Public Poetry Winter Series Reading

Public Poetry will be ringing in 2012 with a new Winter Series at Park Place Regional Library on Saturday, January 7 at 2:00 PM.

I will be one of the featured poets reading at this event. According to the press release:

"In addition to the featured poets - Outspoken Bean, Radames Ortiz, Loueva Smith and Randall Watson - we're delighted to have Ad Deum Dance Company (dance video) as our special guest at the start, as well as a talented student poet joining us."

The event will take place at:
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Park Place Regional Library, 8145 Park Place, Houston, Texas 77017
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM

Poem for the Holiday Blog Tour 2011

I know I'm suppose to share a poem about the holidays for this Holiday Blog Tour 2011 but I have never been good at writing poetry centered around a theme. But one thing the holidays are about besides presents is family. One of the most important members of my family was my grandmother.

My grandmother was the matriarch and she loomed over us like a humid summer in Houston. She was big part in our lives, in my life. Don't get me wrong, she had her faults, plenty of them but she had her good ones too. For example, she showed me how to be man. On Sundays, she would sit in her rocking chair with her parrot, Pancha on her shoulder while watching Mexican boxing. She would tell me things like men, real men speak with confident, deep voices. So, the following poem is for her.

Enjoy your holidays and enjoy the time with your family.

Domingo Boxeo

Abuelita sits in rocking chair
with multicolored parrot on
left shoulder while knitting
a sweater three sizes too small
for a grandson pudgy around
the waist. On the television
two men circle each other in a ring.
Dusty-skinned Hispanic dancing
around,lashing jabs,tentative left hooks,
right crosses that dissolve in midair
or turn into harmless slaps.
This is domingo where abuela
refuses to stay in linoleum kitchen.
Her bones cringing from sunlight
forced into her veins. Her brittle
shoulders with Palmolive soap
stilling the stale scent death
with sweet perfume. Despite all
signs of danger, all threats of disease
her hands remain outstretched,
reaching for cursive shadows of sun.
In this garage apartment
rests center of my family, source of
masculine pride & identity.
When I was 9 with voice soft,
sweet like girl in summer rain
she yelled, Habla como hombre
Or when she picked ticks off
pitbull, making me step on
tiny crawling sacks of blood.
This is Maria Luisa Ortiz,
woman who walked on snow-covered
Chicago streets to garment factories
in warehouse district.
Woman who pulled weeds out of rose bush
gardens with hands chapped,
knotted with cuts, bruises & scars.
But on days like this, watching
boxing on old television screen,
I emerge with laughter: manly,
tough like abuela's hands.


*Be sure to stop on the next stop of the Holiday Blog Tour with Deborah Grace Staley

Holiday Blog Tour 2011 Begins

I'm very excited to announce that the Holiday Blog Tour 2011 with 23 writers ranging from established to emerging writers has begun.

You can read some up-and-coming, some bestselling and some soon-to-be best selling authors. And they'll get you in the holiday spirit!

We have something for everyone, from poets to fiction writers and some memoir folks are coming to party too.

And if you're a really good reader, some will have a present for you. And if you're a super good reader, and read all the stories, there's a present for you, too. But you have to wait until the end.

First one up is Julia Amante, author of Evenings at the Argentine Club and Say You'll Be Mine. She starts us off with a great story about her first Christmas with her family together.

If you leave a comment on her post, you can be entered to win one of her novels.

The tour continues on Saturday, December 3rd with me! Be sure to stop by to read a poem I'll post for the blog tour.

Thanks to awesome writer, Icess Fernandez at the Writing to Insanity blog for putting this together.

Below is the rest of the lineup for the tour.

Happy Holidays!

Dec. 3 Radames Ortiz
Dec. 4 Deborah Grace Staley
Dec. 5 Zoraida Cordova
Dec. 6.Danielle Klenak
Dec. 7 Lupe Mendez
Dec. 8 Natasha Oliver
Dec. 9 Maria Ferrer
Dec. 10 Sidney Williams
Dec. 11 Toni Plummer
Dec. 12 Mayra Calvani
Dec. 13 Kristy Harding
Dec. 14 Thelma Reyna
Dec. 15.Sylvia Mendoza
Dec. 16 Regina Tingle
Dec. 17 Teresa Dovalpage
Dec. 18 Mirta Espinola
Dec. 19 Kim Brown
Dec. 20 Gwen Jerris
Dec. 21 Paula Altschuler
Dec. 22 Caridad Pinero
Dec. 23 Teresa Carbajal Revet
Dec. 24 Icess Fernandez Rojas

Dagoberto Gilb Book Signing Tonight in Houston

Author Dagoberto Gilb will have a book signing for his new book "BEFORE THE END, AFTER THE BEGINNING" in Houston at Barnes & Nobles, Thursday, November 17, 2011.

The event is hosted by Nuestra Palabra founder Tony Diaz, publisher of AztecMuse Magazine and features performances by Nuestra Palabra Discoveries and poets - Radames Ortiz, Lupe Mendez and Jasmine Mendez.

Pulitzer-prize winning Richard Ford says the stories in BEFORE THE END, AFTER THE BEGINNING, are “quirky, confronting, intense, often darkly funny stories” which nevertheless reveal a “sense of profound human longing and a dream of harmony.”

The event is free and will be from 6:30pm - 8:00pm at Barnes & Nobles 7626 Westheimer @ Voss, Houston, Texas 77063.

Interview on the Front Row Radio Show @ Noon Today

Today at noon on The Front Row radio show, poet Loueva Smith and me will be featured guests. We will read some poetry and talk about our upcoming reading this Saturday at the Kendall Branch of the Houston Public Library for the Public Poetry reading series.

To listen tune in to 91.7 KUHA FM or listen on the website.

Here is a description of the show.

"Wednesday, we focus on the International Festival-Institute at Round Top. We hear a concert performance by last year’s Texas Festival Orchestra, and speak with conductor JoAnn Falletta who talks about the concert she’ll direct this Saturday on Festival Hill. We’ll also hear from Bayou City poets, Loueva Smith and Radames Ortíz, who will read Saturday afternoon at the Kendall Branch of the Houston Public Library on this month’s installment of the Library’s Public Poetry Reading Series."

UPDATE: Up late tonight? The Front Row radio show will be rebroadcasted. Poet Loueva Smith and me will be featured guests. We will read some poetry and talk about our upcoming reading this Saturday for the Public Poetry reading series.

We'll be on at 11:45pm on 88.7 FM (central time)

Interview on Nuestra Palabra Radio Show Tonight!

Tonight I will be on the radio to promote the upcoming Public Poetry reading this Saturday, July 2nd at the Kendall Library.

To learn more check out the information below:


"Nuestra Palabra Radio 2nite! Public Poetry Poets Radames Ortiz and Outspoken Bean give you a preview of their Saturday reading AND Wendy Call tells us why there’s NO WORD FOR WELCOME when it comes to Mexican villages and the global economy. Also, if you clicked our LIKE button, find out how we’re showing you some LIKE back fans. 7pm CST on 90.1 FM or www.KPFT.org"

Poetry Broadsides Published in Scythe Literary Journal

A while back, I collaborated with two amazing artists, Kabuki Katze and Cristal Rivera to create a couple of poetry broadsides based on my poems "Relapse" and "[It's disturbing, she says. Walking out the door. Sleek like a mule]"



The broadsides have recently been published in the latest issue of Scythe literary journal.

You can view Kabuki Katze's poetry broadside here and Cristal Rivera's poetry broadside here.

The issue also features work by Bob Hicok, Jo McDougall, Alan May, Felino A. Soriano, Jason Hardung, Chris McCreary, Sally Molini and more.

Be sure to submit your poems for the next issue. Before you submit, check out Scythe's submission guidelines. to submit your poetry and fiction.

Charlie Sheen is a Published Warlock Poet

We all knew Charlie Sheen is a warlock poet but did you know he's a published one too! Charlie Sheen self-published a book of poetry entitled A Peace of My Mind back in the day.

Here is an excerpt:

Afternoon chaos turned to laughter,
As the lady in grey pierces the surface of the private aquarium,
Peach body held tight by the warmth of day,
Eyes fixed to locate, steady flow consumed,
A charred eruption takes suddenly the safety from her glow.
No place to hide, clear water raging black,
Looking hard for shallow hope, it’s gone, she consumed it.
Mascara bleeding, eyes of fire turned to stone,
Forced smile fading, laughing jackal breaks the leash.

You can listen to Charlie read this poem by watching the trailer of the film Tale of Two Sisters directed by Adam Rifkin, the artist that illustrated Sheen's poetry book.

Monster (Drupal Remix) Rap Video featuring A. Hughes and D. Stagg

For those of you who personally know me know that I am not only into poetry but I am also very much into technology specifically social media, search engine marketing and content management systems. So, I am pretty lucky that I work with a bunch of other tech geeks who share the same passions as I do.

My homies A.Hughes and D.Stagg recently dropped their rap video "Monster (Drupal Remix)." It's a remix of Kanye West's Monster.

The track gives love to Drupal, an open source content management system. You can download the mp3 here and watch the nerdtastic video below.

BTW, I make a quick cameo in it.

"Monster (Drupal Remix feat. A.Hughes and D.Stagg)" from Schipul - The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

Check out "Word Around Town Ep. 4 Podcast" featuring poet Radames Ortiz and electronic musician Jonathan Jindra

Jonathan Jindra and I were interviewed for the Word Around Town's December "A Little Poetry Podcast".

According to their website, "This podcast is your ongoing source for interviews, commentary and poetry recorded live in Houston, Texas with your hosts Stephen Gros and Teresa Juarez."

Below is a description of the show.

A conversation with Houston-based poet Radames Ortiz and his audio collaborator, the composer Trills (Jonathan Jindra).

Listen to a great discussion with poet Radames Ortiz and musician Jonathan Jindra. We discussed their upcoming multimedia collaboration of poetry and music; the way artists release CDs now and how they are marketed; the tools used to put together the project.

Click on this link to listen to the poetry podcast interview and to one of our sample tracks from our upcoming poetry cd.

PlasmaCar Racing at Schipul-The Web Marketing Company 2010

This was my first year to experience the Thanksgiving PlasmaCar racing at Schipul - The Web Marketing company this year. Graphic artist and web guru, Ben Gillin put together this great video of the races. Enjoy.

PlasmaCar Race Day from Schipul - The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

Alice Walker Discusses Why She Prefers Publishing on the Internet

I found this interesting post from the Poetry Foundation blog regardingAlice Walker's visit to Google Headquarters as part of their authors series back in October. She talks about technology, poetry and her latest book of poetry, Hard Times Require Furious Dancing and why she chooses to publish some poems directly online through her website.

I love this quote from her talk:

"I decided to write new poetry and put it on the internet first because I wanted to go directly to people.

When you write a poem the feeling is of instantly wanting to share it because you automatically think of poetry, I think, as a medicine. And this is the medicine that comes to you in that moment and you just want somebody else to have it."