Podcasts about Myriam Gurba

Notes and Links to Alejandro Heredia's Work          Alejandro Heredia is a queer Afro-Dominican writer from The Bronx. His debut novel LOCA is out today (February 11) from Simon and Schuster. He has received fellowships from Lambda Literary, VONA, the Dominican Studies Institute, Kenyon Review, and Trinity College. In 2019, he was selected by Myriam Gurba as the winner of the Gold Line Press Fiction Chapbook Contest. His chapbook of short stories, You're the Only Friend I Need (2021), explores themes of queer transnationalism, friendship, and (un)belonging in the African Diaspora. Heredia's work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Lambda Literary Review, The Offing, and elsewhere. He received an MFA in fiction from Hunter College.    Heredia currently serves as Black Mountain Institute's Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Buy Loca   Alejandro Heredia's Website   Book Review for Loca   At about 2:40, Alejandro shares his feelings as the book's Pub Day approaches, as well as feedback that he hasn't gotten on the novel At about 4:40, Alejandro talks about his bilingualism, growing up in The Bronx and The Dominican Republic, and what led him towards writing  At about 7:10, Alejandro talks about how being bilingual helps him to become a better writer/thinker and how his Spanglish has developed  At about 9:25, Alejandro gives some background on a specific Dominican word At about 10:25, Alejandro responds to Pete's questions about what he was reading that served as foundational for him and he expands upon “writing across difference” At about 13:10, Alejandro cites contemporary fiction that inspires and challenges, including Gina Chung's work At about 14:10, Alejandro outlines ideas of how he sees the use of the word “queer” At about 16:00, Alejandro expands upon seeds and stimulating ideas for his book, especially wth regard to the “Author's Note” At about 19:10, Alejandro expands on his Author's Note reference to fiction's “capaciousness” and how fiction's constructs helped him write about loss and grief in Loca At about 21:10, Alejandro talks about the significance of his two epigraphs and ideas of “home” and friendship  At about 23:40, Pete and Alejandro talks about the book's exposition and an early inciting incident  At about 24:30, Pete asks Alejandro about main character Charo's domesticity and her visceral negative reaction At about 26:05, The two discuss ideas of community and Y2K and the importance of the “queer space” at The Shade Room in a Dominican and Puerto Rican community At about 28:20, Alejandro talks about intersectionality and his qualms about its usage in early reviews of the novel At about 30:55, Pete and Alejandro discuss Vance and Sal's first meeting and budding relationship and ideas of “identity politics and language” At about 32:25, The two discuss important familial and friend characters  At about 33:55, Yadiel is discussed as a proud queer character and Aljandrro expands upon a moment in which Sal and Yadiel  At about 36:15, Alejandro responds to Pete's questions about a “moment in time” and a “utpian moment,” and expands upon the good and bad of life “at the margins” At about 39:35, Alejandro replies to Pete's question about the ways in which he deals wth sexual abuse and its effects and the abuse as “foundational” and “inform[ing]” Sal's adolescence and beyond At about 42:45, Vance and his likability and Ren are described  At about 43:55, Anacaona and her history are discussed in connection to an important flashback in the book At about 46:00, Alejandro expands upon ideas of “erasing Blackness” that come as unintentional (?) effects of the portrayal of the Taino peoples  At about 49:15, Robert and his sympathetic nature and his usage of a homophobic slur are discussed, as Alejandro discusses the “reclaiming” of the word in the queer Dominican community At about 50:40, Don Julio, Sal's roommate, and his emblematic background are discussed, along with the benefits and drawbacks of “normalizing” a reclaimed word At about 53:00, Alejandro talks about being a “writer of images” after Pete compliments one of many resonant scenes At about 54:55, Pete and Alejandro tiptoe around any spoilers At about 55:50, Sal and Kiko and their minor triumphs and Sal's success as a teacher are discussed  At about 57:00, Pete wonders about Lena, an eccentric character in the book, and Alejandro talks about some ambiguities  At about 59:00, Robert and Charo's relationship and ideas of repression, personal choice, and guilt throughout the book are discussed  At about 1:03:25, Pete and Alejandro discuss generational differences in the ways in which Sal and Vance interact and see progressive movements  At about 1:07:40, Alejandro discusses social media contact info and points listeners towards his upcoming tour dates      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 Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have 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. This week, his conversation with previous guest Carvell Wallace will be up on the website. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     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 Pete's one-man show, his DIY podcast and his extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran.    I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of Pete's, a DIY operation, and he'd love for your help in promoting what he's 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 272 with Lamya H. Lamya is a queer Muslim writer and organizer living in New York City whose 2023 memoir HIJAB BUTCH BLUES won the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize and a Stonewall Non-fiction Book Award, and was also a finalist for Lambda Literary and Publishing Triangle Awards. Lamya's organizing work centers around creating spaces for LGBTQ+ Muslims, fighting Islamophobia, Palestine, and prison abolition.    The episode airs on February 18.

You ready to talk about romance, feminism, and monsters? We sure are, and so is Sanjana Basker, a psychology PhD student and bookish content creator who we're obsessed with (in a totally normal way). Also: some animal updates, thank goodness.    Animal Updates! Kacey Musgraves is an NYC rat defender (join the club), the raccoon at LaGuardia has captured our hearts, and Claude has arrived at Erica's house (by way of Long Island Rabbit Rescue)!   Sanjana's Thingies are Rivals on Hulu, mass-market paperbacks, Calzedonia tights, @poetssquarecats (see also: @catworkers), and L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil.   Some authors mentioned in this ep include Lisa Kleypas and Libba Bray, and books mentioned include Left of Forever by Tara DeWitt, Office Hours and Sabbatical by Katrina Jackson, Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba, and Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Clein.   Want to more of Sanjana? The way she talks about romance on TikTok is an absolute delight, and her episode of the Care So Much Podcast is fantastic.   What romances are you loving right now? Let us know at podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!   Treat your hair to Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month's subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO. Upgrade your cleaning experience with Blueland and get 15% off your first order when you use our link. YAY.  

In the premiere episode of Reckon True Stories, co-hosts and acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Long Division) come together to kick off a season where nonfiction takes the spotlight. They talk about their own journeys to writing nonfiction, the distinctions they make between their essay writing and fiction writing, as well as how they came to collaborate and work together in the publishing industry.  Deesha and Kiese discuss writing on their own terms, revising their own ideas of what an essay is “supposed” to do or look like, and putting themselves back into the writing, while also exploring what makes for a compelling essay — calling for the writer to not lose the storytelling aspect in their nonfiction work. Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned Robert Jones Jr. The Fire This Time (Jesmyn Ward) Becoming (Michelle Obama) Damon Young Emma Carmichael “The Girl Is Mine” (Deesha Philyaw, Literary Mama 2004) Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households After Divorce  Song of Solomon (Toni Morrison) “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poetry Foundation) “Annabel Lee” (Edgar Allan Poe, Poetry Foundation) Yusef Komunyakaa  How to Sit (Tyrese Coleman) “Water Come Back To You: On Trying To Write About Love” (Deesha Philyaw, Split Lip Mag 2021) “Whiting” (Deesha Philyaw, Short Reads 2023) “The 13 Guys You'll Meet On A Dating App” (Deesha Philyaw, Medium 2019) “If He Hollers Let Him Go” (Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, The Believer 2013) “The Case for Reparations” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic 2014) “I Called Out American Dirt's Racism. I Won't Be Silenced.” (Myriam Gurba, Vox 2020) Creep: Accusations and Confessions (Myriam Gurba) “On No Longer Being A Hysterical Woman” (Nafissa Thompson-Spires, The Paris Review 2020) Oldster (Sari Botton) “Feral” (Staci Greason, Oldster 2023) Memoir Monday Electric Literature More from Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon:  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw) Heavy (Kiese Laymon) Long Division (Kiese Laymon) How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: Essays (Kiese Laymon) Ursa Short Fiction podcast Produced by Ursa Story Company in partnership with Reckon.  Hosted by Deesha Philyaw & Kiese Laymon Show Producers: Dawnie Walton & Mark Armstrong Associate Producer: Marina Leigh Episode Editor: Kelly Araja Reckon Editor In Chief: R.L. Nave Reckon Deputy Editor: Michelle Zenarosa Audience Director: Katie Johnston Creative Strategist: Abbey Crain Sr. Social Producer: Sid Espinosa

Comedian Greg Proops talks about his hilarious album, ‘French Drug Deal.’ Also, comedian and musician Reggie Watts shares his memories of growing up in his memoir, ‘Great Falls, Montana.’ And Myriam Gurba on her thrilling, no-holds-barred essay collection, ‘Creep.’

Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist from California. Her most recent work is a collection of essays named “Creep: Accusations and Confessions.” In her book “Creep,” Myriam examines individual creeps, as well as how creeps exist in the larger systems and environments that protect them. In this episode of Latino USA, we hear author Myriam Gurba read from “Creep: Accusations and Confessions” and talk about why it's important to unmask the creeps.

The author of Creep: Accusations and Confessions shares the familial roots of her irreverence, the surprising response to her viral critique of the book, American Dirt, and the work she did in the aftermath of an abusive relationship to make herself whole.Find the book here. Follow Myriam on Instagram @alt_myriam_gurba666. If you liked this episode, listen to How Kali Fajardo-Anstine Fought to Tell Her Ancestors' Stories or How History Inspires Cristina Garcia to Fill in the Gaps.

City Lights LIVE! presents Myriam Gurba in conversation with visual artist MariNaomi to celebrate the release of Gurba's new book “Creep: Accusations and Confessions,” published by Simon and Schuster. A ruthless and razor-sharp essay collection that tackles the pervasive, creeping oppression and toxicity that has wormed its way into society—in our books, schools, and homes, as well as the systems that perpetuate them—from the acclaimed author of “Mean,” and one of our fiercest, foremost explorers of intersectional Latinx identity. A creep can be a singular figure, a villain who makes things go bump in the night. Yet “creep" is also what the fog does—it lurks into place to do its dirty work, muffling screams, obscuring the truth, and providing cover for those prowling within it. “Creep” is Myriam Gurba's informal sociology of creeps, a deep dive into the dark recesses of the toxic traditions that plague the United States and create the abusers who haunt our books, schools, and homes. Through cultural criticism disguised as personal essay, Gurba studies the ways in which oppression is collectively enacted, sustaining ecosystems that unfairly distribute suffering and premature death to our most vulnerable. Yet identifying individual creeps, creepy social groups, and creepy cultures is only half of this book's project—the other half is examining how we as individuals, communities, and institutions can challenge creeps and rid ourselves of the fog that seeks to blind us. With her ruthless mind, wry humor, and adventurous style, Gurba implicates everyone from Joan Didion to her former abuser, everything from Mexican stereotypes to the carceral state. Braiding her own history and identity throughout, she argues for a new way of conceptualizing oppression, and she does it with her signature blend of bravado and humility. Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist. She is the author of the true crime memoir “Mean,” a New York Times Editors' Choice. O, The Oprah Magazine, ranked “Mean” as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time. Publishers Weekly describes Gurba as having a voice like no other. Her essays and criticism have appeared in The Paris Review, Time, and 4Columns. She has shown art in galleries, museums, and community centers. She lives in Pasadena, California. MariNaomi (they/them) is the award-winning author and illustrator of “Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume,” “Ages 0 to 22,” “Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories,” "Turning Japanese," “I Thought YOU Hated ME,” the “Life on Earth” trilogy, “Dirty Produce,” and “I Thought You Loved Me.” Their work has appeared in nearly 100 print publications, and has been featured on websites such as The New Yorker's Daily Shouts, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Rumpus, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Midnight Breakfast, SF Examiner, and BuzzFeed. Their comics have been translated into French (Devenir Japonaise, Editions IMHO, 2021), German, and Russian. You can purchase copies of “Creep” at https://citylights.com/new-nonfiction-in-hardcover/creep-accusations-confessions/. This event is made possible with the support of the City Lights Foundation. To learn more visit: https://citylights.com/foundation/.

This week's guests are the coeditors (and contributors to) Letters to a Writer of Color. Listen in to hear the profound insights and inspirational origin story that led to Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro's collaboration on their powerful anthology. Contributors to this collection include Kiese Laymon, Myriam Gurba, Madeleine Thien, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and others. Our conversation this week circles how writers of color write and talk about and translate their experiences, the ways writers can get hemmed in and how they refuse to be hemmed in, and also the power of commonalities across experiences, even when those experiences are so varied. Not to be missed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian Greg Proops talks about his hilarious album, 'French Drug Deal.' Also, comedian and musician Reggie Watts shares his memories of growing up in his memoir, 'Great Falls, Montana.' And Myriam Gurba on her thrilling, no-holds-barred essay collection, 'Creep.'

Myriam Gurba invites us to give a critical eye to those who lurk in the darkness and the villains that walk untouchable in broad daylight with her recent essay collection, CREEP: ACCUSATIONS AND CONFESSIONS. This poignant look at historical figures thrown in the media spotlight with their heinous crimes while their victims are left forgotten in the shadows. Gurba asks readers to take a step back, and search for the things left unsaid about the women whose lives were erased from the narrative. We sit down with Gurba to talk about the multitudes of the word "creep" and how we all have the potential of finding ourselves in moments of participating in creep-like behavior. She also shares her desire to include Santa Maria, California within the literary canon and her undying love for the The Real Housewives franchise.

Myriam Gurba visits The Stacks to discuss her new essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions. Myriam describes how a question about catharsis inspired the book, how she knows when she's ready to write about a topic or an event, and how thinking about her audience informs her writing. We also learn how humor plays into Myriam's work, and how her ancestors showed up in her writing process.The Stacks Book Club selection for September is Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer. We will discuss the book on September 27th with Brittany Luse.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:https://thestackspodcast.com/2023/09/20/ep-285-myriam-gurbaEpisode TranscriptConnect with Myriam: Instagram | Twitter | WebsiteConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | SubscribeSUPPORT THE STACKSJoin The Stacks Pack on PatreonTo support The Stacks and find out more from this week's sponsors, click here.Purchasing books through Bookshop.org or Amazon earns The Stacks a small commission.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on The Maris Review, Myriam Gurba joins Maris Kreizman to discuss Creep, out now from Avid Reader Press. Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist. She is the author of the true-crime memoir Mean, a New York Times Editors' Choice. O, the Oprah Magazine, ranked Mean as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time. She lives in Long Beach, California, and her new essay collection is called CREEP: Accusations and Confessions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Tamarindo, we speak to two literary legends. We'll first speak to Mexican American writer and artist Myriam Gurba about her new collection of essays, Creep and her love of language. Creep: Accusations and Confessions, is a deep dive into the dark recesses of toxic traditions that plague the United States and creates the abusers who haunt us. Learn more about Myriam: myriamgurba.com Then, we talk about nostalgia, memories, and natural disasters with Puerto Rican author Esmeralda Santigo, the themes of her new novel, Las Madres a powerful novel of family, race, faith, sex, and disaster revealing the lives and loves of five women and the secret that binds them together. Learn more about Esmeralda: esmeraldasantiago.com Charly Stoever guest co-hosts this episode. Ana Sheila will be back next week.  Mentioned on this Episode: Cultivating Financial Liberation Oct. 5th at the Pop-Hop in Highland Park: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cultivating-financial-liberation-tickets-704841107727?aff=oddtdtcreator Encuentro Creative Retreat Feb. 15 - 19, 2024 in Puebla, Mexico: https://www.tamarindopodcast.com/encuentro Mucho Gusto Festival in Riverside September 23, 2023: https://esmeraldasantiago.com/  Charly's book recommendations: Wealth Warrior by Linda Garcia  Gender Magic by Rae McDaniel Tamarindo is a lighthearted show where hosts Brenda Gonzalez and Ana Sheila Victorino discuss politics, culture, and self-development. Join us as we delve into discussions on race, gender, politics, representation, and life! You can get in touch with us at www.tamarindopodcast.com Brenda and Ana Sheila are executive producers of Tamarindo podcast with production support by Josie Melendez and Augusto Martinez, of Sonoro Media. Jeff Ricards produced our theme song. If you want to support our work, please rate and review our show here.  Contribute to the show: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/tamarindopodcast1 Follow Tamarindo on instagram @tamarindopodcast and on twitter at @tamarindocast  Follow Ana Sheila on instagram @la_anasheila and twitter @Shelli1228   Follow Brenda on twitter at @BrendaRicards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Myriam Gurba is the author of the essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions, available from Avid Reader Press. Gurba is a writer and artist. She is the author of the true-crime memoir Mean, a New York Times Editors' Choice. O, the Oprah Magazine, ranked Mean as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time. Publishers Weekly describes Gurba as having a voice like no other. Her essays and criticism have appeared in The Paris Review, TIME.com, and 4Columns. She has shown art in galleries, museums, and community centers. She lives in California. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mushrooms! Librarians! Serial killer victims brought back to life! New friends and life reinvigorated through reading! We've had some good reads since our last episode. We're both digging into our #BigBookSummer reading challenge books. Emily has started DEVIL IN THE GROVE by Gilbert King. Chris has thrown away the reading schedule for ULYSSES by James Joyce but is reading on. In Biblio Adventures, Chris had a browse at the Book Barn in Niantic, CT where she stumbled across TRAVELS WITHOUT CHARLEY by Bill Goralski. She also attended a fall preview event with Simon and Schuster where five authors talked with their editors about their forthcoming fall releases: Safiya Sinclair, Myriam Gurba, Stephanie Land, Nicole Walters, and Melissa Broder. We both enjoyed our 2nd quarter readalong pick, THE READING LIST and were delighted to talk with author Sara Nisha Adams! Just after our conversation with Sara, we announce our 3rd quarter readalong plans. Buckle up for SCARLET SUMMER!

 Lisa discusses the book American Dirt by American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. This book delves into a mother and son's journey to escape the cartel and flee to the U.S. as an illegal immigrant.  This book has caused many people to look at immigration very differently but it's also been controversial because Cummins is a white writer and isn't Hispanic. Myriam Gurba writes an amazing take-down of the book criticizing the characters saying they are stereotypes that she says are highlighted in the book.  Writer Roxanne Gay says in this piece in Medium that the publisher's dinner in celebration of the book had centerpieces with small concrete walls wrapped with barbed wire was “callous display” and “aestheticizing trauma.” This piece calls American Dirt trauma porn and The Guardian delves into the responses from Latinix writers.  In this piece, The Long Shadow of American Dirt, a New York Times writer reflects on The American Dirt “debacle” three years later. The piece talks about self-censorship.  Books Discussed:Salito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli  Children of the Land: A Memoir by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo  Where We Come From by Oscar Casares  Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester  Other publications have come up with lists of books to read as well. UST Today has a list of books here. The Texas Observer also offers up 17 great books.For more information, find Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website. *The book titles mentioned include affiliate links. You can support the podcast by purchasing a book with the links because the podcast receives Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law EnforcementHost: Clint McNear and Tyler Owen discussing topics, issues, and stories within the...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Episode 170 Notes and Links to Richard T. Rodriguez's Work       On Episode 170 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Richard T. Rodriguez, and the two discuss, among other things, Richard's childhood full of voracious reading and master wordsmiths in his family, books and media and music that spoke to him and speaks to him, evolving ideas of Chicanismo, masters of Chicanx literature and music and cultural studies, and the seven songs/chapters that constitute his stellar book and build upon ideas of “touch” and a “kiss across the ocean.”      Richard T. Rodríguez is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and English at the University of California, Riverside. He specializes in Latina/o/x literary and cultural studies, film and visual culture, and gender and sexuality studies, and holds additional interests in transnational cultural studies, popular music studies, and comparative ethnic studies. The author of Next of Kin: The Family in Chicano/a Cultural Politics (Duke University Press, 2009), which won the 2011 National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Book Award, and A Kiss across the Ocean: Transatlantic Intimacies of British Post-Punk and U.S. Latinidad (Duke University Press, 2022), he is currently completing Undocumented Desires: Fantasies of Latino Male Sexuality. The 2019 recipient of the Richard A. Yarborough Mentoring Award, granted by the Minority Scholars' Committee of the American Studies Association, he is the co-principal investigator on a University of California MRPI grant titled "The Global Latinidades Project: Globalizing Latinx Studies for the Next Millennium." His show, "Dr. Ricky on the Radio," can be heard weekly on KUCR.  Buy A Kiss Across the Ocean:  Transatlantic Intimacies of British Post-Punk and U.S. Latinidad   Richard T. Rodriguez's University of California at Riverside Page   Razorcake Review and Summary of A Kiss Across the Ocean     At about 8:00, Richard talks about growing up and his relationship with language and the written word, including the impacts from his parents, who were “wordsmiths” and bilingual    At about 9:45, Richard shouts out Phuc Tran's Sigh, Gone in describing his own reading and childhood experiences   At about 10:45, Richard discusses his college years at Cal Berkeley, and the huge impact June Jordan and Yusef  Komunyaaka had on him   At about 13:00, Richard responds to Pete's question about ideas of representation in what Richard read growing up-he points out Victor Villaseñor and Alfred Arteaga, among others   At about 14:40, Pete and Richard discuss the power of Villarreal's Pocho   At about 16:20, Pete asks Richard about evolving ideas/definitions for “Chicano”   At about 18:35, Richard responds to Pete asking about any “ ‘Eureka' moments” and how James Clifford in grad school helped him with a “reassessment of language”   At about 20:25, Richard talks about who and what he's teaching as a college professor, including work by Alex Espinoza, Phuc Tran, and James Spooner    At about 24:05, Pete lays out some of the power of the beginning of the book and asks Richard about how he “saw the world anew” through Boy George and other musicians; he mentions how the music informed his reading and art intake   At about 27:10, Richard describes what spoke to him about Johnny Rotten's quote about hanging out with Chicanos in SoCal   At about 28:30, Francesca Royster and Carl Stanley and others are referenced as Richard describes what was going on in the world and in his life as impetus for writing the book   At about 30:45, the two discuss teenage years and why they are such “prime” years for music celebration and exploration    At about 33:20, Melissa Mora Hidalgo, with Mozlandia, and Gustavo Arellano are shouted out as models for Richard's work   At about 35:50, Richard explains “post-punk” and “new-wave” and how he wanted to “reclaim ‘post-punk' ”   At about 38:15, Pete lays out the structure of the book, compliments its melding of academic and poetic writing, and asks about “goth”-its definition(s) and connections to the focus of Chapter One-Siouxsie and the Banshees   At about 41:40, Richard comments on Kid Congo Powers and his important connections to SoCal Chicano culture and to the Cramps/Siouxsie   At about 43:00, Pete asks Richard to explain his specific use of “touch” in the book   At about 45:20, Richard describes how Latinx writers have been touched by Siouxsie and the Banshees, often referencing the band in their work   At about 46:20, Richard describes his meeting with/touch by Siouxsie   At about 46:45, Richard describes Adam Ant and his connection to Chapter Two's “Prince Charming,” with both being “two-sided”   At about 49:40, Chapter Three, Bauhaus, and ideas and possibilities of “goth” as racially diverse; the two discuss Myriam Gurba's work on the general topic and Love and Rockets as a mutual   At about 54:15, Chapter Four is discussed with “Latina queer sensibilities” as a main focus and Marc Almond's connections to John Rechy's work   At about 59:10, The two talk about “othering” and exoticization that comes from    At about 1:01:00, Ideas of “secondhand” and history and zoot suits and masculinity are discussed, topics from the book's Chapter Five   At about 1:04:45, Richard examines conversations around cultural appropriation and Chris Sullivan's work with the zoot suit and “Latin” music   At about 1:07:05, The two talk about Chapter Six and Pete compliments Richard's melding of personal and cultural; the chapter deals with “Mexican Americanos” and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, in addition to lead singer Holly Johnson's solo work   At about 1:12:30, Richard gives background on The Pet Shop Boys and their work with hip hop and freestyle music and the connections between freestyle music and Latinx artists   At about 1:15:50, Pete uses an example of “authenticity” that Richard analyzes so skillfully as an example of ignorance   At about 1:16:50, Richard speaks to the book's conclusion and the greatness possible through tribute bands in “translating” and “regenerating” music   At about 1:20:10, Richard calls attention to Orange County's Ghost Town   At about 1:21:45, Richard talks about future projects   At about 1:22:50, Tainted Love shoutout!   At about 1:23:45, Richard recommends LibroMobile, City Lights Bookstore, and other places to buy his book and gives his social media info      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.    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!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    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 171 with Danielle Prescod. Danielle is an author, content creator, and journalist. Danielle Prescod is a fifteen-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry and a graduate of NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A lifelong fashion obsessive, she was most recently the style director of BET.com. Her book, Token Black Girl, is part memoir, part narrative nonfiction and an exploration of the ways that modern media can influence one's self-esteem.    The episode will air on March 21.

Fiction writers Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the newly published essay collection Letters to a Writer of Color, which they co-edited. The book features 17 pieces by authors of color from all over the world reflecting on aspects of craft and the writing life. Anappara and Soomro talk about how experiences in their MFA program led them to collaborate on the book. Contributors include Kiese Laymon on the second person, Ingrid Rojas Contreras on trauma, Myriam Gurba on art and activism, Sharlene Teo on reception and resilience, Amitava Kumar on authenticity, Mohammed Hanif on political fiction, and Femi Kayode on crime fiction. Soomro reads from his essay about origin stories and Anappara reads from her essay on the ideal conditions for writing. They also discuss other themes in the book: isolation in the writing world, non-Western storytelling, questions of translation, ongoing violence against people of color, and literature as a mode of social education.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Amanda Trout and Anne Kniggendorf. Selected Readings: Letters to a Writer of Color, co-edited by Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro Deepa Anappara Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line  Journalism Short Fiction Taymour Soomro Other Names for Love “Philosophy of the Foot” in The New Yorker Essays and stories Others Ninth Letter The Southern Review Eleanor Ferrante Monica Ali Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 35: The Fall of Boris Johnson: Margot Livesey on British Politics, the Brexit Blunder, and the Prime Minister's Lies Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy  Madeleine Thien  Amitava Kumar Tahmima Anam Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 6: Nadifa Mohamed on Writing the Convoluted Terrains of Immigration Leila Aboulela Graham Greene  Flannery O'Connor  Myriam Gurba American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins “On ‘Oprah's Book Club,' ‘American Dirt' Author Faces Criticism” by Concepción de León - New York Times (2020) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Myriam Gurba reads her story "Writing Ourselves Into Bed," backed by an original Storybound remix with Zola Jesus, and sound design and arrangement by Jude Brewer. Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist. She is the author of the true-crime memoir "Mean," a New York Times editors' choice. O, the Oprah Magazine, ranked "Mean" as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time. Publishers' Weekly describes Gurba as having a voice like no other. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Paris Review, TIME.com, and 4Columns. She has shown art in galleries, museums, and community centers. Zola Jesus a singer and songwriter known for combining elements of electronic, industrial, classical, and goth. Her latest album, Live at Roadburn 2018 was released in 2020. Support Storybound by supporting our sponsors: Norton brings you Michael Lewis' The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, a nonfiction thriller that pits a band of medical visionaries against a wall of ignorance as the COVID-19 pandemic looms. Scribd combines the latest technology with the best human minds to recommend content that you'll love. Go to try.scribd.com/storybound to get 60 days of Scribd for free. Finding You is an inspirational romantic drama full of heart and humor about finding the strength to be true to oneself. Now playing only in theaters. Acorn.tv is the largest commercial free British streaming service with hundreds of exclusive shows from around the world. Try acorn.tv for free for 30 days by going to acorn.tv and using promo code Storybound. Storybound is hosted by Jude Brewer and brought to you by The Podglomerate and Lit Hub Radio. Let us know what you think of the show on Instagram and Twitter @storyboundpod. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy.  Since you're listening to Storybound, you might enjoy reading, writing, and storytelling. We'd like to suggest you also try the History of Literature or Book Dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

          On Episode 65 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete has the pleasure to speak with Natalie Lima. The two discuss Natalie's childhood, her relationship to language and the always-welcoming library, A Separate Peace, Song of Solomon, We the Animals, and other chill-inducing literature, the writers who have inspired her, and the inspirations behind some of her most well-known works.   Show Notes and Links to Natalie Lima's Work   Natalie Lima's Personal Website    For a Good Time, Call,” essay for Guernica, September 2020   “Snowbound,” essay for Brevity, September 2019   “Men Paid Me To Eat,” fiction for The Offing, June 2019   “Fly”-Fiction from Paper Darts, May 2017 Talking Points/Authors/Books Mentioned and Allusions Referenced During the Episode:   At about 2:35, Natalie talks about influences growing up, including her experience speaking Spanish and her ideas of “home”   At about 4:50, Natalie talks about her relationship with the written word growing up and into adolescence, including her love of the public library    At about 6:50, Natalie discusses the pivotal high school reading years, including a favorite of Pete and Natalie's, A Separate Peace by John Knowles   At about 10:40, Pete asks Natalie if she saw herself and her various cultures/subcultures in what she read growing up    At about 12:45, Natalie describes a few of her favorite books, including Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and White Oleander by Janet Fitch   At about 13:35, Natalie outlines Song of Solomon and Toni Morrison's impression on Natalie   At about 15:25, Natalie talks about contemporary writers who continue to thrill her, including Roxane Gay and her Bad Feminist and Justin Torres and his We the Animals, Myriam Gurba, Jhumpa Lahiri, T Kira Madden, Esmé Weijun Wang, Michelle Tea, Lindy West, Samantha Irby, and Jaquira Diaz   At about 20:10, Natalie details the moment(s) that made her believe in her ability to write professionally and successfully, including how Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and Julia Cameron's The Right to Write helped her rekindle her writing passion and how her professor Colette Sartor gave feedback that energized Natalie   At about 28:35, Natalie discusses her target audience(s) and the success and how she was surprised how many people were moved by “Fat Girl Cries Herself to Sleep”    At about 30:45, Natalie talks about sharing personal information in her writing, as well as how certain works of her have affected her and her readers   At about 34:35, Natalie discusses “For a Good Time, Call,” her powerful essay about the “party line” and the essay's many layers; Pete and Natalie make connections to teenage chaos/malaise and to an NPR article about avatars and Walter Thompson Hernández and Yesika Salgado on California Love   At about 42:35, Natalie discusses the background and events and writing of “Snowbound” from Brevity Magazine and the event where college dorm gossip upset Natalie    At about 49:25, Natalie discusses her fiction piece, “Men Paid Me to Eat” and its inspiration, including its genesis with a class writing prompt   At about 53:10, Natalie reads from “Snowbound” and  “For a Good Time, Call”   At about 58:40, Natalie outlines her upcoming projects     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 Spotify and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this episode and other episodes on The Chills at Will Podcast YouTube Channel. Please like, subscribe, and share while you're there. 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. Be sure to check out the next episode on July 13 with poet extraordinaire Gabrielle Bates. 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.

Today we have an amazing podcast in store for you. We have a big hitter in the podcast world, Tamarindo podcasts very own Brenda Gonzalez. We talked about so many different things. Everything from vaccines to diverse voices in the creative arts. To how we can really advocate for policies at the national and local level that will make an impact. To what we've been seeing is the effects on the Latinx community by this pandemic. We talked about moments of calma, moments of calm. It's a really fun and packed podcast and I think you're going to enjoy it. Please check out their website and suggestions in this episode: Email: contact@tamarindopodcast.com Website: https://www.tamarindopodcast.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamarindoPodcast/ Twitter https://twitter.com/TamarindoCast Mean by Myriam Gurba - https://coffeehousepress.org/products/mean Maria Hinojosa - https://twitter.com/Maria_Hinojosa Another Round - https://www.buzzfeed.com/anotherround You can find more information at https://unconsciousbiasproject.org/. Dr Linet Mera and Alexis Krohn are your hosts. Seth Boeckman is our editor. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to this podcast and follow us. Ever felt like you didn't belong? Let us dispel that feeling for you in our “Be a Better Imposter” virtual panel event on April 22nd at 5pm Pacific time. UBP is partnering with Tamarindo Podcast to share resources for Latinas and their allies to break through imposter syndrome with simple tools and advice on how to destroy false ideas about who belongs in our workplaces, board rooms, and classrooms. Our stellar panel includes Estephanie and Lina of Bag Ladiez Podcast and activist Queen Victoria. Get free and sliding scale tickets at the link in the notes for this podcast. Get free tickets here: http://tiny.cc/BetterImposter UBP can be found on: Facebook: Unconscious Bias Project Twitter: @UBP_STEM LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unconscious-bias-project/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/ubp_stem/ Join our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/go0bsn

One year ago on this day, we launched our voyage to Mars with this podcast. All these episodes later and we're still going to talk about "American Dirt." Of course we also celebrate Sebastian's 23rd birthday and give a shoutout to Kenny Berry's 29nth, as well as sending our love and support to Joel del Campo and Nadia Garcia for their respective podcasts. We look back on episode 1, get some insight on the commemorative Mars donuts following the landing of our fellow resident, NASA's Perseverance rover, talk about some new paraphernalia Seb received in the mail and, finally, the latest DMCA/Twitch developments involving Metallica. To read the latest review of a book missing the mark, head over to Myriam Gurba's Tasteful Rude and read the piece by Lorraine Avila: https://tastefulrude.com/of-women-and-salt-rubs-salt-in-the-wounds-of-the-black-caribbean/ Social media: Mars on Life: @marsonlifeshow on Twitter and Instagram Sebastian Schug: @drsebby (Instagram) and Seabass on YouTube Ryan Mancini: @mancinira (Twitter) and @manciniryan (Instagram) Artwork by Zachary Erberich (@zacharyerberichart) "Space X-plorers" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mars-on-life-show/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mars-on-life-show/support

Looking back at the news coverage of the explosion at First Works Baptist Church, the question that rises to the top is why weren’t we hearing more from the group that had protested the Church’s hateful teachings? Keep El Monte Friendly was treated fairly in local reports, but we mostly just saw them in the context of their one protest. Their profile felt greatly overshadowed by the multitude of existing soundbites and loud personality of Pastor Delfin Bruce Mejia. Meeting two members of KEMF over Zoom, Abby and Bee, they were neither fervorous nor confrontational. They were soft-spoken. We discussed the highlights of their day of protest: a train of cars showing support, mothers crying tears of joy, the realization of not being alone. Then they shared their confusion and fear at the news of the bomb. They did not condone the attack and showed concern that the explosive might have hurt someone. It was clear that they wanted to move on from the experience. This episode isn’t to say that reporters local and national didn’t make balanced coverage. Rather that the story has largely been focused on a hate group whose main tactic thus far is speech over action, who have now assumed the role of victims (as they proclaim their bravery). In that, there wasn’t as much of a look at the people they’re hurting, or how a group like them comes to exist. But there were a few outliers in what was written about the event. Gustavo Arrellano’s column in the Los Angeles Times gave a meatier depiction of KEMF’s stake in the story. His piece also broke away from the pack in that he wrote the only story in a major publication that called out First Works’ bigoted values. It presented a good opportunity to talk about morality in journalism - and explain how columns and opinion pieces work for the media illiterate - so the former OC Weekly editor is the second guest in this bizarro media roundup. The third and final speaker is Dan Cady, a history professor at Fresno State who researches American hate groups. Cady’s chapter on the Ku Klux Klan from the El Monte history book East of East was quoted in Myriam Gurba’s LA Taco piece (which examined Mejia’s particular brand of hate preaching). Gurba raised a very important question: could First Works’ be a descendant of the KKK? Cady joined us to offer a more drawn out illustration of the Klan’s association with the Southern Baptist Church and how their mission and tactics inform organizations like First Works. He also outlines the flexible politics of American Christianity. Bruce Mejia was contacted with the following questions, but did not reply by publishing time. Members of Keep El Monte Friendly denounced the bombing, but their members say they have been issued hundreds of threats since then. Do you believe these threats are deserved? Gustavo Arrellano's column in the LA Times compares the presence of First Works in Monte to the Nazi Headquarters that was in town in the early 70's... Myriam Gurba's piece in LA Taco likens you yourself to the Ku Klux Klansmen of Monte's past... What do you say to these comparisons? What do you say to the random assortment of people on Social Media who say that your values aren't truly Christian? Special thanks to La Puente Eats

2:15-4:30-Myriam introduces and reads (4:30-9:27) a short chapter about her 5th grade experience from her memoir Mean 9:27 on is a cool back-and-forth between Myriam and Matt in discussing the chapter and its impact on both of them   Myriam Gurba is a Mexican American writer, story-teller, and visual artist.  In 2019, O, The Oprah Magazine called Gurba's work Mean (2017) one of the "Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” The New York Times described Gurba as having a "distinct and infectious" voice. Gurba is the author of three books: Mean (Coffee House Press, 2017) and Dahlia Season: Stories and a Novella (Manic D Press/Future Tense, 2007), and Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories. Her second book, Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories, explores Mexican stories and traditions from a feminist lens. Gurba previously toured with Sister Spit, a "lesbian-feminist spoken-word and performance art collective." Gurba has also exhibited at the Museum of Latin American Art and The Center Long Beach. Gurba has won The Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction from Publishing Triangle, and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award.

So, if you beef with Oprah in January, what do you do in February? Well, Gurba—a high school teacher—was placed on administrative leave by the Long Beach Unified School District for, as she Tweeted, “being ‘disruptive.’” That disruption? Speaking out online and helping students organize to fight back against a fellow teacher with a reputation for using violence and hate speech against students.

3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 15-year-long quest to uncover the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter is hosted live and in-person at the guest's preferred location by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome, The Happiness Equation, Two-Minute Mornings, etc. Each chapter of 3 Books uncovers and discusses the three most formative books from one of the world's most inspiring people. Sample guests include: Judy Blume, David Sedaris, Chris Anderson of TED, the founder of the world's largest feminist magazine, the world's greatest Uber driver, Pete Holmes, Angie Thomas, and Malcolm Gladwell. Each of the 333 chapters is dropped on the exact minute of every single new moon and full moon until September 1, 2031. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and 100% ad-free, commercial-free, sponsor-free, and interruption-free. For more info check out: https://www.3books.co/ Chapter Description: “Xicana AF. Bitch is my pronoun.” So reads the Twitter bio of Myriam Gurba, my guest, our guest, in Chapter 62.  A Mexican/American writer, storyteller, and visual artist from California, Myriam is the author of the true crime memoir Mean, which was hailed by O magazine as “one of the best LGBTQ+ books of all time.” She is also the author of Painting Their Portraits in Winter, Dahlia Season, as well as a number of chapbooks, all of which pack an audacious punch. And if her infectious written word is not enough, she’s toured with Sister Spit, a lesbian feminist spoken word and performance art collective.  She traffics in Spanglish and bold truth, the kind of which is raw and fierce.  “When I tell gringos that my Mexican grandfather worked as a publicist, the news silences them. Shocked facial expressions follow suit. Their heads look ready to explode and I can tell they’re thinking, ‘In Mexico, there are PUBLICISTS?!’ I wryly grin at these fulanos and let my smile speak on my behalf. It answers, ‘Yes, bitch, in México, there are things to publicize such as our own fucking opinions about YOU.’ - Myriam Gurba Those words are from her viral article, Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-Ass Social Justice Literature, in which she takes down Jeanine Cummins’ novel American Dirt. She had been asked to review the book by Ms. Magazine, but they rejected said review on the basis that she, “lacked the fame to pen something so negative.” The controversy came to light, as well as her original critique, and the publishing world erupted. Cultural appropriation, the white gaze, racism, and the lack of diversity in the publishing industry were brought to the fore.  Unafraid and unapologetic, Myriam had no choice but to ride the wave of deliberation. Aspersion was only heightened, shortly thereafter, by her very publicized suspension from her teaching job in a local high school by an armed police escort. Her social media presence was deemed inappropriate. And yet, she was, in her words, simply defending students who were accusing teachers of abuse. She is passionate and energetic, a big thinking firecracker who challenged my views and grew my thinking on so many levels for which I am so grateful. We had a jet-fueled conversation talking about racism, prejudice, growing up queer, police brutality, violence against women, the Mexican obsession with death, and, of course, Myriam Gurba’s 3 most formative books. Are you ready for a gritty, vulnerable, and honest conversation with the one and only Myriam Gurba? Let’s go! (Trigger Warning: This conversation does veer into topics of sexual abuse and trauma.) What You’ll Learn: Why is there so much white supremacy in publishing? How can we use vulnerability to draw strength? What is it like growing up queer? How can we become better activists? Why should the police and prison system be abolished? What constitutes violence against women? What systems fuel misogyny and patriarchy? How can we have a better body image? How do we deal with genital shame? What are the roots of racism? Why is it so important to engage in corporeal politics? You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/62   Leave us a voicemail. Your message may be included in a future episode: 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Sign up to receive podcast updates here: https://www.3books.co/email-list 

Novelist Porochista Khakpour's family moved to Los Angeles after fleeing the Iranian Revolution, giving up their successes only to be greeted by an alienating culture. Growing up as an immigrant in America means that one has to make one's way through a confusing tangle of conflicting cultures and expectations. And Porochista is pulled between the glitzy culture of Tehrangeles, an enclave of wealthy Iranians and Persians in LA, her own family's modest life and culture, and becoming an assimilated American. Porochista rebels--she bleaches her hair and flees to the East Coast, where she finds her community: other people writing and thinking at the fringes. But, 9/11 happens and with horror, Porochista watches from her apartment window as the towers fall. Extremism and fear of the Middle East rises in the aftermath and then again with the election of Donald Trump. Porochista is forced to finally grapple with what it means to be Middle-Eastern and Iranian, an immigrant, and a refugee in our country today. Brown Album is a stirring collection of essays, at times humorous and at times profound, drawn from more than a decade of Porochista's work and with new material included. Altogether, it reveals the tolls that immigrant life in this country can take on a person and the joys that life can give. Khakpour is in conversation with Myriam Gurba, a writer, spoken-word artist, and visual artist. _______________________________________________ Produced by Maddie Gobbo & Michael Kowaleski Theme: "I Love All My Friends," a new, unreleased demo by Fragile Gang.

In the final volume of the Life on Earth trilogy, celebrated cartoonist MariNaomi concludes her tale of growing up, falling in and out of love, and possible alien interventions. Shy, self-deprecating Paula Navarro is coming into her own—and it's making her new girlfriend, Johanna, a little nervous. Paula's former friend Emily Baker is learning to look inward. Brett Hathaway, Emily and Paula's mutual ex-hook-up, is torn about reconnecting with his estranged dad. And Nigel Jones is smitten with his tutor, Claudia—whose disappearance and reappearance remains a mystery to everyone around her. As Claudia and her guardians put the final plan in motion, they'll reveal the truth that links everyone's fate. MariNaomi is in conversation with Myriam Gurba, a writer, a spoken-word artist, and a visual artist.

As distraction to the world-wide pandemic we are living through, we are releasing an episode that was created several weeks ago  before any of us knew how the coronavirus would impact our daily lives.  We take this opportunity to send you love, light, and courage during these hard times. This episode of Tamarindo is a collaboration with Project Enye. This is a compilation of many #Latinx #podcasters reacting to the #AmericanDirt debacle. American Dirt is the novel released earlier this year that was widely criticized for it's racist portrayal of #Mexicans. Thanks to Mexican-American writer  Myriam Gurba (https://www.myriamgurba.com/) , the controversy behind American Dirt exposed how the publishing industry systematically silences voices from the #Latinx community.  Take a listen and let us know what you think! Tamarindo podcast is the Latinx show where hosts discuss politics, pop culture, and how to balance it all con calma, hosted by Brenda Gonzalez and Ana Sheila Victorino. Join us as we delve into discussions on culture, politics, identity, representation, and life! Find us at https://www.tamarindopodcast.com/. Producer Jeff provides original music and sound engineering. Michelle Andrade edits the show.  If you want to support our work, please rate and review our show here. (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tamarindo/id1102882792?mt=2)    Follow Tamarindo on twitter @tamarindocast (https://twitter.com/TamarindoCast) or on Instagram @Tamarindopodcast (https://www.instagram.com/tamarindopodcast/)   Follow Brenda on instagram @SweetPixNaranja (https://www.instagram.com/sweetpixnaranja/) and on twitter @BrendaRicards (https://twitter.com/BrendaRicards)   Follow AnaSheila on instagram @la_anasheila (https://www.instagram.com/la_anasheila/) and twitter@Shelli1228 (https://twitter.com/shelli1228)

This episode hear about our updates, how we survived Mercury Retrograde, Full Moon in Pisces and illness. We are deep in our feelings, and using this platform as a therapeutic outlet. If you bear with us for about 20 minutes, then we get to the meat of our topic. We are discussing the controversy surrounding the novel American Dirt, and it’s cultural appropriation among the many critiques of the author and the book. As always we see ourselves in dialogue with many other Latinx scholars and organic intellectuals who have spoken out on this topic including our fellow podcasters at Latino USA and Bitter Brown Femmes, as well as Myriam Gurba who’s critique of the book sparked the controversy.Our analysis of the book lands us calling out the publishing industry, and the power systems that create a world where a white woman can receive a 7 figure advance for a story about migrants, while people of color continue to struggle for any kind of representation. This leads us to a discussion about the Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira and JLO, and the complexity of the importance of representation while also leaving space for critique and the need for growth.Representation absolutely matters in a white supremacist, patriarchal, cisheteronortamive world that marginalizes so many. We ask how can representation and critique work alongside each other? And it only means we need more representation to fully illustrate the complexity of our experiences.We are glad to see shows like Genetfied, Vida and Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia are doing just that, and we implore the entertainment industry, the publishing industry to be intentional in giving marginalized people opportunities to tell their stories.Be sure to listen, subscribe, and review on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play.“Popular culture constitutes a terrain where not only are ethnic and racialized, as well as gender, identity contested, reproduced, and transformed, but also the struggle for and against social equality is engaged.”- Michelle Habell-Pallan

Sebastian and Ryan continue their discussion about "American Dirt" and the continued fallout, and they stand in solidarity with author Myriam Gurba. They also talk about the new Amazon Prime show "Hunters" with Al Pacino and Logan Lerman – HOOAH! Finally, they want to thank Pete D. Camarillo and Kenneth Frank James Berry for appearing on their show "Touchdowns and Tangents"; to check out that episode, click the link below and make sure to give them a follow and a review. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/touchdowns-and-tangents/id1158604873?i=1000465733019 Social media: Mars on Life: @marsonlifeshow on Twitter and Instagram Sebastian Schug: @dr_sebby (Twitter) and @drsebby (Instagram) Ryan Mancini: @mancinira (Twitter) and @manciniryan (Instagram) Artwork by Zachary Erberich (@zacharyerberichart) "Space X-plorers" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mars-on-life-show/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mars-on-life-show/support

What does it mean to write a protagonist that is completely different from you? Are you a guest, a tourist, or an invader? How do you write correctly and thoughtfully? What happens when you get it wrong? Listen up as Polli and Kate share some dirt and some resources.  Show notes: https://lplks.org/blogs/post/052-dishing-the-american-dirt/ Two Book Minimum: How to Catch A Mole by Marc Hamer The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez Dishing the...American Dirt: If you're a book nerd in any way, or interested in #OwnVoices literature, you've probably heard about the American Dirt drama. If not, here's a blurb from Rachelle Hampton: American Dirt follows the journey of a mother and son fleeing Mexico for America after their entire family is murdered on the orders of a local cartel kingpin. Before the slaughter, Lydia Quixano Pérez is a bookseller in Acapulco, mother to Luca and wife to journalist Sebastián. It is Sebastián’s exposé on the kingpin, who also happens to be a frequent customer of Lydia’s bookstore, that serves as the linchpin for the violence that sets off the novel and Lydia’s journey through the desert to the border. In her afterword Cummins describes a four-year writing process that included extensive travel and interviews in Mexico. Cummins writes of her desire to humanize “the faceless brown mass” that she believes is so many people’s perception of immigrants. “I wish someone slightly browner than me would write it,” she continues. “But then I thought, if you’re the person who has the capacity to be a bridge, why not be a bridge.”  (Slate.com) So. While the book had been released quite a while ago, it came out this year (to rave reviews) and was picked for Oprah's Book Club, which then led to some deeper digging and scandalous responses. One of the first and most vocal opponents was Myriam Gurba, author of Mean, whose lyrical takedown was (in Kate's view)... spectacular. It's pretty brutal and covers multiple levels, including the unnatural-sounding use of Spanglish and the lack of Mexican sensibility. She argues against Cummins' right to write this book, especially given the number of Latinx authors who are remaining unpublished or undiscovered. The backlash against this line of criticism has been stronggggg. And not cute.  David Bowles' piece, American Dirt: Dignity & Equity, offers a nuanced view of what it means to write the "other," and what a responsibility it is -- "When you write about an underrepresented group, one whose own voices have been excluded from the world of publishing, not getting it right isn’t just disastrous: it’s harmful to people in that group." Bowles' article gives lots of stats and figures to back up his argument, as well as tips FOR writing characters different from you. One to check out is called Writing the Other, a series by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, which has tons of resources for current or prospective authors. Likewise, Alexander Chee addresses this issue often in workshops and lectures and says "Many writers are not really asking for advice — they are asking if it is okay to find a way to continue as they have." He asks a few questions that are very helpful to writers, creators, and consumers: 1. Why do you want to write from this character’s point of view? 2. Do you read writers from this community currently? 3. Why do you want to tell this story? -----------------

In each episode we talk about a variety of books, writing, and art. Below are a few mentioned in this one:The book On Beauty and Being Just by Elaine ScarryThe website Man Repeller (link)Toward A Hot Jew: Graphic Essays by Miriam Libicki (link)The exhibition “Veiled Meanings: Fashioning Jewish Dress,” at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco (link)The exhibition "Involuntary Archives. On the Theatre of Surveillance" by artist Miguel Fernández de Castro (link)Ellie’s film Birth on the Border (trailer link)The exhibition “Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good” at ICP (link)Aperture issue #223: Vision & Justice (link)The book The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion by Antwaun Sargent (link)“Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-Ass Social Justice Literature” by Myriam Gurba (link)“There’s Nothing Thrilling About Trauma” by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (link) Tweet referenced by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (link)“Oceanic Feeling and Communist Affect” by Jackie Wang (link) Questions? Thoughts? Email us: alltalklisteners@gmail.com.About Us:Ellie Lobovits is a visual artist, educator, writer, and teacher of Jewish plant magic. ellielobovits.comLeora Fridman is a writer and educator, author of My Fault, Make an Effort, and other books of prose, poetry and translation. leorafridman.com

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the shrinking number of moderate Republicans in the GOP. Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:  Where have all the moderate Republicans gone? Neil wrote about Susan Collins and the end of moderate Republicans in his column for The Week. Niki shared Geoffrey Kabaservice’s book Rule and Ruin as the definitive history of moderate Republicans. Natalia discussed Ezra Klein’s recent New York Times piece on the different effect polarization has had on both parties, an argument he expands in his new book, Why We’re Polarized. Neil commented on how Republican suburban women have been moving away from the GOP during the Trump years, something he wrote about for the Atlantic in 2018.   In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History: Natalia discussed the controversy surrounding Jeanine Cummins’ new book, American Dirt, and recommended the episode of “Latino USA” that discusses the controversy and Myriam Gurba’s review of the book for Tropics of Meta. Neil recommended the new Netflix series, “Cheer.” We discussed the history of cheerleading in Episode 125. Niki commented on Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s proposal for Virginia’s border counties to join West Virginia, something being referred to as “Vexit.”

The novel American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins was released this January with much anticipation. Oprah selected it to be part of her book club, writer Don Winslow called it, "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and celebrated Latina author Sandra Cisneros called it "the great novel of las Americas." But its release was met with a large backlash. Many Latinx writers felt the book furthered a stereotypical view of migrants from Mexico and Central America. For this episode, Maria Hinojosa engages in dialogue with voices central to the controversy: Myriam Gurba, Sandra Cisneros, Luis Alberto Urrea and Jeanine Cummins.

This one is a RIDE, you guys! We wanted to do something really fun this week—something that would lighten the mood for us and for you. So, strap in, because we’re talking about our favorite Old School Category romances today! We’ve got something for everyone — wolves and dragons and marine biologists and single moms and more wolves! A word of caution this week — we didn’t reread these books before we recorded, and they’re all published in the 80s and 90s, so tread lightly if you decide to read them…and let us know just how wrong we got the plots! (Just kidding, we’re for sure rereading all of them now). Next week was supposed to be the deep dive of Lorraine Heath, but Sarah has a book due, so we’re putting it on hold—but stay tuned, because we’ve definitely got something coming! Waking Up With the Duke will definitely be the next read, though: Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, or Kobo.Show Notes- If you're looking for a real cool summer sleepaway camp, check out Camp Kupagani. They'll pick your kid up at O'Hare!- You can order girl scout cookies online now. Good luck to all of us.- If you're in Chicago, I guess you could go to Navy Pier; But if you're in Peru, you should definitely go to Machu Picchu.- That American Dirt story is real wild. This review by Myriam Gurba is amazing, and Vox has you covered with an entire explainer. Remezcla has better recommendations for books about the border.- If you want to know what makes something a category romance, Love in Panels has a very good explainer. Also, if you're interested in Harlequin covers now, Jen interviewed Tony Horvath for Kirkus. He's the creative director in charge of all of Harlequin series romance.- Buying old category romances is easy. Check out ThriftBooks for the best prices and best shipping (Amazon charges for individual items from sellers), but also Better World Books. And if you're lucky enough, local thrift stores and used book stores. For more recent remaindered books, try Book Outlet.- We mentioned so many category series today. Check out this blog by Steve Imes with all the category series names and dates, and FictionDB for listings of books by series.- Sandra Brown wrote as Erin St. Claire and also Rachel Ryan. She was an 80s powerhouse who still writes romantic suspense. The book Sarah mentioned was Honor Bound, but Jen was thinking of a similar book called Hawk O'Toole's Hostage. Ope.- Jen reread and reviewed several of her first category romances for the Book Queen. The one about Pink Satin compares the book to the Harvey Weinstein case. It's honestly shocking how little has changed for women in the workplace.- White Satin was an early Iris Johansen about figure skating, but that author is also for being the book that inspired the "Who Did it Better on a Horse" post. And at the end of the episode, Sarah mentions that she had a house for sale if you're on the market, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY A MANSION.- Brad Pitt is old and still working because of the patriarchy.- Deep Tracks is the name of an XM radio station that plays B sides and less popular songs, which is very on brand for the books in this episode.- Maybe you'd like to read those goodreads reviews for The Lady and the Dragon.- Jen loved Barbara Boswell. She was a fan of the Brady/Ramsey series where a bunch of sisters married a bunch of brothers. And then this one that is Brady Bunch fanfic. Eight is enough, I swear! Was this all Roe v. Wade blowback?- You actually can still get Harlequin subscriptions, but the best current Romance subscription is definitely the Bawdy Bookworms box.- In Demon Lover, the heroine thinks the hero is a coyote, but he's really an undercover DEA agent. Jen asked the Smart Bitches to help her find it in 2018, when it was available as an eBook, but it isn't anymore! All you need to know is that these 80s covers celebrated the Tom Selleck mustache in a big way.- Warrior was last in the McKenzie-Blackthorn series by Elizabeth Lowell. Light a candle for Utah, who never got his book. Ao3 needs to get on it! #JusticeForUtah- Virginity is a construct! Also, here's where the hymen is in case you need to know.- Sarah's on deadline, so who knows what's going to happen next week. Buy some stickers, buttons, or t-shirts to tide yourself over while we figure it out.- Please check out the photo array below for books we referenced. You may remember that we recorded an entire episode on category romances with Andie Christopher, but Jen screwed up the recording. By then, we moved on with Andie to cinnamon rolls. But Andie recommended Driven by Fate by Tessa Bailey, and Jen talked about Every Road to You by Phyllis Bourne. Sarah proably talked about Hot Touch, but Jen can't really remember...we'll just think of that episode as the one that got away.

There is no doubt that with all this controversy (https://www.latinorebels.com/2020/01/21/americandirtproblem/) behind the publication of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, author Myriam Gurba was the key spark (https://tropicsofmeta.com/2019/12/12/pendeja-you-aint-steinbeck-my-bronca-with-fake-ass-social-justice-literature/) in calling attention to what she feels are major problems in Cummins' novel. In this conversation with Latino Rebels Radio host Julio Ricardo Varela, Gurba (https://twitter.com/lesbrains) shares her reasons why and also explains that the fight for representation in publishing shouldn't solely be centered around the American Dirt mess. Featured image provided by Myriam Gurba.

Mari Naomi is a graphic-memoirist, a term I just made up. That is, she’s a cartoonist who writes personal nonfiction. At least in her adult work, that’s what she does. I first encountered her cartoons on the Rumpus. I ended up following her on Twitter and patroning her on Patreon, and she has thoughts about fame! We talked about that and career and San Francisco and trolls and dating someone famous and living in LA and seeing stars and running into Bud Cort and fangirling out in Gelson’s and … well, come listen and you’ll find out!You can find her at http://marinaomi.com. Here’s some of what you’d learn about her there:“MariNaomi is the award-winning author and illustrator of Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011), Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016), I Thought YOU Hated ME (Retrofit Comics, 2016), and the Life on Earth trilogy(Graphic Universe, 2018-2020). Her work has appeared in over eighty print publications and has been featured on websites such as The Rumpus, LA Review of Books, Midnight Breakfast and BuzzFeed.”“She is the founder and administrator of the Cartoonists of Color Database, the Queer Cartoonists Database, and the Disabled Cartoonists Database. She is the cohost of the Ask Bi Grlz podcast with author Myriam Gurba.”***You can find all episodes of this podcast at http://15minutesjamieberger.com and a really old site of my writing at http://jamiebergerwords.com, which I mention for the first time since starting this podcast because I’m starting to write a little after about a decade hiatus.Episode 72 will mark the return of Episode 1 guest John Hodgman, whose new book, Medallion Status, the follow up to his supergreat memoir Vacationland, will be out in mid-October.Thanks for listening!-jb See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Author, editor, and teacher Seth Fischer joins Myriam Gurba and MariNaomi to answer questions about being a good ally, making safe spaces, and grieving a pet.

Rachel and Melody welcome special guest, Sarah, to discuss LGBTQ reads this month! Check out what we talked about: "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Sáenz with readalike "The Inexplicable Logic of My Life" by the same author. "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters with readalike "Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932" by Francine Prose. "The House of Impossible Beauties" by Joseph Cassara based on the 1990 documentary film, "Paris is Burning." Also, "Sketchtacy" by Matilda Bernstein Sycamore. Sarah's Recommended Reads: "Stone Butch Blues" and "Drag King Dreams" by Leslie Feinberg "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel "Mean" by Myriam Gurba "For Today I Am a Boy" by Kim Fu "Dryland" by Sara Jaffe "Boy Meets Boy" and "Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan Interested in more LGBTQ reads? Check out our LGBTQ booklist: https://oakcreeklibrary.org/adult-booklists/#tableid=78 Looking to earn prizes for reading? Sign up for our Summer Reading Challenge here: https://oakcreeklibrary.org/src/ Check out books, movies, and and other materials through the Milwaukee County Federated Library System: countycat.mcfls.org/ www.hoopladigital.com/ wplc.overdrive.com/ oakcreeklibrary.org/

In this episode, we take you inside the LA Art Book Fair, where we chatted with Issue 6 contributors Yumi Sakugawa and Myriam Gurba, as well as Beth Pickens, Aurora Lady, and Annabelle Maginnis about art, zines, sexting, and more! 

artoonist MariNaomi is an award-winning author and illustrator whose works include "Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume"; "Ages 0 to 22"; "Turning Japanese"; "I Thought YOU Hated ME"; and the "Life on Earth" trilogy. Her work has appeared in more that 60 print publications and been featured at the Smithsonian, De Young Museum, Cartoon Art Museum, Asian Art Museum, and Japanese American Museum, She is the founder of the Cartoonists of Color Database and the Queer Cartoonists Database, has toured with the literary roadshow Sister Spit, and cohosts the podcast "Ask BiGrlz" with Myriam Gurba. Cosponsored by SMC Global Citizenship.

Future Tense Books is thrilled to be publishing Pretend We Live Here by international writer Genevieve Hudson. In this debut collection of stories, Genevieve explores the idea of home and what it means to find one: in the body, in the world, in other people. Her characters are seekers, whose actions are influenced by their slippery identities and by the strange landscapes that surround them. In “Boy Box,” a young woman yearns to test her luck with a wild punk girl crush. In “God Hospital,” a character journeys deep into the woods of Alabama in search of an infamous religious healer, hoping he can fix her teeth. In “Adorno,” someone in need of forgiveness crosses paths with a band of radical vegan activists and gets subsumed into their world. In “Dance!,” a recluse writes a breakthrough song for her pink dolphin, but the song’s success only drives her further away from society. Set in Amsterdam, the Pacific Northwest, and the Deep South, these stories hum with sexual tension, queerness, displacement, longing, humor, and dark nostalgia. Hudson is joined in conversation by Henry Hoke (The Book of Endless Sleepovers) and Myriam Gurba, a writer, artist, and teacher based in Long Beach, California.

Rock star and yoga goddess Taleen Kali helps MariNaomi and Myriam Gurba answer some questions!

MariNaomi and Myriam Gurba discuss religious folklore, ghost stories, self-care, and slogging through the grind.

Myriam Gurba and MariNaomi discuss the benefits (or not) of reading one's Goodreads reviews, and Myriam gives advice about someone's rascally rabbit!

MariNaomi and Myriam Gurba discuss their experience touring with Sister Spit and performing as authors. They answer a question from a listener about the reasons behind misogyny, and another about Diane Arbus.

Author, teacher, and sex worker advocate Antonia Crane joins MariNaomi and Myriam Gurba to discuss queer flavors, allies, first kisses, and trolls.

On This Ice Skating Team There Are No Olympians and No One Under 25 Robyn Fernsworth wakes up before the sun rises every Saturday morning so she can ice skate for two hours. But she's not training for the next Winter Olympics, she's practicing with the IceSymmetrics, a masters synchronized skating team based in Oakland. The IceSymmetrics are a group of moms, lawyers, teachers, some professional skaters...and they're heading to Portland this week to compete in nationals. Bianca Taylor caught up with Robyn during practice. The Lowly Seagrass That Could Save Your Oysters From Climate Change What do you do when a global problem like climate change lands on your front doorstep? That’s what’s facing oyster farms up and down the West Coast, which are already feeling the impact. But, as KQED Science reporter Lauren Sommer tells us, one Bay Area oyster farm is teaming up with scientists to find a way to use nature to adapt. Timbuctoo: The Ghost of a Ghost Town For the next installment in our series "A Place Called What?!", about California places with bizarre or surprising names, we take a trip to Timbuctoo! Sacramento Finds and Celebrates Itself in New ‘Lady Bird’ Walking Tour While Hollywood prepares for the Oscars on March 4, a "Lady Bird"-themed walking tour began its inaugural trek in Sacramento. We join the tour and hear from guides and tourists about their personal connection to the semi-autobiographical movie. Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig called her film a “love letter to Sacramento.” What did the film mean for Sactown superfans? Mean: A Conversation with Myriam Gurba True crime, memoir and ghost story, "Mean" is the bold and hilarious tale of Myriam Gurba’s coming of age as a queer, mixed-race Chicana.

Author and artist Myriam Gurba joins co-hosts Eric Newman and Kate Wolf for a conversation about her new book Mean, which is receiving effusive praise across the literary, art, and mainstream presses - including a glowing review from last week's guest, Jonathan Alexander, in the LA Review of Books. Billed as part True Crime Tale, part Ghost Story, part Queer coming-of-age Memoir; with all parts deformed by an epidemic of sexual assault and violence in Myriam's hometown - it sounds a perfect fit for the Zeitgeist. Only it's the opposite; as Myriam explains, her love of language is disruptive, and empowering, a lifeline that even allows her to recognize, and commune with, the ghosts haunting our souls. Indeed, as Myriam, Kate, and Eric's conversation turns to our on-going #MeToo moment, Myriam insists we cannot continue to reduce people to good or bad caricatures, our team vs the enemy; rather, we need to talk to each other, have compassion for the traumatized, and, if you're really serious about trying to do some some good, deploy the type of deep psychological insight familiar to readers and writers of literature. Also, Jonathan Alexander drops by to recommend Jay McInerney's latest novel Bright, Precious Days, the third installment of the Calloway Saga; set in NYC in-and-around the (declining) publishing industry during last decade's financial collapse through the early Obama years. Jonathan says it's top notch Mcinerney: delicious junk food for the literati, plus a front row seat for the Decline of the American Empire!

In this episode, Myriam Gurba and MariNaomi tackle the subjects of intersectional feminism, animal rights, and farming human flesh.

Episode #7 of The Talking Book Podcast featuring Myriam Gurba and her book "Mean."

In the third episode of Ask Bi Grlz, Myriam Gurba and MariNaomi discuss their thoughts on Basic Instinct, queer representation in the media, and cis-het marketing to queers.

Welcome to the advice podcast starring author Myriam Gurba and cartoonist MariNaomi. Biracial! Bisexual! Bipedal! In episode one, Myriam and Mari attempt to solve one woman's hairy problem, and talk through another woman's bi-impostor syndrome.

Bruja (Civil Coping Mechanism) Book of Endless Sleepovers (Civil Coping Mechanism) CCM is pleased to announce Bruja by Wendy C. Ortiz, the author of the critically acclaimed Excavation: A Memoir and Hollywood Notebook. With Bruja, Ortiz continues to upend and reinvent the memoir in inventive and deeply emotional ways to better fit the terms and trajectory of her exploration.  Behold the “dreamoir”–the details from the most malleable and revelatory portions of one’s dreams, catalogued in bold detail. Ortiz has created a new literary form, a parallel plane where the cast of characters are the people that occupied one’s waking life; Bruja is a narrative that’s equal parts delicate and bold, a literary adventure through the boundaries of memoir, where the self is viewed from a position anchored into the deepest recesses of the mind.  The end result is perhaps one of the most candid expressions of personal history, the subconscious bared in full, revealing the part of oneself that is often the most difficult to see. Bruja will be released as part of the Quarter Four 2016 CCM Catalogue. We can’t wait to show you more. We’re coping.  Guests are encouraged to come dressed as a character/person/animal/object from their dreams.  Praise for Bruja  "In Bruja, Wendy C. Ortiz deftly navigates the land of dreams in what she calls a dreamoir. By telling us her dreams, by revealing her most unguarded and vulnerable self, Ortiz is, truly, offering readers the most intimate parts of herself–how she loves, how she wants, how she lives, who she is. Bruja is not just a book–it is an enigma and a wonder and utterly entrancing." -- Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and An Untamed State "Bruja calls into question not only what is a memoir, but what is a life. Politics, books, mass media, random encounters, work, relationships tumble into the depths of consciousness, and the self spirals open, huge and passionate. Ortiz’s dreamoir is a multidimensional love story with the whole mess of existence. I loved it."--Dodie Bellamy, author of When the Sick Rule the World, The TV Sutras, Cunt-Ups, and many more "Wendy C. Ortiz has invented her own genre, in her sleep, no less. Bruja is at once lush and spare, funny and weird, disturbing and sometimes even beautiful in the way that dreams can be. She’s crafted an absurdly real and compelling story here, one dream at a time." - Elizabeth Crane, author of The History of Great Things Wendy C. Ortiz is the author of Excavation: A Memoir and Hollywood Notebook. Her work has been profiled or featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Rumpus, and the National Book Critics Circle Small Press Spotlight blog. Her writing has appeared in such places as The New York Times, Hazlitt, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Nervous Breakdown, Fanzine, and a year-long series appeared at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Wendy lives in Los Angeles. Book of Endless Sleepovers Bring your favorite stuffed animal, hold it tight, and stay awake as long as you can. The Book of Endless Sleepovers tosses and turns with telepathic campfire stories, crypto-zoological memoir and Mark Twain slash fiction. It’s fourteen interconnected tales of haunted childhood identity and exploded imagination. Nobody wants to fall asleep first. Praise for Book of Endless Sleeovers “I love how Henry Hoke plays fast and loose with autobiography and genre. His Book of Endless Sleepovers is wry and finely-wrought, a philosophical fever dream studded with the pleasure of proper names and surprising turns of phrase, a lyric page-turner.”-Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts “In his atmospheric debut, Henry Hoke maps the wild country of adolescence, the murky realm of childhood and its mysterious stirrings, where the names of cities are always changing along with our own, as we swap them for those of our favorite characters: The Hardy Boys or Huck Finn or Peter Pan. A land where pet bunnies are eaten by owls in the night and cats change owners at their own will. The Book of Endless Sleepovers is beguiling and evocative and sometimes sad. It is not to be missed.”-Kate Durbin, author of E! Entertainment “The Book of Endless Sleepovers is hot and cool, fine and blunt, new and ancient, puzzling and cannily revealing. Hoke's sharp, funny fictions are like shards of the books I hope to find lying around in Borges' garden of forking paths.”-Mark Childress, author of Crazy in Alabama “Hoke’s book dazzles. Beneath the surface of linguistic playfulness and narrative experimentation are real truths about love and brotherhood and especially about childhood: wild and thrilling and, as all childhoods are, full of terror. Worth reading for the brilliant reimaginings of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn alone, there is so much here that will astonish, surprise, and delight.”-Rahul Mehta, author of No Other World Henry Hoke was a child in the South and an adult in New York and California. He's the author of Genevieves (winner of the Subito Press prose contest, forthcoming 2017) and The Book of Endless Sleepovers (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016). Some of his stories appear in The Collagist, Gigantic, Winter Tangerine and Carve. He co-created and directs Enter>text, a living literary journal.  Ashley Perez lives, writes, and causes trouble in Los Angeles. She has a strong affinity for tattoos, otters, cat mystery books, and actual cats, but has mixed feelings about pants. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. She runs the literary site Arts Collide and does work of all varieties for Jaded Ibis Press, and Midnight Breakfast. Iris De Anda is a Guanaca Tapatia poet who hosts The Writers Underground Open Mic at the Eastside Cafe every third Thursday of the month and the author of CODESWITCH: Fires From Mi Corazon. www.irisdeanda.com. Myriam Gurba is a writer, artist, and low key bon vivant living at the southern most tip of LA County. Her memoir Mean is forthcoming from Coffee House Press. Amanda Yates Garcia is an artist, writer, witch, healer and the Oracle of Los Angeles. Recent performance rituals include Capitalism Exorcism at Human Resources and Devouring Patriarchy at the Women’s Center for Creative Work. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Black Clock, the Rough Magick anthology, Entropy, Synema Publikationen (Cinema Magazine), and WITCH. Amanda hosts her bi-monthly show The Oracle Hour on KCHUNG radio; teaches the Magical Praxis monthly mystery school; and performs private rites of healing and empowerment at her magical studio in West Adams.

Justin Chin passed away on December 24th in San Francisco. Friends of and writers influenced by his perverse, hilarious, heartbreaking and fearless poetry gather to read works by, about and for him.  Readers include: Ali Liebegott, Beth Pickens, Tara Jepsen, Michelle Tea, Myriam Gurba, Ryka Aoki de la Cruz, Trebor Healey, Raquel Gutierrez and Clint Catalyst .Ali Liebegott is the author of the book-length poem The Beautifully Worthless, and the novels The IHOP Papers and Cha-Ching! She writes for the Emmy award-winning television show Transparent. She is former Managing Director of RADAR Productions, and the founder of Writers Among Artists, a San Francisco-based queer literary non-profit which supported Justin's work.Beth Pickens is the former Managing Director of RADAR Productions and oversaw Justin's time at the organization's writers' retreat and the awarding of a completion grant to Justin for his book 98 Wounds. She is a consultant to artists.Tara Jepsen is the former host of K'Vetch, a weekly queer open mic hosted in a gay male bathhouse in San Francisco, which Justin was a frequent guest at. Her debut novel, Like a Dog, is forthcoming from Sister Spit Books / City Lights.Michelle Tea is the author of the young adult books Mermaid in Chelsea Creek and Girl at the Bottom of the Sea, the memoir How to Grow Up, and other titles. She is the founder and former Executive Director of RADAR Productions. Myriam Gurba is the author of the story collections How Some Abuelitas Keep Their Chicana Granddaughters Still While Painting Their Portraits in Winter and Dahlia Season; the poetry collection Wish You Were Me and many self-published zines and chapbooks. Ryka Aoki de la Cruz is the author of the award-winning poetry chapbook Sometimes Too Hot the Eye of Heaven Shinesand the full-length volume Seasonal Velocities. She is a professor of English at Santa Monica College and of Queer Studies at Antioch University.Trebor Healey is the author of A Horse Named Sorrow, Through it Came Bright Colors, Faun, and other works. He has received award from the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Publishing Triangle and the Violet Quill.Raquel Gutierrez is the author of the chapbooks Running in Place: poems about INSTITUTIONALITY, #whiteboo andBreaking Up with Los Angeles. She has long been a writer and live performer, and is the publisher of Econo Textual Objects.Clint Catalyst is the author of Cottonmouth Kisses and the co-editor of Pills, Thrills, Chills and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person. He is a writer, actor, spoken word performer and stylist.Irene Suico Soriano is a Filipina American poet, Film & Literary Independent Curator and shelter animal advocate that focuses on geriatric and terminally ill animals that enter the LA city and county shelter system. She lives in Silver Lake with her three rescued dogs Cadi, Maxon & Papoo and wishes they could have met Justin even just once.

Myriam Gurba is the guest. Her new story collection is called Painting Their Portraits in Winter, available now from Manic D Press.  Myriam showed up in a pair of new shoes. She went shopping before the podcast. Bought some shoes. Wore them out of the store. I found that charming. It reminded me of being a kid and getting new shoes and insisting on wearing them out of the store because I felt like they would make me run faster or something. Another thing about Myriam: she's an easy talker. I love it when I get a guest like this. Makes it easy on me. Good sense of humor. Opinions. Plenty to say. Also very direct about not wanting to talk about certain things, which is always fine. She's a California girl, born and raised. Grew up in Santa Maria, not far from Santa Barbara. Land of the saints. Wine country, farmland, ocean air, strawberries. We talk about it all.   In today's monologue, I discuss my recent crisis of confidence regarding monologues and read from a Twitter exchange I had with listeners regarding the continued existence of the monologue at the top of the show.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the eve of LGBT Pride Weekend, Skylight hosts its second annual "LGBT Writers Who Inspired Us."  Writers Bernard Cooper, Eduardo Santiago, Myriam Gurba, Alexis Fancher, Trebor Healy read the works of  LGBT literary giants Reynaldo Arenas, Susan Sontag, Tom Spanbauer and more! Curated by Noel Alumit. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JUNE 7, 2013.

Sister Spit: Writings, Rants and Reminiscence from the Road (City Lights Books) Michelle Tea (Valencia, Rose of No Man's Land) presents readings from her new anthology of writing and artwork from the irreverent, flagrantly queer, hilariously feminist, tough-talking, genre-busting ruffians who have toured with the legendary Sister Spit. This event features Tara Jepsen, Myriam Gurba, Blake Nelson, Harriet "Harry"Dodge, Tamara Llosa-Sandor, Sara Seinberg, and Cassie J. Sneider. Praise for Sister Spit: "Heartbreakingly beautiful writing; sometimes funny, sometimes shattering—always revolutionary. Truly amazing collection!"—Margaret Cho "Sister Spit is like the underground railroad for burgeoning queer writers. Not only in the van, but in the audiences trapped in the hinterlands of America and looking to escape. Sister Spit saves lives."—Justin Vivian Bond, author of Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels Michelle Tea is the author of four memoirs, a novel, a book of poetry and the young adult fantasy tale A Mermaid in Chelsea Creek. She has edited anthologies about class, fashion and literature, and is editor of Sister Spit Books, a City Lights imprint. Michelle is founder and Executive Director of RADAR Productions, a literary non-profit that oversees the Sister Spit international performance tours, the monthly RADAR Reading Series, the annual Radar LAB Retreat, and other programs. Tara Jepsen is a writer and performer from San Francisco, now living in Los Angeles. Her short stories have been published in the anthologies Pills, Thrills, Chills and Heartache and It's So You. Myriam Gurba is the author of Dahlia Season and Wish You Were Me, and was included in the anthologies Life As We Show It and Ambientes. She lives in Los Angeles. Blake Nelson is the author of many books for teenagers and adults who act like teenagers.   His novel Paranoid Park was made into a film by Gus Van Sant. Harriet "Harry" Dodge is a Los Angeles-based visual artist, filmmaker, writer, and performer whose work has shown in national galleries including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, P.S. 122, and The Getty. Tamara Llosa-Sandor is a former news reporter now exploring the murky terrain between memoir and fiction. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. Her first book, As Filipino As Fruitcake, may or may not be published by 2018. Sara Seinberg is a writer and a photographer that makes up one half of Robinberg Photography with Ginger Robinson. In addition to her novel featuring Pandora, she is writing a book about finishing a graceless marathon and how sometimes failure is the best prize of all. Cassie J. Sneider is the author of the life-changingly hilarious book Fine Fine Music. She shares a birthday with Ted Nugent, Steve Buscemi, and Beth Lisick. She toured with Sister Spit in 2012. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 18, 2012. Copies of the book from this event can be purchased here: http://www.skylightbooks.com/book/9780872865662