Coral Bracho and Forrest Gander in Washington DC

(Coral Bracho's beautiful poems appeared in past issues of Tameme.)

News from the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC:

BOOK PRESENTATION | Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 6pm – 8pm
A bilingual reading of Firefly Under the Tongue
by Mexican Poet Coral Bracho and translator Forrest Gander

Join us for a special reading of Coral Bracho’s brilliantly translated bilingual edition of poems Firefly Under the Tongue, published by New Directions in 2008.

One of Mexico’s foremost poets, Coral Bracho is the author of eight books of poetry and recipient of numerous accolades for her work. Her poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Bomb, Conjunctions, The Nation, and Poetry International. Bracho’s work has altered the landscape of Mexican poetry with its prodigious originality. Firefly Under the Tongue is the first book in English by this influential Mexican poet containing poems from her many groundbreaking collections in Spanish.

A Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Brown University, Forrest Gander has published numerous books of poetry, novels, and translations. Gander's poems appear in many literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad, and have been translated into half a dozen languages. In describing Bracho’s work, Gander said “For me, the pleasures of her poems derive from their open-endedness, from their music, their delicious vocabulary and from the tensions between the insistently telic rhythm and dehiscent narrative”. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear the poems read in both Spanish and English, by Coral Bracho and Forrest Gander.

Tuesday, October 13, 6pm – 8pm
LOCATION: BUSBOYS & POETS, Langston Room
2021 14th St. NW, Washington DC, 20009. (MAP)
Free and open to all.

More anon.

Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC: The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire

Herewith a few photos of the launch event for my new novel the other day in the beautiful music room at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC (Instituto de Mexico). It was an honor indeed to be introduced by the Institute's Director, the Mexican Embassy's Cultural Attache, Alejandra De La Paz, and then by Professor John Tutino, Chair of the History Department at Georgetown University. After his very kind introduction (and some amusing thoughts about how confoundingly complicated 19th century Mexican history is--- and its essentially transnational nature), I read a few sections from The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire--- in particular, the opening, set in Rosedale; the scene with Ambassador General Almonte in the White House levee; and the "high noon" of the Mexican Empire (to quote journalist William Wells), an 1865 ball in Mexico's Imperial Palace. I also talked about how The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is, for several reasons, a very Washingtonian story and at the same time, a story that goes into a very deep vein--- in fact, if tangentially, it is a story about what it means to be Mexican. Some excerpts from my talk:

The Second Empire was an assertion by the French, by the Catholic Church, and a large number of Mexican conservatives, that Mexicans were properly subjects of a crown. The Jaurista, Republican response--- ultimately victorious--- was that, no, Mexicans are citizens. Citizens of a Republic.

The prince as a person is not the main character; rather, it is the prince as the living symbol of an idea--- the idea that the Mexican Empire could continue into the future.

And yet, it is a very Washingtonian story on many levels, for it begins in Washington, with the prince's mother... What all of the histories of the Second Empire have missed is that she was not only a Washingtonian but she was from a very prominent Washington family. She was not an ordinary person. This explains a lot about what happened--- the arrangement she and her husband and his family made with Maximilian and later, when she wanted her little boy back, the wherewithal she had to get up what was truly an international scandal. She took the matter to General Bazaine, Supreme Commander of the French forces in Mexico, then, after her arrest and expulsion from Mexico, all the way to U.S. Secretary of State Seward, then to Paris, to U.S. Minister John Bigelow, who was in constant contact with the highest levels of the French Imperial Government! She even got the matter on the front page of the New York Times-- claiming Maximilian had "kidnapped an American child."

What an honor indeed to see the wife of Mexico's ambassador in the front row! And so many Mexican friends and Mexico buffs and Mexico experts, Barbara Tenenbaum, Andrew Selee, and also the gals from my writers group-- Kathleen Currie, Kate Blackwell (You Won't Remember This), Mary Kay Zuravleff (The Bowl is Already Broken)--- translator of Mexican poetry and amazing poet herself, Brandel France de Bravo (Provenance), travel writer L. Peat O'Neil, visionary librarian Jane Kinney Meyers, novelists Fred Reuss, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Joyce Hackett, Mexican award-winning short story writer Luis Felipe Lomeli, DC's own Poetry Goddess, Kim Roberts, and Dan Vera--- and thanks so much Dan, for sharing these photos of the event. It was also such an honor to see my editor, Greg Michalson, and his partner at Unbridled Books, Fred Ramey--- and last, but most importantly, my husband, to whom the book is dedicated.

The venerable Politics & Prose handled the booksales, and I was very sorry to disappoint friends that they ran out of books!! I understand they have more in the bookstore. (Click here for general information about ordering.)



P.S. All photos are courtesy of Dan Vera.

And for those of you in Washington DC area who don't know the Mexican Cultural Institute, be sure to visit their website and get on their mailing list--- it's such a beautiful venue, close to the metro, and always busy with cornucopia of concerts, shows, readings, cooking demonstrations, and screenings. It is a jewel on the cultural scene here in Washington.

I'll be reading this Sunday at 2 pm at the Writers Center in Bethesda MD--- and more info and more events are listed here. More anon.

Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC: The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, May 12 @ 6:30 pm

I'll be reading, discussing and signing The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, my new novel based on the true story, this Tuesday at 6:30 pm at the Mexican Cultural Instutute of Washington DC. John Tutino, professor of History at Georgetown University, will offer introductory remarks. The event is free and open to the public. More information here.

This is the launch event for the novel, which opens with a chapter about Rosedale, the historic country estate in Washington D.C. founded by the prince's grandfather, General Uriah Forrest.

Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC: Ruben Gallo, Barbara Tenenbaum, David Huerta, Mark Schafer

Three excellent Mexican literary events in DC this week:

Thursday April 16th @ 6:30 pm "Mexican Modernity: A lecture about artists and writers living in Mexico City in the early 20th century" A conversation between Ruben Gallo and Barbara Tenenbaum. Gallo is an award-winning writer and scholar and professor of Latin American literature at Princeton University. Tenenbaum is the Specialist in Mexican Culture at the Library of Congress. She is currently writing a history of Mexico City.

P.S. Re: Mexican artists: check out this 2008 guest-blog post for Madam Mayo here.

Friday April 17 @ 12 pm, Library of Congress, and @ 4 pm, Georgetown University, Room ICC-450, "Two Bilingual Readings with acclaimed Mexican poet David Huerta and translator Mark Schafer. Huerta is one of Mexico's most important living poets. Shafer has translated the poetry, novels, stories and essays of numerous Latin American writers. He is also a visual artist.


And then, on May 12 also at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC, I'll be presenting my historical novel based on the true story, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, with an introduction by John Tutino, professor of History, Georgetown Univertsity. More about that anon.

Finding Art, Making Art

Now, not in the future. A few artists who inspire me, not only for the quality of their work, but its range and sense of joy:
--->Christine Boyka Kluge--- who has a new blog post up, by the way;
--->David Rothenberg--- whose reading / whale & clarinet concert I caught last night at DC's Olssen's Bookstore;
--->Alvaro Santiago--- Mexican artist whose orange and gray art-box sits on my desk (must get a photo). If you're anywhere near DC, check out his "I Rent Myself to Dream" at the Mexican Cultural Institute.
More anon.

New York City's Mexican Cultural Institute & New York University's King Juan Carlos of Spain Center--- September 12th

Save the date! This September 12th, as part of the Celebrate Mexico Now Festival, the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and NYU's King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center will host the presentation of my anthology of Mexican fiction and literary prose, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. I am delighted that, accompanying me will be some of the translators--- Harry Morales and Daniel Shapiro--- as well as Mexican writers Monica Lavin and Pedro Angel Palou. Click here for the info about the event, which is free and open to the public, so if you're in town, consider yourself invited! And click here to hear my interview with John Ydsie of National Public Radio about the book and to read some stories--- including Monica Lavin's stunningly good short story, "Day and Night." More anon.