What's happening. . .

WATER! Kat's chapbook WATER SIGNS is a top-ten finalist for the 2008 New Women's Voices Chapbook Contest, and as such will be published by Finishing Line Press! Katherine and Lucy Kempton are guest editing the May/June issue of the online literary magazine qarrtsiluni, featuring work in a variety of media and genres on the theme "water." Turo leads Kat and a talented team of writers and actors along with Infynit Media Group through a 48-Hour Film Project (producing a 7-minute short film in 48 hours!) June 20-22. Texas Folk Life presents Accordion Kings & Queens at Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston June 7. Check out Turo with Beto and the Fairlanes this summer. See Turo's lights and camera work every week on Infynit Hour, a program of live music, photo essays and shorts airing on PACT Channel 10 in Austin, Tuesdays 10:00p. June 11 is LEAH DAY! (Celebrating the birthday of Katherine's beautiful daughter Leah Oldmixon) We're relaxing by the serene Caribbean in Mexico for two weeks in June and Kat heads for San Miguel de Allende in late June through most of July.

The call for submissions to the May/June issue of qarrtsiluni (edited by Kat and the remarkable Lucy Kempton) features Turo's photo of water at Encinitas, CA. Scroll through previous issues of qarrtsiluni online for Kat's photographs, "Maya Cycle," "Our Roots," and "Beyond the Gate," and poems, "Cyclamen" and "Between Season," her new media poem-without-words, "Diabutsu," and the photograph, "Nymph Prowl," and poems, "Poesis in Plato's Garden" and "Blue Morphos."

"If These Walls Could Speak" poets read poems inspired by art in the Blanton Museum, Sunday, April 6 1-5 at the Blanton in Austin, and Kat's poem, "St. Agatha" is posted by the Riminaldi painting that inspired it.

We found the nopales (prickly pear) in bloom in Austin and Mexico stunning. Check out our photo, "Flores Tejanas" on the cover of the 2008 Texas Poetry Calendar (And Kat's poem, El arbol milagroso," alongside Easter week.) The 2009 Texas Poetry Calendar will include Kat's poem "4th of July" (wonder where the editors will put that one?)

The 2008 di-verse-city anthology, released April 11 at the Austin International Poetry Festival, includes Katherine's poem "Spanish Plums" on page 21. . .


Celebrating Texas Poet Laureates at the Texas Book Festival: Kat with laureates Steve Fromholz, Alan Birkelbach and Red Steagall.

A National Folk Treasure at the Texas Folklife tribute, una Tardeada con Santiago Jimenez, Jr. See the video on Channel 16 in Austin.

On the Texas/Mexico border, a new generation of immensely talented mariachis, ballet folklorico dancers, and conjunto musicians are training and producing professional productions while they are still in high school.

Looking out on the world