Todo Excited

Fair and tender readers, I am todo excited about the proposal I submitted for a panel at the 2011 AWP conference in Washington, D.C.  (No thing's a sure thing, but I'm hopeful that it'll be accepted.)

The panel is called, "Memoir and Latinidad," and here are the rock-star panelists:

Esmeralda Santiago
















Rigoberto González


















Luis Rodriguez















Gustavo Pérez Firmat.












In the literary world?  Seriously:  these folks are rock stars.  I am a crazy fan of all of them, so I'm very happy that they all agreed to be on the panel.

As you may know, U.S. Latina/o memoir has developed a rich contemporary tradition that spans the political and stylistic spectrum from Richard Rodriguez to Gloria Anzaldúa.  But what, if anything, makes a memoir "Latina/o"?  Does latinidad influence aesthetics and craft as well as content?  Do contemporary Latina/o memoirists see themselves as inheriting the life-writing techniques and traditions of the U.S., or Latin America, or both?  And--perhaps the most vexing question for working writers--how do Latina/o memoirists navigate expectations by the mainstream, broader U.S. culture that their memoirs will represent whole cultures and nations?

These are the questions these amazing writers will be discussing.  I can't wait to hear their conversation.  (I will just be moderating.)

A panel addressing this specific conjunction of genre and ethnicity will be new for AWP, too.  The conference has never showcased anything like this before, and it's very relevant.  As the role of Latinos in the U.S. continues to spark national controversy (ay, Arizona), a discussion of the literary construction of self will contribute to the articulation and understanding of Latina/o identity, politics, & aesthetics. 

Since all four of the panelists are established senior writers, they'll bring the maturity of long reflection, as well as a diversity of cultural and political backgrounds--Chicano (Rodriguez y González), Cuban-American (Pérez Firmat), and Puerto Rican (Santiago)--to this important public conversation. 

These panelists have been serious community activists, too.  Por ejemplo, L.A.'s Tia Chucha Centro Cultural was co-founded by Luis J. Rodriguez, who has worked against gang violence and the socioeconomic injustices that foster it for many years.  Tia Chucha's annual benefit, featuring Perla Batalla, Ceci Bastida, Kristina Wong, and National Book Award finalist Wanda Coleman, is coming up on August 1st.  If you'll be in the L.A. area, check out a good thing!

And if you'll be at AWP in D.C. next February, come to our panel "Memoir and Latinidad"!  (If it gets accepted.  Fingers crossed.)  Maybe we'll see each other there!