Monday, April 04, 2011

Lorna Dee Answers Questions From A Student

On Apr 4, 2011, at 7:49 PM, A. M. wrote:

Hello, my name is A. M. We were suppose to pick a poet that we enjoyed reading their poetry and I found your poetry really interesting and enjoyed reading it a lot. I was wondering if you could answer a few of my questions for the report.

What inspires you to write?

The Muse. She has a mind of her own. It's like love, you never know who nor what it will be next. Otherwise, the universe propels me. I just listen, and pay attention--with a pen.

When did you start writing?

I wrote my first poem in the bathtub to the tune of Greensleaves when I was eight years old. I wrote daily for years from the time I was in Jr. High.

What style of poetry is your favorite to read? To write?

Ha, good poetry. Like people, every poem is different. I look at style as strategy. I actually write in a variety of styles & teach that way, too. I read as much and as widely as I can. I spent decades reading nothing but poetry. Pablo Neruda has sustained me through the years since first discovering him at about age 13. I need different poets at different times for different things. I once had an anthology of Socialist poetry when I was very young, all of my favorite poets were in it. Now, I would say the "poetry of witness." Carolyn Forché has a great anthology, AGAINST FORGETTING, that is just that.

What other hobbies do you have?

Beadwork, gardening, hiking, biking, cooking. I don't do enough of the first four; hopefully when I settle down again. Although not really a hobby, I like to work jigsaw puzzles for relaxation. When I was kid, it seemed the only part of my world I could put into any kind of order.

What got you started writing?

(See previous answer.) My older brother's influence. He's a musician and very improvisational. He wrote stories and poems. I thought poems were songs for people with bad voices. My mother, too, would read poets out loud and play records of poetry: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edgar Allen Poe, Kahlil Gibran & Robert Frost were her favorites, especially Kahlil Gibran. I always say that I really can't remember a time when poetry wasn't at the center of my life.

Do you write for pleasure or for work?

My pleasure is my work & I work at poetry for pleasure. It's like being a nun or a priest, it's a calling, an avocation and not just a vocation. It's for Spirit.

What's your favorite location to write?

Outside. Now that I don't have a garden, in bed. But when a poem wants to get written, it doesn't matter where I am or what's going on around me.

If you could email me back your answer's that would be amazing and I would greatly appreciate it. If you can tell me anything else about yourself it would be great. I'd love to learn more about you and your poetry. Thank you for your time.

A. M.

...@gmail.com


Hi A,

You caught me at a good time. I'm traveling, preparing for a reading tomorrow at UC Riverside. I have another blog besides my main one where I answer these kind of questions from students at all levels. It's at http://lornadcervantes.blogspot.com. My main blog is at http://lornadice.blogspot.com which you can search for all kinds of things. I've been away from both due to some technical difficulties signing on, but I'm back now. I'd like to post these questions and answers at the first one. I won't post your name unless you want me to. It's a good source for FAQ.

Where do you go to school?

I'm also on Facebook, and once answered some questions from high school students there. As soon as I find them, I'll post them on this blog.

Good luck!

Lorna Dee Cervantes

P.S. I have a project right now, a book, where I'm writing 100 Love Poems to Strangers: for $10+ I'll write you a love poem, to you or yours.

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Friday, April 01, 2011

Where In The World Is Lorna? Spring Reading Schedule, April 5-8, Los Angeles

Spring Reading Schedule, April 5-8th, Los Angeles



Lorna Dee Cervantes

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
1:30–3 p.m.


Location: Arts Building 335
University of California, Riverside

Category: Reading
Description: One of the preeminent voices in Chicana literature and American poetry,
Lorna Dee Cervantes is a dynamic poet whose work draws tremendous power
from her struggles in the literary and political trenches. Her power is channeled
by a keen intellect and careful attention to craft, which allows her to explore the
boundaries between language and experience. Joy Harjo says of her poetry,
"Lorna Dee Cervantes is a daredevil... We are transfixed as she juggles rage,
cruelties, passion. There is no net. Seven generations uphold the trick of survival.No one is alone in this amazing act of love."

Cervantes' first book, Emplumada (University of Pittsburgh, 1981), was a
recipient of the American Book Award. Her second collection, From the Cables of
Genocide:Poems on Love and Hunger (Arte Público, 1991) was awarded the
Patterson Poetry Prize, the poetry prize of the Institute of Latin American
Writers, and the Latino Literature Award. Her most recent work, Drive: The First
Quartet, was published in 2006.

Sponsored by Chicano Student Programs, the Department of English, The Center for Ideas and Society, the College for Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and MALCS de UCR.

For more information contact llasa001@ucr.edu

Open to: General Public
Admission: Free
Sponsor: English Department

Contact Information:
Lisette Lasater
x21456
llasa001@ucr.edu

___________________________________________________________________
Lecture: Lorna Dee Cervantes, Apr. 6


Lecture: Lorna Dee Cervantes

Date: Wednesday, April 6

Time: 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Description: Lecture

Location: Hannon Library, Von der Ahe Family Suite, 3rd floor
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Admission: Admission and parking are free

Contact: Dr. Eliza Rodriquez y Gibson
Chicana/o Studies
erodri37@lmu.edu

More about this event:

Lorna Dee Cervantes will read and discuss her book, "The Poetry of Improbability: Art Activism & Beauty." Lorna Dee Cervantes is an internationally acclaimed poet.

Refreshments will be served.


________________________________
"Poetry Coffee House" with Lorna Dee Cervantes

34th Annual National Hispanic Women's Conference

Date: Friday, April 8

Time: 2 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Description: Poetry Reading & Workshop

Location: Salon 2, 1st Floor
Quiet Cannon
Montebello, CA

Contact: Tatiana Villanueva
Event Coordinator, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
tvillanueva@maof.org

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Where In The World Is Lorna? TOMORROW Night in The Mission, 8 pm at Precita Eyes Mural Center For MAPP

I'll be reading for MAPP, The Mission Arts Performance Project, Saturday night, April 2, at 8 pm at the Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors' Center located at 2981 24th Street in the heart The Mission. Come by and say hi, buy a book, buy a love poem for you or your love: I'll write one for as low as $10 and it will be published in my book, 100 Love Poems To Strangers. I don't read very often in The City, and as with all MAPP events, this was added at the last minute. Come tour The Mission, check out the other performances and art in the neighborhood, and stay for music and a wonderful art show by former Precita Eyes muralist, Selma Brown. The price is right, it's all FREE. See you there!



From "Angels & Reflections" by Selma Brown

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