Celebrate Hispanic Literacy Day

Friends in San Diego: I’m one of the featured writers at the HISPANIC LITERACY DAY event at the South Chula Vista Public Library this Saturday, September 15 in Chula Vista. Perfect for the whole family, the free event features 25+ authors, illustrators, speakers, panelists, cultural performances and readings from Noon to 5pm. I’ll be reading from my books in the “Readings YA Room” at 1 pm and, from 2 to 3 pm, I’ll on a poetry panel (moderated by Thelma Reyna) with Sonia Gutiérrez, Yago Cura, and Caroline Gerardo in “Conference Room 2″. Throughout the day I’ll be at Table #15 in the Exhibition Hall, so stop by and say hi.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. This month celebrates the history, cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans.

It also recognizes the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Celebrate Hispanic Literacy Day
Saturday, September 15, 12:00 – 5:00
South Chula Vista Branch Library,
389 Orange Avenue,
Chula Vista, CA 91911
619-585-5755

The Brubury Tales –> (eBook, paperback and MP3) http://www.amazon.com/The-Brubury-Tales-ebook/dp/B007P73RT2/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories –> http://www.amazon.com/Four-Eyed-Fairy-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B005D7KFHI/ref=la_B004KUAB1Y_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347579493&sr=1-2

Ban This Anthology! Extremely Dangerous!!!

I wrote the opening essay for this powerful new book called Ban This: The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, edited by SJ Rivera, which was published on July 4th, 2012, is now available at Barnes & Nobles and Amazon.com in paperback from Broken Sword Publications.

Book Description:
WARNING: This book is a weapon. This book is extremely dangerous. This book is explosive. This book is illegal. This book could land you in jail! Broken Sword Publications proudly presents, ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, an unparalleled survey of some the best Xican@ voices of the modern era. Santino J. Rivera, author and indie publisher, introduces readers to the most significant and compelling voices of the Xican@ movement since Message to Aztlán. Selecting the best literature available from barrios coast to coast, Rivera has created an anthology that in itself is an act of defiance to those who would ban books, censor culture and re-write history. This collection reflects both a dynamic and cohesive portrait of modern Xican@ literature – which is American literature. These are the stories for a new generation of revolutionaries. This groundbreaking anthology includes works by Francisco X. Alarcón, Gustavo Arellano, Lalo Alcaraz, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rodolfo Acuña as well as works from many new voices culled from the woodsheds of Neo Aztlán. ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature is a weapon of mass education. These are our stories and they deserve to be heard. This book is a tightly-packed tome of literary rebellion just waiting to be unleashed.

Full list of contributors in alphabetical order:

Adrianna Simone

Alejandro Dennis Morales

Andrea J. Serrano

Annemarie Pérez

Art Meza

David Cid

Deadlee

Del Zamora

Francisco X. Alarcón

Frank Mundo

Frank S. Lechuga

Gina Ruiz

Gustavo Arellano

Hector Chavana Jr.

Jehuniko

Jessica Lopez Lyman

Jim Marquez

Johnathan Gomez

José-Ariel Cuevas

Karina Oliva

Lalo Alcaraz

Lauro Vasquez

Lizz Huerta

Luis Alberto Urrea

Luisa Leija

Maria Cesena

Mario Barrera

Matt Sedillo

Miguel Jimenez

Milo M. Alvarez

Noemi Martinez

Odilia Galván Rodríguez

Phyllis Victoria Lopez

Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriguez

Rodolfo Acuna

Sara Ines Calderon

Santino J. Rivera

Vincent Cooper

Xicano X

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories.

The Brubury Tales on MP3…and the Bestsellers List

Earlier this year, I won a spoken word poetry contest at The Rapp Saloon in Santa Monica hosted by Don Kingfisher Campbell. The prize was time in the recording studio with producer Barry Schwam to record from my work.

Well, here it is, Selections from The Brubury Tales, which includes Five sections of The Brubury Tales read by me — about 45 minutes of material!

And I’m pleased to report that Selections from The Brubury Tales is still hanging in there at #88 (but falling quickly) on Amazon’s best selling spoken word poetry albums list (it reached #5 yesterday).

Download the MP3 now before it falls off for good

The Brubury Tales is a modern version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles just after the 1992 riots. Also available in paperback and for kindle at Amazon.

Coming soon for Nook.

Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories

Frank Mundo Reads from The Brubury Tales at Beyond Baroque Bookstore

Frank Mundo reads and signs The Brubury Tales, a modern version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles, at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center and Bookstore.

Date: June 15, Friday, 2012
Time: 7:30 PM

Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center and Bookstore
681 Venice Bl. Venice, CA 90291
310-822-3006  Get directions
$7, $5 students, seniors & kids
www.beyondbaroque.org

About the Book
An ambitious homage to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, The Brubury Tales takes Chaucer’s story and frame to Los Angeles just after the riots, where seven security guards on the graveyard shift swap tales in a hilarious storytelling competition for Christmas vacation time. The tales themselves are “readable” updates of classic stories by Dostoevsky, Dickens, Boccaccio, O Henry, Poe, Twain, Gilman, Crane, Saki, Anderson, Bierce, and even Khayyam’s Rubaiyat.

The Brubury Tales, a bestselling Amazon.com poetry book in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, won a Poet Laureate Award nomination for UCLA and Berkeley, Reader Views 2011 Reviewers Choice Award for Poetry Book of the Year and the 2011 Bookhitch award for Most Innovative Poetry Book of the Year. The book has also won a Reason to Rhyme Award from Byline Magazine, was selected for Powell library’s month-long WORDS… exhibit, and an excerpt was published by Indiana University.

This unique novel-in-verse also contains a special foreword by California literary legend, Carolyn See, who says, “The Brubury Tales is a landmark book, in what is going to be — and already is — an exceptional, distinguished literary career.”

About the Author
Frank Mundo, the LA Books Examiner, is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories. Frank Mundo has been a writer and book reviewer in Los Angeles for almost 20 years, publishing hundreds of stories, poems, essays, book reviews and author interviews. Frank earned a BA in English from UCLA, where he completed the Creative Writing Program. Frank grew up in Los Angeles where he currently lives with his wife, Nancy, and their dogs, Jax and Rusty.

The Brubury Tales by Frank Mundo is available in paperback and eBook formats at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Underground Heroes Feature: LA Poetry Scene

Wow, I was mentioned, along with my book The Brubury Tales, in this really great article by Mike Sonksen about the LA poetry scene called Underground Heroes on KCET’s page.

http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/landofsunshine/la-letters/underground-heroes-dispatch-1.html

Check it out if you have a minute and please like the page.

Language with Mike the Poet at The Last Bookstore

If you’re looking for a great way to beat the heat on Sunday afternoon, The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles is holding its monthly open mic event called Language With Mike The Poet.

When: Sunday, May 20th, 3 pm – 5 pm

Where: The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring Street in Downtown. 213.488.0599. Get Directions.

Who: Mike “The Poet” Sonksen is a 3rd-generation LA native acclaimed for poetry performances, published articles and legendary city tours. Poet, journalist, historian, tour guide, teacher, Sonksen graduated from U.C.L.A. and is the author of I Am Alive in Los Angeles, which is available on iTunes and has been added to the curriculum of several universities. Mike has performed his poetry coast to coast at college campuses, museums, bookstores, nightclubs and just about any venue you can imagine. See Mike The Poet in action on YouTube.

Featured poets for this month’s event are Traci Akemi and Gia Scott-Heron.

Traci Akemi is a multi-disciplinary artist, arts educator, community organizer and founder of the Tuesday Night Project. Author of a collection of poetry, Signaling (The Undeniables press), Traci tours universities, libraries and community events, presenting readings and workshops to diverse audiences, from performers to youth educators, high school students to senior citizens.

Gia Scott-Heron AKA “Miss Gia” has been writing songs and poetry since the age of 10. She began pursuing poetry full time after graduating with honors from Pitzer college in 2002. Miss Gia has performed at various venues, including Spreadin’ Love N Spoken Word, The World Stage, The Regent, ‘Da Poetry Lounge, Remedy, Reflections, Shades of Afrika, Green, and Natural High, to name a few. She has published books of poetry, including Introducing Me, Scott Free, and Contagias and produced an LP called Souletree, a compilation of 12 of her favorite poems set to music. Learn more about Miss Gia and her work at her website.

Other great Local poets, artists and performers scheduled to appear include: Armond Kinard, Joe Gardner, V. Lazaro Zamora, Allan Arnold Gamalinda Aquino, Cara Van Le, Irene Soriano, Edren Sumagaysay, Trevon Kelley, Jamal Carter, Forrest Wilson, Juan Bueno, Sho’ EslaBomba Kilson, Peter Woods, Jesse Bliss, Elena Secota, and me, Frank Mundo, your LA Books Examiner.

Get out of the house this weekend! Join Mike The Poet at The Last Bookstore for a great line-up of poetry and spoken-word performances from local writers and artists you don’t want to miss.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy. Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates to LA Books Examiner.

Two New Interviews

Very exciting! I was interviewed twice this week about my books and my life. I’ve posted links to both if you want to check them out

First, I had a Q and A with Jess C Scott about writing, my favorite poets and my novel in verse, The Brubury Tales, which is now available on kindle. (The Brubury Tales made Amazon’s bestseller list #81 in the UK, #40 in Italy, #99 in Spain!)

And, on April 28th I was interviewed by Laura Lme and Cecilia Francisquini on the Verses In Motion Show on GetYourz Radio | Blog Talk Radio. It was recorded live and you can listen to it now.  In the interview I read an excerpt from The Brubury Tales and discussed the book, its inspiration and origin.

Here’s a link to some previous interviews I did with the Cypress Park branch of the LA Public Library and author Susan Whitfield http://frankmundo.wordpress.com/category/author-interviews/

20-year Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots: Poetry

It’s the 20-year anniversary of the LA Riots, which the setting and the theme for The Brubury Tales, a 65,000 word novel in rhyming verse that takes race issues of the time head on.

Just released on kindle in March –> http://tinyurl.com/6nv6mx2

Check it out if you have a minute.

A Favorite Read and a Bestseller…

It’s been an amazing week for me and my books.

My first book, a novel in verse called The Brubury Tales, is now available on kindle. In the first week it made Amazon’s bestselling poetry book list in the UK #81 and #40 in Italy (for books in English).

My second book, Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories was reviewed and name a 2012 favorite read for April by Multi-Story.co.uk and received a 5-star review. It’s available on Kindle today for only 99 cents. Download it now before the price goes up.

Thanks to everyone who has given these books a shot. I really appreciate your support! It’s very exciting and beyond my wildest dreams how well the books are doing.

Rhapsodomancy Writers Reading Series Sunday February 12th

Join writers Jeff Hoffman, Mandy Kahn, Andrea Lambert, and Eireene Nealand as they read their work for the Rhapsodomancy Reading series.

When: Sunday, February 12, 2012
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. - Reading begins at 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Good Luck Bar, 1514 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, 90027 (east Hollywood/Silver Lake: corner of Hollywood & Hillhurst)

Who: 21 and over only.
$3 suggested donation at door. There will be a cash bar.

http://www.rhapsodomancy.org

Jeff Hoffman’s first book of poems, Journal of American Foreign Policy, won the New Issues Poetry Prize and was recently featured in Poets & Writers as one of the notable debuts of 2011. His poems have appeared in The New Republic, Ploughshares, Spinning Jenny, and elsewhere. He has been a Stegner Fellow in poetry at Stanford and a Chesterfield Screenwriting Fellow with Paramount Pictures. He currently works as a creative executive at Phoenix Pictures, a film production company in Los Angeles.

Mandy Kahn is co-author, with Aaron Rose, of the nonfiction book Collage Culture (JRP/Ringer).  Her poetry is anthologized in From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, edited by Ishmael Reed. She’s been a columnist for Foam, a guest columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a contributor to Glamour. She is writer-in-residence for The Series, a live monthly event that takes place on the rooftop of the Standard Hotel downtown, for which she writes poetry, prose and experimental theater to accompany works of contemporary dance, performance art and music. As a poet, she’s been a featured reader in the Red(D)ress series at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, the Little Birds series at Tavin, the Serenade Sunset series for the Silver Lake Jubilee festival, the Redondo Poets series at the Coffee Cartel, and on radio station KXLU. Mandy lives in Echo Park. www.collageculture.com

Andrea Lambert is the author of Jet Set Desolate (Future Fiction London, 2009) and Lorazepam and the Valley of Skin / 730910-2155 (valeveil, 2009) She holds an MFA in Critical Studies from CalArts, and is co-curator of the Featherless reading series. Her work has appeared in 3:AM Magazine, SUNSET.UNFO!, Chronometry, You’ve Probably Read this Before, Tomorrow’s Literature Today (forthcoming) and the So-Cal Telephone Book (forthcoming). She has performed at the West Hollywood Book Fair, the Los Angeles Road Concerts, the 2nd New Los Angeles Folk Festival, homo-centric and the REDCAT Lounge.

Eireene Nealand’s short stories, poems, and translations have been published in Sidebrow, the St. Petersgurg Review, Fourteen Hills, ZYZZYVA and the Western Humanities Review, among other places. She won an Elisabeth Kostova Foundation Fellowship to attend a fiction seminar in Sozopol, Bulgaria, and was the 2004 Ivan Klima Fellow in Fiction at the Prague Summer Programs. In addition to working as a writer, she is currently graduate student at UC Santa Cruz, where she studies proprioception, a neurobiological phenomenon that allows us to see textures and shifts.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy. Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates.

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