December 17th, 2009 | 
Author: Taos, New Mexico has long been a haven for the creative soul. Since the arrival of literary notables Willa Cather and D.H. Lawrence in the early twentieth century, literature has played a prominent role in the area’s rich cultural landscape. As the literary arts flourished, the need for formal community support became apparent, which ultimately led to the non-profit incorporation of SOMOS in 1983. Today, it has expanded into its present role as a respected resource center whose outreach extends to the greater community of Northern New Mexico – and beyond. Our live readings, workshops, conferences, and festivals are designed not only to showcase accomplished writers, but also to encourage creativity in novice writers from all walks of life.
SOMOS is a membership organization. The generosity of our supporters allows us to honor our commitment of presenting the very best of the literary arts to the Taos area at no cost, or for a minimal fee. We cordially invite you to join us in answering the call of the Muse of the Southwest.
SOMOS projects are made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, A Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts; Mag Dimond; The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation; The Peter and Madeleine Martin Foundation for the Arts; Healy Foundation; and Taos County Lodgers Tax.
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The book for Tuesday, April 6th will be “The Color of Water” by James McBride. A memoir written by a black man as a tribute to his white mother. Bonnie has kindly agreed to be the facilitator for the group next month in my absence (I’m traveling to WY to visit my daughter). Thanks Kathy for arranging with Moby dickens for some extra copies to be available…. Happy reading.
Jan M. Smith
For more info about this group:
Cultural Energy will be airing the last SOMOS Winter Writers Series reading by dg nanouk Okpk & Cathy Strisik on KTAO 101.9 FM a little after 8 pm
Thursday, March 11th. and will post it online at http://www.culturalenergy.org/somos.htm by Wednesday of this week.
Cultural Energy
A Non-Profit Organization Creating Media Voices
for Youth, Arts & Activism for Northern New Mexico
192 Blueberry Hill, HCR74 Box 21912, El Prado, NM 87529
575-758-9791 energy@culturalenergy.org
http://www.culturalenergy.org
(Thanks Robin & Mike!!!)
We are pleased to announce the 2010 Board
President: Alan Macrae
Vice President: Janet Webb
Secretary: Phyllis Hotch
Treasurer: Billy Knight
Members-At-Large: Kathy Fitzgerald & Cherie Burns
Thanks to all of our dedicated board members for their service last year, and special thanks to Steve Fox (who has resigned to pursue other commitments) for his dedication and many contributions to SOMOS.
This Story by Lyla Johnston appeared on the front page of last week’s Taos News. I’m sure many Taosenos are praying for her strong recovery. She says it all in this brief essay. Please read through the link. I wish her message were the headline of every front page in the world. 
Editor’s note: Lyla June Johnston, a Taos resident who is a student at Stanford University, was studying in Santiago, Chile, when that country endured a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake Saturday (Feb. 27). She emailed this account.
SANTIAGO, CHILE; Sometimes you just feel it. All day long before the quake hit, I felt something coming. Of course, I didn’t act on this hunch or stow myself away in a bomb shelter. I just laid my head down for the night in my 12-story apartment complex.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.taosnews.com/articles/2010/03/05/news/doc4b911ef173db5433243175.txt
By Dennis West
“I know enough to No tequila!”
“If only pain dissipated like smoke.”
“Avoid the religiously moral wayward juggernaut.”
“Turned fifty, now a wreckless driver.”
“Tired of pursuing the distant mirage.”
“Love is tangible. Just like fog.”
“He is rare. Like Timex watches.”
“Her life reads like bad fiction.”
“”Lost and Found” has been stolen.”
“Quarry profundity, dig deepest in mirrors.”
“Should we hang all the racists?”
© March 6, 2010-Dennis West
GIGANTIC BLOW-OUT BOOK SALE
Saturday, March 6, 11 am – 2 pm
At the SOMOS office across of Smiths
on Paseo del Pueblo Sur
WRITE TO THE FINISH
With Sean Murphy and Tania Casselle
Taking registrations now for an April start, spaces limited.
A 9-month, long-distance course for writers working on a book-length
project. The group works by email and phone, so you can take part wherever
you are. Write to the Finish supports you with craft, community, focus and
feedback. Includes a full manuscript critique. Led by award-winning writers
Sean Murphy (www.murphyzen.com) and Tania Casselle (www.writeondeadline.com
& www.tcwriter.com). For full outline and details email:
shouthootu@garrifulio.mailexpire.com
LOS ALAMOS WORKSHOP – Saturday March 13
Writing in New Directions with Sean Murphy
A day of creative inspiration to encourage fresh ideas for your fiction,
memoir, non-fiction, poetry or journaling. Beginners and experienced writers
equally welcome. We’ll do lots of writing in a supportive atmosphere,
experimenting with structure, style, and various techniques to kick-start
your creative process. Los Alamos, March 13, from 10 am to 5 pm. Details and
registration at www.murphyzen.com or email:
shouthootu@garrifulio.mailexpire.com
Thank you Jan Smith, curator of the Winter Writers series; all the writers who participated; and our dedicated volunteers for making the 2010 series a success.
Dear AROHO Friends,
This is an invitation for you and your friends, students, and colleagues to attend a free New Mexico performance of Ellen McLaughlin’s “Penelope”, a gripping one-woman theater piece about the trauma of war, Saturday, March 6 at the NHCC’s Salon Ortega from 6:30 – 8pm. Ellen’s work is life-changing and the evening will be intimate and beautiful.
Composed and performed by McLaughlin, “Penelope” opens when a woman’s husband appears at her door after an absence of 20 years, suffering from brain damage. A veteran of a modern war, he doesn’t know who he is and she doesn’t know who he’s become. While they wait together for his return to himself, she reads him The Odyssey, and in the journey of that book, she finds a way into her former husband’s memory and the terror of war.
McLaughlin, an award-winning New York actress and playwright, is best known for originating the Angel in Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America”. She is on AROHO’s advisory board and has endowed an AROHO Shakespeare’s Sister Scholarship for Women Playwrights. She lives in New York and teaches at Bernard, also having taught at Princeton and the Yale School of Drama. She has stunned many of us by systematically rewriting the classic Greek Plays, which, according to the New York Times, make us “feel the new acutely. Every age has its own rhythms and drives…McLaughlin..serves and uses the original with true power and grace”. Don’t miss her!
We are partners with the “2010 Women & Creativity Conference” at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. You may have received the hot pink program guide in the mail. The full calendar of events is available on the NHCC homepage— http://nhccnm.org/images/PDF/womanandcreativity/women2010schedule.pdf. AROHO’s weekend programming includes classes and workshops for writers and women looking for funding for their creative projects (price reductions available). All of the details are on our site: www.aroho.org (conferences).
You are also encouraged to attend Littleglobe Theater’s performance of Salve: Women on War and Warriorship following the “Penelope” performance at 8pm. The spoken word performance piece features the poetry of Santa Fe Poet Laureate, Valerie Martinez, and the music of BING, and will be staged just across the courtyard at the NHCC’s Albuquerque Journal Theater. Tickets are $12. The two performances back-to-back will offer a fascinating presentation of women’s perspectives on war.
Please reply to this email if you’re interested in attending any portion of the weekend’s events or classes. We’re planning a champagne toast following the “Penelope” performance and the RSVP numbers will help.
Thank you so much for your support, and hope to see you there!
All the best,
Tracey
Tracey Cravens-Gras
Associate Director
A Room of Her Own Foundation
mailto:tracey@aroomofherownfoundation.org
PO Box 778
Placitas, NM 87043