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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Irvine Valley College writing professor pens a new chapter, just before retirement
The start of the school year is usually associated with new possibilities, an opportunity to learn, a chance to grow. For Lisa Alvarez, it signals a final chapter. The Irvine Valley College English instructor is retiring this year after 33 years at 'the little college in the Orange groves,' as she lovingly deemed it when she began her career there. 'When I arrived, it really was a very little college surrounded by orange groves, and people did not know where it was,' she said. 'Since then, it has become one of the most highly regarded community colleges in the state.' Alvarez has made a home with her husband, Andrew Tonkovich, a retired UC Irvine English lecturer and founder of the literary journal Citric Acid, in Modjeska Canyon. She has edited anthologies, including 'Orange County: A Literary Field Guide,' and her work has been published across the West. She uses art as both performance and activism and each summer leads writing workshops in the High Sierra. 'My colleagues and I, we are so proud to be part of the transformative journey for our students,' Alvarez said. 'Community colleges change people's lives. 'Whether they are right out of high school, or in high school, or older returning students, new immigrants, the whole world is there.' But this year's autumn breeze doesn't just bring finality of a teaching career for Alvarez; it is also turning the page of a new chapter. Alvarez has published her first book. 'My joke is, 'I am a debut author at 64, exactly how I planned it,' ' she said. 'Some Final Beauty and Other Stories' is a collection focusing on characters who are engaged with their communities, mainly in Southern California, with some centered in Orange County. The stories are their own pieces of activism, which isn't an accident. 'At first, it was going to be a collection of stories set in L.A. about female activists in the 1980s, and you can still see some of those in there,' Alvarez said. 'But it was basically going to be an homage to the best girlfriends a young person ever had … then it kept growing in different ways, and then I moved to Orange County. ' As time went on, Alvarez met more people — characters who found their way into her book — and collected more experiences that she wanted to share. 'I am happy for my characters,' she said. 'They get to be together forever.' Alvarez began the earliest story in the book nearly 13 years ago. The cover art is by activist-artist Andrea Bowers. The collection begins with 'Everyone Was Singing 'Freiheit,'' in which a former addict learns lessons by spending time in two different rooms of the same building. In 'We Told You So,' a grieving widow in an Orange County canyon seeks out an unlike-minded neighbor to help him heal. In the brief but powerful 'Cielito Lindo,' a daughter spends time with her boorish father, contemplating mistakes. The people Alvarez writes feel as real as the person in the car next to you on the 5 Freeway. While it is true this is her last year at IVC, retirement seems like the wrong word. Even though her teaching career is ending, her career as an author is just beginning. And she is also looking forward to returning to the activism she had less time for when she had a full-time job. She feels the country needs people fighting for justice more than ever. 'I imagined when this book was picked up by the University of Nevada Press a couple of years ago that the stories of activists from the Reagan era to the first Trump term would be sort of wistful, nostalgic things of the past … but now it seems, unfortunately, even more resonant,' Alvarez said. 'These stories remind me of what I used to do and what I will need to do again.' Alvarez never completely abandoned her need to stand up for others. She leaves behind a legacy at Irvine Valley College that includes two programs that have had a profound impact on many students and will continue doing so in her absence. Alvarez has led what she calls a 'small but vibrant' creative writing community at IVC connected to the campus literary journal, the Ear. 'It provides opportunities for full-time students and occasional students to do what I have done with this book, which is to begin to realize their dreams of becoming writers and finding an audience for the important stories they have to share,' she said. Alvarez has also been instrumental in the Puente Program, an academic, counseling and mentoring program that serves educationally under-served college students. 'The program has been around for 40 years but it has only recently been at IVC,' she said. 'It is celebrating its fifth year.' Historically, the program has served first-generation Latinos, providing support that helps them make the eventual transfer to four-year colleges and universities. 'We know if those students can get through the first year of community college, they are most likely to continue on and transfer,' Alvarez said. 'I take them through their first year of English classes, and I work together with a counselor and an ethnic studies professor to provide an enriched curriculum that focuses on the Latinx experience.' On Aug. 16, Alvarez plans to sign books at Libro Mobile, which is run by former student of hers, Sarah Rafael Garcia, and return to the independent bookstore Sept. 28 for a Brunch, Bites and Books event in celebration of 'Women in a Golden State: California Poets at 60 and Beyond,' a collection of poems and micro-essays she contributed to along with other locals writers, including Mary Camarillo. After that, there are more book signings and, of course, more writing planned. 'As a woman of 64, I think there is still time,' she said. 'There is still work to do.'
Travel Daily News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Travel Daily News
Berlin announces first 'Berlin Freedom Week' in November 2025
First 'Berlin Freedom Week' will take place from November 8 -15, 2025. Patron is the Governing Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner. BERLIN – Berlin is organizing the 'Berlin Freedom Week' for the first time from November 8-15, 2025. As part of this new initiative, numerous events on the topics of freedom and democracy will take place across the city to mark the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Conference formats, cultural events, workshops and interactive offers for all generations are planned, aimed at German and international guests as well as Berliners. Organizations and institutions are invited to participate with their own events. The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner said: 'Berlin is the city of freedom – and therefore the right place for the first 'Berlin Freedom Week'. In view of the war in Europe, the global crises and challenges, we must do everything we can to secure and strengthen democracy and defend people's freedom wherever it is threatened. The exchange at the conferences and events of Berlin Freedom Week is of the utmost importance – for us and for all those who stand up for freedom, the rule of law and our democratic values.' Burkhard Kieker, Managing Director of visitBerlin commented: 'With the Berlin Freedom Week, the capital is creating a new platform for global exchange on freedom, democratic values and human rights. In future, it will take place every year around November 9. The German capital will once again show why it is regarded worldwide as a symbol of freedom and democracy. No other city would be better suited than Berlin to celebrate freedom and give a stage to committed voices from all over the world who stand up for freedom, democracy and human rights.' Patron is Mayor Kai Wegner. The initiators of the Week include visitBerlin, the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation, the World Liberty Congress, the Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship and the Robert Havemann Society. 'Berlin Freedom Conference' on November 10 A highlight of the week of events on November 10. Leading players from national and international politics, civil society, business, culture and the media will come together to forge new alliances for the defense of freedom and democracy and to promote democratic change in unfree societies worldwide. The conference is organized by visitBerlin in cooperation with the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation and the World Liberty Congress and funded by the Lotto Foundation Berlin. 'World Liberty Congress': United dissidents from around the world meet in Berlin More than 200 freedom fighters and pro-democracy leaders from more than 50 authoritarian countries around the world are traveling to the city for the II General Assembly of the World Liberty Congress to discuss the issues of democratic change in their countries of origin. The World Liberty Congress is the largest global alliance of pro-democracy leaders. For them, the fall of the Berlin Wall is a symbol of hope. That is why they have chosen Berlin as the city for their General Assembly. This underlines the symbolic importance of Berlin as a city of freedom and a place for democracy and human rights. Leopoldo López, leading member of the opposition movement in Venezuela and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress: 'The Berlin Wall once stood as a stark line between tyranny and freedom – its fall was a triumph of courage over oppression. But today, new Berlin Walls still rise in the form of authoritarian regimes that silence, imprison, and kill those who dare to dissent. As brave freedom fighters continue their struggle around the world, Berlin reminds us that no wall is too high, no regime too strong, to be brought down. That's why the World Liberty Congress is bringing together dissidents and democracy leaders from across the globe for Berlin Freedom Week – to unite, learn from one another, and strengthen the global fight for freedom.' Antje Schippmann, Managing Director of the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation says: 'Freedom is on the retreat worldwide. Authoritarian regimes, from Moscow to Caracas, support each other militarily, technologically and politically. This makes it all the more important for democratic forces around the world to work together more closely. As the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation, we are continuing to work together with the city of Berlin to achieve this. Berlin Freedom Week creates new spaces for encounters, ideas and networks. It connects courageous dissidents who fight for democracy in dictatorships with international decision-makers from politics, business, defense and technology and a broad public.'
