Words on a Wire

* Daniel talks with Marcia Hatfield Daudistel, editor of “Grace and Gumption: The Women of El Paso” and “Literary El Paso.” Daudistel talks about the struggles in convincing an out-of-town publisher that El Paso had a plethora of writers to contribute to its “Literary” series. She also talks about “Grace and Gumption” and the upcoming publication of “Authentic Texas: The People of the Big Bend.”

* Daudistel also reads this week’s Poem of the Week: Pat Mora’s “Desert Women.”

* And in this week’s Poetic License, UTEP Creative Writing professor Jose de Pierola reflects on “The Dream of the Perfect Language.”

* Ben & Daniel talk with author Dagoberto Gilb, who talks about his 1994 book “The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuna,” which was better received by readers in Europe than in the U.S. He also discusses his latest collection, “Before the End, After the Beginning.” The life of one of the characters in these stories has a life that somewhat parallels Gilb’s after he suffered a stroke.

* The Poem of the Week is W.S. Merwin’s “Inheritance,” from the book “The Shadow of Sirius,” read by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

* This week’s Poetic License comes from California poet and educator, Sam Pereira, who reflects on how lucky he is to have a life as a writer.