Bellevue Literary Event (ArtsCrush) Lit Twice: Luminado Dos Veces

Hey ya'll I'm super excited to be featured at this event produced by La Sala, as part of ArtsCrush taking place Wednesday October 12th at Bellevue Arts Museum! 

Hope to see you there!

LIT TWICE/LUMINADO DOS VECES 

An ArtsCrush Featured Literary Event at Bellevue Arts Museum

(Seattle, WA – September 19, 2011) On Wednesday, October 12, 5:30 - 8pm, La Sala and Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) are hosting a reading of new literary creations inspired by the objects of adornment in BAM’s groundbreaking exhibition Think Twice: New Latin American Jewelry. Don’t miss this exciting fusion of literary and visual art!

Think Twice (through October 16 at BAM) brings together more than 130 works by over 90 artists from 25 countries. Think Twice is the largest collection of contemporary Latin American jewelry to be seen in the United States and BAM is the only museum in the Northwest to showcase this fascinating exhibition.

Lit Twice/Luminado dos Veces is a response to this unprecedented collection of artwork.

Local writers Nilki Benitez, Catalina M. Cantú, Felicia Gonzalez, Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, Donna Miscolta, Maria De Lourdes Victoria and Rita Wirkala were given three images from Think Twice to use as inspiration for two new literary works of art.

Lit Twice is recipient of a grant via a unique partnership between Arts Crush and Amazon.com that was given to foster new writing and new writers/authors. The seven writers are a thrilling group of established and emerging literary artists. This exciting Arts Crush Featured Event builds community, invites collaboration, and celebrates creativity.

La Sala is a collective formed to coalesce and mobilize the growing Latino/Latina arts community of the Seattle/Bellevue area. Bellevue Arts Museum is the Pacific Northwest’s center for the exploration of art, craft and design. Arts Crush is a month-long festival that connects artists and audiences with invigorating new experiences at hundreds of events across the region.

Come early for a docent tour, music, and wine and appetizers. Enjoy bilingual interpretations exploring this mesmerizing exhibit.

Schedule: *** 5:30 pm Docent Tour of Think Twice: New Latin American Jewelry *** 6:30 pm Reception with music by Miho & Diego Duo *** 7:00-8:00 pm Literary Readings

About the Participating Writers:

Nilki Benitez is an Acentos Poetry Foundation Fellow of Colombian heritage. She is a poet and journalist whose work has appeared in several online and print media. Her poetry is art as a weapon for social and environmental justice.

Catalina M. Cantú of Mexican/Madeiran heritage writes essays, poetry, and prose, inspired by her experiences in social justice, domestic relationships, and economic survival. She formerly chaired Los Norteños Northwest Latino Writers Group. She is now writing a young adult adventure series.

Felicia Gonzalez was born in Cuba. A Hedgebrook alumna, her writing has received numerous awards including Artist Trust Fellowship, 4 Culture, and CityArtist. She’s currently working on a collection of interrelated short stories, Swimming in Mercury, exploring the relationship of language to identity.

Gabriella Gutierrez y Muhs, PhD. is an associate professor at Seattle University and the 2009-2012 Latin American Studies Program Director. Her literary and cultural criticism has been published in various journals in the US and abroad. She is an anthologized Chicana writer, as well as a Latina/Chicana cultural worker.

Donna Miscolta of Mexican/Filipino heritage is the author of the novel When the de la Cruz Family Danced. Her unpublished story collection Natalie Wood’s Fake Puerto Rican Accent was a finalist for the 2010 Grace Paley Award for Short Fiction. Find news of her publications, awards, and residencies at www.donnamiscolta.com.

Maria de Lourdes Victoria is from Veracruz, Mexico. Her fiction has been published internationally in English and Spanish. Her second novel, Beyond Justice, took third place at the prestigious Planeta Book Award. Her first novel, I leave you the sea, was the finalist for the Mariposa Book Award. Her short stories have appeared in prominent literary journals in the US.

Rita Wirkala is a writer and a teacher (University of Washington) originally from Argentina. Excerpts of her novel El encuentro (Pearson Ed) are in her blog: http://ritawirkalawriting.blogspot.com/ She is the director of All Bilingual Press, a company specialized in Spanish texts for children.