In The Works

Hey Gente,

Hope all is well on your side of the screen. As for me, things keep looking up!!  To start off, I decided to experiment a little bit and hit up an area I knew little about: E-PUBLISHING!!!  As of now (more like 2 weeks ago), I have a collection of poems ON-LINE and for SALE!!! (That was the link, go ahead, click on it.) Calmate, calmate, its nothing totally outragious nor graciosos - rather, something quite basic actually.  After speaking to a dear friend (Mr. Tony Diaz, thanks!!!), who put the bug in my ear, I decided that instead of creating a standard chapbook for print and sale (mas barato que antes!!) at $5.00, Tony came up with idea like this - "lets experiment: do your book, but lets get it on BARNES & NOBLE and see if we can sell it ON-LINE " . The Basic point is to see what people do when they find out poetry or literature is available for real cheap (this e-chapbook is $3).  So, if you want some poetry for real cheap, then please, please, please, purchase away. I will be keeping tabs on sales and will compare to when I have sold the chapbook before.

Here are the details:
THE NEXT FOUR BLOCKS -

This collection of poetry and prose are the latest works from Lupe Mendez. This set is focused on more raw energy and roots, chaos and memories. The pieces included have been written as early as July of 2001 and as recent as September of 2011.

This collection is unique for this poet: it will mark the first time that I take my work straight to the world wide web (do people still say that?). Each section is set up as acts in play, themed by emotion, each poem is a scene and story.

Enjoy the work . . .  And check out Tony's latest project, AZTEC MUSE,  very classy!!!


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NEEXXXTTTT!!!!

So last night, I finally got a chance to check up on some e-mails and low and behold, I got an e-mail from fellow poet - Christopher Carmona (if you haven't read or heard his work, try it, you'll be better for it), out of Texas A&M. Currently, Mr. Carmona is working on hosting the 1st Annual BEAT POETRY & ARTS FESTIVAL and on top of that, he is ambitiously editing an anthology of Beat Texas writings for UT Press with Chuck Taylor and Rob Johnson, entitled - The Beatest State in the Union: A Texas Beat Poetry Anthology. I mention this, because in the e-mail I got last night, they have graciously added one of my pieces to the anthology!!!

So far, so good.   Oh yeah, if you want to be a part of the beat-fest, then register for it, here!! Pero, 'amonos, porque el ultimo dia de regristracion es el jueves, el 20 de octubre.  Hurry up!!  Deadline is this thursday!!!

Hope your day is as good as mine.

Hey gente,

I think after a great summer, a new beginning (lost the teaching gig, but now counseling high schoolers), and now a new direction - its time to reset the clock, and fit in some time to write.  This blog post will be short, as I am working on calendar scheduling and working on a new chapbook. Aside from that, I am working with some friends to create a new format for poetry in this city.

A major shout out to poets from whom I draw my energy from, Marlon Lizama, Joe B, Maria Palacios, Dee!Colonize, Marie Brown, Fluent One, Outspoken Bean, Chris Wise and many, many more. It will be good to see your faces in the coming days.

A Big thank you to Gustavo Jacobo and the editors of the Bayou Review - for allowing me the take part in their 25th anniversary Spring issue!!  It was two poems and an interview- an amazing experience!!  Keep up the excellent work.







A huge gracias to University of Chester for a great review of Norton's Anthology of Latino Sudden Fiction - they actually reprinted my story from the anthology in their April issue of flash fiction.





And lastly, ponte listo, the newly minted PoetryCo. is making plans and warming up...






Take to the streets and create, mi gente, as Tony Diaz always says "Only Art Can Save Us Now"...

Saludos.

LOOOOONNG TIME NO SEE!!!!

Hey gente,

Stephen Gros - puddin'

as I write this, alot has changed (all for the better I am hoping)!!!  But again, several constants still remain, the wifey, the friends and the WRITING/ POETRY!!!!

Teresa, lookin sexy!!!

MAN, there are tons of events in the works and lots work to get done, so lets move on with the updates!!!  Currently, I am working again with Stephen Gros  and Teresa Juarez as we have ventured off and created www.wordaroundtown.org. It is an exciting endeavour, this new thing of ours, so go take a look. We post on the latest happenings with articles, critiques, podcasts, reviews, and a monthly calendar that lists all the current events in the poetry world. Come get some.


Secondly, if you didn't know, please come check out First Fridays. Inprint hosts a poetry reading series the first friday of the month, and being that tomorrow is FRIDAY, APRIL 1st, you. Should. GO. I am. Come join me!!!! Readings begin 8:30pm . Inprint house is located at 1520 West Main
(two blocks south of The Menil Collection, one block east of Mandell) - admission is free!!!!  This month's featured reader is Dr. Robin Davidson, UHD Creative Writing Dept. and academic advisor to the Bayou Review. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Robert Clark - HPFest@aol.com
In addition to that, SATURDAY, April 2nd is a big day!!!!  First off, if you are a day person (like my wifey) then, you should make it a point (to got bracket town and check out some NCAA action too at the GRB . . . if you must, BUT you better damn well show up at the book fest ) to come check out the Houston Indie Book Festival. The event will be help between 11 - 5pm , April 2nd right in front and around the Menil Museum. Please come by check it out!!!  I will be there reppin' Nuestra Palabra, along with a few friends from the BAYOU REVIEW, at the University of Houston-Downtown, and of course the Word Around Town!!!  We will have a table, so hope to see you there!!! THEN . . .

LATER on that evening, the WORD AROUND TOWN has decided to start a fist fight of sorts. Bring some friends and get ready for a rumble!!! After the Festival come experience the first ever Interstate Poetry Showdown brought to you by Word Around Town and the River Writers Group  of Baton Rouge. The show will consist of 3 poets from Houston, TX and 3 from Baton Rouge, LA in a contest of poetic skill and endurance the likes of which have never been seen!

Don’t miss the Interstate Poetry Showdown Saturday, April 2nd from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. at Avant Garden.The featured poets are Benjamin Lowenkron, Eric Elliott, and Vincent Cellucci from Baton Rouge and Stephen Gros, Teresa Juarez, and Me from Houston.

After the showcase will be an open mic so bring your poetry. Go to www.wordaroundtown.org for more info!

For additional information, Contact:

Stephen Gros
832.894.1558
gaugedanger@gmail.com

http://www.facebook.com/stephen.gros

So, what are you waiting for?!?!?  See you this weekend!!!!!

Hey guys, so I have been a bit busy this last month with my newest gig: http://kipphouston.org/schools/kipp-sharp-prep. So far, so good!!!  I love my classroom, the kids and the teaching assignment is a dream come true: teaching WRITING to 3rd and 4th graders!!!  My teaching colleagues are a riot and the kids are perfect. Couldn't ask for a better start to a new year. . .


more about the job as it develops . . .


So, while I was taking the time to set up a good school year, I also had a bit of a surprise. Looks like the perks of being published last year still make a few waves, even as far as Europe!!  In August, one of the Co - Editors of Norton's Anthology - Sudden Fiction Latino - Mr. Robert Shapard sent me this tiny email


8/9/2010 - 11:15 AM


Hi Lupe,


Your story " What Should Run in the Mind of Caballeros" was mentioned in this review in The Barcelona Review (its editors are in Spain and England).


Here's the review:

http: www.barcelonareview.com/rev/71.html

and the magazine home page:

http:www.barcelonareview.com/

I hope you are having a good summer.

Best,
Robert

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I checked out the article and sure enough, my story was mentioned in the review!!  Though its not a big deal, its big enough to know that the book crossed the at Atlantic and somebody might just have liked our contribution!!  

Here is  a portion from the review about the book:

Sudden Fiction Latino: Short-Short Stories from the United States and Latin America; edited by Robert Shapard, James Thomas, and Ray Gonzalez.  
W.W. Norton & Company, New York, June 2010.

The very rich are different from you and me, yes.  That line sprang to mind as I realized how very different as well is Latin America literature, be it from Latin America or descendants in the U.S. who draw from their roots.  In this superb collection of 60-plus short-short stories (all under 1500 words), we see a literary tradition far different from what we are accustomed to, a literary tradition that draws on historical precepts different from our Euro-American heritage.  There is a music in the prose, be it a translation or not, that strikes a new chord.  We are on fresh ground in these stories; they dazzle and surprise, creep up on us in a collective way and leave us amazed.  Yes, Latinos are very different from you and me.  And that is good.  They form a beautiful part of the mosaic to which we all contribute, to which we all belong.

Here, there are stories of border crossings (Fernando Benavidez’s “Montezuma, My Revolver”); earthquakes that expose mysterious crypts (José Emilio Pacheco’s “The Captive”); and one of advice to young men (Lupe Méndez’s “What Should Run in the Mind of Caballeros”), which reads rather like a Latino commencement address:  “Don’t start fights, just end them / stand up for yourself . . . a little / mind your own business / never touch the ball with your hands / play fair / no name-calling / no swearing, remember you pray with that bocota of yours / let ladies go first / open doors for everyone / don’t stare at her . . . with your mouth open . . . .”

There are stories, of course, that hint of evil regimes and how they have damaged those who lived through them (Isabelle Allende’s “The Secret”); and of those who are at the mercy of figures lurking the dark (Pedro Ponce’s “Victim”); as well as a peek at the domestic abuse that lurks in machismo culture (“Aunt Chila” by Ángeles Mastretta).   Injustice and abuse know no borders, yet it is the strength and resiliency of its victims that impress us here.

So far so good. Next up: a podcast this weekend - I get to read with another poet for a podcast that will appear on the Word Around Town website (please check it out!!!). Soon after, I think I might just host a new showcase (monthly of course). Take a breathe and get ready. I think this gonna be a good fall season.

Stay tuned!!  Hit me up if you want any info or want to drop me a line . . . 

Hasta la proxima!!!

Ode to English Teachers Part II

Good Morning Gente,

Si estas leyendo esto, gracias. Les escribo desde Las Vegas. I am at a conference for my school and had a moment!!  It actually gives me a moment to catch up and fill you in on books (poetry or other wise) that make my head spin. Again the thanks goes to Mrs. T. - my high school English teacher. Below is a list of books that she presented and have stuck out in my mind for a very long time. Let me know if you have ever read any of these books . . .

THE ILLUSTRATED MAN - Ray Bradbury

This book fills out the geek/sci-fi in me. Premise of the book: an un-named man runs into another man covered in tattoos.  Tattoos come to life and tell a different story. Bunch of short stories, very good read.




















THE SOUND AND THE FURY - William Falkner

Mrs. T. if you read this. I am sorry I never finished this book in school. Sadly, I don't think my brain was mature enough (or I just didn't take the time) to catch how great it is. IF you read it before, try reading it again now as an adult, and it reads differently.

















THE CATCHER IN THE RYE - J.D. Salinger

  This is a book I really didn't appreciate until I started teaching.
Amazing read. Even snipers read it. wow.






















O.k. So, I am still waiting for folks to comment on their books. So please, let me know what you read.

Ode to English Teachers

Buenos Dias Gente,

It is a bright and shinny Tuesday morning in August and since I am about to start back teaching (this time, 3rd and 4th grade writing), I figured now would be a good time to share with you some of the books that rocked my world. That, and pay my respects to all English teachers everywhere, even if we hated their class and the books they made us read, you still remember them. It influences you. 

If you ever get the privilege of thanking your former teachers, do so. Especially your English teachers. So, Mrs. T. If you are out there reading this, THANK YOU, GRACIAS, and OBRIGADO, for helping me figure out life - with books. 

And Mrs. T, I do apologize. I am still trying to finish Sound and the Fury. Oops.  

O.k. lets get cracking!!  Below are some of the books that built this brain. Remember, some of them you have neeeeeevvvveeerrrr heard of, and that is cool. I owe that to Mrs. T.  If you loved to read, she would find something for you. SO, some of the books are actually ones, she gave me from her own stockpile at her blessed home. I nagged the hell out of her and she gave me those. They were some dog-eared books with all her beautiful hand writing in the margins or in corners. Each time I read them I will always remember what she would say - " the best kind of book is given and worn - it lets you see what its former owner thinks, it lets you see how the book was a part of them and now, a part of you." So anyways, here are those books first, then I will list the books she gave us to read in class.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by DEE BROWN

I read this book while in college. Mrs. T gave me the book as I was graduating with the explicit instructions - "read this when you are finally feeling comfortable in your new home". I did. It f*ked me up!!!  This book gives you an account, rather the history of some of the Native American tribes from their perspective. It is relevant even today. No dates, no reference to month, just an insight to how a culture viewed what was happening to them. 

Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Tales and Poems

I. Have. A. Man-crush. His name id Edgar. He is the bomb. He is an alkie and my absolute favorite writer. All his work is macabre and dark. Since I have a love for horror movies, ghost stories and legends, this man fits me. I love all his work. If I could meet him, I would. He would creep me out, but that would be o.k.  Read anything by him. It makes your skin crawl and your senses trick you. Yes, it is that good.  One of my favorite works of his wasn't even one of his more famous one's - its called Hop Frog. Read it here: http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/eapoe/bl-eapoe-hop.htm

Its a bit of a sad tale, but the revenge in it, is like none other!! 

O.k. so for now, I must leave you with just these two books!!!  If you don't have them, get them. Tomorrow, I should be in LAS VEGAS for a teacher conference and should have time to give you the rest of the academic list of books . . . wow time flies. 

What are your favorite books??  Let me know. reply to this or shoot me an email at lupe@thepoetmendez.org 

I don't even know if people read this stuff!!! But I would love to know what some of your favorite books are. Who know, everybody might just get a new favorite out of this, or at least a good read.   Enjoy the day!!!  

Working with the Writing - Part II

Hey Gente!!


Heads up!!  Here is the latest information of the HIFC's WRITING WORKSHOP SERIES!!!!
TOMORROW I will be hosting the 2nd installment of the series!! The idea is simple: provide the public the opportunity to enjoy the poetry writing process in a stress free, fun environment. Here are the details:

Workshop Series Project for the Houston Institute for Culture - Content and Curriculum

Each workshop can be viewed as both self contained or a continuation of the previous session. Workshops will be two hours long: Lupe Mendez will run the 1^st hour with the intent to provide practice examples from a variety of texts on poetry and prose. The second hour will be mainly go over the basics, to critique each others work, provide info, and practice simple creative writing/brainstorming exercises. Each workshop will have an assignment each participating poet will need to have ready for the following session.

Saturday, July 31st -  2^nd Workshop – Personal Story and Writing

In this portion of the workshop, participants will explore the use of personal story, conflict or “issues” to power poetic writing. Participants will be introduced to works of Maria Palacios and Jasminne Mendez. Discussions will be had about how they use their background to fuel their writing.

3rd Workshop – Editing & Revising/ How it sounds

Participants will bring several copies of their work in order for other participants to edit and critique. Basic ideas and habit forming tips will be explored as the writers read each other’s work. Participants will also discuss how poetry sounds when they they hear Marlon Lizama and Jerome Washington in performance poetry and how is affects their themes and styles.

4^th Workshop – Bridging the Gap – Fiction and Poetry

Writers will select one or two pieces they have worked on over the series and experience the pros and cons of keeping it short and sweet or expanding it throurghly.

Culminating Event:

Open Mic Showcase –

This event is specifically made for the participants of each of the series. Participants will have the opportunity to read workshop material or brand new material and obtain the full experience of performing written work. The showcase will be held on the last Friday or Saturday of the month of the workshop series. (THIS MIGHT CHANGE!!!)

Goal of the Poetry Workshop Series
These workshops are for all and any person who has the talent, the curiosity and the courage to put pencil to paper. No prior experience is required!!  The idea is to get the brain synapses firing for the novice and the expert alike.

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SO, if missed the first session, don't worry!!!  There is plenty of room left and if the next one is anything like the first session, it should be a hell of fun time. 


Let me know if you are bold enough, and  have a couple of hours to show what you know (or don't know) and you want to join me, have a few laughs, meet some new people and just be damn creative, then please, please, come on in . . . I promise it won't hurt . . . alot.


If this isn't your cup of tea, then at least do me a favor and spread this far and wide, the more people see this the more chance to spread the love. See some of you soon (I hope)!!!