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April is National Poetry Month : Alfonsina Storni

9:36 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Argentina|literature|Women · Comments Off

20 Apr 2009

180px-alfosinastorni The inspiration for the heart wrenching song, Alfonsina y el Mar, Argentine poetisa Alfonsina Storni was an actress, teacher, and mother.

TÚ ME QUIERES BLANCA
Tú me quieres alba,
Me quieres de espumas,
Me quieres de nácar.
Que sea azucena
Sobre todas, casta.
De perfume tenue.
Corola cerrada

Ni un rayo de luna
Filtrado me haya.
Ni una margarita
Se diga mi hermana.
Tú me quieres nívea,
Tú me quieres blanca,
Tú me quieres alba.

Tú que hubiste todas
Las copas a mano,
De frutos y mieles
Los labios morados.
Tú que en el banquete
Cubierto de pámpanos
Dejaste las carnes
Festejando a Baco.
Tú que en los jardines
Negros del Engaño
Vestido de rojo
Corriste al Estrago.

Tú que el esqueleto
Conservas intacto
No sé todavía
Por cuáles milagros,
Me pretendes blanca
(Dios te lo perdone),
Me pretendes casta
(Dios te lo perdone),
¡Me pretendes alba!

Huye hacia los bosques,
Vete a la montaña;
Límpiate la boca;
Vive en las cabañas;
Toca con las manos
La tierra mojada;
Alimenta el cuerpo
Con raíz amarga;
Bebe de las rocas;
Duerme sobre escarcha;
Renueva tejidos
Con salitre y agua;
Habla con los pájaros
Y lévate al alba.
Y cuando las carnes
Te sean tornadas,
Y cuando hayas puesto
En ellas el alma
Que por las alcobas
Se quedó enredada,
Entonces, buen hombre,
Preténdeme blanca,
Preténdeme nívea,
Preténdeme casta.

English translation after the jump.
Read more…

VivirLatino’s Maegan la Mala at Queens Museum Mañana

9:21 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Events|literature|New York City · Comments Off

18 Apr 2009

3249_69910733281_628283281_1701553_7883186_n Yours truly will be at the Queens Museum of Art tomorrow from 1 to 6 pm, as part of the Poetas en NY contingent celebrating Latino authors and NYC Immigrants Week.

One of the things I love about the Queens Museum ( I was just there yesterday), is that they always host events and exhibits that are really representative of the diversity of Queens and feature poc/woc artists. Oh and it’s in my hood meaning I can walk there from casa mala!

Now I’m off to find something sort of family friendly to read cuz I’m not usually family friendly.

April is National Poetry Month : Gabriela N. Lemmons

10:46 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Books|literature|Women · Comments Off

17 Apr 2009

primera-pagina-front-cover Today’s poema by Gabriela N. Lemmons comes from the libro Primera Pagina : Poetry from the Latino Heartland published by the Latino Writers Collective.

Sin Calzon

I want to roam
the streets at night
pantiless
loose
when only the sidewalk
watches
stay up all night
read your diary
broadcast your secrets
on the 10 o’ clock news

memoir
of a serial bore
you kill me with your consonants
the way those r’s
roll off your tongue
like leather
in those shoes at the foot of your bed…

There’s more to the poem pero you really should buy the book.

April is National Poetry Month : Noemi Martinez

8:34 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · literature|Women · Comments Off

16 Apr 2009

Today’s poema comes from an incredible media maker, activist, mami, blogger, poeta, Noemi Martinez of Hermana, Resist.

Here it is recounted
Noemi

synthesis

we get these folks
you know the type,
they have the feminist fist
tattooed on their ankles
want to visit my community
with their “poorest in the nation” shit
their novelty right now
is mexicans in the colonias.
My valley, my people
and they want to see
the real deal
the real colonias,
you know,
with the really really
poor conditions,
“where it floods & they don’t have electricity”
my valley, my people
and they come w/
notepad, pencil in hand
sic-sicing at our
mexican men & their
macho macho ways
you know, my people
& want to see
“real” victims
and look at that kid
no shoes, shit
let’s get some tequila on the other side
& “authentic” food but how can you eat this?
my people, my valley
you & your fucking rainbow
stickers& yr
world eat fish mentality
and fuck i’m not
even religious or catolica
but leave them w/ their virgen, my Tonantzin
appeared to my juan diego, my people
and lets go for a site
visit, let’s see
the colonias
you know-giving me
facts I know by memory,
numbers I don’t need to hear
because it’s my valley, my people

*yes, yes taken out of context.
Yes yes, you will bring funds, $, awareness.
Yes yes I work well with the enemy.

April is National Poetry Month : El Reverendo Pedro Pietri

6:23 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Bilingualism|literature|Puerto Rico · 1 Comment

15 Apr 2009

No words can describe Pedro Pietri‘s work and his influence on many a poet, myself included. El padre of the Nuyorican poetry movement, political, funny and as Rican as they come.

April is National Poetry Month : Delmira Agustini

12:00 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · literature|Uruguay|Women · Comments Off

14 Apr 2009

Today’s poem comes from Uruguyan poet Delmira Agustini (October 24, 1886 – July 6, 1914).

Explosión

Si la vida es amor, bendita sea!
Quiero más vida para amar! Hoy siento
Que no valen mil años de la idea
Lo que un minuto azul del sentimiento.

Mi corazon moria triste y lento…
Hoy abre en luz como una flor febea;
La vida brota como un mar violento
Donde la mano del amor golpea!

Hoy partio hacia la noche, triste, fría
Rotas las alas mi melancolía;
Como una vieja mancha de dolor
En la sombra lejana se deslíe…
Mi vida toda canta, besa, ríe!
Mi vida toda es una boca en flor!

For English keep reading

Amazon Fail Was Due to a Hacker or the French?

14 Apr 2009

amazon_fail Amazon says that it deleting the sales ranks of many many books that are marketed to or are about gays, lesbians, transpeople and or have the word “sex” in it was an error . Who or what caused the error is still out.

One theory is that a lone hacker is behind the mess.

Weev says he organized an army of off-shore computer users to make a bunch of fake Amazon accounts and flag all the gay and lesbian books they could as inappropriate. Also, he got several friends with high-trafficked websites to embed an iframe code that made their visitors automatically send the flags without their knowledge.

The issue with this theory is that some of the sales ranking deletions go all the way back to February.

There is also the theory that a French employee (blame the French!) misunderstood the term “adult”—which refers to porn stuff in Amazon’s system—with “erotic” and “sexuality.”

Regardless if it was a glitch, a hack, right wing organizing, or just bad decision making, Amazon.com has apparently removed the feature that lets users flag books as “inappropriate.”

Via / Gawker (I know, I’m ashamed I read that site too), Consumerist

April is Poetry Month : Gabriela Mistral

8:00 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Chile|literature|Women · Comments Off

13 Apr 2009

mistral I’m a bad poet for not jumping on this earlier pero April is National Poetry Month here in the U.S. So for what remains of the month I will post a poem from a Latino/Latin American author.

Hoy I chose Gabriela Mistral, porque I used to live in Chile where she was born and my second daughter is named after her. Pero also because Mistral, born Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga was the first Latin American mujer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Besos
Hay besos que pronuncian por sí solos
la sentencia de amor condenatoria,
hay besos que se dan con la mirada
hay besos que se dan con la memoria.

Hay besos silenciosos, besos nobles
hay besos enigmáticos, sinceros
hay besos que se dan sólo las almas
hay besos por prohibidos, verdaderos.

Hay besos que calcinan y que hieren,
hay besos que arrebatan los sentidos,
hay besos misteriosos que han dejado
mil sueños errantes y perdidos.

Hay besos problemáticos que encierran
una clave que nadie ha descifrado,
hay besos que engendran la tragedia
cuantas rosas en broche han deshojado.

Hay besos perfumados, besos tibios
que palpitan en íntimos anhelos,
hay besos que en los labios dejan huellas
como un campo de sol entre dos hielos.

Hay besos que parecen azucenas
por sublimes, ingenuos y por puros,
hay besos traicioneros y cobardes,
hay besos maldecidos y perjuros.

Judas besa a Jesús y deja impresa
en su rostro de Dios, la felonía,
mientras la Magdalena con sus besos
fortifica piadosa su agonía.

Desde entonces en los besos palpita
el amor, la traición y los dolores,
en las bodas humanas se parecen
a la brisa que juega con las flores.

Hay besos que producen desvaríos
de amorosa pasión ardiente y loca,
tú los conoces bien son besos míos
inventados por mí, para tu boca.

Besos de llama que en rastro impreso
llevan los surcos de un amor vedado,
besos de tempestad, salvajes besos
que solo nuestros labios han probado.

¿Te acuerdas del primero…? Indefinible;
cubrió tu faz de cárdenos sonrojos
y en los espasmos de emoción terrible,
llenaron sé de lágrimas tus ojos.

¿Te acuerdas que una tarde en loco exceso
te vi celoso imaginando agravios,
te suspendí en mis brazos… vibró un beso,
y qué viste después…? Sangre en mis labios.

Yo te enseñe a besar: los besos fríos
son de impasible corazón de roca,
yo te enseñé a besar con besos míos
inventados por mí, para tu boca.

For the English translation, learn Spanish. Ay pues claro I’m kidding. I think in translation the poem sounds a little cheesy pero hey.

Amazon Fail : Amazon Shows its Homophobic, Anti-Sex Side

13 Apr 2009

amazon-sucks After a full day of Easter activities yesterday, I came home to find that Amazon was hard at work, disappearing sales rankings from “adult” books. Amazon seems to have ~~interesting~~ fucked up way of deciding what is “adult” though, especially since the deleting of sales ranking and the blocking of the books from appearing in some searches, and appearing on some best-seller lists seems to target books dealing with gay, lesbian and trans themes, and no not all of them are even “dirty”. Take for example the following from Meta Writer who seems as of last night had compiled a list of the books affected :

The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students

http://www.amazon.com/Advocate-College-Guide-LGBT-Students/dp/155583857X/

No protagonist, but intended for LGBT college-bound students.
(Sales rank removed)

Robert Adrich Who’s Who in Gay and Lesbian History (amazon.ca)
(Sales rank removed)

Really these are offensive perhaps? Adult?

Here are some other books impacted: “Heather Has Two Mommies”, A Biography of Ellen Degeneres,

Oh just to show that they are equal opportunity haters and that Amazon doesn’t think disabled peeps should be getting down: “The Ultimate Guide to Sex And Disability” has been stripped of its sales ranking.

No se, some of it seems random and not unified pero it still feels dangerous especially since Playboy books and a book about porno guy Ron Jeremy still have their sales ranks up as do hateful books like “A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality”. Certain glbt films/dvds still have sales rankings.

Amazon is saying that the stripping of sales ranking, which impacts searchability and therefore accessibility is a “glitch”, one that has been going on since at least February according to some. More likely is that this is a result of some organized “pro-family” orgs who have been complaining to Amazon via flagging certain titles.

For more information follow #Amazonfail at Twitter

In the meantime you can contact Amazon executive customer service via email: ecr@amazon.com and the customer service phone number is 1-800-201-7575 if you wish to share your views with them.

There is also a petition up here.

Via / Jezabel, LA Times, Mark R. Probst, Smart bitches, Trashy books

Gracias for being a Freak with Me

12:50 pm By Maegan La Mala · Events|language|literature|New York City · Comments Off

29 Jan 2009

I’m running a little slow today because I’m tired and yes, a little hungover, pero it was all worth it. Last night’s HISPANIC PANIC! reading at Nowhere,NYC hosted by Charlie Vazquez, was the most fun I have had in a long time.

I read two older poems and a new poema en tres partes called @ndo aka Twitterputeando/Fucking Statehood. Charlie Vazquez read a story about juegos/jugos de pelotas. Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Executive Director of BAAD!, read from his forthcoming novel Chulito, and Karen Jaime spit poetic love to Dominican Yols, drag kings and hope. We were quite a mix as was the audience that came through and had nothing but love.

Plus I met some wonderful new amigos, drank wine, and danced to Cuban music.

I think I’m going to try and make these readings regularly and so should you. The next one is in February, which is billed GENDER PANIC! and March (GIRL PANIC!), which will feature female erotica writers.

Just tell them Patty Peña sent you.

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