Greetings and Happy Summer!

We are pleased to return to you again, this time from the Bronx where we visit with this month’s featured author. Remember, we ask that you help us feature our writers by sharing this newsletter with your friends on each media platform you frequent or curate so we can highlight our community.

Keep informed, share your news and find out about contests and opportunities by joining our PRIDA Book Club group on Facebook.

BOBBY GONZALEZ IS THIS ISSUE’S:

We met Bobby at his home in the Bronx, which he shares with his wife, fellow artist and educator Maria Aponte. It was there where we were treated to a delicious hearty plate of arroz con gandules, followed by Budin de Pan for dessert and a nice strong Bustelo. So grab your own cup of café caliente to read about one of our well known PRIDA authors.

Bobby hails from Ponce and Cabo Rojo by way of his mother’s side and from Juncos from his father’s side. His writing career spans 50 years and during this time he has produced work that has enlightened and fascinated a variety of readers, from the young people who enjoy his storytelling to young adult collegiates who attend his workshops and motivational speaking sessions throughout the nation’s top institutions of higher education to local Bronx poets during the annual Boogie on the Concourse Festival. Many people have learned from his wisdom which he developed over decades of storytelling, performing, and writing. As if he wasn’t busy enough, he is also the event coordinator and the master of ceremonies for the annual Bronx Native American Festival which takes place every September in Pelham Bay Park, the Bronx.Why does Bobby do what he does? He tells PRIDA that his work seeks to enlighten, inspire and entertain his readers, not just from our Puerto Rican, Taino, and Hispanic communities but also from different ethnicities and age groups. His work brings our culture to places that it may not otherwise be celebrated or even acknowledged, a very needed mission today as we try to unify the people of this world.

Bobby González seeks to empower his audiences by encouraging them to embrace their heritage and use this knowledge to create a dynamic future. As an individual proud of his Native American, Latino and African ancestry, Bobby is a messenger of hope, pride, and love of diversity.

In part, he accomplishes these goals through is poetry, published by Cemi Press. His titles include Puerto Rican Indian Wars: Part II, Song of the American Holocaust: Native Poetry from the South Bronx Reservation, The Last Puerto Rican Indian: A Collection of Dangerous Poetry, and Taino Zen. Most of his artistic work is inspired by the struggles of his Taino ancestors and contemporary Indigenous nations. Currently, he is working on historical anecdotes in verse form.

His most recent publication is “TAINO ZEN,” a unique volume of meditative verses that deliver a reflective message that urges all people to reconnect to their cultural origins and to cherish them. Knowing and acknowledging our beginnings is a precursor to creating a just and peaceful world for the next seven generations to come.

After you read Bobby’s work, you will want to read the author who inspires him the most, Mexican-Native American author John Trudell, who dispels stereotypes and misconceptions of all peoples as does Bobby Gonzalez in his poetry, speaking engagements, and storytelling.

Bobby has lectured at many institutions including Yale University, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the University of Alabama-Huntsville. As a storyteller, he’s had the privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Television & Radio and the Detroit Institute of Arts. He has given poetry readings at the National Museum of the American Indian, the University of North Dakota and the Nuyorican Poets Café.

He is a dynamic keynote speaker specializing in encouraging audiences of all ages and backgrounds to succeed, fulfill their full potential and adjust to a changing world by becoming more aware of the rich history and accomplishments of their ancestors. In his lectures and workshops, Bobby urges his listeners to be more sensitive to the various cultures and belief systems of their neighbors and colleagues.

You can follow him on Twitter @bronxtaino and be sure to visit him on the web www.bobbygonzalez.com.

You can also find copies of his work at the gift shop at El Museo del Barrio. Don’t pass up on supporting our writers and visit the museum. If you can’t get to the museum you can also find his books on amazon.com.

Bobby encourages our writers to become members of PRIDA so they enjoy the opportunity to interact with Puerto Rican authors and other artists and learn, teach and keep the history going strong.

https://www.pw.org/content/bobby_gonzaelz_poetry_as_community_collaboration

Here at PRIDA we enjoyed interviewing and getting to know Bobby Gonzalez over some good old Puerto Rican food and coffee. We encourage you to support him and other Puerto Rican authors by reading their work, sharing reviews and recommendations, and gifting their work to others. Your support will help our entire community.

• Bronx Memoir II, an anthology organized by BCA and The Bronx Writers Center is out for purchase on Amazon.com This beautiful anthology of short personal essays contains many members of our Puerto Rican writing community as well as other fellow Bronxites sharing their distinct, unique, and diverse experiences of being Bronxites. Get your copy today!
• Yadhira Gonzalez-Taylor’s poem, La Parcelera, was a finalist in the 2018 Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry contest sponsored by December Magazine a literary magazine in circulation since 1958. Her poem, La Parcelera, appears in issue 29.1. This is Yadhira’s first literary magazine publication.
• Congratulations to the following writers on their acceptance to VONA summer 2018: Leslie Marrero, Diana Diaz.
• Ivelisse Rodriguez’snovel Love War Stories is set to be published this July by Feministpress.org.
• Eris Garriga does it again with a new successful publication of Sabrosuras Boricuas, get your copy on Amazon.
• Congratulations to Melissa Emalia Medina on publishing The Story of When Wildcats and Wolves Became Cats and Dogs.
• Alberto O. Cappas, the author of “To think is to Grow:  Quotes to provoke the Mind” is now the editor of the Latino Village, a monthly publication dedicated to issues and concerns in the Buffalo Puerto Rican community. He is also an original co-founder & director of a Puerto Rican Fine Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY, presently in its final stages of development. The name of the Art Gallery will be announced during the official opening sometime in August. In addition to Arts, the gallery will feature the work of our Puerto Rican Poets and Writers. For  information: latinovillagecappas@gmail.com
• Richie Narvaez read from his upcoming novel Hipster Death Rattle (2019) at Crime Night at the Cell Theatre, organized by the Irish American Writers & Artists, March 20, 2018. His short story “Withhold the Dawn” was published in Tiny Crimes: Very Short Tales of Mystery and Murder, edited by Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto, June 2018.
•  Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s piece “Sepia Dreams”  was translated into Portuguese and published in the March issue of a Brazilian literary journal called Puñado. This issue was dedicated to stories of families. Dahlma’s story focuses on growing up in the South Bronx.

  

• Seeking Writing Submissions: Alberto O. Cappas is seeking submissions from our community for the monthly issue of The Latino Village, a Puerto Rican/Latino publication in Buffalo, NY. This publication is friendly to poets and writers. Will also consider book reviews to publish. Keep submissions to the limit of 425 words. The publication will compensate you with two copies of the issue where your work appears. To submit you may send an email to: latinovillage1@gmail.com. 
• So You Want to be Published? Looking for opportunities to submit your writing for consideration? Visit Poets and Writers Magazine for links to hundreds of literary magazines and contests.  https://www.pw.org/literary_magazines
• Join Kweli Journal Editor Laura Pegram as she moderates a six-week workshop for short story writers and novelists of color in New York City. She is bringing this popular workshop to the Bronx! The Art of the Short Story Workshop is a safe space for writers of color, at all levels. They will meet every week for six weeks on Saturday mornings (10AM-12PM) or Saturday evenings (6PM-8PM). Bronx venue to be announced. The workshop will include seminars focused on craft and in-class writing exercises. There will be reading assignments and a study of works by well-known writers. Writing will begin on the first day of the workshop. Peer review sessions will take place during the final three weeks of the workshop. To register visit: Kweli journal The Art of the Short Story Workshop
• Join an ALREADY THRIVING writing community in the BRONX! Visit http://www.bronxarts.org/bwc_events.asp You will find connections to a great organization that provided FREE writing workshops. Writing is a lonely endeavor so why not find other writers to mingle with and bounce ideas around with?
• Anthology on Food Seeks Submissions from Writers of Color:
  Angelique Imani Rodriguez, Contributor and curator of the Pen Hitting Paper Blog is seeking submissions for an Anthology on Food. According to the listing, the writer is seeking to “create a collection of work where people of color can explore their food memories and talk about our food in our way, with the same attention, love, and detail that it takes to prepare the meal. A multi-genre collection, the hope is that the “Breaking Bread” anthology should reflect the powerful and significant ways that food has impacted our lives.”  Visit link for detail on submission rules/requirements: https://penhittingpaper.wordpress.com/2018/04/11/call-for-submissions-breaking-bread-an-anthology-of-writers-of-color-on-food/
• Want to help Puerto Rico? Send a copy of your book or purchase a fellow Puerto Rican Author’s book and send to any of the Bibliotecas listed on for public libraries in Puerto Rico. Include a card or a card with an uplifting message. http://www.everylibrary.com/PR.html

We encourage you to get these titles this month. Don’t forget to email ygtbooks@gmail.com with feedback and we will publish your thoughts in our next newsletter.

The Shameless Shenanigans of Mister Malo, by Alidis Vicente, (2017)

$9.95 on Amazon

During the school day, Lance García looks like a typical fourth-grader at Oakland Elementary School. But after school, dressed in disguise black jacket, black baseball cap and dark, cool sunglasses with tiny, rectangular mirrors so he can see who’s behind him he checks the mailbox labeled Malo Mail. No one realizes that he is the infamous Mister Malo, righter of wrongs, punisher of bullies…

Sabrosuras Boricuas, by Eris Garriga, (2018)

$35.00 plus $6.50 shipping on Amazon

Eris did it again. She brings us a beautifully put together Boricua cookbook with images that will make your mouth water but better yet, the recipes needed to recreate her culinary greatness in the comfort of your home. Cook with Eris today!

The Story of How Wildcats and Wolves Became Cats and Dogs, by Melissa Emalia Medina (2018)

$9.99 on Amazon.

During the school day, Lance García looks like a typical fourth-grader at Oakland Elementary School. But after school, dressed in disguise black jacket, black baseball cap and dark, cool sunglasses with tiny, rectangular mirrors so he can see who’s behind him he checks the mailbox labeled Malo Mail. No one realizes that he is the infamous Mister Malo, righter of wrongs, punisher of bullies.

Introduce your little one to the fascinating relationship between Canines and Felines of all walks of life and how the tiny friends we keep near us are actually related to the wild creatures we admire from a distance. This is Melissa’s first publication.

Don’t be shy! We want to celebrate you. Hey there PRIDA Authors! Did you publish something new? Did you recently receive an award? Are you going to a book fair? Do you know of a writing fellowship or grant application you want to share with the rest of the Puerto Rican writing community? Do you know of a writing competition or a submission deadline? Do you possess any other golden nugget of information that could help a fellow writer? Share with us so the blessing can be sent back to you tenfold. Send an email to: PRIDA member Yadhira Gonzalez-Taylor at ygtbooks@gmail.com and we will publish your news.