Writing Activity, July 2023

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of our times, and partly as an archive that I can look back on in the future. As such, I will include negative happenings (e.g., receiving rejections), not just positive ones.

I think that it is important for me to share my list publicly as a queer disabled Latinx writer because mainstream discourse tries to either pretend voices such as mine do not exist or actively tries to suppress them. Whether one is part of a marginalized group or not, writing is an essential act of resistance in these terrible times, so I hope that my list offers encouragement to others.

The list is basically in chronological order.

1. Wrote a haiku or senryu on most mornings.

2. Worked on my novel.

3. Submitted eight poems to Frogpond.

4. Had one of the poems I submitted to Modern Haiku last month accepted for the next issue.

5. Had a review of Sofia Samatar’s The White Mosque published in the new issue of Mennonite Life.

6. Had a personal essay, “Writing the Storm,” published in Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice, edited by David Luis Glisch-Sánchez and Nic Rodríguez-Villafañe (Brooklyn: Common Notions, 2023), 29-32.

7. Updated the Mennonite/s Writing Bibliographies.

Books Acquired Recently

Bongiovanni, Archie. Mimosa. New York: Abrams Comicarts Surely, 2023.

I recently read about this queer graphic novel and it sounded cool, so I ordered it. I’m hoping to have time to start it this weekend.

Nossel, Suzanne. Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All. New York: Dey Street, 2020.

Nossel is the CEO of PEN America, where I recently began working, so my boss suggested that I read her book, and kindly bought me a copy.

Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi. Bodymap: Poems. Toronto: Mawenzi House, 2015.

Sins Invalid. Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People; A Disability Justice Primer. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Sins Invalid, 2019.

I’m trying to read as much Disability Justice literature as I can this summer both for my own sustenance as a disabled person and for a few writing projects I have going on. These two books are part of that reading. Also, Piepzna-Samarasinha has become one of my favorite writers over the past few years, so I am trying to catch up with her earlier work.

Books Acquired Recently

Sharp, Christina. Ordinary Notes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023.

I read an excerpt of this book online and loved it, so I ordered the book itself. I tore through it this past weekend. It is a must-read for anyone interested in anti-racism.

Zambreno, Kate. The Light Room: On Art and Care. New York: Riverhead Books, 2023.

I love Zambreno’s work, so I pre-ordered this book when I heard about it and it arrived yesterday. It’s worth noting that even though the jacket cover copy makes it sound like creative nonfiction, the Library of Congress cataloguing lists it as fiction. Zambreno is well-known for refusing to distinguish between these genres (e.g., when she sent her book Drifts to her publisher she told them they could publish it as either one; they chose fiction), so it is interesting to see how the relationship between them plays out in the book’s paratext. Also, the book’s subtitle only appears on the front cover. It is not an official part of the Library of Congress’s entry.

Writing Activity, June 2023

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of our times, and partly as an archive that I can look back on in the future. As such, I will include negative happenings (e.g., receiving rejections), not just positive ones.

I think that it is important for me to share my list publicly as a queer disabled Latinx writer because mainstream discourse tries to either pretend voices such as mine do not exist or actively tries to suppress them. Whether one is part of a marginalized group or not, writing is an essential act of resistance in these terrible times, so I hope that my list offers encouragement to others.

The list is basically in chronological order.

1. Wrote a haiku or senryu on most mornings.

2. Had a poem, “Groundhog Day another moving truck outside,” published in Modern Haiku 54, no. 2 (Summer 2023): 26.

3. Updated my website.

4. Submitted my memoir to two publishers.

5. Made a little progress on my novel.

6. Submitted a haiku chapbook to a publisher and had it rejected.

7. Submitted fifteen poems to Modern Haiku.

8. Updated the Mennonite/s Writing Bibliographies.

9. This is not writing activity per se, but it enables my writing activity financially: I began a job as Program Coordinator for Free Expression and Education at PEN America.

Books Acquired Recently

Beck, Ervin. MennoFolk3: Puns, Riddles, Tales, Legends. Goshen, IN: Painted Glass Press, 2022.

I bought this book by one of my undergraduate professors as soon as it was available–the copyright date is 2022 but it just came out.

Carter, Paula. No Relation. N.p.: Black Lawrence Press, 2017.

Lehman, David, ed. Great American Prose Poems from Poe to the Present. New York: Scribner Poetry, 2003.

I’ve been reading lots of prose poetry lately as I think about what forms I want to use in my own work, so I acquired Carter’s book of flash essays and Lehman’s anthology as part of this exploration.

Books Acquired Recently

Diaz, Jose Hernandez. The Fire Eater: Poems. Huntsville, TX: Texas Review Press, 2020.

I’ve been wanting to read more prose poetry lately, and I’m always interested in reading Latinx authors whose work I haven’t encountered before, so when I heard about this book that is exclusively prose poems I decided to buy it.

Tsai, Addie. Unwieldy Creatures. San Diego: Jaded Ibis Press, 2022.

The blurb describes this novel as “a biracial, queer, gender-swapped retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” So obviously as soon as I heard about it I ordered it.

Writing Activity, May 2023

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of our times, and partly as an archive that I can look back on in the future. As such, I will include negative happenings (e.g., receiving rejections), not just positive ones.

I think that it is important for me to share my list publicly as a queer disabled Latinx writer because mainstream discourse tries to either pretend voices such as mine do not exist or actively tries to suppress them. Whether one is part of a marginalized group or not, writing is an essential act of resistance in these terrible times, so I hope that my list offers encouragement to others.

The list is basically in chronological order.

1. Wrote a haiku or senryu on most mornings.

2. Wrote and submitted a book review to Mennonite Life that will come out later this summer.

3. Had a haiku, “winter solstice / his sun tattoo / half under the sheet,” published in Kingfisher 7 (April 2023): 70.

4. Received and edited the proofs for my forthcoming book, Ethics for Apocalyptic Times, and compiled its Index.

5. Had a review of Miriam Toews’s novel Fight Night published in Mennonite Quarterly Review 97, no. 2 (2023): 269-70.

6. Updated the Mennonite/s Writing Bibliographies.

7. Turned in the final version of my MFA thesis, participated in my MFA program’s thesis reading, and completed my MFA. The two years went by so quickly!

8. Worked on another round of revisions to my memoir.

9. Began writing a novel.

Books Acquired Recently

Gerrold, David. The Man Who Folded Himself. Rev. ed. Dallas: BenBella Books, 2003.

I just received this speculative fiction novel as a gift. Apparently it’s famous because the main character time travels and has sex with his past self.

Hossack, Darcie Friesen. Stillwater. New Westminster, BC: Tidewater Press, 2023.

Thirteen years after her first book, Mennonites Don’t Dance, Hossack is back with her second, a novel. This gap is a great reminder that being a writer is about writing, not necessarily about publishing. The writing will always be there for you when you are ready to return to it.

Books Acquired Recently: Queer Strand Edition

I was given some money as a graduation gift, so I decided to make a trip to the Strand to spend some of it. I bought books by two queer Black authors.

Johnson, George M. All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.

I love queer memoirs, and I especially love banned queer memoirs because FUCK YOU BOOK BANNERS, so I’ve had this book on my list for a while. I finally have time to read it, so it was time to buy it.

Taylor, Brandon. The Late Americans. New York: Riverhead Books, 2023.

I love Taylor’s first novel, Real Life, and also enjoyed his collection of short stories, so I had the publication of his new novel on my calendar to buy it ASAP. The Strand had a bunch of signed copies, which was an unexpected bonus.

Books Acquired Recently

Hyde, Lewis. The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World. 3rd ed. New York: Vintage Books, 2019.

Someone recently recommended this book to me and it sounded interesting as something to read as I’m finishing my MFA, so I decided to buy it.

Irby, Samantha. Quietly Hostile: Essays. New York: Vintage Books, 2023.

I love Irby’s work, so I pre-ordered this book as soon as I heard about it. It arrived this morning.