Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón

In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.

 

But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.

As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
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Psychology

Family Obligation Values and Family Assistance Behaviors: Protective and Risk Factors for Mexican–American Adolescents’ Substance Use

EH Telzer, N Gonzales, AJ Fuligni – Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2013
… In the current study, we examined the role of family obli- gation values and family assistance
behaviors on Mexican– American adolescents’ substance … studies with a similar population (Telzer
and Fuligni 2009a) ranging from 1 (unskilled level) to 5 (professional level); examples …
Link to abstract

Adapting the Distress Thermometer for Cross-Cultural Research: A Method Enhanced by Mexican American Undergraduate Research Assistants

JN Wells – Hispanic Health Care International, 2013
… Perceived mood, health and burden in female Mexican American family cancer caregivers.
Health Care for Women International, 30(7), 627–652. … Retrieved from http://www.nccn
.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp Northouse, L. (2005). …
Link to abstract

Parental Factors Associated with Mexican American Adolescent Alcohol Use

C Mogro-Wilson – Journal of Addiction, 2013
… Bachman, LD Johnston, and JE Schulenberg, “The epidemiology of alcohol, marijuana, and
cocaine use among Mexican American, Puerto Rican … EV Cohen, “Child-rearing values of
low-income, urban Puerto Rican mothers of preschool children,” Professional Psychology, vol. …
Link to article

The Psychology of Working: A Case Study of Mexican American Women With Low Educational Attainment

L Guerrero, S Singh – The Career Development Quarterly, 2013
… However, work–life balance issues may be more relevant to younger Mexican American women,
because this group’s average age was almost 48. DelCampo, DelCampo, and DelCampo (2009)
found that, although professional Hispanic women expected to share some of the …
Link to abstract

Mexican-American Perceptions of the Causes of Mental Distress

I Barrera, CH Schulz, SA Rodriguez, CJ Gonzalez… – Social Work in Mental …, 2013
… This is important for mental health professionals to understand when working with
Mexican-American clients. View full text; Download full text; … This is important for mental health
professionals to understand when working with Mexican-American clients. Keywords. …
Link to abstract

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, BODY FAT, AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN MEXICAN AMERICAN MALE ADOLESCENTS

EJ Winokur – 2012
Page 1. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, BODY FAT, AND ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION IN MEXICAN
AMERICAN MALE ADOLESCENTS by … prepared by Elizabeth J. Winokur entitled Physical Activity,
Body Fat, and Endothelial Function in Mexican American Male Adolescents …
Link to dissertation

Understanding Mexican American Children

V Zúñiga, ET Hamann – … : Mexican-American Schooling, Immigration, and Bi- …
… students who started their schooling in Mexican schools but still declared them- selves “American.”
Second, the hyphenated Mexican American identity is … They more readily imagine themselves
doing their vocational or professional studies in US colleges and know well that they …
Link to book

Alcohol Availability and Violence among Mexican American Youth

RN Parker, KJ McCaffree, ML Alaniz – Alcohol and Violence: The Nature, 2013
… the other variables in the model do not consistently pre- dict youth violence rates once outlet
density, professional employment, and divorce rates are taken into account. DISCUSSION This
study establishes a link during the key period of Mexican American population growth of …
Link to book

When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity

Paul Taylor, Mark Hugo Lopez, Jessica Hamar Martínez and Gabriel Velasco
Nearly four decades after the United States government mandated the use of the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries, a new nationwide survey of Hispanic adults finds that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics themselves. A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family’s country of origin; just 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label…
Link to article

Viewing globalization in transnational, Mexican American Spaces

GAM Esparza
… Nine primary diary keepers – including one second and one third generation Mexican-American
(born in the US) – lived by themselves. … His professional background is in journalism, which he
practiced for 13 years in different news outlets in Mexico, including Siglo 21 in his …
Link to Article

The Perceptions of Successful and Unsuccessful Mexican American Students on the Public School System

L Arreola – 2012
… schools, and professional schools. Hispanic A Hispanic person is of Latin-American descent
living in the United States; especially: one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin. Latino A
Latino is a person of Latin-American origin living in the United States. Mexican American …
Link to thesis

Historical, Socio-Cultural, and Conceptual Issues to Consider When Researching Mexican American Children and Families, and other Latino Subgroups*

R Buriel – Psychosocial Intervention, 2012
… Spanish undergoes further linguistic modification as it adapts to the regional styles and
experiences of differ- ent Mexican American sub-groups. … the support and guid- ance of clergy
instead of mainstream sources such as psychologists, counselors and other lay professionals. …
Link to article

Associations Between Adolescents’ Perceived Discrimination and Prosocial Tendencies: The Mediating Role of Mexican American Values

AS Brittian, M O’Donnell, GP Knight, G Carlo… – Journal of Youth and …, 2012
… at least 40 h of training, which included information on the project’s goals, characteristics of the
target population, professional conduct, and … Sample items included, ”How often have kids at school
called you names because you are Mexican American?” and ”How often have you …
Link to abstract

Mother-Child Dyadic Synchrony and its Association with Children’s Socio-Emotional Competence in Mexican American Families

P Velez-Gomez – 2012
… Page 11. Texas Tech University, Paulina Velez-Gomez, August 2012 4 with only a small
percentage that has achieved a college level education and professional occupations (Martinez,
2001) Taking into account the growing rates of Mexican American families in the …
Link to thesis

A Content Analysis of the Career Paths and Cultural Capital of Mexican-American Male Principals: A Critical Race Discourse on the Journey Toward the Principalship

JL Horak – 2012
… subordination (Crenshaw, Gotanda, Peller, & Thomas, 1996). For decades, the racial
conversations and experiences of Mexican-American males have been framed to promote the
cultural stereotypes. To debunk this mindset, the professional journey toward the …
Link to dissertation

Mexican-American Experiences of Vocational Training and Adult Learning after a Layoff Event in San Antonio, Texas

DP Mena, GN McLean
… Given the dearth of literature on Mexican-American displaced workers, it is essential to find
successful interventions that assist this group of … HRD professionals will directly benefit from this
study for this knowledge will minimize emotional impact and prepare employees by …
Link to article-slow in loading

The Role of Ethnicity in Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White Students’ Experience of Sexual Harassment

LK Kearney, LA Gilbert – Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2012
… The Role of Ethnicity in Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White … Lisa K. Kearney1,2 and Lucia
Albino Gilbert3 Abstract This study explored dimensions of a social phenomenon not often investi-
gated among Mexican American college students, namely sexual harassment. …
Link to abstract

Protective Cultural Factors Fostering Academic Resilience in “At-Risk” Mexican American Teenage Girls

V Lopez-Estrada – … SOCIAL SCIENCE PROCEEDINGS Volume 49# 1 …
… In this study, the girls’ primary parents’ everyday demonstrations of resilient behavior were related
to traditional Mexican American family life (roles … The study suggests a need for more research
and professional development for educators on the subject of academic resiliency. …
Link to study


  

Poem
“…And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while…”

T.S. Eliot
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Mexican American Proarchive Annual Report for 2022

The American Community Survey is an annual survey administered by the federal government to help local officials and community leaders and businesses understand the changes that take place in their communities. It includes percentages of our population’s graduate school attainment and the employment of Mexican Americans in various occupations.  These important factors influence the allocation of federal resources. Mexican American Proarchives uses the data provided by the American Community Survey to better understand how Mexican Americans compare to the general population.

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