Ben & Daniel talk with Joy Castro, author of the novel "Hell or High Water" and the essay collection "The Island of Bones." Joy talks about her background as a Jehovah's Witness, a Cuban-American, and an adoptee...and why her Latino heritage isn't often acknowledged in many Latino literary anthologies. She also explains why that separation and alienation she experienced in life often finds its way into her books' characters. Joy also talks about discovering her characters in the process of writing them. http://joycastro.com/

For today's Poem of the Week, Daniel Chacon reads Yusef Komunyakaa's "My Father's Love Letters."

Plus...Ben & Daniel talk about breaking free of the stereotypes of the "Latino" or "Chicano" writer, and why Chicano writers shouldn't be pressured to always write about abuelitas making tortillas.