Luis J. Rodriguez

Luis J. Rodriguez has emerged as one of the leading Chicano writers in the country with fifteen published books in memoir, fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, and poetry. Luis’ poetry has won a Poetry Center Book Award, a PEN Josephine Miles Literary Award, and a Paterson Poetry Book Prize, among others. His children’s books—“America is Her Name” and “It Doesn’t Have to be This Way: A Barrio Story”—have won a Patterson Young Adult Book Award, two Skipping Stones Honor Awards, and a Parent’s Choice Book Award. A short story collection, “The Republic of East L.A.,” and a novel, “Music of the Mill,” came out in 2001 e 2005, both from Rayo Books/Harper Collins. A poetry collection, “My Nature is Hunger: Nuovo & Selected Poems” appeared in 2005 from Curbstone Press/Rattle Edition (other poetry books have also been published by Curbstone Press and Tia Chucha Press). Limited-edition hand-made art books and broadsides of Luis’ poems have also been made by C & C Press of Pajaro, CA for sale to collectors, università, biblioteche, and other institutions, including “Seven,” “Two Women/Dos Mujeres,” “Perhaps,” and “Making Medicine.”

Luis is best known for the 1993 memoir of gang life, “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.” (paperback by Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster). Now selling more than 400,000 copie, this book garnered a Carl Sandburg Literary Award, a Chicago Sun-Times Book Award, and was designated a New York Times Notable Book. It became a stage play by the Cornerstone Theater Company at the Mark Taper Auditorium in the L.A. Public Library da 2003-2005 a 6,000 studenti delle scuole superiori, and at the Ivar Theater in Hollywood for a limited six-day run in 2005. Written as a cautionary tale for Luis’ then 15-year-old son Ramiro—who had joined a Chicago gang—the memoir is popular among youth and teachers. One Los Angeles Public Library official said “Always Running” is the most checked out book in their vast library system—and also the most “stolen.” Despite its popularity, the American Library Association called “Always Running” one of the 100 libri più censurati negli Stati Uniti

Il suo ultimo libro è il sequel tanto atteso di "Running sempre,” entitled “It Calls You Back: An Odyssey attraverso l'Amore, Dipendenza, Revolutions, e guarigione " (Touchstone Books / Simon & Schuster), pubblicato nell'autunno del 2011. C'è anche un e-book da Simon & Schuster and an audio book of “It Calls You Back” from Dreamscape Audio Books.

Eppure, per tutte le polemiche, Luis has gained the respect of the literary community. Tra i suoi riconoscimenti, he’s received a City of Los Angeles Arts Fellowship, a Sundance Institute Art Writers Fellowship, a Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writers’ Award, a Lannan Fellowship for Poetry, un Hispanic Heritage Award per la letteratura, an Algonquin West Literary Award from West Hollywood, CA, a National Association for Poetry Therapy Public Service Award, a California Arts Council Fellowship, un dell'Illinois Autore of the Year Award, Illinois Arts Council fellowships, Residency di uno scrittore North Carolina, and the 2001 Border Award, tra gli altri.

Luis is also known for helping start community organizations-like Chicago’s Guild Complex, one of the largest literary arts organizations in the Midwest; Humboldt Park teenager Reach a Chicago; e Tia Chucha Press, uno dei principali piccole presse di questo paese. È uno dei fondatori della gioventù lotta per la sopravvivenza, a Chicago-based not-for-profit working with gang and non-gang youth. He helped start Rock A Mole (rima con guacamole) Produzioni, which produces music/arts festivals, CD, ei film a Los Angeles. And he is co-founder of Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural—a bookstore, performance space and workshop center in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, which also sponsors the “Celebrating Words: Scritto, Eseguita & Sung” Literacy and Performance Festival. Inoltre, Luis is a renowned gang intervention specialist in Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities as well as Mexico and Central America. Il suo 2001 libro "Cuori & Braccia: La creazione della Comunità in tempi violenti " (Seven Stories) riassume tre decenni in questa zona.

A causa di questa, Luis is has become a leading gang expert testifying through affidavits, testimonianze di telefono, and court appearances in more than 60 casi, mostly deportation cases to Mexico and Central America. His thirty years of urban peace and gang intervention work was utilized in the development of the Community-based Gang Intervention Model with around forty other L.A. banda sostenitori della pace e interventisti, che il L.A. City Council approved in February 2008, and is now sent across the United States and other countries. He’s also now a trainer for the Advancement Project’s gang intervention academy.

Per il suo lavoro di comunità, Luis has been recognized by Inner City Struggle of East L.A. with its “Spirit of Struggle”/Ruben Salazar Award; il "Local Hero di comunità Award (with Trini Rodriguez and Enrique Sanchez) da KCET-TV L.A. e Union Bank of California; "Eroe della Nonviolenza" Premio Rev. Michael Beckwith and the Agape Christian Center in Culver City, CA; and a “Unsung Heroes of Compassion” Award, presentata da Sua Santità il Dalai Lama.

In cima a questa, Luis has spent more than thirty years conducting workshops, letture, e parla nelle carceri, strutture giovanili, rifugi per senzatetto, campi di migranti, università, public and private schools, conferenze, chiese, Riserve dei nativi americani, and men’s conferences throughout the country. He’s also traveled to Canada, Europa, Giappone, Messico, America Centrale, Sudamerica, and Puerto Rico doing similar work among disaffected populations. Città internazionali dove è leggere, parlato, and done workshops include Tokyo, Città del Messico, Guadalajara, Città del Guatemala, San Salvador, Managua, Calce, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Londra, Parigi, Milan, Roma, Berlino, Amsterdam, Montreal, Toronto, Sarajevo, e altri.

Luis has been part of the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation’s Men’s Conferences, youth events, poetry events, men-women summits, and more since 1994 with Mosaic founder and mythologist Michael Meade and other teachers. At these conferences, the complex but vital issues of race, classe, sconosciuto, as well as personal rage and grief, are addressed with dialogue, ritual, story, poetry, drumming, and dance involving people of all walks of life, including those in urban street gangs. He also created a CD of his poems called “My Name’s Not Rodriguez” for Dos Manos Records with original music by Ernie Perez and the band Seven Rabbit, released in the summer of 2002. And he’s founder in 2009 of Barking Rooster Entertainment, which plans to create new content for films, libri, CD, TV, radio, and the Internet.

In cima a questa, Luis’ work has been widely anthologized, including in “Send My Love and a Molotov Cocktail!: Stories of Crime, Amore, and Rebellion” (2011 PM Press, Los Angeles); “Letters of a Nation: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters” (1997 Broadway Books), “The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry” (1999 Thunder’s Mouth Press), and “Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam” (2001 Three Rivers Press). He’s also appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Good Morning America,” NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” PBS-TV’s Jim Lehrer News Hour, Discovery Channel’s Health Network’s “Life Force,” PBS-TV’s “Making Peace,” National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air,"CNN" What Matters,” and Head Line News’ “Leaders with Heart,"Tra gli altri programmi.

Articles on Luis Rodriguez and reviews of his works have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, La Opinion (LA. leading Spanish language publication), Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Oakland Tribune, San Francisco Examiner, Associated Press, LA. Settimanale, La Rivista volto, Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, People Magazine (In spagnolo), e molte altre pubblicazioni, anche in Brasile, Messico, Argentina, Guatemala, Venezuela, Giappone, Germania, Italia, e più.

Poesie e articoli di Luis sono apparsi in un college & high school textbooks throughout the U.S. ed Europa. He’s been a daily newspaper writer, uno scrittore settimanale, freelancer, and he’s done radio productions/writing for L.A.’s KPFK-FM, California Public Radio, Chicago’s WMAQ-AM’s All-News radio, and WBEZ-FM. He’s also been a recurring honorary co-host with Dominique DiPrima on KJLH-FM’s “Front Page” talk show in L.A. And his writings have appeared in The Nation, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Stati Uniti. News & World Report, LA. Settimanale, Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, American Poetry Review, The Bloomsbury Review, San Jose Mercury, Grand Street, Utne Reader, Rock & Rap Confidential, Fox News Latino, National Public Radio’s Latino USA, The Huffington Post, The Progressive, e altri.

Books/Recordings Published

Poetry
Poems Across the Pavement (1989 Tia Chucha Press, Chicago); The Concrete River (1991 Curbstone Press, Willimantic, CT); Trochemoche (1998 Curbstone Press); My Name’s Not Rodriguez, a CD of original music and poems (2002 Dos Manos/Rock A Mole Music); numbered hand-made art books Seven and Two Women/Dos Mujeres (2005 C&C Press); My Nature is Hunger: Nuovo & Selected Poems 1989-2004 (2005 Curbstone Press/Rattle Edition).

Nonfiction
Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. (1993 Curbstone Press; 1994 paperback Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster; new 10-year edition, 2005 Touchstone Books); Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times (2001 Seven Stories Press)

Children’s Books
Children’s Books: America is Her Name (1998 Curbstone Press); It Doesn’t Have to be This Way: A Barrio Story (1999 Children’s Book Press); Si, Se Puede! Sì, We Can! (Essay and Poem) (2002 Cinco Puntos Press)

Fiction
Fiction: The Republic of East LA: Stories (2002 Rayo/HarperCollins); Music of the Mill (Novel, 2005 Rayo/HarperCollins)

======================================

Major Awards
1989 Poetry Centro Book Award, San Francisco State University; 1991 e 2003 PEN Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence; 1992 Lannan Fellowship per la Poesia; 1993 Carl Sandburg Premio Letterario; 1993 Chicago Sun Times Book Award; 1996 Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writers’ Award; 1997 National Association for Poetry Therapy Public Service Award; 1998 Hispanic Heritage Award per la letteratura; 1999 Paterson Premio per libri per giovani adulti; 1999 e 2000 “Skipping Stones” Magazine Honor Award; 1999 “Foreword” Magazine’s Silver Book Award; 1999 Genitore 'Choice Libri per bambini Award; 2000 Illinois Author of the Year Award; 2000 Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Commended Title; 2001 Premio Fronterizo of the Border Book Festival, Las Cruces, NM; 2001 “Unsung Heroes of Compassion” Award, presented by His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Wisdom in Action; 2002 California Arts Council Fellowship; 2002 Sundance Institute Arts Fellowship scrittura; 2002 Selezione Booksense (Luglio / Agosto); 2003 Il libro del mese, “Despierta America”/Univision… and more.

Principali apparizioni sui media
Oprah Winfrey Show; Good Morning America; PBS-TV “Making Peace” Series; Di KET-TV GED Literacy Series per PBS; National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,"" Tutte le cose Considerato,"" Fresh Air,” “Talk of the Nation”; Di Pacifica Radio "Democracy Now"; CNN “Sonya Live,"" Parlare Live "; BBC a Londra; Fox News TV; Discovery Health Network’s “Life Force” series; Jim Lehrer Newshour; Learning Channel’s “Rites of Passage” documentary; PBS-TV’s “Realidades” series; C-SPAN, and Spanish-language radio/TV/print including Univision, Telemundo, and Galavision . Also Hip Hop radio shows like Street Science w/ Dominque DiPrima, Divine Forces Radio, the Wake Up Show, Sirius Satellite Radio, e più.

Major Reviews & Interviews in Publications
New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, La Opinion (Spanish), Washington Post, Newsday, Rocky Mountain News, San Jose Mercury, San Diego Union Tribune, Latina Magazine, Bloomsbury Review, Los Angeles Magazine, Poetry Flash, LA Times Magazine, Chicago Magazine, The Face (Londra), The Nation, Entertainment Weekly, Christian Science Monitor, The Sun, Publisher’s Weekly, Lowrider (Stati Uniti), Aelle magazine (Italia), K-Code (Italia); BigO (Singapore), People Magazine (In spagnolo), El Mundo (Spagna), Lowrider (Giappone), Jornal do Brasil (Brasile); fRoot (Londra), e più.

Sito: www.luisjrodriguez.com