MAYBE MANHATTAN / Book Presentation & Reading

TAL VEZ MANHATTAN by Esteban Escalona / Book Presentation & Reading

Presented by Terraza 7 Mezzanine Reading Series.

Date: Sunday, June 9 2024

Time: 5PM

Presenters: Margarita Drago & Juana M. Ramos

About TAL VEZ MANHATTAN:

In his 22 chronicles, Escalona invites us, with his bilingual edition book, to an exploration and intimate encounter with a city he has adopted as his home. Through his attentive and inquisitive gaze, he captures the essence of this multifaceted city, with stories that rescue the lives of places and characters silenced amid the bustling New York life.

About Esteban Escalona:

Esteban Escalona is an urban writer who crafts new ways of narrating the city by highlighting places and characters often rendered invisible. His works blend fantasy, irony, and magical realism to create compelling stories through literary chronicles, short stories, and novels. Since moving to New York City in 2019, memory and its preservation have been central themes in expressing his immigrant experience. In the vibrant environment of the Big Apple, Escalona has discovered a unique literary voice that inspires readers to view the city with a playful curiosity.

His bilingual book Tal vez Manhattan/Maybe Manhattan (Five Points Publishing) offers an intimate exploration of New York City, a place he now calls home. Through his attentive and inquisitive lens, Escalona captures the essence of the city's multifaceted nature, narrating the lives of overlooked places and characters. Esteemed writers like Roberto Brodsky and Margarita Drago have praised his work for its immediate honesty and rich imagery, which immerse readers in the dazzling reality of New York. His debut book, Ciudad Capital (Editorial Chancacazo, 2011), features ten short stories and has been published in both Chile and New York. It received critical acclaim for its narrative quality and style, and was recognized by the Chilean Ministry of Education as essential reading for developing civic culture in students.

In addition to his books, Escalona has contributed to several anthologies and literary magazines in the United States, including Viceversa Magazine, ENCLAVE, and the Latin American Literary Review. He has also participated in numerous literary events and interviews, both in the United States and Chile, sharing his unique perspective on urban life and his experiences as an immigrant writer in New York. Through these various platforms, Esteban Escalona continues to captivate audiences with his vivid storytelling and insightful explorations of city life

About Margarita Drago:

Margarita Drago is originally from Argentina. She is a poet, narrator and Professor of Spanish at York College. As an expolitical prisoner and writer, she has represented Argentina in congresses in the United States, Latin America and Europe. She is the author of Fragmentos de la memoria.

Recuerdos de una experiencia carcelaria (1975-1980) /Memory Tracks: Fragments from Prison (1975-1980), declared of national and cultural interest by the Honorable National Congress of the Republic of Argentina in 2016. She has also published several poetry books in the USA, Argentina, El Salvador, Mexico, and Italy. She coauthored Tomamos la palabra: mujeres en la guerra civil de El Salvador (1980-1992.

Recently, her book Fragmentos de la memoria. Mi vida en dos batallas, a revised and expanded edition of her memoirs from prison was published in Argentina.