Happy Mother's Day

Is there a moment that defines your childhood with your mother?

My flash nonfiction piece, Frozen Concentrate, appears today in Literary Mama. This short essay was inspired by a writing prompt from Brevity Magazine about mystery and memory. The prompt got me thinking about split-second memories from my childhood and my mother's orange juice making rose to the top.

Making orange juice from concentrate was, the way my mother did it, an overwhelmingly complicated task. She never defrosted it first, and had to run the can under hot water until steam rose above the white enamel sink in our rented townhouse. Then she pried off the lid and sometimes let me lick the yellow slush. I remember its heady sweetness tinged with bitterness, a taste so intense I could never decide if I liked it or not. 

Kalyani Magazine

Kalyani Magazine features writing by and about women of color. It is printed semi-annually and also includes content on the blog. My short essay, Recording the Stars, is featured in Issue 2: "Sound."

Thanks so much to editor/founder Shuba Bala for her dedication and passion.

Award Winner

St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, hosts the annual Denny Prize for Distinction in Writing which was established by Chuck Denny and his family as an endowment in honor of family matriarch, Eleanor McCahill Denny. The award strives to recognize the fundamental importance of writing and thinking in all fields of scholarly endeavor. Faculty and staff of the University are invited to submit essays, poetry, prose writings and other creative projects from a variety of fields for the annual prize. Judges for the Denny Prize include distinguished writers, editors and scholars.

This year, the award was given in both scholarly nonfiction and creative writing and I am honored to be selected as the Denny Prize Winner in creative nonfiction for my essay, Magical Realism for Non-Believers.

My sincere gratitude goes to St. Catherine University and the Denny family for recognizing the value of writing. There will be a reception and reading on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at the University.

Nurturing a Love of Words

Today I visited a fourth grade classroom at Jefferson Community School in Minneapolis. I was invited to read a favorite book and talk about being both a reader and writer. The students had prepared thoughtful and relevant interview questions for me ranging from What's your favorite children's book? to Who taught you to read? I loved thinking about these things, about the very infancy of literacy and learning to love books. When the floor was opened for questions, I was asked everything from Have you been in a movie? to How old are you? I applaud the teacher and her efforts to make reading and writing a regular part of these kids' lives. The whole experience was a wonder and a joy.

15 Truths

The Portland Ballet Company re-posted some great thoughts from ballet dancer Melanie Doskocil about the rigors of being a dancer. See the original here.

I've edited them for my own purposes as a writer:

1. Writing is hard. No writer ever became successful on her talents alone. Writers must work hard and persevere. 
2. You won't always get what you want. The faster you accept this, the sooner you can get on with being brilliant.
3. There's a lot you don't know. There is always more to learn from even your least favorite teachers, colleagues, etc.
4. There may not be a tomorrow. Infuse every day with passion and joy.
5. There's a lot you can't control. Don't waste your talent or energy on worrying about things you can't control. Focus on being the best writer you can be. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude.
6. Information is not true knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience. Find opportunities to write.
7. Show up early, know your material, be prepared.
8. Someone else will always have more than you / be better than you. Rather than get caught up in the drama, focus on the things you are good at, the things you need to work on, and the things that make you happiest as a writer.
9. You can't change the past. Everyone has made mistakes; move forward.
10. The only person who can make you happy (or unhappy) is you. The root of happiness comes from your relationship with yourself, not from how successful (or unsuccessful you are).
11. There will always be people who won't like you / your writing. Concentrate on doing what you know in your heart in right.
12. Sometimes you will fail. Failure is a part of life. It can be the catalyst for some of your greatest growth and learning. If you never fail, you could never appreciate your successes.
13. Sometimes you will have to write for free. 
14. Repetition is good; doing the same thing over and expecting different results is insane. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting. If you want to grow beyond your comfort zone, you must push yourself beyond your perceived limits.
15. You will never feel 100% done. You have to take risks and trust the world.

The Latino Author

 "Living in Minnesota with dark hair and a surname with a Spanish “j” was sometimes a challenge as I was growing up and has informed my writing as someone trying to figure out where they belong."
(from The Latino Author interview)

The Latino Author is a forum for authors, emerging writers, and readers to find resources, network, and otherwise support one another. The Latino Author CEO Corina Martinez Chaudhry interviewed me this week as part of their Featured Author series. Her questions were thoughtful and provocative and made me really think about what it means to be a writer in general and a Latina writer specifically. Read the Interview.

Joanne Esser, Poet

The St. Paul Public Library, as part of their Fireside Reading Series, features poet Joanne Esser on Wednesday, Jan. 16. I met Joanne when we were colleagues in the Loft Literary Center's Mentor Series in 2009-2010. The Mentor Series, a competitive year-long residence/mentor program, provided the twelve participants that year with discipline, inspiration, and support, and Joanne was one of several who went on to publish books. Her lovely debut chapbook, I Have Always Wanted Lightning, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2012.