Calacalandia

Calaca Press presents:
 
Children of the Desert Mountains
By Joe Montoya
 
Winner of the 1st raúlrsalinas Guerrilla Poetry Chapbook Contest.
 

Vernon “Joe” Montoya is a Native American poet and short story writer born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and raised on the Santa Ana and San Felipe Pueblos. As a young adult he was incarcerated on drug offenses and used his time in prison to read and write poetry. He is a proud father of two daughters and two sons. Joe has won several poetry slam competitions and is currently working on his first full book of poetry. He reads, lectures and facilitates literary workshops in jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, middle and high schools. He also is a full-time undergraduate student in Criminology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and a full time employee at Five Sandoval Indian Pueblos, Inc., part of their Behavioral Health Team as a Certified Prevention Specialist that focuses on alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse prevention among adolescents in his community.

 

New Chicana Tales from the Center of a Deadly Donut:
Olga García Echeverría’s Falling Angels: Cuentos y Poemas

(Los Angeles, CA) – In Falling Angels: Cuentos y Poemas East Los Angeles comes to life with a cast of kooky and provocative characters in this code-switching collection of female-centered poetry and prose.  Olga García Echeverría gives voice to the working class with protagonists such as young winged women, bilingual cockroaches, and dead kleptomaniacs, among others.  Politically astute and hilarious, these 6 stories and 22 poems tackle hardcore realities of immigration, language, city life, family drama, and Chicano culture and consciousness.  Written in Spanish, English, and Spanglish.  Published by Calaca Press (San Diego, CA) and Chibcha Press (Long Beach, CA).