|
Tonguas, Revista de Artes Literarias y Expresión Estudiantil
From January 2000 to the present, the Tonguas collective has staged many open-microphone poetry slams, a street theater choreopoem, and a "poetry circus". El Colectivo Tonguas has also issued six volumes of Tonguas, a bilingual literary and visual arts journal, conducted writing workshops with renowned Caribbean writers, and organized the Tonguas Ensemble.
The title "Tonguas" combines "tongues" and "lenguas," indicating the open, multilingual, and inclusive nature of the group's activities, "idiomas," and aesthetics. Tonguas begins with the premise that Spanish is at the heart of Puerto Rican identity. At the same time, the collective has also held poet Victor Hernández Cruz's statement to be worthy: "Bilingualism is not a limitation when it is in the hands of the writers" (Red Beans, 1991, pp. 9-10).
Although the collective originated in the English Department of the Humanities Faculty of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, participants include students from all faculties and writers from the larger community. Tonguas poetry "jam sessions" tend to bring together poets of all ages, but most of the events celebrate and promote the poetic innovations of the new generation of emerging writers. Participants have embraced both formal literary techniques and forms of orature and music--urban youth cultural expressions such as hip-hop and graffiti, along with "Def Poetry Jam" and slam style-performance poetry.
Tonguas has also attempted to bring Spanish-dominant, bilingual, and English-dominant writers into greater contact with Caribbean writers through readings and workshops with such artists as Puerto Rican poets Willie Perdomo and Victor Hernández Cruz and novelist Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Dominican poet Sherezada "Chiqui" Vicioso, Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison, St. Lucian poet Kendel Hippolyte, and Miami-based Cuban and Dominican-descended poet Adrian Castro.
 |
|
Tonguas Vol 5, May 2006 |
|
The Tonguas journal is published once a year in May. Tonguas accepts submissions of original poetry, fiction, creative essay, one act dramatic plays, and visual art from all University of Puerto Rico students of the Río Piedras campus. The deadline for the May 2008 issue will be February 15th, 2008. Artists and writers interested in submitting their work for consideration must send one hard copy and one copy on floppy disk or CD, saved in a format compatible with a PC. The submission should be clearly identified with the artist's name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address. All submissions must be sent to Dr. Dannabang Kuwabong, Revista Tonguas, Departamento de Inglés, Facultad de Humanidades, P.O. Box 23356, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico 00931-3356. Submissions may also be left in the professor's mailbox in the English Department, Humanities Faculty, near Office #10, Pedreira (sótano). No e-mail submissions, please. If you are interested in participating in Tonguas events or working on the student editorial board of the journal, please contact Daniel Nevarez at tonguascollective@gmail.com.
Previous Volumes of the Tonguas Journal
 |
|
|
Tonguas Vol 4, May 2005 |
Tonguas Vol 3, May 2004 |
|
|
Tonguas Vol 3, May 2003 |
Tonguas Vol 1, May 2001 |
|
