At the time of this writing, the full devastation wreaked by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti is not yet known. What is clear is that, at a minimum, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives in the initial destruction. I say initial because, inevitably, more will pass due to starvation, infection and disease in the days and weeks to come. Though no place can be fully prepared for a cataclysm of this proportion, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and much of its infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. By now, you may have already contributed what you can to the relief efforts there. Even so, consider lending further assistance by attending Working Classroom’s From the Studio to the Street . WC had been prepping for the opening of the show, which features photos by the students of Adolphe Pierre-Louis, when the earthquake happened. Pierre-Louis is a photojournalist from Haiti. It seemed only right, then, that the Friday, Jan. 22 reception for the exhibit be turned into a fundraiser. From 6 to 8 p.m., enjoy food and music while taking in the work of 10 emerging young photographers. A part of the sales of these pieces will go to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. WC will also collect additional donations. The group’s Visiones Gallery is located at 115 Gold SW. Go to workingclassroom.org for more on this and other programs.
Culture Shock: Best Southwest Books 2009 Best Southwest Books 2009
Both the Museum of New Mexico Press and UNM Press have a lot to be proud of; they cleaned up in the Southwest Books of the Year 2009 awards . Sponsored by the Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Ariz., the awards recognize the best in regional literature. The Museum of New Mexico Press released four of the winners: New Mexico Colcha Club: Spanish Colonial Embroidery and the Women Who Saved It by Nancy C. Benson; Telling New Mexico: A New History by Frances Levine, Louise Stiver and Marta Weigle; Through the Lens: Creating Santa Fe by Mary Anne Redding and Krista Elrick; and To Walk in Beauty: A Navajo Family’s Journey Home by N. Scott Momaday and Stacia Spragg-Braude. UNM Press had two winners with Nasario García’s The Naked Rainbow and Other Stories: El arco iris desnudo y Otros Cuentos and Levi Romero’s A Poetry of Remembrance: New and Rejected Works. Congratulations to both presses and all the authors. To see a complete list of the winners, go to library.pima.gov/books/swboy. For our reviews of New Mexico Colcha Club and A Poetry of Remembrance, go to alibi.com.
Culture Shock: Valentine’s Day Card Contest Valentine’s Day Card Contest
Send your crafty missives of love, longing or bloody disappointment in pronto. Your 8-by-11 inch entry must be received by Monday, Feb. 1. Dispatch them via snail mail to Alibi Valentine’s Day Card Contest, 2118 Central SE, PMB 151, Albuquerque, N.M. 87106. Watch for the winners in our Valentine’s issue, out on Feb. 11.
