ire'ne lara silva

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In homage to Gloria Anzaldúa and her iconic work BORDERLANDS/LA FRONTERA, award-winning poets ire’ne lara silva and Dan Vera have assembled the work of 54 writers who reflect on the complex terrain—the deeply felt psychic, social, and geopolitical borderlands—that Anzaldúa inhabited, theorized, explored, and invented.

Named for the Nahuatl word meaning “their soul,” IMANIMAN presents work that is sparked from the soul: the individual soul, the communal soul. These poets interrogate, complicate, and personalize the borderlands in transgressive and transformative ways, opening new paths and revisioning old ones for the next generation of spiritual, political, and cultural border crossers.

NEW: I’ve been confirmed as part of the Texas Touring Roster (until 8/31/18)! Texas schools, libraries, universities, and non-profit organizations are able to apply to the Texas Commission on the Arts for a portion of artistic fees for artists on the Roster.  TCA.PressRelease

Click here for Electronic Press Release for Blood Sugar Canto

Blood Sugar Canto is a finalist for the 2017 International Latino Book Award! Results in September!

“Silva is a poet-curandera who “sings the body electric,” transforming suffering into song. She probes the ways that love, justice and forgiveness help heal our individual selves and our communities. I am profoundly grateful for ire’ne’s hard-won wisdom and poetic gifts.”
–Demetria Martinez, author of The Block Captain’s Daughter

 

Upcoming Events:

July 22, 2017 Time TBA, Gemini Ink Writers’ Conference. Panel 1: “Politics with Your Fiction or Memoir, Anyone?” with Ramona Reeves, Ito Romo, Paige Schilt, and Jason Dewey Craft. Panel 2: “Imagining Change: Discussing the New Anthology, Imaniman: Poets Reflecting on Anzaldúan Borderlands” with Rodney Gomez, John Fry, Joe Jimenez, and Cesar L. De Leon. El Tropicano Hotel, San Antonio, TX

August 12-13, 2017 (12 noon Saturday-3pm Sunday): Feeding the Tiger: Women Writing Graphic Sex in Literary Fiction. My current prose projects have me ruminating on the division between erotica and literary fiction with graphic depictions of sex. What I find necessary in my work is for the graphic sex to be essential to the plot or to the character’s journey. We will begin with discussion and writing prompts about various women writers writing graphic sex in different genres, nomenclature, writing exercised inspired by sexual deities from around the world, followed by writing prompts inspired by various art films or favorite novels, and end with more writing exercises about writing sex across various emotional registers. This retreat will focus more on hands-on writing and reflection than on theory. Some recommended films for discussion: Secretary, Nymphomaniac Volume I, A L’Aventure, Concussion, I Am Happiness on Earth, Blue is the Warmest Color….All genres and writing levels welcome. Queer and straight friendly. Open to people of all genders. Price $225 with overnight accommodations/$175 without. Loma Linda, Maxwell, TX. Email to register: irenelarasilva@yahoo.com

October 28, 2017, 6pm, Latinx Writers Showcase featuring Natalia Sylvester, Leticia Urieta, ire’ne lara silva, and other writers TBA, Black Box Theatre, Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin, TX

November  11-12, 2017 (12 noon Saturday-3pm Sunday):Building a Writing Life: Getting Out of Our Own Way. Are you a writer struggling to create or maintain a writing life while also living life-life (job, family, self-care)? Are you a self-taught writer or a writer years out of an MFA program trying to map a road for yourself through a writing project? This weekend retreat is focused on various issues that I see come up again and again in workshops but that are never the prime focus: How do we handle our time and energy resources to write? How do we take care of ourselves while writing? What is our relation to ‘a writing life’ or to the label of ‘writer’? What are successful strategies that are helping us move forward–and how are we getting in our own way? Along with writing exercise, we will have plenty of time to discuss all these issues and help ourselves as we help each other. Price $225 with overnight accommodations/$175 without. Loma Linda, Maxwell, TX. Email to register: irenelarasilva@yahoo.com

Contact me to book a reading, workshop, or other presentation.

Poetry, stories, and performances available online:

NEW! Short excerpt from “Our Indigenous Flesh,” Galeria de la Raza, San Francisco, Sept 2015

Poetry:”shame: a ghazal in pieces” in Poetry Society of America

Poetry: “dieta indigena” and “geo-physics of de-tribalization” in Kuikatl

Poetry: “en trozos/in pieces” 

Story: “Ocean’s Tongue” in Accentos Review

Poetry: “la frontera: aqui sonamos de mezcla” in Revista Literaria de El Tecolote

Poetry:“i come from women illiterate and rough-skinned” in Kweli Journal

Performance: December 2012, Transcultural Poetry Reading, Women and Fair Trade Festival, Austin, TX
https://archive.org/details/PeopleUnited-December72012

Performance: February 24, 2011 from Reading at Cocina del Caribe, Mission, TX Part 1 and Part 2 (Video):