News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Juan Felipe Herrera’

For nearly four decades, Juan Felipe Herrera has documented his experience as a Chicano in the United States and Latin America through stunning, memorable poetry that is both personal and universal in its impact, themes, and approach. Often political, never fainthearted, his career has been marked by tremendous virtuosity and a unique sensibility for uncovering the unknown and the unexpected.

Through a variety of stages and transformations, Herrera has evolved more than almost any other Chicano poet, always re-inventing himself into a more mature and seasoned voice. Now, in this unprecedented collection, we encounter the trajectory of this highly innovative and original writer, bringing the full scope of his singular vision into view. Beginning with early material from A Certain Man and moving through thirteen of his collections into new, previously unpublished work, this assemblage also includes an audio CD of the author reading twenty-four selected poems aloud.”*

Chicano writer Juan Felipe Herrera remembers the region as very different when he grew up here in the 1950s.

“Tijuana was covered in grass, and Chula Vista seemed like a little town between Tijuana and San Diego,” he said. “The highway had only two lanes, one going south and one coming north.”

It was experiences like this, of growing up between two cultures, that inspired Herrera to become a writer.”*

*From: http://www.signonsandiego.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Gente: La Bloga is fortunate enough to have an interview with Juan Felipe Herrera, whose life’s work has been the poetry of sinew and bone, of La Raza, of people’s movements and people’s poetry, and whose new book was profiled in La Bloga.

But before you drink in our conversation, take a look at some info about his latest work — a remix/compilation of truly razor-sharp and brutally beautiful writing.
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*From: http://labloga.blogspot.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

“The Upside Down Boy/ El niño de cabeza is Juan Felipe Herreras memoir of the year his migrant family moved to the city so that he could go to school for the first time. Neither of his parents had the opportunity to complete school, but valued the importance of education. Juanito is not an immigrant himself but his parents are. However, he has grown up singing and speaking Spanish with his parents, friends and neighbors. When he comes to school, he enters into a different strange world. “

“I WANTED TO MAKE THIS POST A FUNKY MIX of the newest installment of the Mi Familia series, plus an announcement of mi papá’s speshul ceremony at the same time. But the day hasn’t really panned out with lots of time for me to write. In fact, I haven’t even been working on the edit of the novel that I spoke of yesterday. Annoying. When I planned for it, I forgot that on Saturdays it’s just me and Lunita until 12:30 or so, so I couldn’t really get into that with my usual timing. No matter, I’ll work on it from before dawn tomorrow until I fall asleep. That will have to do.”

“THERE IS NO CHICANISMO DECIDER. Nobody defines what is true for all Chican@s. There is no one person who can tell you what to do to be a True Xican@, to be Truly Brown, to be Real As a Only the Realest Mexican@ /Latin@ /Boriqua /Boriqueño, etc@’s are; nobody to run to when you want to know if you need an image of Lady Guadalupe that is five inches tall, or one that is life-size, or if you need one at all. There is no blogger, and there is no published writer, and there is no University Professor who knows enough to dictate this. It can not be Marí Herrera-Sobek, Lorna Dee Cervantes, or Sandra Cisneros; nor is it Carlos Fuentes, Juan Felipe Herrera, Francisco X. Alarcón, or Corky Gonzales. And though these people have many things to say on the struggle, or journey of Chicanismo, I don’t find them taking such a stance. Although online, I have found some otherwise intelligent people who do try to lay down the unequivocal law on What It Means to Be ””””””.”