In this episode, I talk to Florinda Flores-Brown about her work as an educator and creative interests, and her role as director of programs for Gemini Ink.

Latin@ Stories Episode 202  Gemini Ink

1984 is a dystopian novel by British author George Orwell while he lay dying of tuberculosis. The novel depicts a grim world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public mind control. Their tyranny is headed by Big Brother, the quasi-divine Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality, but who may not even exist. The protagonist, Winston Smith, works for the Ministry of Truth, which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism. But Smith secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother. The book originated terms like Big Brother and Orwellian and continues to appear in pop culture.

William A. Nericcio is a notorious Mexican-American literature professor, public intellectual, artist, and sometime troublemaker, who was born in the fabled "Streets of Laredo," Texas. He is the Director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University.

Sound credit: We Always Thought the Future Would Be Kind of Fun by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/darkglow/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

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William A. Nericcio reads an excerpt from George Orwell's 1984. 
Recorded in 2016. 

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William A. Nericcio reads an excerpt from George Orwell's 1984

"And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense?"

An unnamed narrator tries to convince the listener of his sanity as he describes a murder he committed in Edgar Allen Poe's classic A Tell-Tale Heart—read by Nezua (theunapologeticmexican.org).

Sound: "Dark Hallway," "Cantina Blues Take the Lead," "Aftermath_Madness_Paranoia," and "Ghost Story" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100812
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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Nezua reads Edgar Allen Poe's A Tell-Tale Heart.
Recorded in 2016. 

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Nezua reads Edgar Allen Poe's A Tell-Tale Heart

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Urrea on book tours and why he looks white. 
Recorded 2015.

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Urrea On Book Tours And Why He Looks White

Luis Alberto Urrea reading at Palo Alto College for Gemini Ink's Autograph Series 2015.

Urrea On How He Became A Writer

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Bill Lewis reads an excerpt from James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues.
Recorded November 10, 2016. 

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Bill Lewis reads an excerpt from James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

Allison Hedge Coke reads her poem "America, I Sing You Back"

America, I Sing You Back

A reading by Michelle Lugalia-Hollon, Director of Program Initiatives at the San Antonio Area Foundation. In honor of Black History Month, Michelle reads one of her favorite poems, "Conversations About Home (at the Deportation Centre)" by Warsan Shire.

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Michelle Lugalia-Hollon reads Warson Shire's Conversations About Home (at the Deportation Centre). 
Recorded February 10, 2017. 

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Michelle Lugalia-Hollon Reads Warsan Shire's "Conversations About Home (at the Deportation Centre)"

Three readings from San Antonio educator and poet DaRell Pittman. DaRell reads an excerpt from Athol Fugard’s play Siswe Banzi is Dead, as well as Charles L. Peters’ poem The Last Poem on The Last Day, and Ego-Tripping by Nikki Giovanni.
Recorded October 7, 2016. 

Music Credits:
YouTube Audio Library
Hookah Bar by Silent Partner
Cool Vibes Film Noire by Kevin MacLeod
The Jazz Piano by bensound.com

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DaRell Pitmman reads excerpts from Athol Fugard, Charles L. Peters and Nikki Giovanni. 

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DaRell Pittman Reads Excerpts From Athol Fugard, Charles L. Peters, And Nikki Giovanni

On the film I Am Not Your Negro and the essays "Notes of a Native Son" (1955) and The Fire Next Time (1963).

Baldwin is a go-to figure at this point in discussions of race; his essays, stories, and speeches provide a key touchstone in discussing how racism has warped our culture. So, how do we translate his testimony into philosophical theory? When he talks about the psychological/sociological maladies of both black and white folks resulting from the overt racism of his day, to what extent do his insights apply to us now, when racism has become more subtle?

The full foursome are rejoined by Law Ware to shed new light on our discussion from ep. 161. We focus on Baldwin's middle way between MLK's love and Malcolm X's rage and his critique of the American dream. How do you oppose the inhumanity of others without demonizing them, and thereby becoming inhuman yourself?

Buy the book version of I Am Not Your Negro. Buy the James Baldwin: Collected Essays that includes the rest of our readings. You can also read the essays online: "Notes of a Native Son," and the two essays that make up The Fire Next Time, the shorter “My Dungeon Shook — Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation" and the more lengthy "Down at the Cross — Letter from a Region of My Mind."

You can watch several interviews used in the film or referred to on the episode: This 1963 one with Kenneth Clark is key; the clip is bookmarked at the claim from the film that white people created this despised other category; to fix America, we have to figure out what psychological need drove that creation. The short clip actually used in this episode from a Dick Cavett interview is here and another key point in that interview is here. The 1984 interview Mark refers to where Baldwin reflects on the lack of real progress in addressing the results of racism is here, bookmarked at at the point Mark paraphrased about the the increasing "economic uselessness" of blacks according to establishment.

Baldwin picture by Solomon Grundy.

Go to blog

James Baldwin on Race in America (Part One)

Carmen Tafolla reads an excerpt from El Plan Espiritual De Aztlan (alurista).
The Chicana/o Movimiento en San Antonio featured pivotal San Antonio literary figures who spoke about their involvement in the movimiento in San Antonio in the 70s and 80s. The event included a range of short readings from the anthology Literary San Antonio (TCU Press). The discussion was led by Tomás Ybarra-Frausto and Dr. Carmen Tafolla, and the panel included Texas Poet Laureate Rosemary Catacalos, San Antonio poet Jesse Cardona, and Mexican-American poet and translator Evangelina Vigil. This platicá took place at Palo Alto College on May 24, 2018. 

The Platicás Project was a series of public conversations about the literary history of San Antonio that took place throughout 2018. This project was made possible by City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture, SA300 Tricentennial, and Humanities Texas.

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Carmon Tafolla reads an excerpt from El Plan Spiritual De Aztlan. 
Recorded May 24, 2018.

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Carmen Tafolla Reads An Excerpt From El Plan Espiritual De Aztlan

Gemini Ink’s mission is to teach the craft of writing to people of all skill levels so they can bring their stories to life. As San Antonio’s writing arts center, we provide a supportive home for readers and writers of all levels through our online and in-person workshops and literary community. We believe everyone has a story and writing that story is powerful. Our strategic vision is to teach 12,000 people how to bring their stories to life by 2022.

William A. Nericcio reads an excerpt from George Orwell's 1984

Gemini Ink

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