For those of you who don't yet know...

I pretty much spent the entire Thanksgiving holiday knocked low by a stomach virus and I am still just kind of crawling back up to the level of my usual existence. I have a dim recollection of getting a ton of cleaning done around here, getting the table set, the turkey baked. I even remember my family somehow arriving here, and I recall a lovely laptop slideshow of my cousin's recent trip to the Mediterranean, but beyond that, I only remember being absolutely 100% thoroughly sick to my stomach until all of it "came back up" -- to put it sort of "nicely" -- a few hours after everyone went home.

Then there was tons of time sleeping in bed, watching the wonderfully silly-stupid movie, ELF, in bed. Watching An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving in bed. Watching a really cool Christmas movie from 1985, One Magic Christmas, in bed. Sleeping some more. More TV movies. Tons of cats generally dashing hither and yon...

Was there an upside to all this, you may ask? Why, yes,there was! I lost a ton of weight since I couldn't stomach much of anything for a few days. Yay! I have that wonderfully svelte, terribly fragile, starved look going on right now! I couldn't be happier! It really suits me. I'm an old-lady version of Twilight...

Okay. I'm kind of just kidding. I lost 2 whole pounds. But I am feeling back among the living now and getting some writing done again. And I have a quick announcement from another to make before I get back to work around here. It comes by way of Emanuel Xavier in NYC. So check it out and thanks for visiting, gang!! Hope all is peachy wherever you are.

In the feather of a bird, a thousand colors strut, joining together to create one unified vision, so too with even the smallest portion of skin.  In this issue of The Acentos Review, we are pleased to present a variety of viewpoints and genres stemming from the multidimensionality of Latinidad and writing.  David Ayllon graces the virtual cover with “Untitled”, offering in his artist slide show two more prints in addition to a complex assemblage of poems.  Liza Acosta offers a piece of fiction that invites returns to the text to unlock the beauty of a few moments strung together in time.  Isaac Chavarria enchants with his valuing of words and the subtle nuances that using them within form can bring.  Seán Dalpiaz offers a poem that could, itself, become a mantra, centering on the experience of the Puerto Rican writer - a localization, a centering - while Jose B. Gonzalez, within three poems, travels a wide gamut of experience.  Pedro Marrero, Jr. adds, with his work, a duende, a heartwrenching cry.  Manuel Luis Martinez and Patrick Rosal converse about migration, democracy and writing within the current political climate, the possibility of change, but how.  Emanuel Xavier closes this issue with a stunning definition of the poet in addition to a series of poems translated into Spanish.

Chequealo . . . Check out The Acentos Review.