Jorge Argueta, Noted Salvadoran Author of Children’s Books, Will Give a Free Bilingual Reading at East Bank Regional Library
METAIRIE, LA – Jorge Argueta, an award-winning Salvadoran poet and author of many highly acclaimed bilingual children's books and short stories, will perform a bilingual reading on Wednesday, July 12 at 12:30 PM at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie. Sixty copies of Argueta's book La Madre Tierra are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
This event is free of charge and open to the public. Registration is not necessary. Argueta will read and discuss his La Madre Tierra/Talking with Mother Nature series. This program is co-sponsored by the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University in collaboration with the annual K-12 Educator Institute, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Climate Justice.
Argueta grew up in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, El Salvador, where his grandmother, an Indian healer, told him stories from his indigenous heritage and their belief in a human-nature connection, instilling in him great respect for the environment and appreciation for oral tradition. He left El Salvador when he was 19 due to the ongoing Salvadoran Civil War.
In 2001, Argueta published his first children's book, Una Pelicula En Mi Almohada/A Movie in My Pillow, which won several awards, including the America's Book Award. In 2003, he published three titled: Los Arboles Estan Colgando El Cielo/Trees are Hanging from the Sky; El Zipitio/Zipitio; and Xochitl and the Flowers: Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores. His most recent books include Hablando con Madre Tierra/Talking with Mother Earth, Alfredito, Luna, Lunita, Lunera/Moony Luna, and Alfredito regresa volando a su casa/Alfredito Flies Home. He is currently working on a memoir about growing up in El Salvador.
The Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University organizes teaching and research activities across more than 100 core and affiliated faculty in departments and schools across several campuses. It is one of Tulane University's largest, most renowned interdisciplinary units.
The K-12 Educator Institute is a program sponsored by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center grant that convenes K-12 educators from across the nation to deepen their understanding of significant topics in the humanities and enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching.
For more information regarding this event, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the Jefferson Parish Library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.
The Jefferson Parish Library system consists of 16 locations that stretch from the Lakeshore Branch on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain to the Grand Isle Branch, steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. The library system consists of two large regional libraries and seven branches on each side of the Mississippi River. The East Bank Regional Library (4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie) serves as the library headquarters. The Jefferson Parish Library is the second largest system in Louisiana. More than 200 employees work for the Jefferson Parish Library, including librarians, administration, and support staff. For more information, contact the library at (504) 838-1100 or www.jefferson.lib.la.us.
