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Diasporican: Living Inbetweeness

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In this conversation with Giancarlo Ghedini, on the Story King Podcast, we discuss various topics. These range from my book, Migrations, to embracing one’s ethnicity. Everything centers on my being a diasporican, a Puerto Rican living in that inbetweeness created by the diaspora experience. This was an enjoyable and lively conversation. Tune in and take it all in!

Humanities and Stable Careers

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This was a wide open conversation with Dr. Jeniree Flores for her podcast, LatinXCan. It’s a wonderful podcast that features diverse Latinx professionals talking about their careers and related topics. I got a chance to talk about my new collection of stories, Migrations. But I also discussed shared details about my academic career, writing, and language. All of this led to a lively discussion on stable careers in the humanities. Listen in and learn why you will not starve if you study the humanities. In fact, you might be surprised to know people majoring in the humanities not only find stable careers, but do quite well for themselves! It’s episode 37 on this link: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/latinxcan

Interview: New Books Network

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My interview with Minni Sawhney for the New Books Network covered many aspects of Migrations, my short story collection. Dr. Sawhney posed excellent questions that allowed me to discuss this collection at a deeper intellectual and critical level than other interviews. This interview also gave the book more critical context. Please take a listen and let me know your thoughts.

From the New Book Network website: Migrations (LA Review of Books, 2021) is a collection of short stories by the Puerto Rican born writer and now retired university professor J. L. Torres. Each story condenses a bit of the experience of a cross section of Puerto Rico: the rich who treat it like a playground, the stereotypical macho men, the shanty town dwellers. The ramifications of the stories are deep and the varied tales range from climate change and the destruction of natural ecosystems by tourism, to the Puerto Ricans of the diaspora who struggle in dysfunctional families and who long to be part of the mainstream but have weathered the subtle racism of American society that has taken a toll on their inner lives. Torres’s stories bring alive Puerto Rico to us, its natural beauty but also try to show the colonial economy that the country is.

Minni Sawhney is a professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Delhi.

https://newbooksnetwork.com/migrations

THE DIASPORICAN EXPERIENCE

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On this podcast, I talk with Dr. Karen Bryson, The Curious Professor, about the diasporican experience. We discuss how it has influenced my work, including Migrations, my award-winning story collection. Take a listen and please let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

https://www.thecuriousprofessorpodcast.com/the-diasporican-experience-with-author-jl-torres/

You can find more information on Dr. Karen Bryson and her podcast here: https://www.thecuriousprofessorpodcast.com/about/

How To Read Like A Writer

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Rachael Herron’s How Do You Write, is a craft-centered podcast. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to her about craft. Among the several topics we discussed, I talked about how to read like a writer. It’s an approach to reading that affords you the best way to find writing tips. I came across this approach when I read Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer. I often used Prose’s book in my creative writing classes. and would recommend it to every writer. In the meantime, listen in on our conversation below and get a sense of what “reading like a writer” means.

About the podcast, How Do You Write: Explore the processes of working writers with bestselling author Rachael Herron. How do you write a book? Start here. You’ll gain tips to get in the chair, tricks to stay there, and inspiration to get your own words flowing. If you want to check out her website, here is the link: http://www.howdoyouwrite.net.

About the host: R.H. (Rachael) Herron is the bestselling author of more than two dozen books, including thriller (under R.H. Herron), mainstream fiction, feminist romance, memoir, and nonfiction about writing. She received her MFA in writing from Mills College, Oakland, and she teaches writing extension workshops at both UC Berkeley and Stanford. She is a proud member of the NaNoWriMo Writer’s Board. She’s a New Zealand citizen as well as an American.

In Conversation with Jim Herlihy at the San Francisco Experience

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This was an enjoyable conversation with Jim Herlihy, on his podcast, the San Francisco Experience. Jim is a wonderful podcast host who asked excellent questions directly related to the content of Migrations. The conversation was fluid and covered many interesting topics related to Migrations, the Diasporican experience, growing up in New York City, writing in general, among others. It’s short but rich in content. Tune in.

https://www.thesanfranciscoexperiencepodcast.com/migrations-in-conversation-with-author-jl-torres/

Also check out his website’s blogpost on the interview:

About The San Francisco Experience and Jim Herlihy

We are a “deep dive,” data-driven news podcast, for Americans who get their news from the Internet. Our mission is to give the listener succinct, fact based analysis both non-ideological and independent from a California, Silicon Valley perspective, featuring newsmakers, thought leaders and authors as guests.

Your host:

Jim Herlihy is a published author: his novel “Deceit and Dirty Money” is available on line. He served as President of the SF Public Library Commission 1992 – 1996. While working in Latin America, he was a stringer for The Economist, The Times and the BBC. Jim serves as a director on two SF sister city boards : Bangalore, India and Cork, Ireland.

The Nuyorican Hallway: Belonging & Living Between Worlds

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Such an engaging conversation with host Julian Esteban Torres Lopez. This is one of the best conversations I’ve had with a podcast host that discusses Puerto Rico’s present condition. Our conversation centered on the idea of living in the “Nuyorican Hallway” and belonging and living in between worlds. But it also goes beyond those topics to embrace significantly related issues. Listen in. I’m sure you’ll find it fascinating and informative.

To learn more about The Nasiona, their staff, and their mission, check out this link:

Uncut: videocast with Lucia Matuonto

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Lucia Matuonto was nice enough to invite me on her videocast, Uncut, after interviewing me on her other podcast, The Relatable Voice. Listen to our conversation, which is more informal and personal, here:

On The Relatable Voice Podcast With Lucia Matuonto

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I had a great time talking with Lucia Matuonto about those lived experiences that have influenced my writing, including my current short story collection, Migrations. Listen here:

About Lucia Matuonto:

A book author, painter and children’s physiotherapist, Lucia’s writing journey started about 20 years ago when she wrote articles for magazines and had a successful blog. She was born in Brazil, studied and lived in 6 countries. Matuonto used to teach and treat children with motor and cognitive disabilities. The children she met inspired her to create an imaginary world, full of animals and fantasy. By observing the beach fauna in Florida, Lucia developed her characters, who are now present in many children’s lives.

Talking about the Puerto Rican Diaspora & Writing with Writers Drinking Coffee

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I had an enjoyable conversation with John Schmidt, Chaz Brenchley and Karen Brenchley in which we discussed what it’s like to write from the perspective of a diasporican and how it relates to Migrations. Listen here: https://www.writersdrinkingcoffee.com/posts/podcast/episode-103-diasporica-with-professor-j-l-torres/

About WDC and the hosts:

Hello everyone, and welcome to Writers Drinking Coffee. This is a podcast based on writers sitting around, drinking coffee and/or occasionally wine, and talking about anything and everything.

Bean Scene Café – https://www.beanscenecafe.com/
Chaz Brenchley – http://www.chazbrenchley.co.uk/ or @chazbrenchley
Jeannie Warner – Amazon.com/Jeannie-Warner @thetsmorgan
John Schmidt – @JohnRSchmidt
Michael Engberg – music intro and exit – www.manyhatsmusic.com

For information on the hosts of Writers Drinking Coffee check: https://www.writersdrinkingcoffee.com/contributors-writers-creative/