Literally Literary

For our first episode in season 3, we cover the characters, setting, themes, and connections we made with Running, the debut YA novel by Natalia Sylvester. 

Gris Muñoz joins us this recording to talk about the origins of her collection, Coatlicue Girl, her journey as a poet, her mentors, and her philosophy on writing and art. 

For this recording, we dive into the second half of the poems, art, and stories in Coatlicue Girl by Gris Muñoz. 

This episode, we cover the first half, poems, art, and short stories, of Coatlicue Girl, the debut collection from Gris Muñoz.

We take our first look at Coatlicue Girl, the powerful debut collection of frontera poetry and short stories by queer Chicana writer and performer Gris Muñoz, with art by the duo Los Dos, discussing the author's background, connections to previous literature, themes, and style. 

Maurice Carlos Ruffin joins us this episode for an interview about his debut novel, We Cast a Shadow, and his journey as a writer. 

In our last look at We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, we highlight scenes from parts 3 and 4 of the book. 

For part 3 of our dialog on We Cast a Shadow, the debut novel from Maurice Carlos Ruffin, we center on passages from part 2 of the novel. 

For part 2 of our talk on We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, we focus on scenes we were drawn to from part 1 of the novel. 

In our first look at the debut novel and PEN-Faulkner finalist from Maurice Carlos Ruffin, We Cast a Shadow, we give readers a taste of what to expect from the dystopian story in terms of main characters, setting, themes, conflict, and connections we made to existing literature. 

In this bonus episode on Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X, listen to perspectives on and strong lines from her multi-award-winning book courtesy of El Paso Community College students in the Pasos classroom. 

In our last episode on Citizen Illegal, we discuss sections IV and V of the collection, & are joined by an El Paso Community College student reading the book in the classroom through the Pasos program. 

In this episode, we focus on our favourite poems from section III of Citizen Illegal by José Olivarez. 

For our second look at Citizen Illegal, we look at our favourite poems from sections I and II from José Olivarez's collection, and provide some background into the author, and the publisher, Haymarket Books. 

We are fortunate to interview José Olivarez about his poetry collection, Citizen Illegal, which was a finalist for the PEN / Jean Stein award & winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize, discussing cultural & familial themes; musical & religious allusions; literary influences, mentor poets, & teachers (academic & community-based), & the value of open mics. José closes with a special...

In our last episode on the National Book Award finalist I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez, we talk about what we found most salient from the second half of the novel, after Julia's summer break. 

Which scenes from the first half of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter resonated with us the most? Listen to part 2 of our discussion to find out!

In our first recording on I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez, we talk about our experience at AWP 2020 & COVID-19; the themes, characters, allusions, & connections we made to our previous books-of-the-month; as well as the YA label, the writing style, & the differences between the paperback & hardcover editions of this National Book Award finalist.   

We are joined this show by Kali Fajardo-Anstine via phone to interview her about her short story collection, Sabrina & Corina. Many thanks to Kali for allowing us the honor of talking to her! 

For this episode, we discuss strong lines that struck us from the latter half of Kali Fajardo-Anstine's compelling collection, Sabrina & Corina, that being "Galapago," "Cheesman Park," "Tomi," "Any Further West," "All Her Names," and "Ghost Sickness." 

Our second look at Kali Fajardo-Anstine's Sabrina & Corina focuses on the first half of the short story collection: "Sugar Babies," "Sabrina & Corina," "Sisters," "Remedies," & "Julian Plaza." 

Our first dive into Kali Fajardo-Anstine's Sabrina & Corina, the short story collection, includes a conversation of the National Book Award finalist's themes, and connections to previous works we have discussed.  

From the second half of Patron Saints of Nothing, we finish Randy Ribay's novel by pausing over passages that highlight the tension that has been built between the truth Jay seeks, and the one he ultimately grapples with, along with the way his character finds a way to keep a piece of not only Jun's memory, but his own heritage.  

In our second part on Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay, we talk about important moments we found from the first half of the novel, including Jay sharing his cousin Jun's letters, his grappling with his hybrid identity, digging up the truth about the Philippines in relation to Pres. Duterte's drug war (and parallels to Mexico's war on drugs), and investigating what happened to Jun, in part b...

In our opening discourse on Randy Ribay's Patron Saints of Nothing for season 2 of our podcast, we give our synopsis on the novel, and some of the threads that tie in to the previous works we have reviewed.