Words on a Wire

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.

Jessica Soffer debut novel is "Tomorrow There Will be Apricots." She talks about the origin of the book's title, and about the two very different women at the center of the novel who are drawn together in an Iraqi-Jewish cooking class in New York City. She also discusses the influence of Roberto Bolaño and Flannery O'Connor on her writing. http://jessicasoffer.com/

For this week's Poem of the Week, Benjamin Alire Saenz reads one of his own poems - "The Fifth Dream: Bullets and Deserts and Borders" from the collection "Dreaming the End of War."

Daniel and Ben also talk about their summer reading plans and offer reflections on William Faulkner.

Daniel & Ben talk with Laurie Ann Guerrero, author of "A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying," winner of the 2012 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. Guerrero talks about the overwhelming feeling of winning the prize for a book that took over 10 years to write. Guerrero, who is also a CantoMundo Fellow, talks about why she felt like an outsider when getting her MFA, but instantly felt a sense of familia, support, and freedom when she attended a CantoMundo workshop. Many of Guerrero's poems focus on food and the violence that often accompanies the preparation of food, and she explains why her background has everything to do with the inspiration behind her poems.

For this week's Poem of the Week, Laurie Ann Guerrero reads "When I Made Eggs This Morning" from her collection "A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying."

Daniel & Ben talk with Xánath Caraza about her poetry collection "Conjuro" and the chapbook "Corazon Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems." Caraza talks about how her career path took her from Veracruz to the east coast of the U.S. to the American Midwest, and how these geographical changes affected her writing. She also talks about how her father, a teacher, inspired her early interest in poetry. Caraza explains why she is so touched and inspired by the 15th century female poet Macuilxochitzin, whose only surviving work is a song of war.

For this week's Poem of the Week, Xánath Caraza reads her poem "Conjuro" in both English in Spanish.

And, in anticipation of the first day of summer, we'll hear a Poetic License which originally aired August 26, 2012. Benjamin Alire Saenz offers his reflections of summers past and present.

Ben talks to his co-host Daniel Chacon about Daniel's brand new book, "Hotel Juarez: Stories, Rooms and Loops." Now that Daniel has taken the plunge into short fiction, will he ever write novels again? Daniel also talks about why his way of writing can often be described as sparse or minimalist, and why the Stanislavski method of acting inspires his writing process. He also discusses a couple of the stories in the book, "Mujeres Muertas" and "Mais, Je Suis Chicano."

Daniel talks with writer Dan Vera, whose newest collection of poems, "Speaking Wiri Wiri," is the recipient of the 2012 Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize. Dan explains the meaning of "wiri wiri." He also explains how living in Washington D.C. has left him conflicted about the often-troubled history that literally surrounds him. Hear about his experience growing up as a Cuban-American in south Texas, and why poets Eduardo Corral and Richard Blanco are to be praised for elevating the visibility of Latino literature & poetry. Dan also reads the poems "Tower of Babel" and "Playing Scrabble with Cousin Fela." http://danvera.com

Nicole Georges talks to Daniel and Ben about her graphic memoir, "Calling Dr. Laura." This beautiful novel narrates George's family, social and sexual life and the work involved in creating and promoting her art. For more information on George's work visit: http://nicolegeorges.com.

Ben reads Stanley Kunitz's "The Layers" for this week's Poem of the Week.

And, in this week's Poetic License, Daniel takes a page from Nicole Georges and shares a selection from his memoir (which is still a work in progress).

Ben & Daniel present the 3rd and final presentation of their conversations with writers at the 2013 AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Annual Conference & Bookfair.

Jose Gonzalez, editor of "Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature" (http://latinostories.com) talks about his upcoming book of poetry; Steven Church, author of "The Guinness Book of Me," talks about working on a new collection of essays and about the online Normal School Journal (http://thenormalschool.com), of which he is founding editor; Celeste Guzman Mendoza, a poet and CantoMundo Fellow, talks about her new book-length poem about family violence; Eddie Gonzalez, a fiction writer & poet, talks about receiving his MFA at the University of Houston, and how he works as a chaplain for a hospice program; Kristin Dykstra talks about her latest project with the University of Alabama Press, and about Alabama's writer exchange program with Cuba; Bojan Louis, a poet and fiction writer talks about being a member of the Navajo Nation, and about his work as an electrician and English instructor (http://bojanlouis.com/); and Sherwin Bitsui, also of the Navajo Nation, talks about his recent move to Albuquerque (http://www.bitsui.com/)

For this week's Poem of the Week, Daniel Chacon reads his own poem, "Father's Writing."

Alex Espinoza discusses "The Five Acts of Diego Leon," a novel which follows a Mexican-born actor who breaks into Hollywood at the dawn of the era of the "talkies" in the 1920s & `30s. Espinoza explains how the story grew out of an interview he read about actor Ricardo Montalban and the struggles he faced in being typecast in TV and film.

Ben reads e.e. cummings' "somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond."

On this week's Poetic License, Lauren Espinoza, MFA student at Arizona State University, talks about Latino identity in poetry.

Denise Duhamel and Daniel talk about drawing the "spirit, emotion" and energy out of loss. Denise's recent book of poems is titled, "Blowout." The writers discuss divorce in parallel to other losses and the importance of writing throughout the periods of grief. Denise Duhamel says, "write and let time go by...it frees the monster" and 'later, once the words are written, once the "monster" or the mood of the painful experience has been captured, it will always be there, even if the content and direction of the poem changes.'

Denise contributes this week's Poem of the Week: "My Strip Club" from "Blowout."

Daniel reads a Poetic License about the distances between what we can see and what we have access to enter.