Jose Montoya and WritersCorp

In the second of a three-part reading series, writer-teachers and youth poets share the stage with some of our most esteemed literary icons. In a truly multigenerational literary exchange, co-founder of the groundbreaking Royal Chicano Air Force and current Poet Laureate of Sacramento Jose Montoya joins us.



Date & Time: Tuesday February 24, 2004 at 7:30 PM



Event: Readings by Jose Montoya with
Toussaint Haki, Beto Palomar, Jime Salcedo-Malo & WritersCorps Youth Poets


Location: Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia (btwn 15/16) Mission District, San Francisco


Cost: $5 - $15 (your choice) sliding scale


Information: (415) 626-2787, http://www.theintersection.org





"[Montoya’s] approachability is wonderful. An incredible cross selection, from punks to the elderly to students to academics, come to hear him speak." – Traci Gourdine

INTERSECTION FOR THE ARTS is proud to present, as part of our Spring 2004 Literary Series, a three-part intergenerational reading series featuring some of the Bay Area's most esteemed literary icons and writer-teachers and youth poets from WritersCorps, an organization that has transformed and strengthened individuals and communities through the written and spoken word. Since its inception in 1994, WritersCorps has helped nearly 10,000 young people from neighborhoods throughout San Francisco improve their literacy and increase their desire to learn. Originating from a reading that Intersection programmed in 2002 pairing together WritersCorps writer-teachers and half a dozen WritersCorps youth poets with legendary fiction writer Tillie Olsen, where readers ranged in age from 7 to 91 years old, this current series explores the themes and styles of writing across three different generations over the course of several months - writers in their teens, writers in their 20's and 30's, and writers who have been impacting the Bay Area community for decades not only through their published work, but also through their teaching, mentoring, and tireless advocacy of transformation through literature. The first reading in the series featured legendary Beat author Diane di Prima. This reading, the second in the series, features current Poet Laureate of Sacramento Jose Montoya with WritersCorps writer-teachers Toussaint Haki, Beto Palomar, and Jime Salcedo-Malo and their students from the Bayview Public Library, International Studies Academy, and Instituto Familiar de la Raza. The third reading in the series will feature the current Poet Laureate of San Francisco devorah major. Admission is $5-$15 sliding scale.

JOSE MONTOYA is a true renaissance man. He is a widely published poet, one of the premiere cultural activists in the Chicano movement, a well-known visual artist, and highly respected educator. Born in New Mexico but having grown up in central California, he witnessed the struggle for migrant farm workers rights first hand. His involvement with organized labor, his collaboration with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement, was only the beginning of his lifelong commitment to artistic inquiry and an unwavering dedication to artistic activism. Montoya co-founded one of the groundbreaking Chicano Art Collections in 1969, a group that came to be known as the Royal Chicano Air Force. The RCAF set the standard for using art as a tool of Chicano historical exposition and education for young people; their murals, posters, and actions are a big part of California's rich cultural history. Montoya entered San Diego City College as an art student soon after the Korean War, and later transferred to California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1962. He began his career by teaching high school until he earned his M.A. in 1971 at California State University of Sacramento. He then taught for 25 years in the Department of Art Education at CSUS, where he is now Professor Emeritus. Montoya is also a noted painter, muralist, musician and graphic artist who has exhibited internationally in Cuba, Mexico, and Paris, as well as all over the U.S. His collections can be found at Yale University, California State Library, and Academia de San Carlos, Mexico. He is, however, known most for his works as a poet, and has given readings at top universities around the country. His poignant and often humorous verse can be found in three collections of poetry, including the highly acclaimed In Formation: 20 Years of Joda and Sol Y Los de Aba. He is featured in over 40 anthologies, and his influence over several generations of Chicano poets cannot be underestimated. His use of Spanish, English, and barrio slang poetry can be seen in the styles of countless Chicano writers who followed him. He is currently working on his fourth book, entitled How I Came to America.

TOUSSAINT HAKI is a community cultural worker born and raised in Oakland. He is a self-published poet and journalist, theater and spoken word performer, workshop facilitator, and educator. Haki founded SEEDS, an eight page bi-monthly newsletter documenting the spoken-word movement of the East Bay, and founded 10 Poets Plus a Mic, a collective that fuses spoken word, poetry, live music, and theater. In 1998, he published his first book, Stretch Marks. Haki has facilitated spoken word and manhood workshops with young men in two groups homes and through Project Reconnect's Future Father's Program. He's taught hip-hop performance workshops in an elementary after-school program in Alameda, and toured with The Recovery Theater Troup. This is his second year with WritersCorps.

BETO PALOMAR learned and taught poetry for the first time in June Jordan's Poetry for the People at UC Berkeley, where he graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a self-designed major, "Political Poetry of the World." He has also taught poetry, computers, Spanish, and art at Berkeley High School, UCLA, Napa Valley Upward Bound, and D.U.S.T.Y (Digital Underground Storytelling for Youth). He is working this year on his first manuscript of poetry for publication. This is his first year with WritersCorps.

JIME SALCEDO-MALO is a writer, performance poet, teacher, and cultural worker. For the past 8 years, he has worked with many civic, youth, and non-profit community organizations, and has a strong commitment to the arts, education, and self-empowerment. He has performed throughout the country, as well as in Chiapas and Mexico City, and has recorded 2 spoken word CD's. He combines hip-hop and spoken word to teach writing, expression, and self-determination with youth. He is certified in facilitative leadership and conflict resolution, and received a B.A. in social psychology from San Francisco State Univ. in 1999. This is his third year with WritersCorps.

WRITERSCORPS has helped thousands of people in some of America's most disadvantaged neighborhoods improve their literacy and self-sufficiency. This achievement has been substantiated by leading educational evaluators; WritersCorps was only one of two programs in the country honored at a recent White House event for exemplary programs for at-risk youth. San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Bronx, N.Y. were selected as the three initial sites for WritersCorps, chosen for their cities' exemplary art agencies with deep community roots and traditions of community activism among writers. Managed by Associated Writing Programs in 1994, WritersCorps was brought in-house by the NEA in 1995, while administered locally by arts and humanities agencies in each of the three cities. In 1997, WritersCorps successfully transitioned from being a federally-funded and administered organization to an independent program. Fully integrated in their respective communities as projects of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Bronx Council for the Arts, and the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C., WritersCorps has developed a national structure administered by the three sites to provide greater cooperation and visibility, while allowing the independence for each site to respond most effectively to their communities.

INTERSECTION’S LITERARY SERIES - Intersection has the distinction of programming the oldest, continuous, independent reading series in California (est. 1965). The program features a remarkable and diverse array of emerging and established writers who are committed to expanding the notion of literature, testing cultural and discipline-based boundaries, and building new audiences for live, intimate literary experiences. Intersection works with writers in every genre and style, providing a comprehensive context for contemporary literature. In recent years, Intersection has worked with new and seasoned writers including Aya de León, bell hooks, Mike Davis, John Trudell, Tillie Olsen, Alice Walker, Martín Espada, Diane di Prima, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and Denis Johnson.

UPCOMING READINGS IN THE SERIES
Tuesday March 23, 2004 at 7:30 PM devorah major with Mahru Elahi, Michelle Matz & WritersCorps youth poets


Intersection for the Arts is San Francisco’s oldest alternative art space and presents challenging new works in literature,
theater, visual and interdisciplinary arts. Intersection is an art space where experimentation and risk are still possible,
where debate and critical inquiry are embraced, and where issues are thrashed about in the heat and immediacy of live art.