The first of a multi-part e-interview with Chicana writer Vickie Vértiz is live at the Letras Latinas blog:
Oscar Bermeo: It’s the post VONA week, what do you think you’re missing most about the VONA experience?
Vickie Vértiz: I am missing the room where I take writing risks into really dangerous places, imaginary or real, with trust, developed as a result of our faculty and colleagues creating a safe space. “Safe†meaning affirmative, encouraging, through honest, pointed critique. This is space that exists as a result of a shared experience, through a visceral understanding of what life is like for people of color in this country.
Read the complete interview here.
This all comes from a great recorded conversation that went down right after VONA wrapped up a few months back. It’s taken a long minute to go live since I had no idea the art of transcription is no muther-luvin joke and if this conversation hadn’t brought up such great points I may have given up on completely. Good thing I kept at it cuz if you like what you read in this part of the interview, you will love what’s to come.
This is the second interview I’ve conducted at Letras Latinas and one more is on the way. I’m thinking I may have a knack for these things and hope to find some different voices to chat with and see what’s on their horizons.
All thanks really go out to Francisco Aragón for giving me the opportunity to develop these e-interview skills, a great forum to promote them, and the trust to bring in different perspectives to enrich the scope of the Letras Latinas blog. Mil gracias for all this and everything else you do, Francisco.