Miami Writers Association

Made ya look! Our fair city values skin over intellect, but that doesn’t mean we gotta join ‘em if we can’t beat ‘em.

The Miami Writer’s Association is hosting a literary reading featuring authors Jay Jay Colagrande and Caridad Moro-McCormick and winners of the Many Writers One Voice Contest (see their bios below) on November 11, 2009 at Bookstore in the Grove.

Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Time: 7pm music reception for featured authors; authors and contest winners read between 7:30pm – 9:30pm. There will also be a Q&A session for the featured authors – it’s your chance to ask questions about the publishing process!
Location: Bookstore in the Grove
Street: 3399 Virginia Street #620 (The corner of Virginia & Grand Ave)
City/Town: Coconut Grove, FL
Phone: 305-443-2855

About the Featured Authors

Caridad Moro-McCormick is a first-generation Cuban-American; born in L.A. and raised in Miami.  She holds a B.A. in English and an M.F.A. from Florida International University.  This year her chapbook, “Visionware,” was published by Finish Line Press as part of their celebrated New Women’s Voices Series. She’s the recipient of the state’s Florida Artist Fellowship. Cari is a professor of English at Miami Dade College, as well as an English instructor for Dade County Public Schools.

J.J. Colagrande was born and raised in Long Island, New York before settling in Miami. He has been a contributing writer for the Miami Herald, Miami New Times, 944, Closer, and the Sun Sentinel. J.J. earned his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Florida International University. He currently works as an Adjunct Professor at Miami Dade College teaching Writing and Literature.  J.J. has also previously taught at The University of Arizona.  His fiction pieces have been published in Carve, Big Bridge, Mary, Facets, and many more. His latest fiction work “Headz” has recently been published and has received great reviews.

Winners of the Many Writers One Voice Contest

First Place: Twisted Therapy by Bob Gross
Bob Gross came to Miami in 1973 after serving in the Marines. He studied literature and theater at MDC and FIU and was a performer and stage technician for various dance and theater companies but got tired of waiting tables so he joined the Army in 1985. Retiring from the military a few years ago he’s now back in Miami.  He has a published poem in a 2005 Georgia anthology, “Rivertown Poets and Storytellers,” and a book review in a 2002 academic quarterly, “Minerva, the Study of Women and the Military.” He believes writing is a matter of tradecraft and a wee bit of spirit from the muse.

Second Place: The Maple Tree by Remy Dou
I am a 27-year-old Cuban American who has been in love with literature since the age of three. Currently, I teach high school science, including Physics and Biology. I graduated with a degree in Biology from Florida International University. Besides reading, writing, and science, my hobbies also include playing the bass guitar for various local bands.

Third Place: Guilty Pleasures by Mike Watson
Mike Watson has just about figured out what he wants to be when he grows up. He’s been a plumber, a sous chef, an elementary and high school teacher, a Chief Information Officer for a national law firm, and the owner of several small companies ranging from a computer school for children to a clothing company. Currently, he is the IT Manager for a Florida law firm, an instructor in the writing center at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus, and a designer for his own clothing company. As if that weren’t enough to keep him busy, he also directs a community theatre programme in Surfside. In his spare time, he writes poetry, short stories, and essays. He hopes to be a real boy someday.

Fourth Place: The New Lover: Intimacy with a Stranger by Robin Alexander

Fifth Place: The Impermanent Poem by Gil Pettigrew
I am a biologist/naturalist/(adjunct) science professor by profession & education ( I hold M.S. & B.A. degree’s in biology, emphasizing ecology & environmental science). My poetry has appeared in places such as The Aurora Review, James River Review, & Red Ink, and I am also regular contributor to Red River Review & The Taj Mahal Review, & Asili Literary Journal. I have also published in Cafe Bellas Artes , Poets at Moon spinners , Bluesap, Kitopedia: On-Line Writer’s Forum, and anthologies by Golden Apple Press, Native West Press,Terrain.org, “In our own words: A generation defining itself, volume III.

Sixth Place: “Garden of Liberty” by Lynda Lurei

Caridad Moro-McCormick, a featured author at the Miami Writers Association literary event on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at Bookstore in the Grove, is a first-generation Cuban-American; born in L.A. and raised in Miami.  She holds a B.A. in English and an M.F.A. from Florida International University.  This year her chapbook, Visionware, was published by Finish Line Press as part of their celebrated New Women’s Voices Series. She’s the recipient of the state’s Florida Artist Fellowship. Cari is a professor of English at Miami Dade College, as well as an English instructor for Dade County Public Schools.

We took a moment to chat with Caridad on the phone to find out more about her influences and her life as a working writer.

How long have you been in Miami?
30 years. My family moved here from LA and the whole family is still here. I have a brother and sister, I am the oldest.

Why LA? The typical Cuban story is from Cuba to Miami. What happened?
My father got to Miami [from Cuba] and there was no work so he was relocated to LA. My mother’s route was Cuba-Mexico-California. Then we left because we were highly affected by the smog – hayfever, asthma. When you are Cuban in LA, when you hear someone speaking “Cuban” everything stops. So it was a big thing to recognize other people like us. If you are Hispanic there, everyone thinks you are Mexican. Once I got here, I lost that sense of “otherness.”

How did you get started writing?
I’ve written my whole life – I have diaries going back to Kindergarten, so it’s been a calling. I started writing poetry seriously in 2002 after the birth of my son, Sean-Michael, who is now 7 years old. Something about giving birth to a child gave birth to my creative dreams as well.

As far as my chapbook, “Visionware,” the name comes from these glass pots by Corningware. I wanted these pots because they were so pretty, and it became a metaphor for my marriage. The chapbook is two sections – the family, Cuban stuff and coming to terms with being a woman and being sexual and the good girl vs. being a real girl; and then coming out as a Lesbian after my marriage.

I’ve had some backlash, like, “How could you write about that, how can you say that?” But that’s where the strength of my work lies, that’s the gravy. And a poem never killed anyone.

I found myself at one point, in the very early stages of writing the poems, afraid to say things, and to write my memory of things. I took a class with Denise Duhamel, a professor at FIU, a poet who just came out with a new book called, “Ka-ching!” The irony of these poems is that they helped me communicate with those who would take it the wrong way.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Toni Morrison, Anne Sexton, Sharon Olds, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Sylvia Plath, Alice Walker, Joyce Carol Oates, among others.

What are you reading right now?
A collection of short stories – the Best of 2008 and the Best Poetry. But it’s not the best – the short stories are always really good, but the poetry is very political and the same people get in year after year.

What kinds of local literary events have you attended?
I’ve done Stone Grove Tuesdays at the Vagabond, the Butterfly Lightning Series at Tobacco Road, the Miami Poetry Collective. I’m reading at the Book Fair on Nov. 15 at 3pm in auditorium C. People can just show up, not necessary to RSVP.

What would you like to tell people that I haven’t already asked?
I teach at Braddock and Miami-Dade College. My goal is to touch people, whether they love or hate my work.