Google Me

Last night I went to the closing event for the New York Literary Translation Festival. A whole slew of poets read one to two poems each, which kept the evening nice and varied. Probably the best reading of the night was given by Saviana Stanescu, who read her poem "Google Me!" from her book of poetry of the same name. A hilarious poem, and given her background in the theater, one of the most boisterously and vibrantly performed. Another highlight was José Eugenio Sanchez Garza, one of the six writers representing the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. He read his poem "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" in the original Spanish. Despite my deficiency in Spanish, his animated performance transmitted the gist and I don't think I was the only Spanish-deficient audience member that enjoyed his reading.

Speaking of readings, I plan on reading a short story of mine at the launch of Dr. Chapbook, a new lit/arts zine at Columbia's postbac premed program. That'll be tomorrow at 7:30, if you find yourself in the vicinity.