Swimming with Elephant Soiree THIS SATURDAY!

On December 10, 2018 By awhitetrashpoetIn News

Make your way down to Tortuga Gallery this Saturday to join us in celebrating five years of publishing under Swimming with Elephants Publications, LLC.

An size donation will get you in the door, but a minimum 5$ donation will get you a SwEP Swag bag.

We will have a limited supply of books for sale at the event. All available books will be priced at 10$ each or three for 20$. Bring cash or credit card (a 1$ service charge will be added for credit card purchases). If you want to be sure to have a certain book signed by one of our performing poets, you are encouraged to purchase it prior to the event and bring it along.

Many of our poets will also be bringing their personal crafts to sell at the event so come get some shopping done for the holidays.

Poetry Performers include:

Bassam, Emily Bjustrom, Matthew Brown, Courtney Butler, SaraEve Fermin, Kat Heatherington, Zachary Kluckman, Manuel Gonzalez, Sarita Sol Gonzalez, Jessica Helen Lopez, Kristian Macaron, Gina Marselle, Manuel Montoya, Mary Oishi, Liza Wolff Francis

Musical Guests:

Kai Ocean

Marion Carrillo

Bring Food!

This is a pot luck, bring your own beverage event (Yes, alcoholic beverages are okay, just be responsible).

Please attempt to bring reusable plates/cups etc. View Tortuga’s Zero Waste Goals for more information.

Swimming with Elephants Poets in Public Service: Manuel Gonzalez

On May 8, 2018April 28, 2018 By awhitetrashpoetIn Featured Writers, News

During the month of April, the City of Albuquerque created a video series called Poets in Public Service to recognize the work local poets do in the community. Several of the poets interviewed are authors with Swimming with Elephants Publications.

Check out this video by Albuquerque’s Third Poet Laureate and author of …But my friends call me Burque: Manuel Gonzalez.

Click here to find Swimming with Elephants Publications on Facebook and ‘Like’ our page.

Find more videos and information regarding poetry events in ABQ at ABQtodo.com.

Featured SwEP Author: Manuel Gonzalez

On April 24, 2018April 19, 2018 By awhitetrashpoetIn Authors, Daily Share, Featured Writers, News

Swimming with Elephants Publications, LLC would like to reintroduce to you to ABQ Poet Laureate Manuel Gonzalez.

Manuel Gonzalez’s collection, …but my friends call me Burque, was published from Swimming with Elephants Publications in October of 2014. Since that time, Manuel was named Poet Laureate of Albuquerque from 2016-2018.

Listen to Manny read from his collections here:

Pick up Manuel Gonzalez’s collection, …but my friends call me Burque, from Bookworks ABQ

or order from Amazon or Barnes and Noble today!

Already own a copy? Please write a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads, or submit a review to swimwithelephants@gmail.com for publications on this site.

Manuel González

Manuel González is a performance poet who began his career in the poetry slam. He has represented Albuquerque many times on a national level as a member of the Albuquerque poetry slam team. Manuel has appeared on the PBS show, Colores, in “My Word is My Power.” He was one of the founding members of the poetry troupe The Angry Brown Poets.

Manuel teaches workshops on self-expression and poetry in high schools and youth detention centers. He also works with an art therapist to help incarcerated young men express them-selves. He was also one of the coaches and mentors for the Santa Fe High Poetry Slam team from 2006-2010. Manuel is from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

His mother’s family is from Barelas. His father’s family is from a small town in Northern New Mexico called Anton Chico, and his father was the lead singer of the band Manny and the Casanovas. He identifies himself as being Chicano. The history, culture, and spirituality of his people are among his inspirations.

His connection to his culture helps him connect to his students. Manuel teaches poetry as a means for self-expression. Looking within oneself and examining ones roots is the essence of the type of poetry he works with emotions, feelings, experiences, and prose in an historical and cultural context is the goal of his workshops. Self esteem, finding something to say, figuring out how to say it eloquently, and letting your voice be heard are just some of the benchmarks in Manuel’s workshop. Manuel resides in Albuquerque, NM with his wife and children.

For information on booking a workshop and/or performance, please send inquiries to: xicanopoet@yahoo.com.

Southwest Laureates!

On January 4, 2018 By awhitetrashpoetIn Local Events, News

Our Year, Our Future

On December 31, 2016December 31, 2016 By awhitetrashpoetIn News

Thank you to everyone who have followed Swimming with Elephants Publications and to all those whom we met in 2016.

This year meet with some rocky times, and SwEP did not escape some of that downfall. We slumped in sales which lead to fewer publications than in past years. We had to end our quarterly anthology series due to lack of funds and low submissions. Also, a powerful project, entitled “Woke,” fell through which lead to disappointment for this Editor in Chief.

However, the year can not be denied some excellent successes. We have had some amazing author’s join our Parade including Wil Gibson, SaraEve Fermin, and Jennifer E. Hudgens.

One of our most popular titles, They Are All Me by Dominique Christina, has been picked up by the Women’s and Gender’s Studies, Sociology, Public Health, and Gender/Cultural Studies Department at Simmons College in Boston, MA. Also, one of our authors, Manuel Gonzalez of …But My Friends Call Me Burque, was named ABQ Poet Laureate and continues to perform prolifically around the New Mexico.

We also continue with our charitable causes by participated in putting together anthologies for All Access and Voces, an ABQ based youth program. We continue to work closely with various members of the community to create publications to spread awareness and give the youth a voice.

Most importantly haven’t gone bankrupt yet and are hopeful that we will be able to fund future projects.

The new year looks promising with an upcoming release from Gigi Bella, a chapbook contest guest judged by Jessica Helen Lopez, along with some other hopefuls projects peaking around the corners.

We have also started a new monthly feature series and have already received a grip of submissions. Learn more about this series here and keep those submissions coming.

If you are one of our authors, please remember that your success does depend on your hustle. We will support you in every way possible, but the best (and most profitable) way to get your books into people’s hands is to place them there yourself. Share your work publicly by booking features or mini tours.

If you are one of our readers, please continue to check out our latest publications and submit reviews to Amazon, Goodreads, or send us a review for the website. We are always looking for more reviews and more readers.

Thank you to all for your support. We will be seeing you in 2017.

People of the Sun Live at the Draft Station: A Review

On December 18, 2016December 18, 2016 By awhitetrashpoetIn News, Reviews

People of the Sun / Gente del Sol

A Review

The People of the Sun is an emerging performance group made up of some very talented people credited with Albuquerque Fame.

The group, a threesome at its core, consists of Jessica Helen Lopez, former ABQ Poet Laurette, a nationally recognized published author with West End Press and Swimming with Elephants Publications, Manuel Gonzalez, current ABQ Poet Laurette and youth advocate, also published by Swimming with Elephants Publications, and Glenn “Buddha” Benavidez, of Reviva and Stoic Frame fame who also performs solo as DJ Buddhafunk. With a core group of that quality, this newly formed performance group holds high promise as a potential powerhouse.

On December 17^th, the People of the Sun played their third show at the Draft Station in Albuquerque New Mexico. The venue offered a comfortable environment, good beer, and friendly enthusiastic patrons.

Opening with a meditative Chakra jam session and closing with a similar jam, the sandwich material was engaging, entertaining, varied, and compelling. Well received spoken word performances by Lopez and Gonzalez mixed with the professional beats of Benavidez created a show that is unique and inimitable.

Because the group strives to represent community, other local poets were invited to perform with the group throughout the evening. Local poets, including Gina Marselle, Katrina K Guarascio, and Bill Nevins, fellow Reviva menstrual, Jerel Garcia, and local artist John Barney, who had a table in the corner where he created magnificent artistic renderings of the performances (represented in this review) throughout the evening, all contributed to the eclectic festivities of the evening.

The show ran roughly three hours with a couple of breaks for conversation and collaboration creating an incredible comfortable and open environment.

Find People of the Sun – Performance Art Collective on Facebook for more information and keep your eye open for future shows featuring this group in and around Albuquerque.