From Manilatown to Miami, and a poetic tribute to John Coltrane
In this week’s episode of Listen & Be Heard we feature a Manang from Manilatown, poet, Shirley Ancheta and novelist M. Evelina Galang, who has a newly published collection of short stories entitled When the Hibiscus Falls. We also feature a set of poetry celebrating John Coltrane on the occasion of his birthday, and a spoken word set that includes Dr. Maya Angelou in a recording produced by her grandson Colin.
SHIRLEY ANCHETA
Born and raised in the Monterey Bay area, Shirley is an original member of the Kearny Street Workshop. She attended San Francisco State Collge in the mid 70s, worked in San Francisco’s Financial District during the day and marched for I-Hotel after work and classes. She graduated with a BA in American Literature from UC Santa Cruz. She co-edited (with Jaime Jacinto and Jeff Tagami) the Filipino American anthology “Without Names”. Published in numerous journals and anthologies including “Liwanag”, “Babaylan” and “Bamboo Ridge”, her work recently appeared in artist Maia Cruz Palileo’s book, “Long Kwento”. Shirley taught the NVM Gonzalez Writing Program at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum in 2022. She retired from Cabrillo College in 2016. She is the widow of poet Jeff Tagami and currently lives in Santa Cruz, California.
M. EVELINA GALANG
M. Evelina Galang is the daughter of Filipino American immigrants who first came to the United States in the mid-1950’s. Born in Harrisburg, PA, she is the eldest of six. By the time she was twelve, she had moved to seven cities before her family settled in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The author of two novels, two story collections, a work of nonfiction, and editor of Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images, she draws from the stories she grew up on, the research from a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship, as well as numerous grants and fellowships from the University of Miami. Galang has been recognized as a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist, a Cornell Zalaznick Distinguished Visiting Writer, and an awardee of the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book for the Advancement in Human Rights. The American Library Association named Galang’s Angel de la Luna and the Fifth Glorious Mystery among the recommended books of Feminist Literature for ages zero to eighteen. She lives in Miami where she teaches creative writing.
Spoken Word Set
Spoken word by Steve Dalachinsky, McCoy Tyner, Kamau Daoud, Janine “Suggah” Lyons, Mikki Afflick, Maya Angelou, and Casey Cyr.
