Category: Author news

New York Public Library Includes ‘Transversal’ in Best Books of 2021 List

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Mari Herreras

November 29, 2021

Urayoán Noel’s Transversal was listed in the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2021.

Featuring Noel’s bilingual playfulness, intellect, and irreverent political imagination, Transversal contains personal reflections on love, desire, and loss filtered through a queer approach to form, expanding upon Noel’s experiments with self-translation in his celebrated collection Buzzing Hemisphere/Rumor Hemisférico. Transversal seeks to disrupt standard English and Spanish, and it celebrates the nonequivalence between languages. Inspired by Caribbean poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant, the collection celebrates Caribbean practices of creolization as maximalist, people-centered, affect-loaded responses to the top-down violence of austerity politics.

To read the entire Best of 2021 list, visit here.

New Books Network Interviews Michelle Téllez on ‘Border Women’

Posted on November 23, 2021November 21, 2021 by Mari Herreras

November 23, 2021

Michelle Téllez was recently interviewed by David-James Gonzales, assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University, on her new book, Border Women and the Community of Maclovio Rojas: Autonomy in the Spaces of Neoliberal Neglect.

Border Women and the Community of Maclovio Rojas tells the story of an autonomous community near Tijuana and its struggle to carve out space for survival and thriving in the shadows of the U.S.-Mexico geopolitical border. Through women’s active participation and leadership, a women’s political subjectivity has emerged—Maclovianas. These border women both contest and invoke their citizenship as they struggle to have their land rights recognized, and they transform traditional political roles into that of agency and responsibility.

Téllez, an associate professor in the Department of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona, writes about transnational community formations, Chicana feminism, and gendered migration.

Listen to the interview here.

Got ‘Hatak Witches’? Louise Erdrich Thinks You Should

Posted on November 22, 2021November 21, 2021 by Mari Herreras

Nov. 22, 2021

At the end of Louise Erdrich’s newest novel, The Sentence, is a page titled “Totally Biased List of Tookie’s Favorite Books.” Under the subtitle, “Ghost-Managing Book List,” are 15 books, and between Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto, and Beloved, by Tony Morrison is Hatak Witches, by Devon A. Mihesuah.

Author shout outs to one another isn’t unusual, but that doesn’t mean this particular shoutout doesn’t need a bit of celebrating and thanks.

The Hatak Witches, published by the University of Arizona Press, follows Detective Monique Blue Hawk and her partner Chris Pierson into an investigate which begins with a security guard found dead and another wounded at the Children’s Museum of Science and History in Norman, Oklahoma. There are no fingerprints, no footprints, and no obvious means to enter the locked building. Blue Hawk, however, discovers that a portion of an ancient and deformed skeleton has also been stolen from the neglected museum archives. As this thriller unfolds, readers are introduced to Choctaw cosmology with the unexpected appearance and power of the Old Ones who guard the lands of the Choctaw afterlife.

The list of books in Erdrich’s novel isn’t the only nod of appreciation for Hatak Witches. In a recent interview on National Public Radio’s Here and Now, Erdrich refers to Mihesuah’s novel as “a compelling read.” Go here for listen, and head to minute 19:00 for Erdrich’s shoutout.

Thanks for the shoutout and the love! Erdrich, while a celebrate Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is co-owner of Birchbark Books, a Minneapolis-based independent bookstore that supports Indigenous authors and their books. During the pandemic, Birchbark helped us as a sponsor of several of our virtual events celebrating books from our Sun Tracks series, including The Hatak Witches. Thank you for the continued support!

Detective Blue Hawk recently received more adoration in The Arizona Daily Star, which included The Hatak Witches in a list of book recommendations from our friends at the Pima County Public Library of science fiction, fantasy, an horror books by Indigenous authors. Read the list here. An art blog, Sidetracks and Detours also included the book in a list of recommendations of book by Indigenous authors. That list is here.

‘Beyond Earth’s Edge’ Co-Editor Makes Pitch for Space Mission Laureates

Posted on November 10, 2021November 8, 2021 by Mari Herreras

November 10, 2021

Poet and space lover Christopher Cokinos recently made a pitch for the creation of Mission Laureates, artists in all areas that would be part of the public engagement process with all space missions.

Here’s an excerpt of the pitch from the co-author of Beyond Earth’s Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight, an anthology of poetry that spans from the dawn of the space age to the imagined futures of the universe:

The arts have long been engaged with the night sky, astronomy, and, more recently, with space programs. Consider, in the latter case, NASA’s famed fine arts program that placed painters and illustrators such as Norman Rockwell and Robert Rauschenberg in the middle of launch facilities, training centers and recovery zones. There is a long tradition of “space art,” first popularized by Chesley Bonestell. Fine arts photographers, such as Michael Light, have given their craft over to space imagery. Many writers have turned their attention to space; in the modern era, consider Oriana Fallaci or Margaret Lazarus Dean. As co-editor of Beyond Earth’s Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight, I know that poets have responded vigorously—if not always enthusiastically—to the Space Age.

A fine overview of NASA, ESA, and the visual arts can be found in Dr. William A. Bezouska’s paper for The Aerospace Corporation, Space and Art: Connecting Two Creative Endeavors. His focus, as has been the focus of most art-space ventures, is strictly with the visual, from Apollo 15’s Fallen Astronaut memorial to various imagery, from large installation work to film, from classroom displays to art contests. And, of course, we await the possibility of the SpaceX dearMoon mission, in which artists will be billionaire-curated for a lunar orbital flight.

Yet other arts have gotten the short shrift: ceramicists, say, or modern dancers or textile artists. Or, in my case, poetry, though listing the number of real and fictional aerospace figures who have called on poets to be launched in space would take some time. (It’s interesting to note that at least two astronauts have come back from space to write poetry, Story Musgrave and Alfred Worden, both of whom are represented in Beyond Earth’s Edge.)

To read Cokinos’s entire pitch, visit here.

William Sheehan Talks ‘Discovering Mars’ with OLLI Members

Posted on November 9, 2021November 8, 2021 by Mari Herreras

November 9, 2021

In a recent virtual presentation for the University of Arizona’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Discovering Mars: A History of Observation and Exploration of the Red Planet co-author William Sheehan discussed this new book from the University of Arizona Press that vividly conveys the way our understanding of this other planet has grown from earliest times to the present.

The story is epic in scope — an Iliad or Odyssey for our time, at least so far largely without the folly, greed, lust, and tragedy of those ancient stories. Instead, the narrative of our quest for the Red Planet has showcased some of our species’ most hopeful attributes: curiosity, cooperation, exploration, and the restless drive to understand our place in the larger universe.

Message from Miriam Davidson’s ‘Beloved Border’ Reaches Op-Ed Pages

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Mari Herreras

November 8, 2021

The Progressive Magazine recently published an editorial by Miriam Davidson, author of Beloved Border: Humanity and Hope in a Contested Land, examining the latest statistics on border life and policy with a reminder that the problems can be resolved with “radical rethinking and deep, consistent attention.”

Davidson’s new book, published by the University of Arizona Press, shares the history of sanctuary and argues that this social movement and others that have originated on the border are vanguards of larger global movements against the mistreatment of migrant workers and refugees, police brutality, and other abuses of human and natural rights. Davidson gives concrete examples of positive ways in which border people are promoting local culture and cross-border solidarity through health care, commerce, food, art, and music. While death and suffering continue to occur, the book shows us how the U.S.-Mexico border could be, and in many ways already is, a model for peaceful coexistence worldwide.

Here’s an excerpt from the editorial:

In September, we all saw the pictures of mounted patrolmen maneuvering their horses and long reins in an attempt to corral Haitian migrants along the Texas border. These photos evoked the ugliness of 19th century “slave patrols” in the United States, as well as the enslavement of Haitians under French colonial rule in the 18th century.

Less well known is that, so far this year, at least 190 sets of human remains have been found in Arizona’s deserts. Forty-three were found in June, the highest one-month total since July 2010. More than half of the remains were discovered within one week of death—16 were located within one day. Migrants have also died while trying to cross the Rio Grande, including a nine-year-old girl in March.

To read the entire editorial, go here. The editorial was picked up by The Miami Herald.

‘Science Be Dammed’ Paperback Continues Important Water Crisis Conversation

Posted on October 28, 2021October 25, 2021 by Mari Herreras

October 28, 2021

Now in paperback, Science Be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River has continued to gain attention, especially as communities in Arizona, California, Nevada, and other states across the country wrestle with drought and how to continue to provide water for millions of residents.

On Boston’s WBUR’s On Point, co-author John Fleck reflected on the crisis:

“Being willing to have the hard conversations with communities to say, Look, that water that the Colorado River Compact promised you back in 1922, it just ain’t there. Don’t continue to expect the river to deliver that water to you because it says on a piece of paper that was signed in 1922 that that water is available, that water is not there. And, you know, one of the the truisms for me in Western water is when people have less water, they’ll use less water. We’re really adaptable. We can do that. We’ve got to recognize that.”

Have a listen here.

On Madison, Wisconsin’s community radio station WORT, co-author Eric Kuhn talked about the unprecedented megadrought in the western U.S.

Have a listen here.

Professor Latinx Gets the Marvel Treatment on Comics, Inspiration, and Scholarship

Posted on October 27, 2021October 25, 2021 by Mari Herreras

October 27, 2021

In a recent interview on marvel.com, Professor Latinx, aka Frederick Luis Aldama, was asked about his work as a Latinx comic scholar, Latinx super heroes, and of course, Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades.

Here’s a snippet of the interview with the University of Arizona Press author and co-editor of the Latinx Pop Culture series:

Speaking as a historian, who do you cite as the first Latinx hero? For Marvel Comics, Hector Ayala’s White Tiger gets the credit as our first Latino hero.

This is a topic I was just tossing around with my friends and fellow creators, Peter Murrieta [author, comics creator, and TV producer] and Alex Rivera [filmmaker]. The first Latinx Super Hero: Joaquin Murrieta—actually, Peter’s great relative. Not only was he a historically factual Super Hero (think Nat Turner) whose superhuman, epic-dimensioned feats became swiftly transformed into corrido lore, he was the inspiration for Zorro. [Writer] Johnston McCulley distilled and recreated (appropriated?) Murrieta’s super-heroic traits, leading to his quick popularization in early film, comics, and radio.

I do want to put a quick spotlight on White Tiger too, and for a couple of reasons. There was something extraordinary about Bill Mantlo and George Pérez’s Super Hero. He’s not criollo (white) Latinx and of the manor-born like Zorro. White Tiger’s working class. He’s street and book-smart. He’s Brown and Proud, firmly rooted and empowered as an Afro-Latinx Nuyorican.

Read the entire interview here.

University of Arizona Press Launches New Series: BorderVisions

Posted on October 26, 2021October 25, 2021 by Mari Herreras

October 26, 2021

The University of Arizona Press is thrilled to announce BorderVisions, a new series centering and celebrating topics reflecting both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border edited by Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez and Yvette J. Saavedra.

BorderVisions engages the U.S.-Mexico borderlands’ dynamic histories and cultures and expands our understanding of the borderlands beyond a site of geopolitical inquiry. The series conceptualizes borderlands as both a place and a methodology and addresses the constraints of traditional fields challenging authors to think creatively and critically about the expansive frameworks and possibilities of borderlands studies. This series will deepen our understanding of the ways in which gender, class, race, sexuality, and other intersectional concerns are reflected in humanities and humanistic social science borderlands scholarship.

The University of Arizona Press, founded in 1959, is the premier publisher of academic, regional, and literary works in the state of Arizona. Headquartered 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the Press centers a variety of borderlands voices through scholarly and literary titles.

Series editors Fonseca-Chávez and Saavedra seek to foster an intellectual space that envisions and manifests the multitude of perspectives for understanding the borderlands through interdisciplinary humanities and humanistic social sciences scholarship. They are especially interested in books that address the complexities and richness of borderlands experiences at different historical, cultural, and socio-political moments.

Fonseca-Chávez, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and associate professor at Arizona State University, is the author of Colonial Legacies Colonial Legacies in Chicana/o Literature and Culture: Looking Through the Kaleidoscope, published by the University of Arizona Press. Saavedra, assistant professor in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Oregon, is the author of Pasadena Before the Roses: Race, Identity, and Land Use in Southern California, 1771–1890.

Please contact the series editors for a full series description and proposal guidelines, vfonseca@asu.edu, yjs@uoregon.edu

Watch: Tsim Schneider Introduces the Archaeology of Refuge and Recourse

Posted on October 8, 2021October 7, 2021 by Savannah Hicks

October 8, 2021

The Archaeology of Refuge and Recourse explores the dual practices of refuge and recourse among Indigenous peoples of California. From the eighteenth to the twentieth century, Indigenous Coast Miwok communities in California persisted throughout multiple waves of colonial intrusion. But to what ends?

Applying theories of place and landscape, social memory, and mobility to the analysis of six archaeological sites, Tsim D. Schneider argues for a new direction in the archaeology of colonialism. This book offers insight about the critical and ongoing relationships Indigenous people maintained to their homelands despite colonization and systematic destruction of their cultural sites.

Watch Tsim Schneider introduce his new book below.

Tsim D. Schneider is a citizen of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His archaeological and historical research investigates the lives and decision making of Indigenous peoples contending with colonialism. Schneider is co-editor of Indigenous Landscapes and Spanish Missions: New Perspectives from Archaeology and Ethnohistory, and his research appears in such high-caliber journals as American Anthropologist, American Antiquity, and American Indian Quarterly.

The University of Arizona Press