News

Teaching online? Don’t panic. Seriously.

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Educators who are going online: this is a must read! Thank you, Icess and Jasmine for these tools.

Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

For this morning’s post, I am addressing it to my fellow academics. My fellow friends in arms who have suddenly been told they will have to take their class online.

And they are in panic mode.

So for them, I have thoughts and ideas. Also some advice. So Reader, all of you, if you wanted to read something bookish I will have something soon. I’m working on something from AWP. But for today, let us sooth the panic.

Dear Professors, Instructors, and other Academics who have to put an online class together almost overnight,

Let me start off by saying your panic is warranted. This sucks. OMG! But, trust me when I say this, it will be okay. Completely okay. Some background:

It was 2017 and the fall semester was days away from starting. Off the coast of Texas Hurricane Harvey brewed like a tumor. When it came…

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Yesika Salgado and I chop it up: video from 2019 LitLit Conference: Latinx/L.A. Poetics

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That time when Yesika Salgado and I read two poems and talked: about how we became writers, who we're in conversation with, and who we wish to become, and what L.A. means to us. Shout out to the 2019 LitLit Conference sponsored by the Los Angeles Review of Books. Thanks again to Kyle Fitzpatrick for … Continue reading Yesika Salgado and I chop it up: video from 2019 LitLit Conference: Latinx/L.A. Poetics

To Collage, To Carry: A Fragmented Essay Writing Workshop, Sat. 8/24, NYC

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To Collage, To Carry: A Fragmented Essay Writing Workshop, Sat. 8/24, 10am-12pm ACE Hotel, $40 per person, limited full scholarships available. Register below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdY9C2elvBW5NC_tdwFWL1CwD8rs0e46dCtvobZN92aTFWQ5A/viewform Join Vickie Vértiz and Muriel Leung in a generative writing workshop that explores collage and fragments to illustrate the unreliability of memory in the personal essay.  Memory is only as reliable … Continue reading To Collage, To Carry: A Fragmented Essay Writing Workshop, Sat. 8/24, NYC

Upcoming readings: April and May 2019

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Join us! All are free events. Friday, April 19, 2019, Skylight Books, 7pm. Book release parties for Kenji Liu's _Monsters I Have Been_ (Alice James Books) and Heidi Andrea Restrepo Rhodes' _The Inheritance of Haunting_, winner of the 2019 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. LIBRO MOBILE. Saturday, April 20, 2019, 5-7pm. A reading celebrating Heidi Restrepo … Continue reading Upcoming readings: April and May 2019

Vickie’s work at the Academy of American Poets, Poem-a-Day

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Thanks to the poet and teacher TC Tolbert, my poem "Only We Make Beautiful Things Just to Destroy Them" is up at the Academy of American Poets! Click here to listen, read, and share. It's important for us to remember what we've survived, like the Bracero Program and past anti-immigrant violence, so that even in the … Continue reading Vickie’s work at the Academy of American Poets, Poem-a-Day

“How to preserve and maintain our joy”: Vickie on Words on a Wire Podcast, UTEP

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Treat your ears and listen to some stories I have on how we can use writing to be self-determined, to be free. I spoke to writer and creative writing professor from the UTEP MFA,  Daniel Chacon this summer about how to make room and art that's about joy and survival. Here's the interview from the podcast Words on … Continue reading “How to preserve and maintain our joy”: Vickie on Words on a Wire Podcast, UTEP

Radio spot! Borderlands New Wave Poetry at the Tucson Festival of Books

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Gracias KXCI 91.3 FM, public radio in #Tucson where you can listen to me and Daniel Olivas read stories about our exes, our fathers, and our neighbors on the  Tucson Festival of Books panel, "Borderlands New Wave Poetry." The discussion began with an introduction by the amazing social justice activist and consultant Sarita Gonzales. Listen here!Con … Continue reading Radio spot! Borderlands New Wave Poetry at the Tucson Festival of Books

New York Times Magazine: “Already My Lips Were Luminous”

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Selected by National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes for the New York Times Magazine.  “I do not know the language of that place” underscores this poem’s striking balance of ambiguity and mystery. Much is said in the white spaces, caesuras, breaks. The unpunctuated five lines of the first stanza unspool suggestively creepily. The hands in car … Continue reading New York Times Magazine: “Already My Lips Were Luminous”

Fierce as Fuck: The Future of Poetry Is Brown & Queer. A BITCH Magazine Interview

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From the Harriet Blog, via the Poetry Foundation: At Bitch Magazine: In "Fierce as Fuck: The Future of Poetry Is Brown & Queer," Soraya Membreno talks with Vickie Vértiz, author of Palm Frond With Its Throat Cut (University of Arizona Press, 2017); and Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, author of Beast Meridian (Noemi Press, 2017). Click here to read the full interview.

New on KCET, Youth Resistance and Los Angeles Photography

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From my latest article on Artbound KCET: "The week of November 14, 2016, nearly 4,000 students from about 18 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in walkouts against the president elect’s selection. As in the 1960s and ‘70s, students gathered at landmarks like Mariachi Plaza, Lincoln Park and city hall for rallies. … Continue reading New on KCET, Youth Resistance and Los Angeles Photography

“Ruda: Ten Remedies,” a play in Anthropoid

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Image from Anthropoid website.   A tia gives limpias and embroiders magic. A short play published in late December, "Ruda," an experimental play inside a litany of remedios. Many thanks to Melissa Sipin-Gabon for this opportunity. Excerpt: TÍA: Someone gave you mal de ojo. CHATA: A cabron. Why? TÍA: Why else? Because they’re jealous. CHATA: … Continue reading “Ruda: Ten Remedies,” a play in Anthropoid

Writing (US)Americ(k)a(s) with Aja Couchois Duncan, Hugo García Manríquez, Jen Hofer, y Amarnath Ravva

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Avenue 50 Studio together with Writ Large Press and and Litmus Press present: Writing (US)Americ(k)a(s) October 15th | 8pm at Avenue 50 Studio 131 N Avenue 50 | Highland Park CA 90042 Litmus Press, in celebration of two recent releases—Restless Continent by Aja Couchois Duncan and Anti-Humboldt by Hugo García Manríquez—is curating a number of … Continue reading Writing (US)Americ(k)a(s) with Aja Couchois Duncan, Hugo García Manríquez, Jen Hofer, y Amarnath Ravva

Juan Gabriel: How he helped families love their queer children– in HOY magazine

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In Friday's print edition of HOY magazine in Los ANgeles, reaching thousands of hispanohablantes, I discussed how our working-class immigrant families loved their queer children and neighbors in a way that would not have been possible without Juan Gabriel. Read the whole story in Spanish here, page 13! A HUGE "gracias" to translators Roman Lujan … Continue reading Juan Gabriel: How he helped families love their queer children– in HOY magazine

Macondo Writers’ Workshop 2016– open mic recordings

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Thanks to Joseph Rios, here is a sample of the open mic at Macondo Writers' Workshop 2016 in San Antonio. It starts with Carribean Fragoza and ends with yours truly reading the MOZ fans tribute poem, "Lover's Letter." Much love to Laurie Ann Guerrero for all her hard work, and to Alex Espinoza and Tim Z. … Continue reading Macondo Writers’ Workshop 2016– open mic recordings

“Conditions” by Jen Hofer– a translation

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"— ninety thousand children crossing the border in the last three years what thirst what listening what refuge what desert harbor what desert keeps at bay what keens what dims what signals we cannot read what enforcement what filament what unmoved substrata what bleeds unregulated despite the body what will not bend will not sleep … Continue reading “Conditions” by Jen Hofer– a translation

Poetry Center Award, Summer Residency at the University of Arizona, Tucson

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Vickie is thrilled to have been selected by Natalie Diaz for the 2016 Summer Residency at the Poetry Center. Stay tuned for event details on the culminating reading in August. About the residency: Since 1994, the Poetry Center’s Residency Program has offered writers an opportunity to develop their work. The Poetry Center will award one residency each summer … Continue reading Poetry Center Award, Summer Residency at the University of Arizona, Tucson

Southeast Los Angeles writing featured at AWP 2016

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  Join me as I moderate two panels at the #AWP16 writers' conference happening in LA this year! Latinx writers from all over the southland will share our prose and poetry on the following panels, THURSDAY, March 31, 2016: Panel R225. From New Wave and Punk: Musical influences on Latino Literary Aesthetics.   1:30 pm to 2:45 pm, Room … Continue reading Southeast Los Angeles writing featured at AWP 2016

How Bell Gardens is Banking on Bicycle Club Casino’s Luxury Hotel

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The sign illuminates eight lanes of the neighboring 710 Freeway. In contrast to the new monument to luxury, the gritty Long Beach Freeway leads into the post-industrial heart of Southeast Los Angeles. Thousands of eighteen-wheelers trucking in the majority of exports into the United States from the Pacific Rim make this the busiest highway with … Continue reading How Bell Gardens is Banking on Bicycle Club Casino’s Luxury Hotel

Cha Cha Nail Covers Take Over the World

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This story is part of KCET Departures' series of articles and essays on the Informal Economies of L.A. and how local entrepreneurs create new opportunities outside of formal economic establishments. Read the whole story here. "Don't wait for everything to be perfectly aligned. I had to earn money and invest in my packaging. Earn more … Continue reading Cha Cha Nail Covers Take Over the World

Worth Gold: Feminism and Leadership at the Miss Bell Gardens Pageant

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Bell Gardens City Council members with the 2015 Miss Bell Gardens Court. Photo: City of Bell Gardens"All the court members agreed it was a great experience. One princess, Vanessa Perez from UC Irvine said: 'I've lived in this city all my life. I'm proud to be from here and to get more involved.' Mayor Jennifer … Continue reading Worth Gold: Feminism and Leadership at the Miss Bell Gardens Pageant

The Time is Now: Radical Feminism at Rock Camp in Southeast LA

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Excerpts from the KCET Departures' essay, "The Time is Now for Chicas Rockeras in Southeast L.A.": After the "Radical Body Love for Young Riot Grrls" workshop led by facilitator Gloria Lucas, one of the campers said, "I love my body!" Volunteers also said they heard girls say, "I'm not ashamed to be round. No soy … Continue reading The Time is Now: Radical Feminism at Rock Camp in Southeast LA

A Man in His Backyard: sightseeing in City of Commerce with author Stephen Gutierrez

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Read Vertiz's new essay on KCET: "A Man in His Backyard: sightseeing in the City of Commerce with author Stephen Gutierrez." The essay is like driving through the streets of southeast LA: past its modest homes, past the Citadel Outlets, past parks and schools that made gold medal swimmers and writers like Steve. Of course … Continue reading A Man in His Backyard: sightseeing in City of Commerce with author Stephen Gutierrez

Vertiz teaches free classes in Boyle Heights, sponsored by the Center Theater Group

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HOY Los Angeles newspaper wrote a feature on Vickie Vertiz, detailing her desire to teach creative writing, her upcoming book, and her political roots. Read the great Sergio Burstein article in Spanish here. The free workshops will cover nonfiction, play writing, and poetry. The Creative Writing Circles are held at three Boyle Heights libraries from … Continue reading Vertiz teaches free classes in Boyle Heights, sponsored by the Center Theater Group

Latina Leadership in Bell Gardens, a new KCET essay

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"In the parking lot of the Food-4-Less supermarket on the corner of Atlantic and Slauson, two high school students stood near the sliding door entrance registering people to vote. The young women wore jeans and T-shirts (Garcia was probably in a Grateful Dead shirt), their hair gathered loosely into ponytails. Their temples beaded with sweat, … Continue reading Latina Leadership in Bell Gardens, a new KCET essay

On KCET’s Departures, “Bell Gardens? That’s Indian town!”: 1980s Pow Wows and Cultural Persistence

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My family has lived in Bell Gardens since 1976, but we never drove past a pow wow at a local park. Gatherings that are sometimes open to the public, sometimes sacred ceremonies; they're hard to miss. Those big and bright gatherings with dozens of pop up tents in green and blue, people of all ages … Continue reading On KCET’s Departures, “Bell Gardens? That’s Indian town!”: 1980s Pow Wows and Cultural Persistence

What You See, What You Take With You, in UCLA’s Parrafo magazine

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Along with many talented writers, the awesome Sesshu Foster among them, Vickie published a poem in Parrafo magazine's Los Angeles issue. Read an excerpt from her poem below and click the link for the whole enchilada.    "What You See, What You Take With You" AFTER MARISELA NORTE'S PHOTOGRAPHS OF LOS ANGELES     On … Continue reading What You See, What You Take With You, in UCLA’s Parrafo magazine

KCET Communities: “Pioneers of Artistic Revolution: Making Art and Space in Southeast L.A.

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As part of  an ongoing project about the importance of the 710 corridor in Los Angeles, Vickie Vertiz contributed an article about the arts, teachers, and artists in Southeast Los Angeles, where she grew up. She names a few writers who also document the lives of the people in Southeast L.A., such as Steve Gutierrez's … Continue reading KCET Communities: “Pioneers of Artistic Revolution: Making Art and Space in Southeast L.A.