August 9, 2018: Literary Sala Readings

Literary Sala Presents Pulitzer Prize-Winning Cartoonist and Short Story Writer

By Carole Schor

Pulitzer Prize Winning Cartoonist Mike Keefe

If a picture’s worth a 1000 words, then an editorial cartoon is worth at least 10,000, and the San Miguel Literary Sala is proud to present one of America’s finest cartoonists, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Mike Keefe. Keefe, the editorial cartoonist for The Denver Post since 1975 is nationally syndicated by caglecartoons.com, with cartoons appearing in Time, Newsweek, Business Week, US News and World Report, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Editorial cartoons, with just one picture and most often no words, appeal to many readers who hope to obtain their news and information without having to read anything in depth. Cartoons capture the essence of the world and the crisis of the day quickly, so that people don’t have to read paragraph after paragraph of political commentary. Editorial cartoons illustrate outrageous policies; address important issues; and call out inept leaders, greedy billionaires, warmongers and egomaniacs, to put them in their rightful place. Today’s best editorial cartoonists are examples of today’s culture of  “soundbite mentality” as they can make an instant and incredibly persuasive impact on our opinions and minds. As Malcolm Gladwell said in his book, Blink, “Even a seven-second soundbite is an eternity compared to the rapid rate our subconscious is taking in information.” Mike Keefe is a new resident of San Miguel, enjoying every moment of his adopted Mexican life while continuing to draw and play the blues.

Chet Kozlowski

Chet Kozlowski writes about real life people in complicated and disturbing situations. His books and stories make readers think, they make them feel, and they make them examine every word to see the deeper meaning. Chet is a university professor who instills a sense of possibility in his students. He teaches how to use the imagination rather than truth to create one’s own reality. “With imagination, you can alter reality and turn facts into creative lying.”

Chet’s currently teaching Creative Writing and Speech at City College in New York and spends his time here in San Miguel writing, painting, drawing and working with local writers in his SMA Writers’ Workshops being held this summer. He’s a disciplined writer, rising early in the morning to walk to the Jardin where he sits and records his feelings, opinions and memories in journals he’s kept for twenty years. He commits to writing a certain number of journal pages every day, and then he stops. He returns home to contemplate what he’s thought about, and then he starts to write.

Chet is the author of the collection Home at Last, stories published by Florian Letters Press. His stories have appeared in Guernica, The Brooklyn Rail, Promethean, Fiction Attic and Global City Review.

 

Join us for a fascinating evening with two very interesting men at the Literary Sala on August 9 at 5 PM at the Hotel La Aldea. Admission is 50 pesos for members and 100 pesos for non-members, including a wine and snack reception.