Happy Anniversary, Black Mestiza! My collection was published a year ago in the midst of heavy grief. That means I couldn’t promote the book as I wanted, but you, my friends and community, came through, making her a success.
I just got a notice today that she’s on someone else’s reading list. My heart is full of gratitude. Thank you all for your love and support.
For all the little girls, women, people, or people of a certain age, people of any age are still dreaming and struggling to bring their creativity into this world. Don’t give up. Your people are out there waiting for you. People need your work to soothe their souls.
Patricia Smith bought my book, y’all. I will never get over that!
#LatinxPoet #BlackLatinaWriter #AfroLatinaPoet #LatinxAuthor #BlackLatinxVoices AfroLatinxCreatives
Wow! What an honor to be selected and featured by Poets & Writers. I am a bit bewildered and lost for words. If my mother were still here, I wonder how she would react? Maybe she would give her little smile as if she was not terribly impressed. Say something underwhelming like “Oh, that’s nice,” then wait until I was out of the room to call and tell everyone she knew.
The link is in my bio to check out my feature and the other amazing writers selected.
Thank you to Poets & Writers for this feature @poetswritersinc . And a big thank you to everyone who helped me bring this book together in big and small ways. A special thank you to Lisa Williams, who saw merit in my manuscript and selected it for the University Press of Kentucky (UPK) @kentuckypress , Jackie Wilson, the Marketing Manager at UPK, who works tirelessly for me and the other writers at UPK, Ila McEntire, and Ashley Runyon, UPK’s Director who went above and beyond to help me with my book.
And of course, my wonderful FIU mentors, past and present, Lynne, Julie, Les, Denise, and Richard @creativewritingfiu .
#LatinxPoet #BlackLatinaWriter #AfroLatinaPoet #LatinxAuthor #BlackLatinxVoices #AfroLatinxCreatives #PoetsAndWriters #FeaturedPoet #WomenWhoWrite #ContemporaryPoetry #PoetryCommunity #LiteraryLife
It’s publication day for the Pushcart Prize Anthology. I am so honored to be in this volume. The best part of this is that as a contributor, I can nominate other writers in perpetuity. When I received need I had won, I was confused, because I knew my journal did not nominate me. It turned out a previous winner nominated me. I didn’t know such a thing was possible. I feel blessed and humbled and I am eager to play it forward. 💕🌺💯🙏🏽
Writers with pets, this one’s for you!
How We Spend Our Days: Yael Valencia Aldana
“My friend Erik pops up on my computer screen with fake Hawaii beach waves rolling behind him.
“Hey, hey, hey.” He smooths his long hair over his shoulder. He looks like a misplaced hippie from the sixties, but here he is in 2026, not looking a day over thirty-five.
He squints at the screen. I can tell he’s reviewing the email I sent him. “I think this could work.” He pauses. “Yeah, an animal shelter that’s also a writers’ retreat. I think people can get into that.”
To read more, link in bio.
#writers #days #lives #pets
#howwespendourdays hwsod
Miss Spicy gets the feature she deserves in my essay for How We Spend Our Days.
There is never enough Miss Spicy 🌶️😻
Link in bio
#womenwhowrite
#latinxpoet
#latinxpoet
#blackpoetry
#blackpoet
Reading my favorite poems:
Ekphrasis
by Jullie Marie Wade
@juliemariewade
I stole a part of this poem for one of my own. I had forgotten until now.
#poetrymonth
#readingpoetry
#womenwhowrite
#poetrycommunity
These books are in conversation with each other. How wonderful that they arrived together today in separate packages.
Those who know Julie well will see a not-so-secret call back to her on Mary Oliver’s page.
Favorite poem:
Ekphrasis by Julie Marie Wade
@juliemariewade
One of my favorite quotes: After a cruel childhood, one must reinvent oneself. Then reimagine the world.
I am working on my next poetry collection called “Cruel Childhood.”
#poetrymonth
#womenwhowritepoetry #poetryinspiration
#maryoliverquotes
Reading some of my favorite poems.
What are some of your favorite poems?
The Last Thing
By
Ada Limón
From her Collection, “The Carrying”
#readingpoetry
#poetrymonth
#femalepoet
#poetrycommunity
April is Poetry Month, and these are my touchstone collections. 💕
✨I need them close to me. They feel like friends.
These books were all lost in my cross-country move.😩
Maybe lost isn’t the right word.
Two boxes of labeled books were sitting on the floor when the mover came into the house and said there was no more room in the truck.
There was no more room in the car either.
These boxes were left.
I didn’t know which books were in there, but leaving them was a small tragedy. I couldn’t imagine they were my favorites.
But I have the joy of rebuying them, remarking them up, rereading them.
I have replaced most, and one more is on the way.
Thank you Marci for sending me a new copy 💗
📚Two-Headed Poems by Margaret Atwood
The Penguin Book of Zen Poetry
The Hour of the Ox by Marci Cancio-Bello @marcicalabretta
The Carrying by Ada Limón
#poetrymonth #musthavepoetry #haikupoetry #womenpoets
To celebrate National Poetry Month, we're highlightiing poets hosted on the podcast.
Today, we're shouting out Pushcart Prize winner, Yaal Valencia Aldana who was our guest on the first episode of Season Five.
In Black Mestiza, Yael Valencia Aldana reckons with her identity as a Caribbean Afro-Latinx/e woman with Indigenous, Black, and white roots and pays homage to the legacy, resilience, and fortitude of her ancestors. These stunning poems paint a vivid picture of everyday life and Aldana's experiences as a mixed-race woman, daughter, and mother.
Here's praise from fellow writer, Dr. Jennifer Maritza McCauley: "Black Mestiza is astonishing in its beauty, sincerity, sonorous power, and passion. The cry of loving, complicated women, the call of the sea, the spill of writerly ghosts, the clash of languages, the press and pull of Florida and the speaker's ancestors lift and embolden this collection. Black Mestiza is a searing, complex love letter and we're all so fortunate Aldana is writing poetry right now. A glorious collection."
Check out our conversation wherever you get your podcasts!
It’s such an honor to be be on this list with Ada Limón and Anel I. Flores. Thank you so much Mijinte @conmijente for sharing my book. I hope it can reach and heal hearts!��@aneliflores
#LatinxPoet #BlackLatinaWriter #AfroLatinaPoet #BlackLatinxVoices AfroLatinxCreatives
Wow! AWP was an amazing time. I met Patricia Smith!!! Seriously, I was speechless and babbling. I was in such awe, and anyone who knows me knows I am never speechless.
This was my fourth one, and I was iffy about this AWP. It’s a lot of money, and I wondered if it was worth going. But I was open-minded, and it was fantastic. I loved tabling for @purpleInkPress and @AuntLute .
I made some great connections with both a writer and a publisher.
I connected in person with Poets&Writers and ChillSubs.
I will be there for the next one in Chicago next year, threatening to plan in advance. Let’s see how that does.
Did you go to AWP? How was your experience?
#Blackwomanwriter
#BlackwomanPoet
#latinewriter
#latinepoet
#womenwhowrite
