Tim Z. Hernandez - La Raza Galeria Posada

Tim Z. Hernandez (Skin Tax and Breathing, in Dust) read Friday evening (May 14) at La Raza Galeria Posada. I was unable to attend, but JoAnn Anglin did, and this is what she had to say:

"People laughed more than cried. As 20-plus attendees enjoyed the reading and story telling of Tim Z. Hernandez last night, he [Tim] basked in the warm lights and interest of his audience at La Raza Galeria Posada in Sacramento.


"Sponsored by the writing group, Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun, Tim read from his newest book, Breathing, in Dust, and graciously answered questions about how he came to write it as a novel, rather than a straight memoir. He also willingly explained his writing process and [discussed] his first book, the award-winning poetry collection, Skin Tax, published by Heyday Press.

"He proved to be not only a good writer and reader, but also a superb storyteller. At one point, he was the 13-year old boy, trying to evade his mother's insistence that they take part in the honoring of Cesar Chavez, on the day the hero died. Then he was the young poet, broke, taking Greyhound to answer an invitation to read his work in Los Angeles; then the shy young father taking his family to Colorado and being introduced to the beloved and legendary Trinidad Sanchez by Sacramento's late Phil Goldvang.

"Tim's demeanor is both humble about himself and proud of his work that so ably tells the story of growing up in the gritty world of San Joaquin agriculture. He is an amiable, thoughtful, and effective presenter. Don't miss him when he comes to SPC in September!" -- JoAnn Anglin

Although I could not attend this reading, I've had the opportunity to hear Tim read on different occasions in Merced and in Sacramento (CSUS a couple of years ago). I also had the fortune to study poetry with him at the Great Valley Writer's Conference several years ago. The adjectives JoAnn used about Tim (humble, amiable, thoughtful, effective) are all quite true, and I would add, "gracious," to that list. I am looking forward with great excitement to his return to Sacramento and a reading at SPC this September. If you have not read his work or heard him read, you really don't want to miss this reading.

Many thanks to my friend, JoAnn, for writing about Tim's visit to La Raza Galeria Posada.