Two San Miguel literary legends read at the Sala
Article Courtesy of Atencion San Miguel
www.atencionsanmiguel.org
For original article, click here
By Susan Page (10/02/11)
Susan McKinney de Ortega and Alice Denham present a most entertaining evening at the Literary Sala. Both are long-time San Miguel residents with substantial literary resumes and captivating presentations!
The San Miguel Literary Sala presents:
Susan McKinney de Ortega’s memoir Flirting in Spanish
Alice Denham’s memoir Sleeping with the Bad Boys
Thu, Sep 8, 5-7pm, Posada San Francisco, Corner of Hidalgo and Canal, 70 pesos, 50 pesos for members
Susan McKinney de Ortega has an amazing story to tell. She came to San Miguel when she was 33 to escape the macho world of sports in which she grew up, since her father was the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. She fell starry-eyed in love with a Mexican teenager from a poor (macho) Mexican family. Sixteen years and two daughters later, she is still happily married to her teenage love, who is about to start a masters degree to become a psychologist. Their love-conquers-all story is compelling, and will be published this fall by Antaeus Books, with the title, Flirting in Spanish.
Tony Cohan, author of the classic On Mexican Time, says of the book, “Susan McKinney has a real story to tell, both fraught and magical, and she knows how to tell it. Flirting in Spanish will take you places you’ve likely never been, and you will emerge amazed and illuminated.”
Susan’s work has appeared in three anthologies, One Big Happy Family, edited by Rebecca Walker; Mexico, a Love Story; and Not What I Expected, The Unpredictable Road from Womanhood to Motherhood. She writes for the Huffington Post and numerous other publications.
Alice Denham
A tireless writer since her first novel was published in 1967, Alice Denham received a glowing New York Times review for her most recent book, Sleeping with the Bad Boys, a rollicking romp through the literary circles in New York in the 1950s and 60s, a group of which she was an intimate part, so to speak. She tells juicy tales in the book about literary luminaries like Phillip Roth, Joseph Heller, Norman Mailer, James Dean, Marlon Brndo, and of course, Hugh Heffner, to name only a few of the many. The list of people she knew is jaw dropping! Reviewer Wim Coleman calls the book, “…nothing less than an eye-witness account of the unfolding of an era. Denham’s personal memories of key writers frequently seque into keen literary criticism, while her travails as a woman author and model are firmly set against the bourgeoning feminist movement of the sixties.”
One of Denham’s early literary coups was to be the only Playboy playmate to have a story published in the same issue in which she appeared as the Centerfold attraction. In 1989, that same story was made into a movie that garnered awards at several festivals. A pioneer feminist, Denham is a founding member of the National Organization for Women. She appeared on a landmark Walter Cronkite CBS News show in the first national TV interview with feminists in 1970, and she participated in the famous feminist takeover of the Ladies Home Journal. Her stories and articles have appeared in the Village Voice, the New York Times,Cosmopolitan, The Nation, and many other publications.
Alice will talk with us about and read from Sleeping with the Bad Boys, as well as her cult novel, Amo: The Feminist Centerfold from Outer Space, published in 1974 and recently republished as an Authors Guild back-in-print edition.
The Literary Sala’s monthly author presentations, a San Miguel tradition since 2004, are open to the public and always include a complimentary wine reception for the featured authors. As usual, this event will be held at Posada San Francisco, corner of Hidalgo and Canal, across from the jardin.
Category : Blog
