Charla Cultural

We're catching up with Casandra López. Casandra López is a Chicana, Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Tongva poet and writer raised in Southern California and the author of the poetry collection Brother Bullet.

We’ll be talking Brother Bullet, the importance of place, and how we get to choose what to call ourselves. Finally, we’ll talk about we’re reading and some thoughts for the road.

We’re chatting with Paisley Rekdal!! We’re featuring Rekdal's performance of West: A Translation at City of Asylum back in September 2019, as well as a recent interview with Rekdal in support of her newest book Appropriate: A Provocation. We're also talking The Ferrante Project, when it's okay to wear a sombrero, and how not to be a jerk about appropriation.

We’ll also get into country music, the epistolary form, using pseudonyms to write soft-core pornography, as well as what we’re reading, and some thoughts for the road!

We’re checking out Cave Canem in celebration of its 25th anniversary!! With performances by Nikki Giovanni, Colleen McElroy, Amiri Baraka, Angela Jackson, Toi Derricotte, and Tim Seibles. 

Founded by Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady in 1996 to remedy the under-representation and isolation of African American poets in the literary landscape, Cave Canem Foundation is a home for the many voices of African American poetry and is committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African American poets.

Cave Canem has grown from a gathering of 26 poets to become an influential movement with a renowned faculty, high-achieving national fellowship of over 400 and a workshop community of 900. Cave Canem enjoys over 20 local, regional and national cultural partnerships, among them City of Asylum.

We’ll also get into cultural spaces, the importance of crow intimacy, what we’re reading, and some thoughts for the road!

We’re talking translation with Rosa Alcalá!! Rosa Alcalá has published three books of poetry, most recently MyOTHER TONGUE (Futurepoem, 2017). The longtime translator of poet Cecilia Vicuña, Alcalá has been the recipient of an NEA Translation Fellowship and runner-up for a PEN Translation Award. She teaches in the Department of Creative Writing and Bilingual MFA Program at the University of Texas-El Paso.​​

We’ll also get into what it's like to be translated, how to figure out the right word, what we’re reading, and some thoughts for the road!

We’re hanging with Helena María Viramontes!! Award-winning fiction writer Helena María Viramontes reads and then chats with us about what matters in her writing. 

We’ll also get into assimilation, intergenerational trauma (with jokes!), what we’re reading, and some thoughts for the road!

We're talking Carlos Andrés Gómez. Carlos Andrés Gómez is a Colombian American poet, speaker, actor, and equity and inclusion strategist from New York City. We'll be discussing his latest book, Fractures, as well as culture, and where we're really from!

OUR INAUGURAL EPISODE!!! Welcome to the very first episode of Charla Cultural! It’s All Things Franny Choi. Franny Choi performed at City of Asylum with Jazz Poetry back in September 2019. We’ll feature her performance, an interview, and a lengthy discussion about her most recent book, Soft Science (Alice James Books).

We’ll also get into what we’re reading and some thoughts for the road. This is Charla Cultural, hosted by Karla Lamb and Adriana E. Ramirez, brought to you by Aster(ix) Journal and City of Asylum. 

Content is mostly clean, some expletives used for emphasis.