law to the National Assembly. However, after seeing the number of adoptees and supporters who turned out to voice their opinions, Park Sook-ja, director of the department in charge of adoptions within the ministry, announced that another public hearing might be necessary to further discuss adoptee and single mother concerns.<br /><br /> Since the 1950s, South Korea has sent away the largest number of children for international adoption in the world, with over 160,000 Korean children ending up in mainly 14 Western countries, according to government data. Although it is the longest-running international adoption program in the world, the country is not yet in compliance with international standards. It has yet to ratify the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and holds reservations to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.<br /><br /> Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for a full understanding of the practice of adoption, both past and present, to improve the human rights of children and families affected by adoption. <br /><br /> Contact:<br /><br />Jane Jeong Trenka, president<br /><br />Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK)<br /><br /> 010-2614-0294 (English)<br /><br />http://justicespeaking.wordpress.com/<br /><br />******<br /><br />This is the letter, on which I was one of the signatories, that was read at the hearing:<br /><br /><br />Dear Committee Members:<br /><br />Throughout the years, many overseas adoptees in the global Korean<br />adoptee diaspora have fought to make the voices of adoptees visible in<br />adoption research and politics. This continuous struggle has always<br />taken place in cooperation with an international community of adoptees<br />and allies in many different countries. This struggle is global and is<br />not limited to the returnee adoptees in Korea. We hereby want to<br />express our deepest gratitude to all the adoptees who are present at<br />today's hearing to fight for the rights of the adoptees and birth<br />parents who are the most vulnerable parts of the adoption world.<br /><br />We hope that the Korean government will listen to those whose lives<br />were completely changed through Korea's adoption system. We urge Korea<br />to include the adoptee and mothers' voices as equal partners in the<br />creation, development, and discussion about Korea's new adoption law.<br /><br />Signed:<br /><br />Dr. Tobias Hübinette, member of Adopted Koreans' Association of Sweden<br />and a critical adoption scholar<br /><br />Dr. Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, member of AK Connection of Minneapolis,<br />assistant professor St. Olaf College<br /><br />Dr. Eli Park Sorenson, Professor Kyunghee University and research<br />fellow at Cambridge University<br /><br />Dr. Kim Su Rasmussen, Professor Seoul National University<br /><br />Dr. Kim Park Nelson, member of AKConnection of Minneapolis, assistant<br />professor at Minnesota State University at Moorhead<br /><br />Dr. Stefan Liess, University of Minnesota<br /><br />Ms. Jae Ran Kim, MSW, LGSW. Adoption professional and doctoral student<br />at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work<br /><br />Dr. Sarah Park, assistant professor at St Catherine University<br /><br />Ms. Malena Swanson, member of Adopted Korean Association of Sweden,<br />LLM and lawyer<br /><br />Mr. Jens Falk, M.D., Sweden<br /><br />Mr. Lee Herrick, Professor of English, Fresno City College, California<br /><br />Ms. Jane Jin Kaisen, visual artist and graduate student at UCLA, CaliforniaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-91379330646059140652009-05-30T14:51:00.000-07:002009-06-01T22:44:32.699-07:00New BlogI've started a new blog <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://leeherrick.blogspot.com">HERE</a></span> (I posted a draft of another new poem, "Fire," which will stay up until Wednesday). I will be freewriting on my writing process this summer, hopefully making real headway on my second manuscript. Please visit me there. <br />*<br />My fall reading calendar is filling up with two more invitations---Hartnell College, Salinas, CA (September 24) and a feature spot at the San Luis Obispo Poetry Festival (November 14). Hope you can make it.<br /><br />*Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-25576613163342864592009-05-29T11:09:00.000-07:002009-05-29T11:15:38.049-07:00Writing Workshops With Kim Sunée in Florida<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnytY0m-1iaIOoK_nUC94WngStE_qIvEWw7Vug95yjIdAVxCnELXZrZZPN9Zrl7Pb7YjIu6zObF3CI4qmhZhsRAw620t0rbo9p7iK_BRW8gmKXFevBiTY4cvyl4R0ygQ3hyphenhyphenx6/s1600-h/GetAttachment.aspx.jpeg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnytY0m-1iaIOoK_nUC94WngStE_qIvEWw7Vug95yjIdAVxCnELXZrZZPN9Zrl7Pb7YjIu6zObF3CI4qmhZhsRAw620t0rbo9p7iK_BRW8gmKXFevBiTY4cvyl4R0ygQ3hyphenhyphenx6/s200/GetAttachment.aspx.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341310843608455794" /></a>My good friend and best-selling author of <i>Trail of Crumbs</i>, Kim Sunée, will be teaching two workshops in Florida, one from the June 22 to June 26, and the other from June 29 to July 3. For more details, visit her website at <a href="http://kimsunee.com">kimsunée.com</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">June 29th - July 3rd, 2009</span> : <br /><a href="http://studiobthebeach.com">Eating Our Words, Cooking and Creative Writing Class with Kim Sunee and a guest chef!</a><br />Come join KIM SUNEE, author of the national bestseller, TRAIL OF CRUMBS and a guest chef for cooking classes and writing you life through food and travel. In this creavitve writing workshop, you'll learn how to focus your life stories, and use the nuances of plot, character, setting, theme, and dialogue to drive the narrative of your story. 9:30-12:00 & 2:00-4:30 every day. Maximum 10 writers. Fee : $700.00. Includes individual evaluation, group workshop sessions, & hand-outs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-75586954370180586482009-05-26T16:39:00.000-07:002009-05-26T16:44:53.347-07:00Congratulations to Ken Chen, Recipient of the 2009 Yale Series of Younger Poets Award<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6wycuN6RSICW7rpQ5zRWpfuLJo705K6hPD4UYnDbI28QBiM3PscwqkoR2chFqIeQuk_OpoebaiGGIkynM3wKs5RxDcGzxErQ-ipdKN9yU1vT9EE2VpN9apNrV_HurM18PhUW/s1600-h/ken.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6wycuN6RSICW7rpQ5zRWpfuLJo705K6hPD4UYnDbI28QBiM3PscwqkoR2chFqIeQuk_OpoebaiGGIkynM3wKs5RxDcGzxErQ-ipdKN9yU1vT9EE2VpN9apNrV_HurM18PhUW/s200/ken.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340282448822117170" /></a>I could not be happier for <a href="http:/kenchen.org">Ken Chen</a> (pictured, left), who was just named the 2009 recipient of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. His book, <i>Juvenilia</i>, will come out soon, and I can't wait for it. I met Ken last year when I read with Kim Sunée and Jennifer Kwon Dobbs at the Asian American Writers' Workshop, where he serves as Executive Director. This could not have happened to a nicer person, and I hope you will all buy the book when it arrives.<br /><br />Ken Chen is the Executive Director of The Asian American Writers’ Workshop. He is the 2009 recipient of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. His work has been published in <i>Best American Essays 2006</i> and was recently recognized in <i>Best American Essays 2007</i>. He started <i>Satellite: The Berkeley Magazine of News + Culture</i> and also helped found <i>Arts & Letters Daily</i>, a cultural website.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13154063.post-17480832848027185222009-05-25T14:50:00.001-07:002009-05-25T15:09:31.601-07:00Summer Writing and ReadingNow that summer is here, I am hoping my writing picks up a bit. I've also got three somewhat time-consuming things behind me: two Guest Editor stints, one for the <i>Rio Grande Review</i> and one for <i>Asian American Poetry and Writing</i> (both issues are out soon; RGR is already up online)--and my full-time job, teaching at Fresno City College. This semester I had great students, so it was a pleasure, really. But now that grades are in and summer is here, for all intents and purposes, I am looking forward to writing more. What always gets me motivated to write is to read, and so I am delving into some poetry collections I've been wanting to crack open---Linda Gregg's <i>All of It Singing</i>, most notably. Other books I have waiting for me include: Christopher Buckley's <i>Sky</i>, Charles Baudelaire's <i>The Flowers of Paris and Evil Spleen</i>, and two of the many books owned by my recently passed on grandmother: a first edition hardback (1938) of Thomas Mann's <i>The Coming Victory of Democracy</i> and Franz Kafka's <i>Diaries 1914-1923</i>. <br /><br />I am also trying to work through titles for my second manuscript. I want the word "acoustics" in it, and the one I'm thinking about now is <i><b>All the City's Acoustics</b></i>. What do you think of it? I know you haven't read the poems, but as a title alone, I like the sound of it. I think of Patricia Smith's response to the question about <i>Blood Dazzler</i>, where she simply said she just likes the way it rolls off her tongue. I've also thought of <i>All This City's Acoustics</i> (slight variation on the first), <i>Han Acoustics</i>, and <i>Acoustic You</i>. I have a feeling none of these will eventually be the title, for some reason. I wish something would come to me like <i>This Many Miles from Desire</i> did---that title came to me very early, and it never left.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2