s3e2 Buying and Writing Books in Northern New Mexico, Spoken Poetry and Story
Jan Smith – SOMOS, Q.R. Hand jr., Barbara Tran, Kahlil Gibran
s3e2
January 30, 2025
We welcome Jan Smith, E.D. of SOMOS, in Taos, NM. From 1998, poet, Barbara Tran, reads from “Rosary” in Watermark. We persist in resisting book banning, and offer spoken word from Q.R. Hand Jr. and Martha reading in the audio garden from Tears and Laughter, by Kahlil Gibran.
“SOMOS is a great resource for any writer interested in working on their craft in a supportive environment.”
Martha Cinader for Listen & Be Heard
This week, we welcome Jan Smith, a writer, and the Executive Director of the Society of the Muse (SOMA) of the Southwest in Taos, New Mexico. Later in the hour we will listen to an archival recording of author and poet Barbara Tran, reading from Watermark, a landmark anthology of Vietnamese American writing. We persist in resisting book banning and of course we’re thinking, talking, listening and working toward climate resilience, community resilience, regional self-reliance and the art of loving each other.
We get started with some poetry. Back in the day when Listen & Be Heard was an open mic and a poetry cafe in Vallejo, California, Q.R. Hand Jr. showed up every week to listen attentively to each and every poet, and he often spoke to each of them about their poems, and offered encouragement. He was part of a group of poets and musicians called Wordwind Chorus, and they produced a CD together in 2000. We listen to Q.R. Hand Jr. reciting “Numberless are the Sands of the Seashore” from the CD, We Are of The Saying. We have a quote from Dan Synakin, author of Big Fiction.
Last week we listened to Monique Truong reading from Watermark, a landmark anthology of Vietnamese American Poetry and Prose that was published in 1998. This week we will listen to her co-editor of that book, Barbara Tran reading from her story “Rosary” in the anthology, Watermark. It was live from the WBAI studios on 8th Avenue at the time.
We get a little preview of Episode 3, when Tony Robles will welcome Olympic Champion and Children’s Book author Billy Mills to the Audio Garden. And from Martha’s Kitchen Garden, Martha reads words for the spirit from Kahlil Gibran.
CREDITS – HOSTS: Martha Cinader, Tony Robles. FEATURED SPOKEN WORD: Q.R. Hand Jr., Barbara Tran. GUESTS: Jan Smith. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: DJ Jeannie Hopper. EDITING: Jeremiah Cothren. MUSIC: Jay Rodriguez Sierra. Banned Book Theme by DJ Jeannie Hopper with the voice and words of Yvette Murray. Living It! is from the CD, Living It!, Martha Cinader’s Po’azz Yo’azz.
GUESTS
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Jan Smith – SOMOS Bookstore
Read more: Jan Smith – SOMOS BookstoreJan Smith has an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, was the curator of the SOMOS Summer/Winter Writers Series from 2009-2015, and is currently the Executive Director of SOMOS(since 2014). She is a 2012 recipient of an award from Southwest Writers for her short story, “Breasts,” …
FEATURED SPEAKERS
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Q.R. Hand Jr.
Read more: Q.R. Hand Jr.Quentin Roosevelt Hand, Jr. (1937 – December 31, 2020), known professionally as Q.R. Hand, was an African-American poet. Q. R. Hand, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of three poetry books, i speak to the poet in man (jukebox press, 1985), how sweet it is (Zeitgeist Press, 1996), and whose really blues, new & selected poems (Taurean…
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Barbara Tran – Author, Editor
Read more: Barbara Tran – Author, EditorBarbara Tran is an immigrant. And a settler. She writes in multiple genres. Her debut poetry book, Precedented Parroting, is a Finalist for the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award. She is currently at work in collaboration with Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn on the screenplay for Nguyễn’s debut feature film.
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Martha Cinader, Author, Performance Artist
Read more: Martha Cinader, Author, Performance ArtistMartha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows…
FEATURED SPOKEN WORD
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Po’azz Yo’azz – Living It!
Read more: Po’azz Yo’azz – Living It!Living It! is Martha Cinader’s debut as the producer of her own album, and features an eclectic array of arrangements and musical styles. It was recorded in part in a studio in New York City, part in a studio in Hamburg, and part live at the Mojo Club in Hamburg, throw in some bonus tracks…
FEATURED BOOKS
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Watermark Vietnamese American Poetry and Prose
Read more: Watermark Vietnamese American Poetry and ProseEdited by Barbara Tran, Monique T.D. Truong and Luu Truong Khoi, Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry & Prose (Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 1998) heralds a new era for Vietnamese American literature. Here, for the first time, the most innovative contemporary Vietnamese American writers explore thematic and stylistic territory previously overlooked in other collections, which have traditionally…
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2000 Blacks, Poems
Read more: 2000 Blacks, Poems2000 Blacks probes the complexity of economic and politically motivated migration from Africa, which has been referred to as “African Brain Drain.” In the first sequence of poems, Ajibola Tolase explores Africa’s history and encounters with the Western world, providing poetic insight into the economic instability precipitated by the transatlantic slave trade and exploitation of mineral…
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Precedented Parroting – Barbara Tran
Read more: Precedented Parroting – Barbara TranOpening with an exit, the poems in Precedented Parroting accept no assumptions. With the determination and curiosity of a problem-solving crow, this expansive debut plumbs personal archives and traverses the natural world, endeavouring to shake the tight cage of stereotypes, Asian and avian.
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Kahlil Gibran – Tears and Laughter
Read more: Kahlil Gibran – Tears and LaughterThis classic work showcases the early brilliance and philosophical foundation of Kahlil Gibran, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century
VIDEOS
SUBMISSIONS
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BANNED BOOKS
We invite you to share your voice
on the banning of books
in schools and libraries in the USA.
PEN America reported ‘While the movement to ban books is driven by a vocal minority demanding censorship, a 2022 poll conducted by The American Library Association found that over 70% of parents oppose book banning leaving many public school districts in a bind. We invite you to share your voice on the banning of books in schools and libraries in the USA.
Learn more
Please participate. Say something about this and be heard.