Ending the old year on a positive note: Boricua en la Luna anthology!

I'm very excited and honored to announce that Boricua en la Luna: An Anthology of Puerto Rican voices just accepted two of my poems for their upcoming publication!  It's a great way to end this year, which doesn't have too many good things associated with it, in my mind.  Boricua en la Luna's profits will benefit the Hispanic Federation's efforts on behalf of the island's hurricanes Maria and Irma recovery effort.  Many thanks to editor Elena Aponte for her vision and effort on behalf of the island and support for diverse voices in literature!

From their site:

We want diverse voices from Puerto Rico: stories, poems, and essays that will help the world understand the wonderful people who live on the island, a place that has given the world immensely talented artists, actors, writers, poets, musicians, librarians, politicians, humanitarians, scientists, and athletes-- a place that still needs our support and our love.

Boricua En La Luna will be available in Mid-2019 in both electronic and print formats.

Authors for Nepal

I am participating in the Authors for Nepal  initiative to raise funds for the Nepal earthquake.  I found out about it on facebook.  Authors donate services or signed books or even a character name as incentive to donors.  The books or services are being auctioned off on ebay and the author will then deliver the item or service directly to the donor.  I am donating signed copies of my chapbook, here: Shining from a Different Firmament--hopefully there will be some poetry lovers out there; I noticed most books were YA.

Can't Stop the Serenity

I just attended a special screening of the film Serenity for Equality Now, a charity devoted to helping women around the world achieve equality and justice.


Can't Stop the Serenity

Serenity is a science fiction/western based on the short-lived t.v. series Firefly, which has won a cult following since its cancellation.

Its creator, Joss Whedon of Buffy and Angel fame, favors this charity so a group of devoted fans decided to host screenings of the film around the country and donate the proceeds to his favorite charity.

We fans call ourselves Browncoats and there are fan clubs around the world:

Claudia Recinos is the organizer of the South Florida Browncoats.

The screening took place at a venue in Ft. Lauderdale, a wonderful historical theater, Cinema Paradiso.

It is hosting the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival:


I can't explain the appeal of the show Firefly even to myself: I've liked other science fiction shows like Star Trek, Farscape, Stargate, etc, but Firefly has somethng unique and special that goes beyond just a show. I think I'm as close to being a fanatic as I can come, though probably my level of fanaticism is mild, compared to some.

As for the movie, it was great seeing it on a big screen again. Cinema Paradiso is delightful; it was the best movie-going experience I've had in a long, long time.

Many thanks to Claudia Recinos for organizing this event!