April 2013 Conversations with Las Comadres: Teleconference Series
Man Up: Cracking the Code — Outside Links: Book Author Publisher
Tito Puente, Mambo King — Outside Links: Book Author Publisher
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW Length: 00:56:56 | Size: 10.25 MB
April 2013 Book of the Month
Man Up: Cracking the Code
By Carlos Andrés Gómez
Published by Gotham Books
ISBN-13: 978-0615657813
Inspired by the award-winning poet and actor’s acclaimed one-man play, a powerful coming-of-age memoir that reimagines masculinity for the twenty-first-century male.
Award-winning poet, actor, and writer Carlos Andrés Gómez is a supremely gifted storyteller with a captivating voice whose power resonates equally on the live stage and on the page. In one of his most moving spoken-word poems, Gómez recounts a confrontation he once had after accidentally bumping into another man at a club. Just as they were about to fight, Gómez experienced an unexplainable surge of emotion that made his eyes well up with tears. Everyone at the scene jumped back, as if crying, or showing vulnerability, was the most insane thing that Gómez could possibly have done.
Like many men in our society, Gómez grew up believing that he had to be ready to fight at all times, treat women as objects, and close off his emotional self. It wasn’t until he discovered acting that he began to see the true cost of squelching one’s emotions—and how aggression dominates everything that young males are taught.
Statistics on graduation rates, employment, and teen and young-adult suicide make it clear that the young males in our society are at a crisis point, but Gómez seeks to reverse these ominous trends by sharing the lessons that he has learned. Like Hill Harper’s Letters to a Young Brother, Man Up will be an agent for positive change, galvanizing men—but also mothers, girlfriends, wives, and sisters—to rethink and reimagine the way all men interact with women, deal with violence, handle fear, and express emotion.
About the Author: Carlos Andrés Gómez
Carlos Andrés Gómez is an award-winning poet, actor, and writer from New York City. He is the author of the coming-of-age memoir Man Up: Cracking the Code of Modern Manhood, released by Gotham Books, an imprint of Penguin. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize and named Artist of the Year at the 2009 Promoting Outstanding Writers Awards, he costarred in Spike Lee’s #1 movie Inside Man with Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen and appeared in the sixth season of HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. He has headlined festivals all over the world, including South Africa, Ireland, Spain, Canada, the U.K., and, most recently, as Guest of Honor at the Berlin International Literature Festival in Germany.
A former social worker and inner-city public school teacher, he grew up the child of a United Nations’ diplomat and indigenous rights’ advocate—moving twelve times before graduating high school while living in four countries. He has lectured and performed at more than 200 colleges and universities, given a dozen keynote addresses, and facilitated countless workshops. He continues to tour the globe.
April 2013 Additional Conversation
Tito Puente, Mambo King
By Monica Brown
Published by Rayo
ISBN-13: 978-0061227837
Meet Tito Puente—the King of Mambo. Tum Tica! From musical prodigy on the streets of Harlem to five-time Grammy Award winner, Tito’s life was full of rhythm. Drums and claves, saxophones and tambourines were all part of the fun.
Tac Tic!
Monica Brown and Rafael López, the award-winning creators of the Pura Belpré Honor Book my name is celia/me llamo celia, team up once again for another spectacular collaboration in this upbeat tribute to a musical legend.
Tum Tic!
Tom Tom!
About the Author: Monica Brown
Monica Brown, Ph.D., is the author of award-winning bilingual books for children, including My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia:La vida de Celia Cruz (Luna Rising), a recipient of the Américas Award for Children’s Literature anda Pura Belpré Honor. Hersecond picture book, My Name Is Gabriela: TheLife of Gabriela Mistral/Me llamo Gabriela: La vidade Gabriela Mistral (Luna Rising) shares the story of the first Latina to win a Nobel Prize.
Monica’s books are inspired by her Peruvian-American heritage and desire to share Latino/a stories with children. “I write from a place of deep passion, joy, and commitment to producing the highest possible quality of literature for children. In my biographies, the lives of my subjects are so interesting and transformational that I am simply giving them voice for ayoung audience. I don’t think it is ever too early to introduce children to the concepts of magical realism, social justice, and dreaming big!”
Her other books include: Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/Lado a lado, La Historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chávez (Rayo/HarperCollins), Chavela and the Magic Bubble (Clarion), Pelé,King of Soccer/Pelé, el rey del fútbol (Rayo/HarperCollins), and My Name is Gabito: The Life of GabrielGarcia Márquez/Me llamo Gabito: La vida de Gabriel Garcia Márquez (Luna Rising). “As a writer of bilingual, multicultural books for children, I feel passionately that quality Latino/a literature can a bridge—a powerful educational tool.”
Monica Brown is a Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, specializing in U.S. Latino Literature and Multicultural Literature. She also writes and publishes scholarly work with a Latino/a focus, including Gang Nation: Delinquent Citizenship in Puerto Rican and Chicano and Chicana Literature; and numerous scholarly articles and chapters on Latino/a literature and cultural studies.
She is a recipient of the prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship on Chicano Cultural Literacies from the Center for Chicano Studies at the University of California. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Flagstaff, Arizona.