www.luisjrodriguez.com
I'm Luis J. Rodriguez, the author of Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. and several other books in short fiction, children's literature, nonfiction, and poetry. On my web log I'll be posting all the latest news concerning my work as a writer, along with news and opinions on the many political, social, spiritual and cultural activities that I find interesting.
Luis J. Rodriguez | July 16, 2010
I am a man of words, but words are failing me as I try to describe my feelings of joy and love when my son Ramiro called me today as a free man. Yes, on Friday July 16, Ramiro was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Danville Prison. He had spent thirteen-and-a-half years in [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | July 15, 2010
A few of the young men were boisterous, laughing, loud. Others were quiet. They were black, Asian, and white. Yet in one full day—and in the following half day—they all proved to be great writers, raising hard but brave issues, and risking some of their emotions and even grief in writing workshops I conducted at [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | July 11, 2010
I spent my 56th birthday on July 9 at one of a well-known Turkish chain of restaurants called Tas/EV. Garth, Barbara, Joanne, Josephine, and Hannah were there—even surprising me with a slice of birthday cake and a heart-felt “Happy Birthday.”
I don’t like to celebrate birthdays much, except with family. But I must say this was [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | July 9, 2010
Yesterday, I had a busy day with an important radio interview in the afternoon on the Robert Elms show of the BBC London. Mr. Elms was prepared, gracious, and gave me a good fifteen to twenty minutes—which is hard to get these days on major radio. Apparently, Mr. Elms is very popular in London. I [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | July 6, 2010
On Sunday I arrived in London from Manchester by train (interestingly run by Virgin, the CD music and film store), having passed through green fields with livestock, small towns, brick-walled train stations—picturesque and tranquil. It took around two hours. London is a massive city—my host says there are 15 million people here. I’ve been here [...]
Luis J. Rodriguez | July 3, 2010
I wrote in yesterday’s blog post about a dark-green river behind my hotel. It’s actually part of a very old canal system—Manchester was the industrial center of the country, especially in textiles, and the canal system helped move product through the city. It’s good to be clear about these things since I learned a long [...]
