The collection of Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century presented by Cutthroat Journal of the Arts and the Black Earth Institute communicates the focus on Chicanx culture and heritage and hundreds of years of marginalization by the dominant culture. In this historic anthology, we meet poets, scholars, and la gente anxious to tell their stories. This irreverent, rebellious, inventive, rasquache, distinguished compilation contains poetry and prose by the talent of candid 21st Chicanx writers in the U.S. These writers offer an assemblage that will be used in Chicanx Studies, Ethnic Literature, Chicanx Literature, Creative Writing and Poetry classrooms, and writing workshops. Students in high schools and universities will benefit when this book is added to their literature curriculum. To advance in education and lead the world in racial equality and cultural diversity, this book belongs in our schools and libraries. This anthology deserves every award and praises it receives. Lessons learned in these works lend the reader an eye to Chicanx culture often marginalized and undervalued.
Many of these writers are Chicanx icons in the literary canon. They communicate their own distinctive attitude about impoverishment, social and health issues, and the necessity to educate our children to think one world, one people. They are warrior poets who weave the motherlands tapestry.
The editors and staff of this self-funded publication exemplify the very best of what this Chicanx culture has to offer. From the gorgeous southwest painting on the front cover, “The Wall” by Anita Endrezze, and the back cover art, “Milagros Border Wall Installation” by Alfred Quiroz, to the editors’ selection of the finest writing by seasoned writers they honed the artists’ poems and prose into pages of inspired testimony of the epoch of global epidemic, racial inequity, and social matters for the underrepresented.
In Ana Castillo’s poem, “Two Men And Me” we are told there are no mistakes in hell. It’s poignant, humorous, dark. But her poem “Xicanisma Prophecies Post 2012 Putin’s Puppet” tells another story. It’s hard-hitting political power. Want to read a poem that explains the political nightmare we are a part of, read this poem and memorize it and recite it at parties.
liz gonzàlez (all lowercase): “The Mexican Jesus Sings Lead Tenor in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Teen Choir” describes a teenage crush on the boy at church and earns the best title in this anthology. Her writing blooms and releases the fragrance of Oceanside, Cali air with the salty breeze in your hair. It’s a nostalgic trip down memories of the seventies in the barrio. The poem ends with, “Jesus almost saved me.”
“That Smell” an Essay by Luis Alberto Urrea drops in your lap with a question. “Do you imagine The Trail of Tears had a scent?” Luis documents important facts as a witness and testifies about the conditions of human beings at the border. He writes a painful description. He mentions Ursula K. Le Guinn and Those Who Walk Away From Omela as a must-read. He asks, “Can you smell that smell? It is the scent of the world burning. Those children we have spit on are human kindling.”
This essay on the travesty occurring el otro lado reveals how the U.S. changed policy and created a concentration camp setting for refugees. “What I can’t shake is that smell. It came back to me again as soon as I saw the pictures of the refugee detention centers. I saw it when Mike Pence and Lindsay Graham entered a center and visibly froze in horror, clearly tried to hold their breath.”
Urrea reveals anger at those responsible but balances it with empathy and love for the refugees who suffer. “What would you do if unknown strangers paid $750 a day to hold your child in a secret warehouse where she is comforted by concrete and steel as if she were a baby monkey in a bioresearch lab? You would not Tweet. You would tear it down.” He reminds us that history tells future generations what cruelty and hatred the U.S. heaped upon these immigrants. “They will forever be remembered as “Mr. Pence, Mr. Graham, Stephen Miller, Mister President—breathe deep, boys. Your legacy will never wash off. You will forever reek.”
Maria Melendez Kelson writes “Optimize Us” the story of a man and a woman and their artificial intelligence technology that controls their every move in the algorithms sent by the data they send to the CLOUD and her masterpiece of sci-fi magnificence blasts the reader with humor that titillates, tantalizes, and terrifies the reader; the witty writing drags us down into the duckweed and mercury in Fountain Creek with the artificial intelligence known as Selma.
Maria uses her knowledge, expertise, research, “After I’d been inactivation for ninety days, Len changed my name to Selma and changed my voice to Latina…I spoke English with an accent of a Mexican movie star. With my voice being no longer Anglo neutral, I started re-coding and examining data relevant to my condition of being different. Gender-specific.”
It’s a love story, a preservation story, a feminist story, a fairytale Nightmare you don’t see coming. This story has a comic bent that doesn’t materialize immediately but gains momentum as the story unfolds. The technology has evolved to controlling our actions based on what the A.I. expels from our choices and the data that creates. The A.I. had the ability to tap into our minds and control us to improve our lives but also to control our actions to reach maximum benefits, purpose. Maria Melendez Kelson, a genius; her imagination, her skill, her creativity. Brilliant sci-fi in her story “Optimize Us”.
Myriam Gurba never disappoints with her magic. Her piece, “Cacica” where it’s cool to wear a woman mustache while everyone tells you to shave it, you grow it, tweak it, twirl it, tease it, twist tight, tighter, tight. She’s strong, gifted, and honest. What’s not to love? Honesty, not facts. The truth is what we want, and she delivers true stories. This chingona, aye mujer, she kicks ass and takes names. Don’t mess with Myriam, she’s MEAN
Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poem, “What Is Chicanx?” reminds the reader that she is the revolutionary chick from the beat poets. Her poems are meant to be heard. You have to read them aloud to hear her message, and it’s a strong one. She says get off your ass and change the world. Now, pendejo, now.
This book will be hailed as one of the most important anthologies of Chicanx Literature of the 21st Century and it belongs in your library. It’s a healing text that educates, entertains, moves emotions, and opens eyes. The following are my reviewer’s choices for favorites written by familiar and unfamiliar writers.
Xánath Caraza: Serpent of Spring translated by Sandra Kingery
Ana Castillo: Putin’s Puppet
Lorna Dee Cervantes: The River Doesn’t Want the Wall
Linda Rodriquez: Fear and Guilt Against Arizona SB 1070
Gary Soto: A Simple Plan
Natalia Treviño: Afterlife
Viktoria Valenzuela: dia de los muertos
Denise Chavez: Lety Street of Too Many Stories
Reyna Grande: To My Goddaughter
Myriam Gurba: Cacica
Alberto Rios: We Are of a Tribe
Adela Najarro: Iguana Dreams
Check out their work in this anthology and then buy and read their books and support the arts. The world has changed. We are one world. We are one people. Order this book and buy copies for your friends and loved ones. The text has 358 pages and eighty-four writers: Sandra Cisneros, Alberto Rios, Luis Alberto Urrea, Octavio Solis, Denise Chavez, Demetria Martinez, Carmen Tafolla, Edward Vidaurre, Raul Sanchez, Rosemary Catacalos, Griz Munoz, Matt Mendez, Matt Sedillo, Gary Soto and more, and includes art in ink, charcoal, and watercolor by Octavio Quintanilla.
Send submissions, subscriptions payments, and inquiries to:
Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts
5401 N. Cresta Loma Drive
Tucson, Arizona 85704
Ph. 970-903-7914
Email: cutthroatmag@gmail.com
www.cutthroatmag.com
Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts is self-funded, so all Donations gratefully accepted.
Welcome Kathleen Kaska!
/in Uncategorized/by Sparkle Abbeyby Sparkle Abbey
We’re thrilled to share that Kathleen Kaska has joined The Stiletto Gang group and will
be blogging on the first Friday of the month starting tomorrow! So we thought we’d
take this opportunity to introduce the award-winning mystery author and learn more about her.
Q: What do you write?
I write mysteries: mainly cozies, but also traditional
and police procedurals, and some nonfiction. I like to try different styles of
writing.
I write the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series set in the
1950s. This is lighthearted and humorous in the style of Janet Evanovich’s
Stephanie Plump series. Each book takes place in a different historic hotel. I
also write the Kate Caraway Animal Right’s Mystery Series. I just finished a
hardboiled detective mystery set in 1945 Manhattan and am halfway through a
zany British detective story set on the North Cornish Coast.
Q: What got you started on your writing journey?
I knew I wanted to write mysteries but didn’t know how
to start, so I joined the Austin Writer’s League, now the Writer’s League of
Texas, and started taking creative writing classes. I collected how-to writing
books, subscribed to writer’s magazines, and joined a critique group. In doing
so, I tried my hand at different things. Travel writing, articles about
education (I was teaching at the time), and even became the editor of a local
wildlife organization’s newsletter.
Within a short time, I was asked to be a staff writer
of an outdoor adventure and fitness magazine. A textbook publisher contacted me
to contribute to middle school science textbooks. This didn’t help in writing
mysteries, but I knew I had to start somewhere. Breaking into the world of
fiction writing, and getting published, was not going to be easy, so I started
with nonfiction, writing three mystery trivia books. I landed an agent, and all
three books sold. Only then did I start writing my own mysteries.
Q: Are you a “spoiler” and read the end of the book
before you finish it or do you read cover to cover?
I’m a cover-to-cover reader. I read slowly, often
rereading my favorite passages. If I miss the meaning of a sentence, I read it
over until I understand. I read from the perspective of a reader and a writer.
Q: Did you have a favorite author as a child?
I wasn’t an avid reader as a child until I read The Island of the Blue Dolphins, followed
by The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Then I picked up Agatha Christie. Little did I know that I’d eventually write a
book about Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie.
Q. What do you do to unwind and relax? Do you have a
hobby?
I’m a runner and put in several miles every week. This
is my quiet, contemplation time where I work out plot issues in my novels and
design scenes and conversations between my characters. I am also a birder and
enjoy being outdoors with my friends and family. My passion for birds led to
the publication of the biography, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The
Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida).
Q. What are you working on now?
This year will be a busy, exciting year. I’ve started a
new mystery series, I’m just barely into it, and I have a publisher eager to
see it when finished. I have another publisher who’s interested in picking up
and reissuing my Sydney Lockhart series. And I hope my third Kate Caraway
mystery will be released by the end of the year; that’s a big hope.
One of my mystery trivia books, The Sherlock Holmes
Quiz Book, was picked up, updated, and reissued on November 1, 2020.
I have podcast interviews coming up in the next few
weeks. My website lists the podcast interviews and YouTube interviews,
scheduled in the next few weeks, as well as previous events.
Where can readers connect with you?
http://www.kathleenkaska.com
https://twitter.com/KKaskaAuthor
http://www.facebook.com/kathleenkaska
https://www.instagram.com/kathleenkaska/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-kaska-942aa511/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/178776.Kathleen_Kaska
https://www.pinterest.com/kathleenkaska/_saved/
Connect with Sparkle Abbey
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Pinterest | Amazon | Goodreads
About Kathleen Kaska
I’m a Texas gal. Except for an eighteen-month hiatus living
in New York City after college, I lived in the Lone Star State continuously for
fifty years. Since then Texas has been hit and miss—a little hit, but a heck of
a lot of miss. There was a time when I thought I would happily die in Austin,
Texas. But circumstances and
weather—especially weather—changed that. Now I spend most of the year on
Fidalgo Island in Washington State with a view of the bay and the mountains.
When I get homesick, my husband and I listen to Willie Nelson. Soon we are
dancing the two-step, imagining we are at our favorite honky-tonk in Tokyo,
Texas where the mayor is believed to be a dog. Who wouldn’t miss that?
I write the awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney
Lockhart Mystery Series set in the 1950s and the Classic Triviography Mystery
Series, which includes The Sherlock
Holmes Quiz Book, which was updated and released by Lyons Press on November
1, 2020. My Kate Caraway
animal-rights mystery series includes Run
Dog Run (2017) and A Two Horse Town
(2019). Eagle Crossing is scheduled
for release in 2021. On my website, you can also find my Five-Minute Writing
Tips and blog posts about publishing, marketing, birding, and quirky things
that come to mind.
What Stiletto Gang Members Write ….
/in Uncategorized/by DebraIt’s
time to get to know the Stiletto Gang Members better from a little game: “I write —“
Lois
Winston – I
currently write cozy/amateur sleuth mysteries. However, in the past I’ve also
written romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, a children’s
chapter book, and a nonfiction book on writing.
Robin
Hillyer-Miles –
I write romance, magic realism, and whatever else pops in my head. I once wrote
a scary short story that scared even myself.
Saralyn Richard
– I write police procedurals, amateur sleuth, thriller, and a children’s book.
Debra H. Goldstein
– I write a cozy/amateur sleuth series about Sarah Blair who finds being in the
kitchen more frightening than murder. I also write short stories and
non-fictional essays.
Kathleen Kaska
– I write both fiction (mysteries) and nonfiction. I have two different mystery
series. The Sydney Lockhart series is set in the early 50s and is lighthearted
and humorous. Each book takes place in a different historic hotel. The Kate
Caraway Animals Rights series deals with animal rights issues. I have a mystery
trivia series. The latest, The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book, was
released in November 2020. I also write blog posts and reviews for the New York
Journey of Book Review.
Dru Ann Love
– The only thing I write are short musings of books that I read on my blog,
dru’s book musings.
Kathryn Lane
– I write international mystery and crime novels. My protagonist, Nikki Garcia,
is a private investigator from Miami, Florida, that is often sent on assignment
to Spanish speaking countries – Spain, Mexico, and Colombia – where she
encounters fearsome antagonists.
Debra
Sennefelder
– I write two cozy
mystery series. The first one is the Food Blogger Mystery series featuring food
blogger Hope Early. The second one is the Resale Boutique Mystery series
featuring out-of-work fashionista Kelly Quinn who inherited her granny’s
consignment shop. Both women have returned to their hometowns and are finding
that starting over in the place where you began is challenging yet they realize
they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Though, finding dead bodies and being
pulled into murder investigations wasn’t what they expected to be happen.
T.K. Thorne
– Apparently, I can’t figure out what might pop out of
the writing oven. So far—crime with a bit of magic; historical fiction set in
ancient times; nonfiction civil rights, a science fiction YA (cooking) and
maybe historical fantasy to follow.
Sparkle Abbey:
Mary Lee Ashford – I write mystery and specifically cozy mysteries. So nothing
graphic on the page but a challenging puzzle to unravel. The Sugar & Spice
mysteries are culinary-themed, but you probably got that from the titles – Game
of Scones, Risky Biscuits, Quiche of Death, and feature two friends who have
started a community cookbook business. The Sparkle Abbey books are also
considered cozy but feature a pet therapist and a pet boutique
owner.
Anita Carter – As half of the Sparkle
Abbey writing team, we write cozy mysteries. Right now, I’m personally working
on a suspense story.
Barbara Kyle – Thrillers.
Can’t help it. Even when I write historical novels that prominently feature a
love story, they’re still always thrillers.
Shari Randall – I write mysteries with
humor and heart set in beautiful New England.
.
Car
Stormy Candlelight Dinners
/in Uncategorized/by Kathryn LaneBy Kathryn Lane
My husband and I did not celebrate
Valentine’s this year. Yet we made up for it the following night with a romantic,
candlelight dinner. Not exactly to make up for Valentine’s but as a consequence
of the deadly snowstorm that hit Texas. When our power failed, we started
lighting candles.
pinch” dinner of Spanish-style scrambled eggs with Spanish chorizo, cherry
tomatoes, black olives, and a hint of hot paprika on my faithful gas stovetop.
The Valentine storm came a
little more than two months after half our house flooded during the first week
in December. A pipe broke in the master bathroom (CLEAN water, mind you!).
Nothing to do with our balmy early December weather – a pipe joint simply came
undone behind the toilet after we’d gone to bed. I awakened at 1:30 in the
morning, heard a hissing sound, got out of bed, and stepped into 4 inches of
water. Bob and I cleaned up what we could. Later that morning, he called the
insurance company. They sent out a cleaning crew that afternoon. For two months
we’ve had workers every single day except for holidays. And the storm gave them
a six-day break. The workers are becoming part of the family!
With the sadness so many
people have endured through the pandemic, I keep reminding my husband (and
myself) that our flood issues are merely an inconvenience, not a tragedy. Add
the snowstorm, blackouts, and lack of water to an already royal mess in our
house, we kept our sanity in the face of the storm’s fallout by calling friends
to make sure they remained safe. The power outages created a dangerous
situation for millions of people.
For lack of water, well, we bypassed bathing. I was thankful all
our bathrooms were functional again after the flood, at least until the winter
storm knocked out the water supply. But I won’t go there!
In the past two months, our house has either had too much water
or none at all. But hey, we live in Texas and Texans are tough!
Below is my simple, easy recipe to
use in a pinch. What’s your “use in a pinch” recipe?
Spanish
Chorizo/Cherry Tomato Eggs
2
tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6
slices cured Spanish chorizo ham, cut into pieces – (substitute Mexican
chorizo, omitting the paprika)
1 cup
cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1
tablespoon finely chopped green onions
¼ cup
chopped black olives
4 large
eggs beaten
Salt
and pepper to taste
¼
teaspoon hot paprika (optional)
1
tablespoon cilantro, chopped
¼ cup
shredded manchego or gouda cheese
Heat olive oil in a
skillet over medium heat. Add chorizo and onions. Cook until chorizo begins to
crisp, about 2 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook
and stir until tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 4-5 minutes.
Beat eggs with salt, pepper, and paprika (if using) in a small bowl. Stir
seasoned eggs into tomato mixture in the skillet. Add olives. Reduce heat to
medium-low and cook and stir until the eggs are set, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle
with cilantro and cheese. (2 servings)
Bon Appetit.
***
Kathryn’s books – The Nikki Garcia
Thriller series and her short story collection – Backyard Volcano.
All available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082H96R11
About Kathryn
Kathryn Lane started out as a starving
artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked
on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation.
After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery
and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels
in over ninety countries. https://www.kathryn-lane.com
Photos: Wine and Rose, and Chorizo and Tomato Eggs – Public Domain
The Nikki Garcia Thriller series, book covers by Bobbye Marrs
A Look Behind The Scenes
/in Uncategorized/by Debra SennefelderBy Debra Sennefelder
Writing a book is just one part of an author’s job. There’s a whole bunch of work that needs to get done in order to promote, market and in some cases, publish the book. I thought today I would share a little behind the scenes and share with you one of my trusty resources that keeps me organized.
This week I’ll be doing an Author Takeover in a Facebook Mystery Group and I had to pull together the posts, images and giveaways. To keep everything organized, I use a work management tool called Asana.
The top image is from my Asana dashboard. I create boards for various projects and you’ll see three examples – Facebook parties, Book Blurbs/Links/Quotes (these are all for my books and makes it easy to copy and paste) and Facebook grougs (create for keeping track during promotions).
The way I prefer to use Asana is to create boards for all my projects. Below is a screenshot of the options you have when you create a new project. I could have chosen to use a List, Timeline or Calendar. I prefer using the board feature because visually it’s more appealing to me.
When my project board is created, I’ll automatically have three columns – To Do, In Progress and Done. It’s easy to drag tasks (or cards ) from one column to another. Below is an example of a task/card for my upcoming Takeover event. Every party gets its own column. The top few cards I will keep the pertinent information – date, time, contact person, link to the event. Usually during a party I will publish 10-12 posts and each one gets its
own card. I label them simply with the name of the post and the time it
will be published. I’ll also include the corresponding graphic.
party, I didn’t assign the task or schedule a due date. I will do that
when the event is booked months in advance just so I stay on track and
don’t miss anything. Having the post written out along with the graphic
allows me to copy and paste right to the Facebook group.
Using Asana has saved me so much time whether it’s arranging a Facebook party, keeping track of materials for a blog tour or compiling resources for publishing.
Now, I’d love to hear what you use to stay organized.
BTW, my Takeover event is March 3rd in Meg’s Cozy Corner on Facebook.
Debra Sennefelder is the
author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series.
She lives and writes in Connecticut. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking,
exercising and taking long walks with her Shih-Tzu, Connie. You can keep in touch
with Debra through her website, on Facebook and Instagram.
What to Remember—T. K. Thorne
/in Uncategorized/by TK ThorneWriter, humanist,
dog-mom, horse servant and cat-slave,
Lover of solitude
and the company of good friends,
New places, new ideas
and old wisdom.
Holocaust Remembrance Day was a month ago. But it has so many echoes to the current day, I am still thinking about it.
There is so much to remember, but I am plagued by two questions at the moment. How do people believe things? Why do they believe things?
Let’s start here:
We are humans. We are emotional beings. Our brains evolved in stages. Scientists tell us that the part our cognitive structure that makes us thinking beings (i.e. organisms that can project possible futures and plan for them) formed literally on top of the reptilian brain, which was responsible for flight/flight reactions and keeping us alive in a threatening world. We still have that reptilian part of our brains; it is part of us, and it is often in conflict with the “thinking” part of our brain.
But our amazing mind/body has adapted a strategy to integrate both brains and all the different parts of our brains. It does this with the bridge of STORY.
Story is the structure by which we not only integrate the various parts of ourselves (different parts of our brain) but also our place in the world. It is how we know we “are,” as opposed to everything we are not. “I” has boundaries that end with my skin. I am not the chairs I sit on, the air I breathe, the other people in my social orbit. But my story about myself allows me to include other things and people as connected to me. This is my chair; my house; my family. I “am” angry; I “am” sad.
These things and relationships are not real. They are stories.
Images that fall on our retinas at the back of our eyes are upside down. Our brain rewrites the story of what we are seeing by flipping the image over for us and telling us that is what we see. Have you ever looked at something or a picture of something and it took several moments to figure out what it was? You are “seeing” without the brain’s interpretation (story) about what you are seeing.
Ultimately, everything is connected to everything. We are all bits of energy dancing in a temporary form. It is story that gives everything context.
In earlier times, probably before the sophistication of language, we may very well have communicated through body movements and dance, perhaps accompanied by sounds mimicking animals. Perhaps hunters acted out how to spot and stalk and kill prey. Perhaps they figured out a way to explain where a crop of berries grew (as bees dance to give the location of flowers.). We still see these types of communication in Native American dancing. This was rudimentary storytelling. Its usefulness in survival is obvious.
Many psychologists have pointed out the powerful influence of “the story we tell ourselves about ourselves.”
“I am a victim of abuse vs I am a survivor of abuse vs I am an overcomer of abuse.” How we tell our stories matters.
But the point I want to make here is that our brains are designed to interpret via story. If we are told something when we are young, it can become subconsciously incorporated into our perceptions, our story about ourselves. Even as adults, we susceptible to stories, especially if they are ones we are primed to believe.
Here’s another important fact. Science is indicating that there are literally different portions of our brains that “speak up” at different moments and that one of the functions of our consciousness is to determine which one to “listen” to. Have you ever had conflicting voices in your mind? That chocolate looks so good! At the same time a different voice says, It is not healthy; don’t do it! Ultimately, you have to decide which story to believe in.
Science says we are more likely to believe bad news than good, which makes sense. It is more important to pay attention to the information that a tiger is prowling close than that nothing has been spotted in the tree canopy. Thus, the story that other types of people are dangerous or threats to us finds easy access in our brains.
We also pay more attention to information that aligns with what we already believe (the story we already tell ourselves). Thus, people who have religious faith are more likely to believe in a story about a miracle. Soldiers who have trained for war and know the people they face are willing to kill them are likely to believe the story that the enemy is not like them and to depersonalize them into creatures it is okay to kill. They are not a human beings with emotions and values and families; they are “Japs,” “Chinks,” “Kikes.”
Survival obviously increases when you are able to kill an enemy before they kill you. But if we are convinced the “enemy” is among us, this kind of label-story allows us to hurt them with a free conscience.
It also apparently matters how often we hear a story. We humans are herd animals, at least in the sense that if we observe that a lot of people want something, we want it too. Trust me, advertisers make billions of dollars off of that principle. This also makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. If everyone is running in one direction, our survival chances are higher if we run too and in the same direction.
These things are programed into our central nervous system.
TV evangelists have been using these story principles for a long time to bilk people out of their savings. Politicians use them to sway people. Stories repeated and appearing to be believed by others can influence people to act in a manner they might never have considered. Hitler told a story about how Germany could become “great again.” And how Jews were despicable and less than human.
Writers are powerful because they understand the power of stories.
Story is intrinsically neither “good” nor “bad.” Once we understand the principle, we are not compelled to believe it or act on it. We can compare it to facts we have confidence in. We can stop and evaluate the story being told, whether from others or from one of the “voices” of our own brains. We can decide to swallow it or change it or reject it. We can choose another story, tell ourselves another version. “I am a bad person” can become “I am doing the best I can.”
We have that ability, but only if we recognize that everything is story.
And that may be the most powerful thing to remember today.
T.K. is a retired police captain who writes Books, which, like this blog, go wherever her interest and imagination take her. Visit TKThorne.com
Book Review of Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century by Juliana Aragón Fatula
/in Mystery/by Juliana Aragon FatulaThe collection of Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century presented by Cutthroat Journal of the Arts and the Black Earth Institute communicates the focus on Chicanx culture and heritage and hundreds of years of marginalization by the dominant culture. In this historic anthology, we meet poets, scholars, and la gente anxious to tell their stories. This irreverent, rebellious, inventive, rasquache, distinguished compilation contains poetry and prose by the talent of candid 21st Chicanx writers in the U.S. These writers offer an assemblage that will be used in Chicanx Studies, Ethnic Literature, Chicanx Literature, Creative Writing and Poetry classrooms, and writing workshops. Students in high schools and universities will benefit when this book is added to their literature curriculum. To advance in education and lead the world in racial equality and cultural diversity, this book belongs in our schools and libraries. This anthology deserves every award and praises it receives. Lessons learned in these works lend the reader an eye to Chicanx culture often marginalized and undervalued.
Many of these writers are Chicanx icons in the literary canon. They communicate their own distinctive attitude about impoverishment, social and health issues, and the necessity to educate our children to think one world, one people. They are warrior poets who weave the motherlands tapestry.
The editors and staff of this self-funded publication exemplify the very best of what this Chicanx culture has to offer. From the gorgeous southwest painting on the front cover, “The Wall” by Anita Endrezze, and the back cover art, “Milagros Border Wall Installation” by Alfred Quiroz, to the editors’ selection of the finest writing by seasoned writers they honed the artists’ poems and prose into pages of inspired testimony of the epoch of global epidemic, racial inequity, and social matters for the underrepresented.
In Ana Castillo’s poem, “Two Men And Me” we are told there are no mistakes in hell. It’s poignant, humorous, dark. But her poem “Xicanisma Prophecies Post 2012 Putin’s Puppet” tells another story. It’s hard-hitting political power. Want to read a poem that explains the political nightmare we are a part of, read this poem and memorize it and recite it at parties.
liz gonzàlez (all lowercase): “The Mexican Jesus Sings Lead Tenor in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Teen Choir” describes a teenage crush on the boy at church and earns the best title in this anthology. Her writing blooms and releases the fragrance of Oceanside, Cali air with the salty breeze in your hair. It’s a nostalgic trip down memories of the seventies in the barrio. The poem ends with, “Jesus almost saved me.”
“That Smell” an Essay by Luis Alberto Urrea drops in your lap with a question. “Do you imagine The Trail of Tears had a scent?” Luis documents important facts as a witness and testifies about the conditions of human beings at the border. He writes a painful description. He mentions Ursula K. Le Guinn and Those Who Walk Away From Omela as a must-read. He asks, “Can you smell that smell? It is the scent of the world burning. Those children we have spit on are human kindling.”
This essay on the travesty occurring el otro lado reveals how the U.S. changed policy and created a concentration camp setting for refugees. “What I can’t shake is that smell. It came back to me again as soon as I saw the pictures of the refugee detention centers. I saw it when Mike Pence and Lindsay Graham entered a center and visibly froze in horror, clearly tried to hold their breath.”
Urrea reveals anger at those responsible but balances it with empathy and love for the refugees who suffer. “What would you do if unknown strangers paid $750 a day to hold your child in a secret warehouse where she is comforted by concrete and steel as if she were a baby monkey in a bioresearch lab? You would not Tweet. You would tear it down.” He reminds us that history tells future generations what cruelty and hatred the U.S. heaped upon these immigrants. “They will forever be remembered as “Mr. Pence, Mr. Graham, Stephen Miller, Mister President—breathe deep, boys. Your legacy will never wash off. You will forever reek.”
Maria Melendez Kelson writes “Optimize Us” the story of a man and a woman and their artificial intelligence technology that controls their every move in the algorithms sent by the data they send to the CLOUD and her masterpiece of sci-fi magnificence blasts the reader with humor that titillates, tantalizes, and terrifies the reader; the witty writing drags us down into the duckweed and mercury in Fountain Creek with the artificial intelligence known as Selma.
Maria uses her knowledge, expertise, research, “After I’d been inactivation for ninety days, Len changed my name to Selma and changed my voice to Latina…I spoke English with an accent of a Mexican movie star. With my voice being no longer Anglo neutral, I started re-coding and examining data relevant to my condition of being different. Gender-specific.”
It’s a love story, a preservation story, a feminist story, a fairytale Nightmare you don’t see coming. This story has a comic bent that doesn’t materialize immediately but gains momentum as the story unfolds. The technology has evolved to controlling our actions based on what the A.I. expels from our choices and the data that creates. The A.I. had the ability to tap into our minds and control us to improve our lives but also to control our actions to reach maximum benefits, purpose. Maria Melendez Kelson, a genius; her imagination, her skill, her creativity. Brilliant sci-fi in her story “Optimize Us”.
Myriam Gurba never disappoints with her magic. Her piece, “Cacica” where it’s cool to wear a woman mustache while everyone tells you to shave it, you grow it, tweak it, twirl it, tease it, twist tight, tighter, tight. She’s strong, gifted, and honest. What’s not to love? Honesty, not facts. The truth is what we want, and she delivers true stories. This chingona, aye mujer, she kicks ass and takes names. Don’t mess with Myriam, she’s MEAN
Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poem, “What Is Chicanx?” reminds the reader that she is the revolutionary chick from the beat poets. Her poems are meant to be heard. You have to read them aloud to hear her message, and it’s a strong one. She says get off your ass and change the world. Now, pendejo, now.
This book will be hailed as one of the most important anthologies of Chicanx Literature of the 21st Century and it belongs in your library. It’s a healing text that educates, entertains, moves emotions, and opens eyes. The following are my reviewer’s choices for favorites written by familiar and unfamiliar writers.
Xánath Caraza: Serpent of Spring translated by Sandra Kingery
Ana Castillo: Putin’s Puppet
Lorna Dee Cervantes: The River Doesn’t Want the Wall
Linda Rodriquez: Fear and Guilt Against Arizona SB 1070
Gary Soto: A Simple Plan
Natalia Treviño: Afterlife
Viktoria Valenzuela: dia de los muertos
Denise Chavez: Lety Street of Too Many Stories
Reyna Grande: To My Goddaughter
Myriam Gurba: Cacica
Alberto Rios: We Are of a Tribe
Adela Najarro: Iguana Dreams
Check out their work in this anthology and then buy and read their books and support the arts. The world has changed. We are one world. We are one people. Order this book and buy copies for your friends and loved ones. The text has 358 pages and eighty-four writers: Sandra Cisneros, Alberto Rios, Luis Alberto Urrea, Octavio Solis, Denise Chavez, Demetria Martinez, Carmen Tafolla, Edward Vidaurre, Raul Sanchez, Rosemary Catacalos, Griz Munoz, Matt Mendez, Matt Sedillo, Gary Soto and more, and includes art in ink, charcoal, and watercolor by Octavio Quintanilla.
Send submissions, subscriptions payments, and inquiries to:
Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts
5401 N. Cresta Loma Drive
Tucson, Arizona 85704
Ph. 970-903-7914
Email: cutthroatmag@gmail.com
www.cutthroatmag.com
Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts is self-funded, so all Donations gratefully accepted.
On Birthdays, Bucket Lists & Shots in the Arm
/in Uncategorized/by Lois WinstonBy Lois Winston
Have you ever noticed the older we get, the swifter the years go by? I can remember walking home from school and bemoaning the fact that summer vacation was still six weeks away. Six weeks seemed like an eternity to eight-year-old me. Now six weeks often flies by at warp speed.
I bring this up because February is my birthday month, and I’m wondering how I ever got this old. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I gave birth to my first son? I remember the day as if it were yesterday. Yet now he’s the father of three, the oldest of whom recently turned seventeen.
Who knows where the time goes?
Judy Collins once asked that question in a song. I’m asking it a lot lately. Back in the sixties the Boomer Generation suggested no one should trust anyone over thirty. Now we’re confronted by the derisive insult of “OK, Boomer” by those under thirty. To quote from another songwriter of my generation, the times they are a-changin’.
Once upon a time birthdays were something we looked forward to—parties, gifts, cake and ice cream! Yea! So many of those birthdays connoted milestones we looked forward to—Sweet Sixteens, getting a driver’s license, voting, ordering that first legal glass of wine. Wishes were often fulfilled on birthdays, the one other day of the year besides Christmas or Hanukkah when you might receive that new bicycle or pair of skates.
Now at this point in our lives, if we want something, we buy it for ourselves. Most of us have too much stuff already. We’re at the point in our lives where we’re thinking of downsizing and getting rid of those things we haven’t used in decades. Why on earth did I keep a soup tureen I received for Christmas thirty years ago and still have never used? Does anyone ever use soup tureens? And when was the last time we used that fondue pot? 1980-something? Those and more—much more—recently made their way to a donation center.
Bucket Lists are now more important than soup tureens and fondue pots. Whittling down the Bucket List had begun to take priority, but then all those Bucket List items were sidelined, thanks to the pandemic. I still haven’t gotten to Scandinavia or Great Britain, and I really would love to see the Terra Cotta Warriors in China. But now all that has to wait. Top priority on my Bucket List these days is getting an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccination. So far, I’m striking out.
~*~
USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.
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Something New? I Dare You!
/in Uncategorized/by The Stiletto GangBy Lynn McPherson
I’m a cozy mystery reader and writer. I love whodunnit mysteries with familiar characters who make me feel at home. Most recently, I’ve finished the first book in a new cozy series. I’m in the process of querying (not recommended for the faint-hearted) and while I wait for responses, I’m in a bit of a conundrum. What should I do now?
The correct answer? Write, of course! Like everything in the book business, things move slowly and it could take months to get a response. But if my book doesn’t snag the attention of a literary agent, should I keep going with it? It’s a tough choice.
For now, I’ve decided to try something new.
I’m going to leave the cozy world behind (very briefly!) to see what it is like on the other side–the darker side. I have a few ideas brewing. Why not venture somewhere different while I wait? To become a better writer, there are two things an author should do. The first is read. The second is write.
Wish me luck on my new literary adventure abroad!
Have you ever stepped outside your comfort zone? What did you do?
How does one become a reader? by Dru Ann Love
/in Uncategorized/by The Stiletto GangIt starts when someone, most likely mom, reads to you
Then you are read from picture books, pretty pictures with words
Then you begin to understand the words
Then you realize different words make sentences
Now you know what happens on each page, sort of like you are reading even if you don’t know the words
You are older, and can point out the book that you want read to you
You know a few of the words by sight as they go along with the story
What is that on the table, a box of cereal
Lots of words but the picture tells what you are eating
And you know the words when you see them
Ahh, time for school where you will learn your A-B-Cs
Now you know what those words are in the book and on the cereal box
Look ma, I’m reading!
You are now a reader and let the fun begin.
What do you remember about your early reading days?
Writing Through The Dark… Or Not
/in Uncategorized/by CathyPWriting Through The Dark… Or Not
One of the mantras you hear a lot if you’re an author is you
can’t wait around waiting for that drunken hussy of a writing muse to show up
for work. Instead, it’s BICHOK. You have to put Butt In Chair, Hands On
Keyboard.
There are, of course, dozens of reasons this is true.
Writing is, after all, a craft. Part of improving is doing. Practicing.
Challenging yourself in new ways. Putting the words on that page.
So why are so many of us staring at a blinking cursor, if we
even heave our protesting butts into the chair? Why are we cursing at that
cursor?
I considered this last night during my 3 AM round of
insomnia.
Sleep deprivation is an easy target. Lack of sleep has
been linked to poor cognitive performance. This includes a laundry list of
negative attributes including poor focus and concentration, low creativity,
erratic behavior, inability to multitask, and increased mistakes. While there is
a clamor about “creative insomnia” these days, the sad truth is we need sleep—and
that’s before we explore the myriad ways sleep deprivation messes with the rest
of our bodies.
What if you’re getting enough sleep? Or you’re trying to get
enough sleep? Maybe you have to look a little deeper. Maybe it’s time to
acknowledge the stressors underlying that lack of sleep.
Stress.
Interestingly enough, a number of the articles I read about
creativity and stress actually focused on the role of a creative outlet in
reducing stress. But as I explored this topic, the preferred “creative outlets”
stressed repetitive motions: walking, gardening, talking with friends,
activities that are too often curtailed these days by COVID-19-induced
isolation and bitter winter cold.
Isolation. Cold. COVID-19. Darkness. Now those are some major
stressors.
As I read more, I found useful discussions about psychological
safety that doesn’t create crippling performance pressure. Basically, you need
to let go of forcing yourself to “be creative.” If you’re already stressed, those
threats simply trigger more fight or flights reactions—the most primitive,
least creative part of your brain. Instead of demanding creativity, relax. Tell
yourself, what if…
Let’s play around with this idea…
Of course, these articles also advocated, you guessed it, stress
reducing activities like walking, gardening, and talking with friends. Or “going
to your happy place” such as a favorite coffee shop or roaming a museum or art gallery.
Yeah, I’m looking forward to those creative inciting activities
too.
In the meanwhile, the helpful ideas include:
1) Meditate. Calm your mind.
2) Walk. Get outside if possible. Let your mind relax.
3) Read. Turns out it’s a stress buster.
4) De-clutter. Research says decluttering your workspace can
also clear your head.
5) Live life. Winter and COVID will end. Go enjoy every
minute.
An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories. When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd. Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook
She’s hard at work on Peril in the Pony Ring, the sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award.