As you consider purchasing thoughtful gifts for any purpose, please consider purchasing the creative works of and/or contracting the services of local and Massachusetts-based poets, visual artists, musicians, and writers. I compiled my own short by no means exhaustive alphabetical list based on my admiration both of the quality of each person’s work and of the integrity of the person in her/his professional and personal relationships with me.
◙ Janet E. Aalfs, former poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts (2003-2005), weaves poetry and martial arts dance in performing, teaching, and social justice activism locally, nationally and internationally. Sensei Aalfs has been head instructor and director of VWMA/ HAVPS since 1982 (/www.vwma.org). Collections of her poems include Bird of a Thousand Eyes (Levellers Press: 2011); Reach (Perugia Press, 1999); Full Open (Orogeny Press, 1996); Of Angels and Survivors (Two Herons Press, 1992); Lubec Tides, which was a finalist in the 2007 Bright Hill Literary Center Chapbook Contest; Red (2001) and several self-published chapbooks.
◙ Leslie Brunetta, co-author with Catherine L. Craig, of Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating (Yale University Press; 1st Ed. edition: June 8, 2010) “Spider Silk—a wonderful, charismatic natural history of spiders—will truly inspire all readers who may never before have appreciated this unique group of organisms.”—Margaret Lowman, author of Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology and of It’s a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops
◙ Magdalena Gómez, internationally known performance poet and teaching artist, award-winning playwright, columnist, world-class motivational speaker, and fierce advocate of the arts for all, especially for youth, including through her work as the co-founder and artistic director of Teatro V!da, the first Springfield-based Latin@ performance arts/theater organization. - www.latinapoet.net; www.latinapoet.com; www.teatrovida.com
“The mark of a great poet is not recorded in the pages of books or weighed in awards, but left in the people she has changed. The richness Magdalena brings with her ability to see joy and laughter in places of darkness, is a message of hope that extends far beyond the confines of a reading venue. It is something that leaves an everlasting mark on everything and every one she touches." ~ Leo Hwang-Carlos Assoc. Dean of Humanities, Greenfield Community College, MA
Magdalena Gómez has limited quantities of her spoken word CDs: Bemba y Chichón, available for sale. Please contact her directly through her website. For a review of her work, please visit: marialuisaarroyo.weebly.com.
◙ José Gonzalez (father), René Gonzalez (son), and Ahmed Gonzalez (son): Check out their numerous clips, music, and CDs for sale on www.criolloclasico.com in performance together. Guitarist, composer and virtuoso Cuatro player, José Gonzalez, is a top performer of contemporary Latin music. Acclaimed for his original compositions featuring "the Cuatro", (Puerto Rico's national instrument), his eleven self-produced recordings have become bestsellers. His music is featured on NBC, PBS, CNN, cable TV, as well as four "Putumayo World Music" CDs, the Bose Corp. "World Music"CD and the PBS "Visions of Puerto Rico" TV special.
René Gonzalez has been a multi-percussionist, focusing on Afro-Cuban-Puerto Rican music styles since the age of nine. Rene has recorded timbales, tumbadoras, bongos, drums, and electric bass on numerous records spanning various styles and bands.
Ahmed Gonzalez has been a flutist for over 15 years, focusing on Latin-American musical styles, classical music, and American Jazz. A student of Sue Kurian (herself a student of the great French flutist, Jean-Pierre Rampal), Ahmed developed a strong flute foundation in many styles, making him a versatile performer. Ahmed has recorded in numerous records, performs regularly with 6 bands in the Western MA and Hartford, CT area and is currently promoting his solo album, Flute Soul.
◙ Heshima Moja is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer/songwriter, and teaching artist. If you listen to the radio, you've heard his music. His new album, "Round and Round" is currently playing on radio stations around the globe. The Beautiful cut is destined to be a hit! Heshima has also been chosen from among many celebrity artists to sing for a new NBC pilot airing in the Fall. He has shared the stage with, and/or recorded with: Patti Labelle, La India, Avery Sharpe, James Carter, Amira Baraka, Marion Meadows, Rick Bachus (Backstreet Boys, Alicia Keys), National Dance Company of Mozambique, National Dance Company of South Africa, to name a few. Heshima has one album to his credit as a leader: The Awakening with Souljourn Music Group. He will be releasing two albums this year: Ofrecimiento and Inside Songs. In addition, Heshima travels the country teaching music/writing workshops. With his program, “Inhale Music, Exhale Life” he performs healing work through his music.
◙ Awilda Oxios: aoxios.com “When you combine the love of diverse cultures, the passion for vibrant colors and lively subject matter, and a daring willingness to experiment with new media and techniques, and what do you get? The award-winning art of Awilda Oxios.”
◙ Sarah Platanitis: Anselblue Design ~ A tiny art studio that makes really cool stuff. anselbluedesign.wordpress.com
◙ Mirtha Quiroz, born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Raised in Santo Domingo, and later, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, holds a BA in Art from Westfield State College and an MA in Spanish Literature from Middlebury College. Mirtha Quiroz is a painter, poet, and actress, whose work expresses the wide range of experiences of women and their everyday lives, especially throughout the Caribbean. Her heritage is evident in her painting and her dramatic presentations of her written work as well. E-mail: [email protected].
◙ Catherine Sasanov, award-winning Boston-based poet and author of Traditions of Bread and Violence (Four Way Books, 1996). All the Blood Tethers (Morse Poetry Prize, Northeastern University Press, 2002), Tara (Cervená Barva Press, 2008) her latest collection, Had Slaves (Sentence Book Award, Firewheel Editions, 2010). catherinesasanov.com
"Sasanov demonstrates here, as she has in the past, that it is possible to tell a story in verse that takes advantage of what makes poetry so powerful, its magnificent potential for restraint, economy, and a kind of emotional precision that nearly defiies comprehension.”
- Sima Rabinowitz, NewPages.com
◙ Rosemary Tracy Woods, owner of two multicultural, excellently curated art galleries in Springfield, MA: Art for the Soul (www.artforthesoulgallery.org), located in the Classical Condominiums, 235 State St., #10, Springfield, MA, which showcases work by African-American artists, and the Artist Square Group Gallery, Tower Square, 1500 Main Street, Springfield, MA.
“Artist Square is place to gaze at some wonderful artwork created by 20 local artists AND a place to shop! All artwork exhibited at Artist Square is for sale, featuring originals and prints, visual art, jewelry, pottery, photography, high-class-trash antiques, fabric art, glass art and more. Artist Square is conveniently located adjacent to the Citywalk Cafes food court on the upper retail level of Tower Square. Artists interested in having their work on display at Artist Square should contact Tracy Woods at 413.301.6314.” visittowersquare.com/entertainment/galleries/artistsquaregroup
◙ Ashley Zurc-Pereira is anauthor of fiction and non-fiction books for children and, soon, for adults. Latest publication: Lilly & Milly: Amigas 4 Life (www.LillyandMilly.com)
“With one foot proudly in the Puerto Rican culture and the other firmly planted in the emotional realms of preteen girlhood, it will be exciting to see this likeable series evolve.”
-The Women’s Times
Let’s continue to acknowledge that all artistic expressions help to preserve connections to our imaginations and to each other.
Warmest wishes,
María Luisa Arroyo
author, Gathering Words: Recogiendo Palabras (The Bilingual Press: 2008)
◙ Janet E. Aalfs, former poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts (2003-2005), weaves poetry and martial arts dance in performing, teaching, and social justice activism locally, nationally and internationally. Sensei Aalfs has been head instructor and director of VWMA/ HAVPS since 1982 (/www.vwma.org). Collections of her poems include Bird of a Thousand Eyes (Levellers Press: 2011); Reach (Perugia Press, 1999); Full Open (Orogeny Press, 1996); Of Angels and Survivors (Two Herons Press, 1992); Lubec Tides, which was a finalist in the 2007 Bright Hill Literary Center Chapbook Contest; Red (2001) and several self-published chapbooks.
◙ Leslie Brunetta, co-author with Catherine L. Craig, of Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating (Yale University Press; 1st Ed. edition: June 8, 2010) “Spider Silk—a wonderful, charismatic natural history of spiders—will truly inspire all readers who may never before have appreciated this unique group of organisms.”—Margaret Lowman, author of Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology and of It’s a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops
◙ Magdalena Gómez, internationally known performance poet and teaching artist, award-winning playwright, columnist, world-class motivational speaker, and fierce advocate of the arts for all, especially for youth, including through her work as the co-founder and artistic director of Teatro V!da, the first Springfield-based Latin@ performance arts/theater organization. - www.latinapoet.net; www.latinapoet.com; www.teatrovida.com
“The mark of a great poet is not recorded in the pages of books or weighed in awards, but left in the people she has changed. The richness Magdalena brings with her ability to see joy and laughter in places of darkness, is a message of hope that extends far beyond the confines of a reading venue. It is something that leaves an everlasting mark on everything and every one she touches." ~ Leo Hwang-Carlos Assoc. Dean of Humanities, Greenfield Community College, MA
Magdalena Gómez has limited quantities of her spoken word CDs: Bemba y Chichón, available for sale. Please contact her directly through her website. For a review of her work, please visit: marialuisaarroyo.weebly.com.
◙ José Gonzalez (father), René Gonzalez (son), and Ahmed Gonzalez (son): Check out their numerous clips, music, and CDs for sale on www.criolloclasico.com in performance together. Guitarist, composer and virtuoso Cuatro player, José Gonzalez, is a top performer of contemporary Latin music. Acclaimed for his original compositions featuring "the Cuatro", (Puerto Rico's national instrument), his eleven self-produced recordings have become bestsellers. His music is featured on NBC, PBS, CNN, cable TV, as well as four "Putumayo World Music" CDs, the Bose Corp. "World Music"CD and the PBS "Visions of Puerto Rico" TV special.
René Gonzalez has been a multi-percussionist, focusing on Afro-Cuban-Puerto Rican music styles since the age of nine. Rene has recorded timbales, tumbadoras, bongos, drums, and electric bass on numerous records spanning various styles and bands.
Ahmed Gonzalez has been a flutist for over 15 years, focusing on Latin-American musical styles, classical music, and American Jazz. A student of Sue Kurian (herself a student of the great French flutist, Jean-Pierre Rampal), Ahmed developed a strong flute foundation in many styles, making him a versatile performer. Ahmed has recorded in numerous records, performs regularly with 6 bands in the Western MA and Hartford, CT area and is currently promoting his solo album, Flute Soul.
◙ Heshima Moja is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer/songwriter, and teaching artist. If you listen to the radio, you've heard his music. His new album, "Round and Round" is currently playing on radio stations around the globe. The Beautiful cut is destined to be a hit! Heshima has also been chosen from among many celebrity artists to sing for a new NBC pilot airing in the Fall. He has shared the stage with, and/or recorded with: Patti Labelle, La India, Avery Sharpe, James Carter, Amira Baraka, Marion Meadows, Rick Bachus (Backstreet Boys, Alicia Keys), National Dance Company of Mozambique, National Dance Company of South Africa, to name a few. Heshima has one album to his credit as a leader: The Awakening with Souljourn Music Group. He will be releasing two albums this year: Ofrecimiento and Inside Songs. In addition, Heshima travels the country teaching music/writing workshops. With his program, “Inhale Music, Exhale Life” he performs healing work through his music.
◙ Awilda Oxios: aoxios.com “When you combine the love of diverse cultures, the passion for vibrant colors and lively subject matter, and a daring willingness to experiment with new media and techniques, and what do you get? The award-winning art of Awilda Oxios.”
◙ Sarah Platanitis: Anselblue Design ~ A tiny art studio that makes really cool stuff. anselbluedesign.wordpress.com
◙ Mirtha Quiroz, born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Raised in Santo Domingo, and later, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, holds a BA in Art from Westfield State College and an MA in Spanish Literature from Middlebury College. Mirtha Quiroz is a painter, poet, and actress, whose work expresses the wide range of experiences of women and their everyday lives, especially throughout the Caribbean. Her heritage is evident in her painting and her dramatic presentations of her written work as well. E-mail: [email protected].
◙ Catherine Sasanov, award-winning Boston-based poet and author of Traditions of Bread and Violence (Four Way Books, 1996). All the Blood Tethers (Morse Poetry Prize, Northeastern University Press, 2002), Tara (Cervená Barva Press, 2008) her latest collection, Had Slaves (Sentence Book Award, Firewheel Editions, 2010). catherinesasanov.com
"Sasanov demonstrates here, as she has in the past, that it is possible to tell a story in verse that takes advantage of what makes poetry so powerful, its magnificent potential for restraint, economy, and a kind of emotional precision that nearly defiies comprehension.”
- Sima Rabinowitz, NewPages.com
◙ Rosemary Tracy Woods, owner of two multicultural, excellently curated art galleries in Springfield, MA: Art for the Soul (www.artforthesoulgallery.org), located in the Classical Condominiums, 235 State St., #10, Springfield, MA, which showcases work by African-American artists, and the Artist Square Group Gallery, Tower Square, 1500 Main Street, Springfield, MA.
“Artist Square is place to gaze at some wonderful artwork created by 20 local artists AND a place to shop! All artwork exhibited at Artist Square is for sale, featuring originals and prints, visual art, jewelry, pottery, photography, high-class-trash antiques, fabric art, glass art and more. Artist Square is conveniently located adjacent to the Citywalk Cafes food court on the upper retail level of Tower Square. Artists interested in having their work on display at Artist Square should contact Tracy Woods at 413.301.6314.” visittowersquare.com/entertainment/galleries/artistsquaregroup
◙ Ashley Zurc-Pereira is anauthor of fiction and non-fiction books for children and, soon, for adults. Latest publication: Lilly & Milly: Amigas 4 Life (www.LillyandMilly.com)
“With one foot proudly in the Puerto Rican culture and the other firmly planted in the emotional realms of preteen girlhood, it will be exciting to see this likeable series evolve.”
-The Women’s Times
Let’s continue to acknowledge that all artistic expressions help to preserve connections to our imaginations and to each other.
Warmest wishes,
María Luisa Arroyo
author, Gathering Words: Recogiendo Palabras (The Bilingual Press: 2008)