Apply for a 2017 Día Program Grant with an African American Focus

Pat Mora

CSMCL logoDía Partner, The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL), has opened the application process for their 2017 Día grant. Libraries who have a Children’s Day, Book Day/El día de los niños, El día de los libros program with an African American Focus are eligible to apply. The award consists of a $500 grant in selected multicultural children’s books for the winning library.

The application must be received by February 28, 2017. Applications are available on the CMSCL website. The award will be announced on or about March 1, 2017.

Enjoy a Poem from Borders

Pat Mora

Northern Chihuahuan Desert"Mora confronts the clash of cultures in a courageous, tough tone that masks a gentle sensibility. What finally gives this book its healing power is the mesmerizing honesty of Mora’s celebration of herself as a woman, mother, lover."

—The Bloomsbury Review

 

Desert Women
Desert women know
Fierce heat and cold
have burned and thickened
our skin. Like cactus
we’ve learned to hoard,
to sprout deep roots,
to seem asleep, yet wake
at the scent of softness
in the air, to hide
pain and loss by silence,
no branches wail
or whisper our sad songs
safe behind our thorns.

Don’t be deceived.
When we bloom, we stun.

©Pat Mora

Borders

January 6: The Feast of the Epiphany

Pat Mora

I love words and epiphany (of Greek origin) is among my favorites. In a religious context, January 6 is the Feast of the Three Kings, the arrival of the Magi symbolizing that the Christ Child was revealed to the world. The tradition of making (or buying) a Three Kings’ Wreath or rosca de reyes inspired my book, The Bakery Lady: La señora de la panadería. The closeness of family is also a theme in this and a number of my books. I am blessed to have known such closeness in my own life.

As a writer, I love the notion that January 6th is a propitious day for beginning a new writing project. I am always hoping that an intriguing idea or approach will be revealed to me. Of course, I must sit still and listen.

Wishing you epiphanies in 2017.

Pat

Illustration by Pablo Torrecilla from The Bakery Lady.

Illustration by Pablo Torrecilla from The Bakery Lady.