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Notes and Links to Antonio Lopez's Work For Episode 241, Pete welcomes Antonio Lopez, and the two discuss, among other topics, his bilingual and multicultural childhood in East Palo Alto, E-40 Fonzarelli, his experiences with bilingualism, formative and transformative reading, the greatness and timelessness of James Baldwin, seeds for Gentefication in the rhythms and cultures and camaraderie of home, his life as a politician and working together with the community towards a stellar achievement, and salient themes in his collection like faith, gentrification and attendant outcomes, grief, trauma, joy, the power of art, and youthful rage and passion. Antonio López is a poetician working at the intersection of poetry, politics and social change. He has received literary scholarships to attend the Community of Writers, Tin House, the Vermont Studio Center, and Bread Loaf. He is a proud member of the Macondo Writers Workshop and a CantoMundo Fellow. He holds degrees from Duke University, Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford. He is pursuing a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University. His debut poetry collection, Gentefication, was selected by Gregory Pardlo as the winner of the 2019 Levis Prize in Poetry. He recently won a Pushcart Prize for his poem “Our Lady of the Westside.” As district representative for California State Senator Josh Becker, he served as the liaison for the Latinx, veteran, and Muslim communities of State District 13. Antonio has fought gentrification in his hometown as the newest and youngest council member for the City of East Palo Alto, and he is now the city's mayor. Buy Gentefication Antonio's East Palo Alto Mayoral Page KQED Interview At about 3:00, The two discuss the diversity of the Bay Area At about 4:20, Antonio speaks about “education as a pillar of [his] life” and his relationship with languages and the written word and nurturing schools in East Palo Alto At about 7:15, The two sing the praises of PBS as an educational force, and Antonio recounts an amazing 3rd grade story involving the great Levar Burton At about 11:50, Antonio details some of his favorite texts from childhood, including The Hatchet! At about 13:20, Antonio responds to Pete's questions about ideas of representation in what he read and how he was educated, and Antonio expounded upon the interesting ways in which he grew up in an under resourced school and in the Silicon Valley At about 17:30, The two discuss the huge gap in wealth between Peninsula cities At about 20:00, Pete quotes from the book's Acknowledgements in asking Antonio about his “origin story”; Antonio talks about the personal gaze and gaze from outside East Palo Alto At about 22:25, Antonio reminiscences on the visual and aural feasts, including the music, of his community and the ways in which English was “malleable” and formational for him At about 26:20, The two discuss the ways in which East Palo Alto achieved a huge change, culminating in zero homicides in 2023 At about 30:30, Antonio reflects on the idea that “all art is political” At about 32:25, Pete highlights impressive and creative verbs and language Antonio uses At about 34:50, Pete asks about the pronunciation of the poetry collection and Antonio details the significance of the title At about 37:10, Pete quotes from the book's Prologue from Pardlo and asks Antonio about an early reference in the collection to James Baldwin; Antonio expounds upon the “mill” At about 41:25, The two discuss a memorable line about school reading that didn't feel familiar for Antonio and other resonant lines about education At about 44:15, Antonio responds to Pete's question about “the borderlands” referred to in the collection At about 47:45, Antonio gives background on a powerful poem, “Las Chacharas” and its sequel, as well as ideas of relativism as seen in the writing At about 50:40, Antonio talks about a “narrative wrapped around [him]” and his pride and ambivalence At about 54:15, The two explore ideas of gentrification and losses and beautiful gains that come with immigration, as featured in the collection, including a true story involving Antonio's paternal grandparents At about 57:20, Pete compliments the poem from the collection that is a sort of tribute to his mom, and Pete wonders about the usage of “Usted” and “Tú” At about 1:00:25, The two discuss coming-of-age themes in the collection, and Antonio expands upon ideas presented in a four-part poem At about 1:02:15, E-40 (!) and youthful and chaotic energy are the topics of discussion-Antonio reflects on the word “hyphy” At about 1:04:25, The two discuss religion and Catholicism/Christianity's links to colonialism and Antonio's beginnings with Muslim communities At about 1:08:40, Antonio talks about the importance of hadiths and a memorable poem from the collection-a letter written to a hate crime, the murder of Nabra Hassanen At about 1:12:45, DBQ's are highlighted and unique grading rubrics, as rendered in Antonio's work You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode. I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I'm looking forward to the partnership! Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. Please tune in for Episode 242 with Santiago José Sánchez, a professor of English and a queer Colombian American writer whose writing has appeared in McSweeney's, ZYZZYVA, Subtropics, and Joyland and been distinguished in Best American Short Stories. They are the recipient of a Truman Capote Fellowship from the University of Iowa and an Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellowship from Lambda Literary. The episode will go live on July 10 or so. Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.
Episode 99 Notes and Links to Sara Borjas' Work On Episode 99 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Sara Borjas, and the two talk about, among other topics, Sara's relationship with language, bilingualism and identity, pochismo, formative and transformative writers and teachers, and themes and ideas from Sara's standout collection, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff. SARA BORJAS is a Xicanx pocha, is from the Americas before it was stolen and its people were colonized, and is a Fresno poet. George Floyd. Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez. Lorenzo Perez. Xiaojie Tan. Say their names. Joyce Echaquan. Her debut collection of poetry, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff was published by Noemi Press in 2019 and won a 2020 American Book Award. Juanito Falcon. Breonna Taylor. Daoyou Feng. Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz. Sara was named one of Poets & Writers 2019 Debut Poets, is a 2017 CantoMundo Fellow, and the recipient of the 2014 Blue Mesa Poetry Prize. Hyun Jung Grant. Ahmaud Arbery. Suncha Kim. Her work can be found in Ploughshares, The Rumpus, Poem-a-Day by The Academy of American Poets, Alta and The Offing, amongst others. Sandra Bland. Soon Chung Park. Yong Ae Yue. She teaches innovative undergraduates at UC Riverside, believes that all Black lives matter and will resist white supremacy until Black liberation is realized, lives in Los Angeles, and stays rooted in Fresno. Say their names. Justice for George Floyd and the countless others. She digs oldiez, outer space, aromatics, and tiny prints, is about decentering whiteness in literature, creative writing, and daily life. Buy Sara Borjas' Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff From The Rumpus:"A CLEANSING TORNADO: HEART LIKE A WINDOW, MOUTH LIKE A CLIFF BY SARA BORJAS" The Georgia Review Review of Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff “Pocha and Proud: An Interview with Sara Borjas” from Los Angeles Review of Books At about 2:30, Sara talks about her relationship with language growing up, particularly her relationship with Spanish and bilingualism At about 6:00, Sara explains the “pocho lecture” and how speaking Spanish was punished in her parents' lives At about 9:10, Pete asks Sara what she was reading as a kid, and if she “saw herself” in what she read At about 11:10, Sara talks about her first exposure to writers of color, guided by Professors Alex Espinoza and Sameeta Najmee, and reading greats like Helena Maria Viramontes and Marisela Norte At about 12:15, Pete and Sara talk about their shared admiration for Marisela Norte and Sara's work connecting to that of Moffat Takadiwa At about 13:00, Sara talks about Tomás Rivera and his background and connections to UIC Riverside where she teaches At about 14:00, Sara muses on the void that existed in her reading that “aligned with whiteness” and how it affected her At about 15:50, Pete and Sara discuss “pocho” and its implications; Sara talks about reclaiming its meaning At about 20:00, Sara describes the ways in which people of color, her parents included, have been innovative in escaping prejudice and oversimplified narratives At about 20:45, Pete asks Sara about “pocho” in work that has come in recent years, including by innovators like Alan Chazaro, Episode 92 guest At about 23:20, Sara shouts out writers who have and continue to have an effect on her through their chill-inducing work, including Marwa Helal, Aria Aber, Layli Long Soldier, Anthony Cody, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Roque Dalton, Bob Kaufman, Alejandra Pizarnik, and some standout students of hers At about 26:25, Pete asks Sara how she explains to her students about “language to assert power,” including how Marwa Helal flips the script At about 28:30, Pete wonders about Sara's thoughts on “decoding” her poetry, and poetry “having one answers” At about 31:30, Pete asks Sara about the idea of reciting poetry from memory, and she talks about the “power” that comes from memorizing, including how she talked to Tongo Eisen-Martin about memorization At about 33:20, Sara describes how she grew into becoming a poet, including some incredible mentorship and encouragement from Juan Luis Guzmán, and transitions into ways in which she and other women have been made to feel like they need to be quiet At about 37:30, Sara meditates on her evolving attitude towards her missions and work over the years At about 39:10, Pete wonders how Sara seeks out and pumps up students who are like she was when she was in school At about 41:50, Pete and Sara have a discussion about Sara's ideas of prose and other formas, as done in Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff; she also describes some probing and helpful questions from Carmen Gimenez Smith that led to writing ideas At about 46:35, Sara details the inspiration she received from Anish Kapoor's installation, and how it served as a muse for Sara's poem “We are Too Big for This House” At about 49:35, Pete asks Sara about poem titles and their connection to the poems themselves At about 50:55, Sara gives her thoughts on translation in her poems At about 52:20, Sara answers Pete's question regarding if Sara is the narrator/protagonist of her poems At about 53:50, Sara talks about the importance of creative expression and the power and beauty of poems, as exemplified by Michael Torres and The Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop At about 55:20, Pete asks Sara about her collection using powerful words from Audre Lorde and Cherie Moraga as epigraphs At about 59:00, Sara describes identity as seen in her work, including Aztlan's significance in the collection's first poem and in society as a whole; she describes it as a “marker” and a “tool for transformation” At about 1:02:00, Pete recounts some brilliant and profound lines about identity from poems in the collection, including ones about women's liberation At about 1:04:45, Pete cites “Los de Abajo” and asks Sara about her ideas of rasquachismo and its importance in her work; she shouts out creative art as seen at Tío's Tacos in Riverside At about 1:06:55, Sara and Pete discuss the “mother and daughter' relationships” as an overriding theme in her collection; Sara shouts out Rachel McKibbens as another inspiration At about 1:10:20, Sara and Pete converse about intergenerational trauma and machismo in Sara's work At about 1:12:45, Pete wonders about Narcissus and the multiple appearances in Sara's work; she mentions inspiration coming from a class taken with Reza Aslan At about 1:16:10, Sara talks about conceptions of gender as seen in her work At about 1:18:00, Sara gives background on “Mexican Bingo” and reads the poem At about 1:22:30, Pete asks about Sara's future projects, including her penchant for writing skits and music At about 1:24:00, Sara gives out contact info and encourages people to buy her book from Noemi Press or on Bookshop You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode. This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode. This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. I'm looking forward to sharing Episode 100 (WHOA) with Susan Muaddi Darraj, teacher, writer of the groundbreaking Farrah Rocks middle-grade series, and winner of the AWP Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction. The episode airs on January 17.
Episode 98 Notes and Links to Greg Bishop's Work On Episode 98 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Greg Bishop, disciplined and voracious reader and writer of all types of articles that are about sports and so much more. The two talk about, among other topics, Greg's early love of reading, his disciplined and careful reading for his work, his mentor, Gay Talese, his work on Manny Pacquaio, Dak Prescott, and so many more personalities, as well as the current state of high-impact sports like boxing and football. Greg Bishop is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated whose feature subjects have ranged from Ricky Williams to Adrian Peterson to Aaron Rodgers. He spent time as the Jets beat writer for the New York Times and the Seahawks beat writer for the Seattle Times. Buy Talking to Goats: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard " 'In My Heart, I Want to Continue to Fight': Manny Pacquiao Isn't Ready to Retire, but the End May Be Near"-August 2021 in Sports Illustrated "Xavien Howard's 10 Picks: The Perfection of His Craft" ("Roger Federer Finds a Higher Level as Other Stars Fall" and "Federer Exerts His Power From the Ground Up") from The New York Times “Dak Prescott's Heal Turn” Greg Bishop's Articles for Sports Illustrated At about 1:40, Pete asks Greg about his relationship with language and reading as he grew up At about 6:30, Greg outlines his daily reading process and how he comes up with story ideas, including his reading, both within his writing subject matter and without-some on his current reading list include Ryan Holiday's work and Jake Fischer's Built to Lose At about 11:40, Greg shows and describes his reading plans as laid out in his office At about 12:30, Greg details his nightly reading routine with his son At about 13:10, Greg discusses his early reading interests, including Maraniss' Lombardi, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Tender Bar: A Memoir At about 14:50, Greg gives background on his mentorship from, and friendship with, Gay Talese At about 16:40, Pete talks about his connection to Gay Talese's work At about 17:45, Pete and Greg nerd out over Gay Talese's iconic pieces on Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio as Greg talks about Talese's writing process and aesthetic At about 21:45, Pete uses the metaphors of aging dealt with in Talese's work to transition into Greg's writing about Manny Pacquaio through the years At about 23:50, Greg lays out his ethic in reporting on athletes, including his view on befriending writing subjects At about 26:10, Greg responds to Pete's questions about Pacquaio's current standing in the Philippines, including his chances in the upcoming presidential election At about 30:00, Pete and Greg nerd out again-this time about Roger Federer, especially as written about by David Foster Wallace-Greg also talks about two ("Roger Federer Finds a Higher Level as Other Stars Fall"/"Federer Exerts His Power From the Ground Up") favorite articles he wrote about Federer At about 33:15, Greg breaks down the ratio of articles he writes, with regards to “human interest stories” and others; he highlights an article he wrote about athletes and their relationships with law enforcement in 2020 with Michael Rosenberg, as well as an article with Ben Baskin looking at the money donated by Colin Kaepernick At about 37:15, Greg analyzes his own view of “human interest stories” At about 38:40, Pete and Greg discuss Greg's important work about Dak Prescott that dealt with, among other things, mental health; additionally, Greg talks about his relationship with Dak and other athletes, post-article At about 45:00, Greg talks about five tenets he uses in moving through life At about 46:40, Pete shouts out Mirin Fader's Giannis and Pete talks about the “Mirin Fader Blessing” At about 48:10, Greg describes the landscape in publishing in 2021, with its fraught situation, as well as his specific situation writing for Sports Illustrated At about 53:45, Pete wonders if there are any genres/writing types that the multitalented Greg avoids/isn't cut out for At about 54:50, Greg outlines a “Football in America” 2016 article series and his short lived music career At about 58:45, Pete and Greg discuss the state of the NFL, particularly with regards to concussions, CTE, and the state of football overall; Greg talks about his personal conflict in following boxing and football, inherently violent sports At about 1:06:15, Pete talks about the crushing blow that was the death by suicide of Junior Seau, and Greg lays out his history with the tragic death of Seau At about 1:08:35, Greg talks about upcoming projects of his At about 1:09:00, Greg talks about his SÍ cover collection At about 1:10:10, Greg gives out his contact info and shouts out Showtime All-Access, and his work with Jim Gray for Talking to GOATs-buy his work at Powell's in Portland or The Strand in NYC You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode. This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. Please tune in for the next episode, a conversation with Sara Borjas. SARA BORJAS is a Xicanx pocha, is from the Americas before it was stolen and its people were colonized, and is a Fresno poet. Her debut collection of poetry, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff was published by Noemi Press in 2019 and won a 2020 American Book Award. Sara was named one of Poets & Writers 2019 Debut Poets, is a 2017 CantoMundo Fellow, and the recipient of the 2014 Blue Mesa Poetry Prize. She teaches innovative undergraduates at UC Riverside, believes that all Black lives matter and will resist white supremacy until Black liberation is realized, lives in Los Angeles, and stays rooted in Fresno. The episode with Sara Borjas will air on January 11.
Episode 94 Show Notes and Links Francisco Goldman's Wikipedia Page Buy Francisco Goldman's Work Preview/Buy The Beacon Best of 2001…, Where “México, D.F.” Appears Naomi Shihab Nye's “Shoulders” (with reading by the writer) Buy Naomi Shihab Nye's Work You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. Please tune in for the next episode, a conversation with Sara Borjas. SARA BORJAS is a Xicanx pocha, is from the Americas before it was stolen and its people were colonized, and is a Fresno poet. Her debut collection of poetry, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff was published by Noemi Press in 2019 and won a 2020 American Book Award. Sara was named one of Poets & Writers 2019 Debut Poets, is a 2017 CantoMundo Fellow, and the recipient of the 2014 Blue Mesa Poetry Prize. She teaches innovative undergraduates at UC Riverside, believes that all Black lives matter and will resist white supremacy until Black liberation is realized, lives in Los Angeles, and stays rooted in Fresno. The episode with Sara Borjas will air on December 14.
Episode 93 Notes and Links to Steph Cha's Work On Episode 93 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Steph Cha, as the two discuss her work as an “Elite Yelper,” book reviewer, mystery writer, and award-winning novelist. The two discuss, among other topics, her early relationship with words, her inspiration for food writing and Yelp-ing, as well as her mystery writing and its connections to escape and/or reality. The two finish by discussing the historical fiction/mystery/character-driven modern classic Your House Will Pay and its vivid characters and prose. Steph Cha is the author of Your House Will Pay, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the California Book Award, and the Juniper Song crime trilogy. She's a critic whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, where she served as noir editor, and is the current series editor of the Best American Mystery & Suspense anthology. A native of the San Fernando Valley, she lives in Los Angeles with her family. Buy Steph Cha's Your House Will Pay Buy Steph Cha's Follow Her Home Buy Steph Cha's Dead Soon Enough: A Juniper Song Mystery Buy Steph Cha's Beware Beware: A Juniper Song Mystery Review: Kirkus Review for Beware Beware Los Angeles Times Review of Books Review for Your House Will Pay Your House Will Pay: A Conversation with Author Steph Cha on Race Relations-hosted by LA Public Library The Rumpus Interview with Steph Cha from 2015 Steph Cha's Yelp Reviews At about 1:40, Steph talks about growing up in the San Fernando Valley and her early love of reading, as well as interesting anecdotes about her mother's role in encouraging her reading At about 5:30, Steph discusses her relationship with bilingualism, growing up with Korean as her first language At about 7:00, Steph outlines her early reading loves, including reading Jane Eyre at eight or nine and The Phantom Tollbooth, among others; she relates a funny early reading of Catch 22 and her voracious appetite for manga At about 11:20, Steph is asked about representation in what she read as a adolescent, and she talks about what she was used to missing At about 12:15, Steph talks about Maurene Goo and her standout work that makes Steph wish she had been able to read such work when she was a kid At about 13:15, Pete asks Steph about inspiring writers and “ ‘Eureka' moments in her writing career path, including examples of what to and what not to do At about 16:50, Pete wonders how law school and her high-level Stanford and Ivy League education informed her later writing At about 19:55, Steph talks about any connections between her and a protagonist of Your House Will Pay At about 21:00, Steph talks about her prolific Yelp reviews and the Yelp-ing lifestyle At about 22:00, Steph recounts an incredible anecdote that coincides with the early days of the legendary Kogi food truck At about 24:00, Steph talks about her early work with Yelp and how it connected to other work and life events At about 26:30, Pete asks for a few LA taco recs-Steph mentions Tacos 1986, Guisado's, and Mexicali, among so many others At about 28:20, Steph talks about her days working with the legendary writer, the late Jonathan Gold At about 33:00, Steph and Pete discuss Jonathan Gold's sense of generosity and how she was a scout with young standouts like Javier Cabral At about 35:50, Pete asks Steph if there is ever a need or a benefit to “ripping” a book or restaurant in a review if the quality is low At about 38:50, Steph discusses tropes and themes from her noir writing, as well as the seeds for her Juniper Song trilogy At about 42:40, Pete wonders about the balance between realism and “escape” in Steph's writing, in her mysteries and in Your House Will Pay At about 44:20, Pete and Steph discuss her masterful usage of Los Angeles as almost a character in its own right in her writing At about 46:50, Pete recounts his visceral experience at reading the marvelous and profound Your House Will Pay At about 47:30, Steph's son joins the chat! At about 47:45, Pete and Steph discuss two marvelous works that have informed their reading and knowledge of the events regarding the 1992 Rebellion and Latasha Harlins' murder, Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles, and Brenda Stevenson's The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins At about 48:10, Steph discusses the seeds for Your House Will Pay At about 49:50, Steph explains why and when she uses “Uprising”/ “Riot”/ “Rebellion” with regard to the events of 1992 after Rodney King's police beating and in the book At about 51:35, Pete inquires into the background on the book's title and the use of “house”; she references a 1985 rap song that gave her the title-Toddy Tee's “Batterram” At about 52:30, Steph explains how Your House Will Pay, being her fourth book, plays with and avoids the “white gaze” At about 54:30, Pete wonders about Steph's writing process regarding the book's flashbacks and nonlinear narrative At about 57:00, Pete and Steph discuss the memorable main characters of the book and their significance, including LaTasha Harlins and the infamous Soon Ja Du At about 59:45, Pete's compliments about Steph's book bring up a discussion of how topical the so-called “history” of the ‘92 Uprising and Lastasha Harlins are-”how cyclical violence is” At about 1:01:40, Pete wonders about any evolution of the characters of the book, especially Grace and Shawn At about 1:03:45, Pete and Steph discuss salient and profound themes from the book and Pete wonders about some positive feedback that stands out for Steph At about 1:07:35, Steph discusses upcoming projects and works-in-progress, including some screenwriting (!) You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode. This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form. The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com. Please tune in for the next episode, a conversation with Sara Borjas. SARA BORJAS is a Xicanx pocha, is from the Americas before it was stolen and its people were colonized, and is a Fresno poet. Her debut collection of poetry, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff was published by Noemi Press in 2019 and won a 2020 American Book Award. Sara was named one of Poets & Writers 2019 Debut Poets, is a 2017 CantoMundo Fellow, and the recipient of the 2014 Blue Mesa Poetry Prize. She teaches innovative undergraduates at UC Riverside, believes that all Black lives matter and will resist white supremacy until Black liberation is realized, lives in Los Angeles, and stays rooted in Fresno. The episode with Sara Borjas will air on December 7.
The BreakBeat Poets Live! is a virtual, multi-generational showcase of some of the illest writers on the planet rock. Each chapter features writers and performers who are part of the Haymarket Books family. Mixing lofi soul instrumentals with funk influences and smooth vocals. Elton Aura has a unique knack for words, flow, and beat selection. He opened up for Noname on her Room 25 tour in 2019 and is in the later stages of his next project coming in 2020. Cortney Lamar Charleston is a Cave Canem fellow and Pushcart Prize-winning author of Telepathologies (Saturnalia Books, 2017) and the forthcoming Doppelgangbanger (Haymarket Books, 2021). Aracelis Girmay is the author of the poetry books Teeth, Kingdom Animalia, and the black maria, and the picture book changing, changing. She is on the editorial board of the African Poetry Book Fund and recently edited a new Selected of Lucille Clifton poems entitled How to Carry Water. --- Juan J. Morales is the son of an Ecuadorian mother and Puerto Rican father. He is the author of three poetry collections, including The Handyman's Guide to End Times, Winner of the 2019 International Latino Book Award. He is a CantoMundo Fellow, a Macondo Fellow, the Editor/Publisher of Pilgrimage Press, and Professor and Department Chair of English & World Languages at Colorado State University-Pueblo. --- José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His book, Citizen Illegal, won of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize and was named a top book of 2018 by NPR. He holds fellowships from CantoMundo, Poets House, and the Bronx Council on the Arts. Olivarez was awarded the Author and Artist in Justice award from the Phillips Brooks House Association and named a Debut Poet of 2018 by Poets & Writers. He is a recipient of the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. --- Willie Perdomo is the author of The Crazy Bunch, which recently won the New York City Book Award for poetry, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, Smoking Lovely, winner of the PEN Open Book Award, and Where a Nickel Costs a Dime, a finalist for the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award. He is also a co-editor of The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, The Best American Poetry 2019, and African Voices. He is currently a Lucas Arts Literary Fellow and teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy. --- Diamond Sharp is a poet and essayist from Chicago. She has performed at Chicago's Stage 773 and her work has been featured on Chicago Public Radio. She has been published in the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Vice, Pitchfork, Lenny, PANK, and others. A Callaloo fellow, she has also attended the Wright/Hurston workshop and is a member of the inaugural Poetry Foundation Incubator class. Her debut book of poetry, Super Sad Black Girl, is forthcoming from Haymarket Books. Diamond is an alumna of Wellesley College. Watch the live event recording: https://youtu.be/9fyjCPbIKCM Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks
CA is Electing Poets to City Council: Meet Antonio Lopez, Newly Elected Poetician Tony Diaz El Librotraficante interviews Antonio López whose debut poetry collection, Gentefication, was selected by Gregory Pardlo as the winner of the 2019 Levis Prize in Poetry, and will be published through Four Way Books in September 2021. Born and raised in East Palo Alto, CA, he has received scholarships to attend the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley, Tin House, the Vermont Studio Center, and Bread Loaf. He is a proud member of the Macondo Writers Workshop and a CantoMundo Fellow. His nonfiction has been featured or is forthcoming in PEN/America, Jacket2, and Insider Higher Education, and his poetry in The New Republic, Tin House, and elsewhere. He holds degrees from Duke University, Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford. He is pursuing a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University. Antonio is currently fighting gentrification in his hometown as the newest and youngest councilmember for the City of East Palo Alto. Latino Politics And News Airdate: Tues Dec. 22, 2020, 2 pm, CST 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, Livestream: www.kpft.org We answer only to our community. Please budget a donation to KPFT, and make it support of Latino Politics and News today. Visit www.kpft.org. Thanks to our crew: Roxana Guzman, Communications Director Leti Lopez Rodrigo Bravo, who mixes our radio shows Laurie Flores Al Castillo Tune in every Tuesday from 2 pm to 3 pm for Latino Politics and News with Tony Diaz 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston. Livestream www.KPFT.org. That's followed by Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say at 6 pm to 7 pm CST. 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston. Livestream www.KPFT.org. Tony Diaz also appears on "What's Your Point?" on Fox 26 Houston, Sundays at 7 am. www.NuestraPalabra.org www.Librotraficante.com Livestream: www.KPFT.org.
Demand Art for Hispanic Heritage Month #Art4HHM. Read more: https://www.tonydiaz.net/blog/demand-art-for-hispanic-heritage-month-art4hhm Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew talk to Amalia Ortiz about her new book "THE CANCIÓN CANNIBAL CABARET & OTHER SONGS", Patricia Coral about her poetry, and Natalia Treviño reads from her collection VIRGINX and gives un update on Macondo 2019. Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Bios: Amalia Leticia Ortiz is a Tejana actor, writer, and activist who appeared on three seasons of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO, and has toured colleges and universities as a solo artist and with performance-poetry troupes Diva Diction, The Chicano Messengers of Spoken Word, and the Def Poetry College Tour. Her debut book of poetry, Rant. Chant. Chisme., (Wings Press), won the 2015 Poetry Discovery Prize from the Writers’ League of Texas Book Awards and was selected by NBC Latino as one of the “10 Great Latino Books of 2015.” A CantoMundo Fellow and Hedgebrook Writer-In-Residence alumna, she received the 2002 Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation Award, which was founded by Sandra Cisneros, and her poem “These Hands Which Have Never Picked Cotton” was nominated for the 2012 Pushcart Prize. Her MFA is in Creative Writing from the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. Patricia Coral was born in Puerto Rico, where she obtained an MA in Spanish literature and linguistics. In 2014 she moved to Houston, where the adventure of writing in a borrowed language began. She is a writer of creative nonfiction and poetry, but frequently her words find their home in-between. In 2017, she cofounded Fuente Collective, an organization devoted to experimentation, collaboration and hybridity in writing and other arts. Her English-language work has been published in Yellow Chair Review and Crab Fat Magazine. Her most recent work is forthcoming in the bilingual anthologies Una realidad mas amplia/A Larger Reality and Women Poets of the Americas. Born in Mexico, Natalia Treviño is the author of the chapbook, VirginX. which was a finalist for the open chapbook contest with Finishing Line press. A professor of English in San Antonio, she learned English from Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie. Her awards include the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award, the San Antonio Arts Foundation Literary Award, the Menada Literary Award at the Ditet E Naimit Poetry Festival in Macedonia and several others. Her first book,Lavando La Dirty Laundry, was a national and international awards finalist. Natalia's poems appear in Bordersenses, Borderlands, The Taos Journal of Poetry and Art, and other journals and anthologies. NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Board operator: Terrell Quillin Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTele.com
Guests: Patrick Stockwell Literary Programs Director for Gemini Ink & Poet Lupe Mendez Poets & Writers Houston Coordinator. Featuring music by Mex Step. And find out about the Free Tuition Movement. Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew talk to Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Bios: Patrick Stockwell is a native of Houston, Texas and holds an MFA in Creative Writing-Fiction from New Mexico State University where he served as an assistant editor for Puerto del Sol and a coordinator with La Sociedad para las Artes and the Distinguished Visiting Writers Series. Stockwell currently works as Literary Programs Director for Gemini Ink, San Antonio's Literary Arts Center. His literary debut, The Light Here Changes Everything, was the winner of the 2018 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize and will be published Fall 2019 by Texas Review Press. Originally from Galveston, TX, Lupe Mendez (Writer//Educator//Activist) works with Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, Brazilian Arts Foundation and other organizations to promote poetry events, advocate for literacy/literature and organize creative writing workshops that are open to the public. He is the founder of Tintero Projects and works with emerging Latinx writers and other writers of color within the Texas Gulf Coast Region. Lupe co-hosts INKWELL, a collaborative podcast on regional, national and international Latinx writers and other writers of color. Mendez is a CantoMundo Fellow, a Macondo Fellow and an Emerging Poet Incubator Fellow. Mendez has nearly 20 years of experience as a performance poet, having opened up for such notable writers as Dagoberto Gilb, Esmeralda Santiago and the late Raul Salinas. He has shared his poetry across the country in places such as the Holocaust Museum Houston, the Jung Center, MECA (Houston), the Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts (San Francisco), the National Hispanic Cultural Center (Albuquerque) and the Mexican American Cultural Center (Austin). A keynote speaker/poetry performer across Texas, Mendez hosts writing workshops across the country, most recently NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Board operator: Terrell Quillin Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTele.com
Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew talk to poet Jo Reyes-Boitel, Poet Lupe Mendez, Houston Poet Laureate Leslie Contreras Schwartz, Fox 26 Houston anchorman José Griñan. Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra. Donate today and we’ll list you among our summer muses on our website through Hispanic Heritage Month and we’ll give you a shout out on the air: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cm…_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Bios: Poet Leslie Contreras Schwartz utters her first sentence after being officially announced as Houston's new poet laureate! Jo Reyes-Boitel is a poet, playwright, and essayist. A novice hand percussionist. Jo is also a rabid music listener and former music researcher. She is a Texas transplant by way of Minnesota, Florida, Mexico, Cuba. Lupe Mendez discusses his new book "Why I Am Like Tequila". Originally from Galveston, TX, Mendez (Writer//Educator//Activist) works with Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, Brazilian Arts Foundation and other organizations to promote poetry events, advocate for literacy/literature and organize creative writing workshops that are open to the public. He is the founder of Tintero Projects and works with emerging Latinx writers and other writers of color within the Texas Gulf Coast Region. Lupe co-hosts INKWELL, a collaborative podcast on regional, national and international Latinx writers and other writers of color. Mendez is a CantoMundo Fellow, a Macondo Fellow and an Emerging Poet Incubator Fellow. Mendez has nearly 20 years of experience as a performance poet, having opened up for such notable writers as Dagoberto Gilb, Esmeralda Santiago and the late Raul Salinas. He has shared his poetry across the country in places such as the Holocaust Museum Houston, the Jung Center, MECA (Houston), the Mission Cultural Center For Latino Arts (San Francisco), the National Hispanic Cultural Center (Albuquerque) and the Mexican American Cultural Center (Austin). A keynote speaker/poetry performer across Texas, Mendez hosts writing workshops across the country, most recently as a teaching artist for the Poetry Foundation’s Teacher Poetry Summits. NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. Board operator: Terrell Quillin. Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Co-hosts: Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, Lupe Mendez, and Fox 26 Houston anchorman José Griñan. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTV.com
Steven Sanchez’s debut book, Phantom Tongue (Sundress Publications, 2018), was selected by Mark Doty as the winner of the Rochelle Ratner Memorial Award. A CantoMundo Fellow, Lambda Literary Fellow, and winner of the inaugural García Lorca Poetry Prize, his poems have appeared or will appear in American Poetry Review, North American Review, Poet Lore, RHINO, Nimrod, and elsewhere.
Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew provide a sneak preview of the XXI Anniversary Showcase of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say featuring the Godfather of Chicano Literature Dagoberto Gilb and poet Lips Mendez. The show aired live Tuesday April 2, 2019, the night before the NPXXI showcase at the Museum of Fine Arts Brown Auditorium. Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Dagoberto Gilb is the author of nine books, including The Magic of Blood, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña, Woodcuts of Women, Gritos, The Flowers, and Before the End, After the Beginning. He is also the editor of two canonical anthologies, Hecho en Tejas: Texas Mexican Literature and Mexican American Literature, and the founding editor of Huizache, the country’s best Latino literary magazine. Among his own writing’s honors are the PEN/Hemingway Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Whiting Writers Award; his work has been a finalist for the National Book Critics’ Circle and PEN/Faulkner Awards and has been honored several times in Texas as a proud part of its literary tradition. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Best American Essays, O’Henry Prize Stories, and several hundred others, much of it widely reprinted in textbooks. Gilb spent sixteen years making a living, as a father of two children, in the construction trades, twelve of them as a journeyman high-rise carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. He has since taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, the University of Wyoming, Vassar, and Texas State University. He is currently the executive director of CentroVictoria, at the University of Houston-Victoria. Born and raised in Los Angeles to an American father and a Mexican mother, he has lived as long in both El Paso and now Austin. Originally from Galveston, TX, Lupe (Writer//Educator//Activist) works with Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, Brazilian Arts Foundation and other organizations to promote poetry events, advocate for literacy/literature and organize creative writing workshops that are open to the public. He is the founder of Tintero Projects and works with emerging Latinx writers and other writers of color within the Texas Gulf Coast Region, with Houston as its hub. In addition, Lupe co-hosts INKWELL - a collaborative podcast creation between Tintero Projects and Inprint, placing a monthly spotlight on Regional, National and International Latinx writers and other Writers of Color. Mendez is a CantoMundo Fellow , a Macondo Fellow and an Emerging Poet Incubator Fellow and his newest collection of poetry - WHY I AM LIKE TEQUILA is forthcoming from Willow Books. Dr, Jesse Esparza is a professor at Texas Southern University, NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Board operator: Terrell Quillin Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTele.com
What's good fam. If you're caught up, you know we sat with Casandra and discussed grief, community, obsessions, and writing across genres. This week, she brought in a lovely poem "Birds of Illegal Trade" by Benjamin Garcia, and, here, you can hear us geek out over it! CASANDRA LÓPEZ is a Chicana and California Indian (Cahuilla/Tongva/Luiseño) writer who's received support from CantoMundo, Bread Loaf and Jackstraw. She's been selected for residencies with the School of Advanced Research and Hedgebrook. Her chapbook, Where Bullet Breaks was published by the Sequoyah National Research Center and her poetry collection, Brother Bullet is forthcoming from University of Arizona. She's a founding editor of As/Us: A Space For Women Of The World and teaches at Northwest Indian College. You can follow her on Twitter @casandramlopez. BENJAMIN GARCIA is a Community Health Specialist who provides HIV/HCV/STD and opioid overdose prevention education to higher risk communities throughout New York's Finger Lakes region. He had the honor of being the 2017 Latin@ Scholar at the Frost Place and the 2018 CantoMundo Fellow at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival. His work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in, among others, New England Review, American Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, Puerto del Sol, Nimrod International, RHINO, Four Way Review, Newfound, The Acentos Review, Barrelhouse, Lambda Literary, Boston Review, Kenyon Review Online, Best New Poets 2016, and Gulf Coast.
On this episode, we welcome Las Peregrinas, California poets on tour of the Southwest: Marisol Baca, Yaccaira Salvatierra, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, and Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo. We discuss the creation of the tour, traveling and reading along border communities, each of their recent publications, and we turn the set into an open mic and each reads a selection of their work. Hosted by Richie David Marrufo, project director of The Barbed Wire Open Mic Series, in studio at Power at the Pass Marisol Baca is the author of Tremor (Three Mile Harbor Press). She has been published in Narrative Northeast, Riverlit, Shadowed: An Anthology of Women Writers, Acentos Review, among other publications. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Cornell University where she won the Robert Chasen poetry award for her poem, Revelato. She is also a recipient of the Andres Montoya poetry scholarship. Currently, Marisol is an English professor at Fresno City College. Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, a first-generation Chicana, is the author of Posada: Offerings of Witness and Refuge (Sundress Publications 2016). A former Steinbeck Fellow, Poets & Writers California Writers Exchange winner and Barbara Deming Memorial Fund grantee, she’s received residencies from Hedgebrook, Ragdale, National Parks Arts Foundation and Poetry Foundation. Her work is published in Acentos Review, CALYX, crazyhorse, and American Poetry Review among others. A dramatization of her poem "Our Lady of the Water Gallons," directed by Jesús Salvador Treviño, can be viewed at latinopia.com. She is a cofounder of Women Who Submit and a member of Macondo Writers’ Workshop. Yaccaira Salvatierra’s poems have appeared in Huizache, Diálogo, Puerto del Sol, and Rattle among others. She is a VONA alumna, the recipient of the Dorrit Sibley Award for achievement in poetry, and the 2015 winner of the Puerto del Sol Poetry Prize. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and a Best of the Net. An educator and art instructor, she lives in San José, California with her two sons. Vanessa Angélica Villarreal was born in the Rio Grande Valley borderlands to formerly undocumented Mexican immigrants. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Buzzfeed Reader, Epiphany, Apogee, Sporklet, PBS Newshour, Poor Claudia, Waxwing, The Wanderer, DIAGRAM, The Feminist Wire, The Poetry Foundation Harriet Blog, and others. She has served as an editor for the Bettering American Poetry project and is a CantoMundo Fellow. She is the author of Beast Meridian (Noemi Press, Akrilica Series, 2017). She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, but her hometown is Houston, Texas. ---- Intro: "The BWOMS Podcast, Intro V.2" by Richie David Marrufo Outro: "Juxtaposition" (instrumental) by Luis Camberos Presented by Power at the Pass El Paso, TX 2018
Daniel & Ben talk with Laurie Ann Guerrero, author of "A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying," winner of the 2012 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. Guerrero talks about the overwhelming feeling of winning the prize for a book that took over 10 years to write. Guerrero, who is also a CantoMundo Fellow, talks about why she felt like an outsider when getting her MFA, but instantly felt a sense of familia, support, and freedom when she attended a CantoMundo workshop. Many of Guerrero's poems focus on food and the violence that often accompanies the preparation of food, and she explains why her background has everything to do with the inspiration behind her poems. For this week's Poem of the Week, Laurie Ann Guerrero reads "When I Made Eggs This Morning" from her collection "A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying."
Ben & Daniel present the 3rd and final presentation of their conversations with writers at the 2013 AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Annual Conference & Bookfair. Jose Gonzalez, editor of "Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature" (http://latinostories.com) talks about his upcoming book of poetry; Steven Church, author of "The Guinness Book of Me," talks about working on a new collection of essays and about the online Normal School Journal (http://thenormalschool.com), of which he is founding editor; Celeste Guzman Mendoza, a poet and CantoMundo Fellow, talks about her new book-length poem about family violence; Eddie Gonzalez, a fiction writer & poet, talks about receiving his MFA at the University of Houston, and how he works as a chaplain for a hospice program; Kristin Dykstra talks about her latest project with the University of Alabama Press, and about Alabama's writer exchange program with Cuba; Bojan Louis, a poet and fiction writer talks about being a member of the Navajo Nation, and about his work as an electrician and English instructor (http://bojanlouis.com/); and Sherwin Bitsui, also of the Navajo Nation, talks about his recent move to Albuquerque (http://www.bitsui.com/) For this week's Poem of the Week, Daniel Chacon reads his own poem, "Father's Writing."