This was more like a conversation than an interview. Brad King’s podcast focuses more on the writer than on the writing and allows listeners to get a good take on a particular writer’s life and worldview. I had a great time discussing various topics especially since Brad and I shared several commonalities. Listen and if you have any questions, please contact me below.

Brad King is the Editorial Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s ETC Press and University Libraries. He earned his Masters in Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2000, and worked as reporter, editor, multimedia storyteller and senior producer for Wired Magazine, Wired.com, and MIT’s Technology Review.

He’s written two books (Dungeon & Dreamers and Frankenstein’s Legacy), edited several others (Learn Work Play, Broke). And he’s a member of PEN America and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.

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Thanks to Dr. Jonathan Slater, Director of the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, for inviting me to lead a colloquy centered on my current project, Clemente Between the Worlds. It’s a novella focusing on Roberto Clemente and race. This was an opportunity to discuss why I chose this topic and how the book is progressing. Join me as we discuss issues related to race, whiteness, colonialism, and critical race theory as presented from a Puerto Rican/Caribbean perspective.

Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msl_SLG3348

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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

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This is my most recent review. No, not on a book but a film. Given the controversies surrounding Steven Spielberg’s film, I wanted to revisit West Side Story and share my observations. If you like it, please take a look at some of the other posts on Post Barrio Universe, my website on culture and politics from a Latinx perspective.

Here’s the link: https://post-barrio-universe.com/2021/12/13/re-visiting-west-side-story/

Photo:

From cover of Laurent Bouzereau’s book, The Making of the Steven Spielberg Film, West Side Story.

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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/

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It’s a real challenge to write a flash piece when the maximum word count is 100 words. Writing with that limitation, I’ve learned, more than ever, to appreciate diction choices. The task also reinforces one’s understanding and sense of what constitutes a story.

My only published flash piece to date is “Con Sord,” a story based in a futuristic world where human beings have lost their ability to speak and, resourceful as they are, have learned to communicate through musical instruments. I’ve written a few others, but haven’t dedicated as much time to this genre, which I find fascinating. So much so, that I designed and taught a course in it while at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Below are my two flash fiction entries for this year’s contest (you’re allowed two). Let me know which one you liked best. Leave your thoughts and remarks in the comments box below. As always, I appreciate your feedback.

Death by Laughter

No one knew how laughter became illegal. Some claimed the Great Leader had not tolerated anyone mocking him. History classes taught her the world had many problems. No time for frivolity, teachers lectured. Signs everywhere proclaimed the fatal punishment for disobedience. Her friend owned a smuggled clip of a comedian. The temptation proved too strong. Under the moonlight, he played it. Her lips curled, eyes twinkled, and from her mouth came a cacophony of sound. “Stop,” he warned, but she continued. In fear, he ran. She could not stop. Days later, they found her corpse, a smile on her face.

Hair and Feathers

From a lost civilization, only their creation myth remains. Their Goddess shaped a sphere from one long strand of her hair and cast it into the heavens. On its surface, she created the oceans, terrain, fauna, flora, as a private, hideaway paradise. Her lover, jealous, plucked feathers from an enormous, winged creature and buried the stringy core. Then, he inhabited her world with humans. He granted them intelligence and curiosity so they may discover the lone cowlick sticking out of the world. Once they found it, he knew they would pull it. And the world would unravel.

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The definition of gadfly is the following: 1 : any of various flies (such as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock. 2 : a person who stimulates or annoys other people especially by persistent criticism, a political gadfly. Of course, I lean toward the second meaning of this word. More specifically, I refer to myself as a Puerto Rican gadfly. You might wonder why I choose such a word that defines me as an annoying person. I like to think myself a gadfly in the sense that Socrates did. Socrates called himself one because he was persistent in questioning things and enabling others to think critically.

Sometimes this opposition to traditional ideas annoys people. Many people find change of any type uncomfortable. So, they do not want anyone disturbing their stay in the comfort zone they constructed for themselves. I attack uncritical positions and antiquated ideas with the same relish. Being Puerto Rican obviously shapes my perspective, thus the “Puerto Rican Gadfly.” That perspective is on view in this video conversation with Calvin Schwartz on his podcast Conversations with Calvin: We, the Species. Click the video below and listen in. As always, please let me know what you’re thinking.

For more on Calvin Schwartz, check this video done by his alma mater, Rutgers University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-gC2FyKzqo&t=4s

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