KUHF radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Michael A. Olivas for its website’s “Arte Público Press Author of the Month” feature, and along with the transcript, their conversation is available to listeners on the station’s interactive site through on-demand audio streaming here. Click here to see all Arte Público authors featured on KUHF. About the Author: MICHAEL A. OLIVAS is the William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law at the University of Houston Law Center and director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance at the University of Houston. He is the author or co-author of eight other books, including The Dilemma of Access (Howard University Press, 1979), Latino College Students (Teacher’s College Press 1986), Prepaid College Tuition Programs (College Board, 1993) and The Law and Higher Education (Carolina Academic Press, 2006). He is also the editor for In Defense of My People: Alonso S. Perales and the Development …

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds. It is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures. The celebration is intended to be year-round, culminating on April 30th Through Día, libraries work to… Celebrate children and connect them to the world of learning through books, stories, and libraries. Nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture. Introduce families to community resources that provide opportunities for learning through multiple literacies. Recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities. By becoming a Día Partner you can contribute to making it easier for libraries across the country to link children to diverse books. We …

Judith Ortiz’s picture book receives recognition HOUSTON, TX—The Poet Upstairs, a children’s book by Judith Ortiz Cofer that invokes Julia de Burgos’ famous poem about the Loiza River, is a Junior Library Guild selected title. The Junior Library Guild was founded in 1929 to help schools and public libraries secure the best new children’s and young adult books. The Junior Library Guild reviews books and is also a collection development service that helps save schools and libraries time and money by assisting them in acquiring top books for their students and customers. Each year JLG chooses forthcoming titles to their respected JLG Selection list. The selection is a unique accolade that tends to anticipate works’ future success. Judith Ortiz Cofer’s lyrical story is combined with Oscar Ortiz’s breathtaking illustrations of the natural world in The Poet Upstairs, which The Children’s Bookshelf called, “an amazing tribute [that] introduces young readers to …

IPSWICH, Mass. — January 25, 2013 — The Latino-Hispanic American Experience: Leaders, Writers, and Thinkers, The Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection Series 2 is latest digital archival database to be released by EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO). This collection offers a three-themed collection of almost 300,000 pages chronicling Latino-Hispanic civil rights leaders, religious thinkers, and women writers in the United States from the late 19th mid 20th century. Curated by the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project at the University of Houston, this one-of-a kind archival database is produced through a partnership with Arte Público, the nation’s largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Latina and Latino authors. EBSCO Publishing’s Vice President of Product Manager Mike Laddin says this is the only digital collection to focus exclusively on the literary history of the Latino-Hispanic population in what is now the United States. “The Latino-Hispanic American Experience Leaders, Writers, and …

Heaven and Earth will travel through East Harlem and Washington Heights Heaven and Earth is a traveling exhibition of paintings inspired by spiritual symbols surviving in the heritage of Puerto Rican culture, and reinterpreted within a contemporary vision. The exhibition will be traveling throughout East Harlem and Washington Heights during 2013, (and Puerto Rico in May 2013) starting at: La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña 1230 Fifth Avenue, between 104 and 105 Streets, enter at 104 street and Fifth Avenue (212) 400-8874, cell (212) 270- 8228 Exhibition Dates: January 22 to February 26 Opening Reception: February 2, 2013, 7:30 p.m. Free Bookmaking Workshop: Saturday, February 9th, 2:30-4:30 p.m. (Show date: Feb. 16), limited to 12, RSVP-reserve by emailing Tanya: tanyaetorres@yahoo.com. Noche de arte, letras y vida: Tertulia, February 9th, 7:30-9:00 p.m. (Snow date: Feb. 16) Artist Talks for visiting groups throughout the month (Inquire with La Casa). For more …

Acclaimed Cuban-American writer and pioneer Latina writer dies suddenly, her collection of plays, BEAUTIFUL SEÑORITAS AND OTHER PLAYS was published by Arte Público Press The Huffington Post Dolores Prida, renowned Cuban writer and columnist of “Dolores Dice” is dead at 69, Latina magazine reports. Known as a pioneer and quick-witted voice within the Latino community, Prida died Sunday morning at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City of undetermined causes. The famed Cuban author of Latina magazine’s advice column, and one of the magazine’s founding members, had reportedly attended the 20th-anniversary party for the advocacy group LIPS, dedicated to the advancement of Latinas, after which she began to feel ill. “We live three blocks apart,” Maite Junco, a close friend and former editor of The New York Daily News‘ VIVA New York section, told Latina magazine. “And she went home and on the way home, she didn’t feel good, so …

Arte Público Press book selected for Teleconference Series in February Las Comadres Para Las Americas has selected 8 Ways to Say “I Love My Life!” (Arte Público Press, 2012) edited by Sylvia Mendoza for its popular National Latino Book Club and February 2013 teleconference. Las Comadres is a city-based community building/networking group for Latinas to learn about and celebrate the Latino culture and share professional, social and cultural connections. Educational and enrichment activities and opportunities are provided both by Las Comadres and affiliated community groups. The network promotes the reading of Latino authors through its national book club. Registration for the February “Conversations with Las Comadres” teleconference can be done online at, http://www.lascomadres.org. With this unique collection of essays authored by eight Latinas, contemporary women can raise their glasses—and glass ceilings—in affirmation of 8 Ways to Say “I Love My Life!” Each contributor overcame obstacles on their road to happiness …

“Soulful Afro with Yvette,” will feature headlines, women’s issues and more A new online radio show, “Soulful Afrowith Yvette,” will air the 3rd Thursday of every month from 7-8 PM on www.africanradioonline.com. Soulful Afro will be about current headlines, health, women’s issues, spirituality, love and various topics related to the African Diaspora. The show will be an extension of the work by Yvette Modestin an activist, writer, and poet from Panama. It will be bilingual and will bring you closer to the latest soulful happenings on people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean. The first show will air on January 24th, and feature a surprise guest. Join Yvette’s Facebook page Soulful Afro w/ Yvette, to learn more about guests and topics. There will also be pre-show thoughts and post-show reflections. For more information, click the links below: TV link: www.voicekast.com/channel/view/soulful-afro-with-ms-yvette-145 Radio Link: www.africanradioonline.com Radio Page: www.africanradioonline.com/soulfulafro   …

Collection of crime poems feature Arte Público author Manuel Ramos The latest book of crime poetry, edited by Gerald So, Patrick Shawn Bagley, R. Narvaez, and Anthony Rainone features poetry by a variety of crime writers. This e-book is available across a variety of platforms. To see the Amazon Kindle version for $1.99, click here. Praise for this work: “Since poets are by definition metaphysical detectives, this collection makes brilliant sense. The poets never flinch nor do they romanticize. Rather they write tersely and deftly of violence large and small, motives confused and clear, endings bloody and mundane. Collectively, they show poems are bullets of essence that can pierce some very dark shadows.” —Baron Wormser, former Poet Laureate of Maine About Manuel Ramos: Manuel Ramos is the author of numerous crime fiction novels, including The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz (1993), Blues for the Buffalo (1993), The Ballad of Gato Guerrero …

Josefina López chosen as October 2012’s “Author of the Month” on KUHF Houston Public Radio KUHF radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Josefina López for its website’s “Arte Público Press Author of the Month” feature, and along with the transcript, their conversation is available to listeners on the station’s interactive site through on-demand audio streaming here. Click here to see all Arte Público authors featured on KUHF. About the Author: JOSEFINA LÓPEZ is best known for authoring the play and co-authoring the film Real Women Have Curves, a coming-of-age story about Ana, a first-generation Chicana torn between pursuing her college ambitions, a personal goal, and securing employment which is a family expectation. Along the way, Ana confronts a host of cultural assumptions about beauty, marriage and a woman’s role in society. Although Real Women Have Curves is Lopez’ most recognized work, it is only one of many literary and artistic works …