Two days ago, in fact, marked the seventh anniversary, or blogiversary (or is it blogaversary?), of J's Theater. There are times, usually during the summers, which are always more vivid to me than any other season or part of the year, when 2005, and February 2005 specifically, doesn't seem that distant, and other times when it feels as far away as the summit of K2. I still recall who and what motivated me to start this blog; Bernie Tarver's...
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Palabra Pura: Migrant Bodies/Cuerpos Migrantes
Posted on 21:22 by Unknown
Curator and MC, Rey AndújarTwo Wednesday ago, on February 15th, back I caught an evening of the Guild Complex's "Palabra Pura" reading series (h/t to my colleague Reg Gibbons who reminded me it was taking place), titled "Migrant Bodies/Cuerpos Migrantes," at La Bruqueña restaurant and bar on the West Side. I especially wanted to catch it because Rey Andújar, about whom I've written before, was serving as the curator and MC. I had no idea, until a...
Posted in chicago, dominican republic, Guild Complex, Jorge Frisancho, Juan Dicent, Palabra Pura, poetry, Rey Andujar
|
No comments
Friday, 24 February 2012
Carnaval/Carnival/Mardi Gras 2012
Posted on 23:05 by Unknown
Last night and today, more snow, more cold, more winter here in Chicago. The quarter has only a month or so to go; so too, and sooner, I hope, this season and its weather.Short of being here:Colgate sign, shoreline, Jersey City (Ellis Island in background)I wouldn't mind being here:Beija-Flor samba school revelersin the 1st night of the Rio 2012 Carnaval paradein the Sambodrome (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)Portela samba school revelersin the 1st night...
Posted in brazil, Carnaval, Carnival, Colombia, dominican republic, Mardi Gras, Saint Louis, Trinidad and Tobago
|
No comments
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Excerpt: Noam Chomsky
Posted on 23:05 by Unknown
An excerpt from: Noam Chomsky's "'Losing' the World": American Decline in Perspective, Part 1, znet.com, February 14, 2012"There are important lessons in all this for today, even apart from another reminder that only the weak and defeated are called to account for their crimes. One lesson is that to understand what is happening we should attend not only to critical events of the real world, often dismissed from history, but also to what leaders and...
Posted in empire, Left, neocolonialism, neoliberalism, Noam Chomsky, power, United States
|
No comments
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Jeremy Lin(sanity)!
Posted on 00:14 by Unknown

Linsanity!Jeremy Lin [林書豪], born in 1988 to parents from Taiwan.–A graduate of Palo Alto High School, where he captained his team to a 32-1 record, winning the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title, yet he received no athletic scholarships, and was guaranteed a spot only on the squads of Harvard and Brown.Lin, leading the Knicks–AB, Economics, Harvard College (Go Crimson!), 2010, All-Ivy First Team in his junior and...
Posted in Asian American athletes, basketball, Chinese Americans, Harvard, Jeremy Lin, NBA, New York Knicks
|
No comments
Saturday, 11 February 2012
RIP Whitney Houston
Posted on 20:40 by Unknown
Whitney Houston in 2009 (AP/Evan Evangelisti)Whitney Houston (1963-2012)Whitney Houston, "The Greatest Love of All" I almost cannot believe this news, but this afternoon, but singer and actress Whitney Houston was found dead in her room at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. One of the finest and most talented singers of her or any generation, with an extraordinarily powerful voice grounded in the gospel tradition, Whitney...
Posted in African American music, gospel, music, obituary, pop music, rhythm and blues, Whitney Houston
|
No comments
Thursday, 9 February 2012
English 394: The Switchover
Posted on 23:00 by Unknown
Monday marked a major milestone in my academic calendar: it was the final meeting of the first half of English 394: Theory and Practice of Fiction, the semester-long, initial portion of the full-year sequence that all undergraduate creative writing majors and (non-cross-genre) minors must take. As I've noted in previous years, this course breaks the college's quarter system, running past one into the second, at which point the professors change,...
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Nathanaël & Ronaldo V. Wilson at "Queer(ing) Poetics"
Posted on 21:51 by Unknown
Nathanaël and Ronaldo V. WilsonOn Monday and Tuesday, under the auspices of the university's Poetry and Poetics Colloquium, writers Nathanaël and Ronaldo V. Wilson came to campus to participate in a two-day event, entitled "Queer(ing) Poetics." On Monday evening they gave dynamic readings before a full audience, and on Tuesday afternoon, they offered statements on their poetics and participated in a conversation with faculty members and students...
Posted in LGBTQ, Nathalie Stephens, Nathanaël, Northwestern, poetics, poetry, queer art, Ronaldo V. Wilson, translation
|
No comments
Saturday, 4 February 2012
"...does it get better?" Panel
Posted on 23:23 by Unknown
On Thursday night at the invitation of one of my students, Ryan L., I participated in "...does it get better?," a panel discussion examining the widely known It Gets Better series of videos and sponsored by Project ShoutOUT, an undergraduate student group. The panel also included Tony Alvarado-Rivera, former director of the mentorship program at the Broadway Youth Center in Chicago; and Bonnie Wade and Malaundja Gayles, both community organizers...
Friday, 3 February 2012
RIP & Poem: Wislawa Szymborska
Posted on 15:36 by Unknown
Not much blogging thus far this month; I am mainly trying to keep my head above water amidst the onrushing rapids of winter quarter teaching, mentoring, advising and committee work. In a few days, as per schedule, I will be handing off one of my three courses, the semester-long (it cuts across the quarter system, and a similar course exists in poetry and creative nonfiction) fiction sequence for the undergraduate creative writing majors and minors,...
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Langston Hughes Day (Black History Month Begins)
Posted on 00:35 by Unknown
Pastel drawing of Hughesby Winhold ReissToday is the first day of Black History Month, one of many gifts that Carter G. Woodson gave to the United States. I've said before that every month should be black history month, and latino history month, and women's history month, and lgbtq history month, and so on; we should always be acknowledging the diverse and plural contributions of everyone who has created the world we live in, but unfortunately, as...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)