Letras Latinas

Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies, seeks to enhance the visibility, appreciation, and study of Latino literature both on and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame with a focus on projects that identify and support newer voices. Letras Latinas actively seeks collaboration with individuals and organizations to more effectively carry out its mission.

Current Projects

Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize

Launched in 2004, the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize supports the publication of a first book by a Latino or Latina poet in collaboration with University of Notre Dame Press. Our winning titles thus far have been Pity the Drowned Horses by Sheryl Luna (chosen by Robert Vasquez), The Outer Bands by Gabriel Gomez (chosen by Valerie Martínez), My Kill Adore Him by Paul Martínez Pompa (chosen by Martín Espada), and Tropicalia by Emma Trelles (chosen by Silvia Curbelo). The 2012 edition of the prize will be judged by Francisco X. Alarcón.
http://latinostudies.nd.edu/poetry_prize/

Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize
Set to launch in 2012, the Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize supports the publication of a second or third book by a Latino or Latina poet. In addition to a book contract with Red Hen Press, the winning poet is also awarded a two-week residency at the Ragdale Foundation and invited to give a number of public readings. The inaugural final judge will be Notre Dame professor Orlando Ricardo Menes.
http://latinostudies.nd.edu/letras/poetryprize.php

Letras Latinas Oral History Project

Letras Latinas, under the direction of the archivist at the ILS, coordinates video interviews with Latino and Latina writers. The goal is to provide a resource on the web for students, scholars, and the general reader alike. To date we have posted over twenty interviews, including those with poets Valerie Martinez and Brenda Cárdenas and prose writers Daniel Alarcón and John Phillip Santos, to name a few.
http://latinostudies.nd.edu/history/search.php?stype=1&letter=0

Letras Latinas Presents
Letras Latinas enhances its profile and outreach by entering into strategic partnerships to produce literary programming around the nation. For example, “Latino/a Poetry Now” is a current multi-year national series in collaboration with the Poetry Society of America. Other programming partners include the Library of Congress and the Shakespeare Folger Library for programs in Washington, DC, and the Poetry Foundation for programs in Chicago, Illinois.
Latino/a Poetry Now

Letras Latinas Blog

To further its mission Letras Latinas Blog features content such as e-interviews, book review round-ups, and other forms of literary commentary. Regular contributors include Notre Dame MFA candidate Lauro Vazquez, Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize winner Emma Trelles, and Letras Latinas director Francisco Aragón. Guest blogger at-large is poet and CantoMundo fellow Oscar Bermeo.
http://latinopoetryreview.blogspot.com

Letras Latinas Residency Fellowship

In an effort to provide valuable time and space to an emerging artist, Letras Latinas has partnered with the Anderson Center, a member of the Alliance of Artist Communities. Every year Letras Latinas identifies one emerging writer who will especially benefit from this fellowship. In addition to room and board for one month, the Letras Latinas Fellow receives a stipend for travel and other expenses. He or she also takes part in a community activity in Red Wing, Minnesota. To learn more about the Anderson Center, visit: http://andersoncenter.org/
Letras Latinas Residency Fellowship

Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize Initiative
The Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize Initiative (AMPPI) is a two-year campaign (2011/12) to raise funds to ensure the long-term sustainability of the prize. Proceeds from the campaign will also help underwrite the publication of colón-ization, a posthumous collection of poetry by Andrés Montoya, under the editorial eye of writer and friend of the poet, Daniel Chacón. The principle vehicle for raising funds is the sale of a silkscreen print by distinguished artist and father of the poet, Malaquias Montoya. The print is inspired by Andrés Montoya's poem, "the escape."

The print can be purchased at Notre Dame Marketplace.

Concluded Projects

Poetas y Pintores: Artists Conversing with Verse
A multidisciplinary initiative that paired twelve Latino and Latina artists with twelve Latino and Latina poets, Poetas y Pintores was a traveling exhibition that landed in New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, CA, Michigan City, IN, Albuquerque, NM, and Logan, UT in addition to Saint Mary's College in Indiana where the project was launched in January of 2006. A joint effort with the Center for Women's InterCultural Leadership (CWIL) at Saint Mary's, the project was funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Poetas y Pintores

The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry on Tour
With funding from the National Association of Latino Art and Culture (NALAC), the Missouri Arts Council, and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the logistical partnership of Guild Complex, Letras Latinas carried out a seven-city two-year tour featuring the authors in The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press, 2007). The destinations were: Palm Beach, FL, Minneapolis, MN, Seattle, WA, Berkeley, CA, Chicago, IL, Kansas City, MO, and New York, NY. The award-winning volume was edited by Francisco Aragón, who directs Letras Latinas. The Wind Shifts Tour

Palabra Pura
A partnership with the Guild Complex, a community-based literary organization in Chicago, Palabra Pura is a Letras Latinas outreach program whose aim is to present the work, in live performance, of Latino and Latinas poets from around the United States. More recently, Palabra Pura has inaugurated literary dialogues between the Latino poetry community and other communities of color at special editions of Palabra Pura.
http://www.guildcomplex.org/?q=node/4

Latino Poetry Review (LPR)
The only journal of its kind in the United States, Latino Poetry Review published book reviews, essays, and interviews with an eye towards spurring inquiry and dialogue. LPR recognizes that Latino/a poets in the 21st century embrace, and work out of, a multitude of aesthetics. With this in mind, the critical focus is the poem and its poetics. LPR was launched in 2008 and appears annually.
http://www.latinopoetryreview.com/

"Chloe's Cabaret: Poetry, Music, Coffee, Conversation"
A partnership with the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center (DPAC) at Notre Dame and the Creative Writing Program, this initiative transformed the Philbin Studio Theatre into a café for the purpose of presenting poetry and music to the campus community and the community at large. Poets who appeared included: Victor Hernández Cruz, Tracie Morris, Barbara Jane Reyes, Tyehimba Jess, and Naomi Ayala.

Letras Latinas Young Writers Initiative
The Young Writers Initiative offered annual support to a Latino or Latina youth who was an aspiring writer. The project was a collaboration between Letras Latinas and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago and the Young Writers Workshop at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. The initiative offered a five-day program designed to give high school students the chance to explore and develop their talents in poetry and prose writing.
http://latinostudies.nd.edu/letras/initiative.php

Momotombo Press
Housed at the ILS since 2003 and named after a volcano in Nicaragua, Momotombo Press was a small literary press that publishes new voices in Latino literature in the chapbook format, with particular emphasis on writers who had yet to publish a full-length book. The press aimed to provide emerging artists with a significant publication at a crucial phase in their careers. Momotombo Press was founded by Letras Latinas director Francisco Aragón 2000, and the last acquiring and managing editor was Maria Melendez.
http://www.momotombopress.com

Letras Latinas is directed by Francisco Aragón. For more information, visit: http://franciscoaragon.net/