Ana Castillo's Blog, page 46

Chimayó, New Mexico: Writing Workshop!

Exciting time to be in Northern New Mexico–Semana Santa

Sat., April 7th, 2012.

Writing Childhood Memories/Cuentos vividos

The blessed place you fell in love with in SO FAR FROM GOD.

Hosted by santero and horsewoman at El Mesón de la Centinela

It don't get more real in New Mexico than here.

SIGN UP: anacastilloworkshops@gmail.com

Check out the flyer:

Chimayo. flyer

Call for Solidarity from Teachers Nationwide Against Confiscation of Latino Literature in Tucson Schools

Yesterday, colleges along the U.S. /Texan border, now Tuscan, ¿y mañana?



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Politics Curtis Acosta: 'We Have Not Lost Faith'

Posted by Mari Herreras on Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 9:00 AM

The editors of Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Year's (one of the seven books taken out of the Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Studies classrooms) ran a letter yesterday from Tucson High Magnet School's (former) Chicano literature teacher Curtis Acosta with an update on the district's continuing dismantling of Mexican American Studies:

To my friends and all our supporters,

Let me try a few cleansing breaths before all of this.

First, I am deeply moved by the love, commitment and creativity to help honor our plight and support our fight. Thank you all so much and I apologize to all of my friends who I have not responded to as of yet. We all are overwhelmed here in Tucson and I need a new email system for organizing all the love. Muchismas gracias y Tlazocamatli.

This week has provided more challenges. The teachers have still not received specific guidelines for curriculum and pedagogical changes that need to be made in order to be in compliance of the law. TUSD leadership has asked the site administrators on each campus where our classes are taught to lead the process which means that my colleagues and I are all separated from each other, and have not yet come together as a group since the destruction of our program. It also is a way to divide and conquer since we are all struggling at our individual sites for clarity and consistency. To be more specific, I meet alone with my site administration, with only my union representative as support, but separated from my MAS colleagues who also work at my school. The district leadership has done this move to wash their hands of us and any accountability to us. However, they continue to send out press releases that claim that books that are now boxed in a warehouse are not banned, and that anyone can teach critical issues like race, ethnicity, oppression, and cultura, but do not mention the exception being the censored teachers in the MAS program. The double speak is unseemly and lacks honor. I am so happy that our friends around the nation are holding them accountable since the power structure in Tucson has made sure the local media tows the line. This has been the case for years.

What I can tell you is that TUSD has decreed that anything taught from a Mexican American Studies perspective is illegal and must be eliminated immediately. Of course, they have yet to define what that means, but here's an example of what happened to an essay prompt that I had distributed prior to January 10th.

{Chicano playwright Luis Valdez once stated that his art was meant to, "…inspire the audience to social action. Illuminate specific points about social problems. Satirize the opposition. Show or hint at a solution. Express what people are feeling." The novel So Far From God presents many moments of social and political commentary.} Select an issue that you believe Ana Castillo was attempting to illuminate for her audience and write a literary analysis of how that theme is explored in the novel. Remember to use direct citations from the novel to support your ideas and theories.

{Culture can play a significant role within a work of fiction. For generations in this country, the literature studied in English or literature classes rarely represented the lives and history of Mexican-Americans.} In a formal literary analysis, discuss what makes So Far From God a Chican@ novel and how this might influence the experience of the reader. Remember to use direct citations from the novel to support your ideas and theories.

The brackets indicate what I had to edit since the statements were found to be too leading toward a Mexican American Studies perspective. In plainer terms, they are illegal and out of compliance. A quote from a great literary figure, Luis Valdez, is now illegal, and a fact about education in our nation's history is also illegal.

You can imagine how we are feeling, especially without any clear guidance to what is now legal and what is not, and what makes matters worse is that TUSD expects us to move forward and redesign our entire curriculum and pedagogy to be in compliance.

I cannot speak for all my colleagues but it has become clear to me that I must abandon nearly everything I used to do in the classroom and become "born again" as a teacher. At least for the foreseeable future, since the list of individuals that are waiting to pounce upon us at our first wrong step is long and filled with powerful figures.

However, we have not lost faith that we will overcome all of these atrocious, absurd, and abusive actions to our students and to learning environment centered upon love and academic excellence. Our students have already learned so much this year and this process is teaching them so much more. They are restless, ready to act and eager for their voices to be heard, and our community is equally supportive to their desires. Our lawsuit moves forward and the unconstitutionality of the law will be debated before Judge A. Wallace Tashima. Three of the four men who voted to disband our program will be accountable on November 6th since their seats on the school board are up this election. We are strong in spirit that a better day is ahead.

Lastly, there has been an idea put forward by my good friends, Tara Mack and Keith Catone, that there should be a national day of solidarity where teachers would teach our curriculum all over the nation. I will be discussing this with my colleagues in MAS this weekend and then to Tara and Keith. They have been amazing and fired-up to help, but I have had to navigate the Tempest in our classrooms and schools before more specifics come your way. The first day we are to be officially in compliance is February 1st, so that may be a wonderful, symbolic day to keep our spirit alive through the nation.

Respectfully,

Curtis Acosta

Chican@/Latin@ Literature Teacher (forever in mind and in spirit)

Tucson

The Association for the Study of Women & Mythology

SAN FRANCISO

2012 National Conference

"Creating the Chalice: Imagination and Integrity in Goddess Studies"

Ana Castillo

Keynote Speaker

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Holiday Inn, Fisherman's Wharf

http://womenandmythology.wordpress.co...

(Poster for sale by Ana Castillo. See Gallery)

Books Banned in Tucson

Hey kids: We interrupt our scheduled programming on the upcoming writing workshops I am offering this Easter Week in New Mexico to give an update on the political, moral and psychological decline of our neighboring state.

Here is a full list of books that were effectively banned when Tucson shut down the ethnic studies program. Last week, books were physically removed from libraries and classrooms, and reportedly taken out of students' hands. Once you take a look at the growing, extensive list (link below) the question to ask is which Latin@ writer whose books have been regularly adopted in courses ISN'T on the list?

It's a mini-MacCartherish blacklist equating any Latin@ immigrant related expression to the fear generated amongst the populace during the Cold War. The presumed threat then was the world takeover of Communism.

This is not the only move to discredit Latin@ literature along the border, in particular Texas. The question during an election year to ask, especially for Arizonan voters is: Yay or nay on our First Amendment and Freedom of Speech rights being systematically removed?

http://americanindiansinchildrenslite...

2012 Holy Week in New Mexico Writing Workshops!

EARLY WARNINGS AND STAY TUNED for more info HERE: FOUR LIFE-CHANGING WRITING WORKSHOPS COMING UP MARCH 30 – APRIL 7 IN LA TIERRA DEL ENCANTO, SPRING IN MAGICAL NUEVO MéXICO: INTRO. MEMOIR WRITING, SHORT AND FLASH FICTION, CUENTOS VIVIDOS: CHILDHOOD MEMOIRS AND A CRITIQUE WORKSHOP.

LAS CRUCES, CHIMAYó, TAOS and LAS VEGAS, N.M.

join us at any point along the way or make your own way. In between writing: Route 66, mountain viewing, cycling, hiking, visit to goat/sheep ranch, horse back riding, wine tasting, mineral baths, pilgrimages and Way of the Cross processions y más. Prepare this Spring Equinox however best your spirit prefers for the coming Winter Solstice: Dec. 12th/Dec.21st (depending on which calendar you choose.).

In the tradition and in honor of both our indigenous and European ancestors we share our stories–pen to paper.

Anyone over 18 may apply.

All workshops: $150.

First accepted applicant in each workshop will receive a free copy of my novel SO FAR FROM GOD.

For more info: anacastilloworkshops@gmail.com. Also, sign up to mailing list at www.anacastillo.com

Attention American PEN members

Great news: there's still time to submit a letter of nomination for PEN's awards. Our awards program—the most comprehensive in the country—will present 20 awards in 2012, and one of the many benefits of PEN Membership is the ability to submit letters of recommendation on behalf of your colleagues. Help honor a writer whose contributions to literature in the field of poetry, drama, children's literature, or sports writing deserve recognition and praise. The deadline for nominations is February 1, 2012, so send your letters today.

We invite you to write a letter of nomination for:

The PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry ($5,000): This award recognizes a poet whose distinguished and growing body of work represents a notable presence in American literature. Past Voelker Award winners include Linda Gregg, Robert Pinsky, Frederick Seidel, Heather McHugh, C. K. Williams, Franz Wright, and Jane Kenyon.

The PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a Playwright in Mid Career ($7,500): This award acknowledges a dramatist whose literary achievements are vividly apparent in the rich and striking language of his or her work. Past winners include Marcus Gardley, Lynn Nottage, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Sarah Ruhl, among others.

The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship ($5,000): This fellowship is for an author of children's or young adult fiction who has published at least two books, to assist in completing a book-length work-in-progress. Past recipients of the Fellowship include Lucy Frank, Graham McNamee, Lori Aurelia Williams, Franny Billingsley, Amanda Jenkins, and Barbara Shoup.

The PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing ($5,000): This award honors a writer whose body of work represents an exceptional contribution to the field. In 2011, the inaugural year, the award went to Roger Angell.

PEN is committed to recognizing and rewarding the accomplishments of outstanding voices in literature, and our awards program, in tandem with our work in defense of free expression, signals our devotion to the celebration of literature. Help us by nominating your colleagues for the PEN Literary Awards today.

For more information, visit pen.org/awards or write to awards@pen.org.

2012

Hoy Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe

Que los bendiga a todos.

THIS SATURDAY–JOIN US

Join us for a lively discussion on THE GUARDIANS this Saturday!

Ana Castillo

Santa Lucia

COMING UP FOR AUCTION MIDNIGHT (EST) WEDNESDAY, 23rd. Auction ends Sunday, November 27th at midnight. (To place an auction you must have a PayPal account. A $50. deposit will be required.)

(Santa Lucia, self portrait, oil on cotton, 2 ' 3 ', 1996 by Ana Castillo, Copyright, NM)