Vulgar Geniuses

Longlisted for the National Book Award in 2022, Maria, Maria & Other Short Stories sealed Marytza K. Rubio's name in the history books for creating an immersive short story collection. Wrapped in themes of revenge, grief, and love are mystical tales throughout this exceptional novella.

Rubio spoke with us about creating an interactive book that gives artistic license over to the reader by letting them become a part of the story as the story becomes a part of them. We talk about her personal connection and inspiration behind the stories, and we start the show with a special tarot reading.

Saints of the Household from author Ari Tison is a novel woven in a gorgeous marriage of poetry and prose that presents a story of brotherhood, heritage, and choices made to defend a family member who suffers a violent act at the hands of a high school star athlete.

In this debut, Ari gifts us a story of brothers Jay & Max, two indigenous Bribri American teenagers growing up in Minnesota. At major turning points in their lives, each is dealing with abuse at the hand of their father in ways that cause unrest in their home and their relationship with each other.

We were extremely fortunate to speak with Ari about her book, growing up as one of the only 5 Bribri Americans in the country while stitching her people's culture into the foreground of her novel.

DYSCALCULIA: A LOVE STORY OF EPIC MISCALCULATION, from poet and essayist Camonghne Felix, is a powerful and brilliant memoir that serves as a masterclass in investigating self when the heart and mind are reeling from the pain of broken and scattered connections. Felix braids her stories of lost love, a complicated relationship with her mother, and her late diagnosis of dyscalculia and bipolar disorder to reveal the power of reclaiming self through healing.

Camonghne joined us in conversation to discuss her personal journey in the systems built that deliberately dismiss the pain of Black women. We talk about advocating for a better education & mental health system for young Black children and what it took for her to get to a place of self-love and acceptance to create a fuller life for herself.

The year was 2008, and as an unknown politician was taking the world by storm with hope and change, a young twenty-something Minda Honey was crossing over state lines to establish a new life with her high school sweetheart on the West Coast of California, only to find the origin of her debut memoir The Heartbreak Years.

Minda Honey graces her presence in the City Beautiful for a live podcast recording at Zeppelin Books. Orlando was the second stop on her nine-city book tour, and we made sure to roll out the red carpet for a Vulgar Geniuses' first. We talked about everything from her past relationships and being vulnerable on the page while maintaining her gift of humor and wit.

It's the Takeover Episode! The Vulgar Geniuses were invited to Rollins College to host a live recording at the Rollins Museum of Art in September of this year. Joined on the stage by five of Rollins' most talented voices, Dennie & Veronica speak with the young, up-and-coming writers about their love for the craft of writing.

Pull out pen and paper to take notes because school is in session! Fatima Sani, Angelisse Perez, Asha Budhai, Isabel Palanco, and Zaria Clark will be your instructors this evening as we all learn how to leave a stage in ashes! Stick around for extra credit when the Vulgar Geniuses find themselves in the interview chair with questions from the audience.

Aaliyah Bilal's TEMPLE FOLK is a captivating short story collection devoted to showing Black Muslims pursuing a life full of desire necessary to reaching one's own truth. This debut serves as a compelling means for America to recognize and acknowledge the historical significance of Black Muslims within the country's tapestry.

Bilal's origin story in the publishing world is like nothing we've ever heard. She shares with us how Temple Folk received a book deal before she even had an agent after taking a chance on a tweet from a young, up-and-coming senior editor at Simon & Schuster. Bilal also talks to us about the inspiring works of Edward P. Jones and the tearful full-circle moment when her work was met with his praise.

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.

From takedowns to chokeholds, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art practice that comprises over a thousand technique moves to push one's opponent into a state of submission. In Rolling: A Ladies' Guide to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, author Melanie Farmer captures readers as she explains this physical art form and braids it with the evolution of her relationship with her mother in a hilarious introspection of her life.   

The newest release from Burrow Press explores the dichotomy of gender as it relates to a male-dominated space. We sit down with Melanie to talk about her chapbook, the choice of creating a nonfiction collection in the second person, and how this collection of essays found its way into the hands of Colson Whitehead.  

SHE IS A HAUNTING is an engrossing coming-of-age novel from Trang Thanh Tran. While visiting her estranged father in Vietnam as a guise to reconnect, Jade Nguyen's main objective is to get the money needed for her to attend college in the Fall. Her father has enlisted her help to build a website for a potential bed & breakfast as he renovates a French colonial house. However, the house has other ideas and will do everything in its power to keep Jade and her family from leaving. We speak to Tran about the dream that inspired this novel and creating a character that lives on the tightrope of duality while holding the secret of their sexuality and struggling with their cultural identity.

This past April, visual artist Anthony Darby wowed audiences with the closing of his first solo gallery exhibit, "Familiar Faces," at the SoWhat art gallery in Orlando, Florida. Darby's work was a wall-to-wall installation of faces drawn throughout the gallery. These portraits, inspired by the usage of Near Eastern and Ancient Egyptian techniques used in art, beckoned art goers to be pulled in to see the similarities that we all share when stripped down to our eyes, noses, and smiles.

Queens, New York native and Florida-raised artist Darby, sits down to talk about how he stumbled upon the art world, his current obsession with faces, and what he desires for the future of art.