L.A. Book Launch: Canícula/Dog Days by William Archila

William Archila’s Canícula/Dog Days is a bilingual selection of his first two books of poetry, The Art of Exile and The Gravedigger’s Archaeology, two collections that chart the emergence of a newcomer in the chorus of Latine Poetry. Canícula, which means “dog days” in English, takes the reader on a poignant journey from the unrest in El Salvador in the 1980s to the urban landscape of the US immigrant, revealing the turmoil and memory of the disempowered, the impoverished, and the displaced who struggle back home in Central America. In lyrical and often harrowing language, Archila unearths the vestiges of war and the exile’s return in an elegy, the fragments of a myth, or a jazz riff. They come together like the bilateral symmetry of a volcano, and the result is the introduction to Archila’s poetry for the Spanish reader.

The author will be joined by Omar Barcena, Mariano Zaro, and Carolina Rivera Escamilla in The Wanda Coleman Theater for readings in English and Spanish.

Canícula / Dog Days de William Archila es una selección bilingüe de sus dos primeros libros de poesía, El arte del exilio y La arqueología del sepulturero, dos poemarios que marcan el surgimiento de un nuevo referente en la poesía latina. Dog Days, que significa “canícula”, lleva al lector a través de un viaje conmovedor desde la agitación en El Salvador en la década de 1980 hasta el paisaje urbano del inmigrante en los Estados Unidos, revelando la angustia y la memoria de los marginados, los empobrecidos y los desplazados, que luchan por volver a su hogar en Centroamérica. Con un lenguaje lírico y a menudo desgarrador, Archila desentierra los vestigios de la guerra y el regreso del exiliado en una elegía, en los fragmentos de un mito o en un riff de jazz. Estos se conjugan como la simetría de un volcán, y el resultado es la presentación de la poesía de Archila al lector en español.

El autor estará acompañado en el Teatro Wanda Coleman por Omar Barcena, Mariano Zaro y Carolina Rivera Escamilla para realizar lecturas en inglés y español.

About the authors / Semblanzas de los autores

William Archila is the winner of the 2023 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry for his collection S is For. His first collection The Art of Exile was awarded the International Latino Book Award, an Emerging Writer Fellowship Award from the Writer’s Center and was selected for The Fifth Annual Debut Poets Round Up” in Poets & Writers. The Gravedigger’s Archaeology, Archila’s second book, received the Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize. He has been awarded the Alan Collins Scholarship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Fighting Fund Fellow Award from the University of Oregon. He was also awarded the 2023 Jack Hazard fellowship.

William Archila es el ganador del Premio Philip Levine de Poesía 2023 por su colección S is For. Su primera colección, The Art of Exile, fue galardonada con el International Latino Book Award, recibió una beca para escritores emergentes del Writer’s Center y fue seleccionada para la Quinta Muestra Anual de Poetas Debutantes (Fifth Annual Debut Poets Round Up) de la revista Poets & Writers. The Gravedigger’s Archaeology, el segundo libro de Archila, recibió el Premio de Poesía Letras Latinas/Red Hen. Ha sido distinguido con la Beca Alan Collins de la Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference y con la Beca Fighting Fund de la Universidad de Oregón. Asimismo, le fue otorgada la Beca Jack Hazard 2023.

Omar Bárcena is a poet and architect originally from the border city of Mexicali, Baja California, but also raised in adjoining Calexico, California. His two poetry collections were published by Valparaíso Ediciones of Granada, Spain, and other works of his appear in various trilingual anthologies across the American continent. At this stage in his life, he collaborates with Sonnam, a gothic rock band from Portland, Oregon, as a Spanish-language singer-songwriter.

Omar Bárcena es poeta y arquitecto, originario de la ciudad fronteriza de Mexicali, Baja California, pero igualmente criado en Calexico, Alta California. Tiene dos poemarios publicados por Valparaíso Ediciones de Granada, España, y otras piezas suyas aparecen en varias antologías trilingües del continente americano. En esta etapa de su vida colabora con Sonnam, un grupo de rock gótico de Portland, Oregón, como cantautor en español.

Carolina Rivera Escamilla is an educator, writer, poet, actor, documentarian, cultural activist, and organizer of literary community events. Born in El Salvador, She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied Spanish Literature and film at UCLA Extension. She is a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow. Her first collection of short stories, ...after..., was published in 2015 by World Stage Press. Her debut collection of theatrical poetry, "In a Corner of Your Country," was published in 2023 by Bellucci, Palms & Carmichael, LLC Press. The Spanish edition, titled "En una Esquina de tu País," was released in March 2024 by Poetry Ambassador Press. She directed, wrote, and produced the documentary "Manlio Argueta, Poets and Volcanoes." (2011) Her work has appeared in Collateral Damage, Women Who Write About War Anthology (University of Virginia Press), Migrant Anthology, Somewhere We Are Humans (Harper Collins Press), The Bomb Literary Magazine, and the Altadena Poetry Review Anthology (Golden Foothills Press), Central American Women in Diaspora, Anthology (The University of Arizona Press), among others.www.altivofilms.com/www.carolinariveraescamilla.com

Carolina Rivera Escamilla es educadora, escritora, poeta, actor, documentalista, activista cultural y organizadora de eventos literarios comunitarios. Nacida en El Salvador, obtuvo una licenciatura en Literatura Inglesa por la Universidad de California, Los Ángeles, y cursos de estudió Literatura Española y Cine en UCLA Extensión. Ha sido becaria del programa Emerging Voices de PEN America. Su primera colección de relatos cortos, ...after..., fue publicada en 2015 por World Stage Press. Su primera colección de poesía teatral, «In a Corner of Your Country», fue publicada en 2023 por Bellucci, Palms & Carmichael, LLC Press. La edición en español, titulada «En una Esquina de tu País», fue publicada en marzo de 2024 por Poetry Ambassador Press. Dirigió, escribió y produjo el documental «Manlio Argueta, Poets and Volcanoes». (2011) Su obra ha aparecido en Collateral Damage, Women Who Write About War Anthology (University of Virginia Press), Migrant Anthology, Somewhere We Are Humans (Harper Collins Press), The Bomb Literary Magazine y Altadena Poetry Review Anthology (Golden Foothills Press), Central American Women in Diaspora, Anthology (The University Arizona Press), y otras publicaciones.

Mariano Zaro is the author of seven books of poetry, most recently The Weight of Sound (Walton Well Press), Decoding Sparrows (What Books Press, Los Angeles) and Padre Tierra (Olifante, Zaragoza, Spain). His poems and short stories have been published in anthologies and literary journals in Mexico, Spain and the United States. His translations include Buda en llamas by Tony Barnstone and Cómo escribir una canción de amor by Sholeh Wolpé. He is a professor of Spanish at Río Hondo Community College (Whittier, CA).

Mariano Zaro es autor de siete libros de poesía; sus títulos más recientes son The Weight of Sound (Walton Well Press), Decoding Sparrows (What Books Press, Los Ángeles) y Padre Tierra (Olifante, Zaragoza, España). Sus poemas y relatos breves han aparecido en antologías y revistas literarias de México, España y Estados Unidos. Entre sus traducciones se encuentran Buda en llamas, de Tony Barnstone, y Cómo escribir una canción de amor, de Sholeh Wolpé. Es profesor de español en el Rio Hondo Community College (Whittier, CA).

About Beyond Baroque

Beyond Baroque is one of the United States' leading independent Literary | Arts Centers and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Founded in 1968 as an experimental literary magazine, Beyond Baroque is based out of the original City Hall building in Venice, California. The Center offers a diverse variety of literary and arts programming including readings and workshops. The building also houses a bookstore with a large collection of new poetry books for sale.

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