The Othered Point of View with Andy Rojas
04/05/22 • 45 min
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha kicks off National Poetry month with Andres "Andy" Rojas, author of the poetry collection, Third Winter in our Second Country. Andy was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at age 13. He holds an MFA from the University of Florida and currently edits for Poetry Is Currency. By day he's a lawyer who works for the IRS.
Episode Notes
_________________________
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha kicks off National Poetry month with Andres "Andy" Rojas, author of the poetry collection, Third Winter in our Second Country. Andy was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at age 13. He holds an MFA from the University of Florida and currently edits for Poetry Is Currency. By day he's a lawyer who works for the IRS.
During the conversation, Andy explains why he took a 10 year break from writing poetry. What brought him back to his first love and how writing is a way to give himself a sense of safety and home. He also discusses how he experiences otherness as white-presenting Cuban immigrant.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha kicks off National Poetry month with Andres "Andy" Rojas, author of the poetry collection, Third Winter in our Second Country. Andy was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at age 13. He holds an MFA from the University of Florida and currently edits for Poetry Is Currency. By day he's a lawyer who works for the IRS.
Episode Notes
_________________________
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha kicks off National Poetry month with Andres "Andy" Rojas, author of the poetry collection, Third Winter in our Second Country. Andy was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. at age 13. He holds an MFA from the University of Florida and currently edits for Poetry Is Currency. By day he's a lawyer who works for the IRS.
During the conversation, Andy explains why he took a 10 year break from writing poetry. What brought him back to his first love and how writing is a way to give himself a sense of safety and home. He also discusses how he experiences otherness as white-presenting Cuban immigrant.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
Previous Episode
I Don't Write Bad Sentences with Nana Nkweti
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Nana Nkweti, author of the short story collection, Walking on Cowrie Shells. Nana is a Caine Prize finalist and alumna of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her work has garnered fellowships from MacDowell, Kimbilio, Ucross, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, among others. She is a professor of English at the University of Alabama.
Episode Notes
_________________________
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Nana Nkweti, author of the short story collection, Walking on Cowrie Shells. Nana is a Caine Prize finalist and alumna of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her work has garnered fellowships from MacDowell, Kimbilio, Ucross, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, among others. She is a professor of English at the University of Alabama.
During the conversation, Nana breaks down the financial difference when it comes to selling a short story collection versus selling a novel and why she wants to be remembered for writing the stories of the weird and quirky, complicating the narrative, and telling the stories of the domestic interior. She also explains her writing process and balancing those instinctual thunderclap moments with the craft of discipline that comes in revision.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
Next Episode
An Ode to Black Skin with Ashanti Anderson
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha continues National Poetry Month highlighting Ashanti Anderson, whose debut chapbook Black Under was the winner of the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition hosted by Black Lawrence Press. Ashanti is a Black Queer Disabled poet. Her poems have appeared in World Literature Today, POETRY magazine, and elsewhere in print and on the web.
Episode Notes
_________________________
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha continues National Poetry Month highlighting Ashanti Anderson, whose debut chapbook Black Under was the winner of the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition hosted by Black Lawrence Press. Ashanti is a Black Queer Disabled poet. Her poems have appeared in World Literature Today, POETRY magazine, and elsewhere in print and on the web.
During the conversation, Ashanti discusses why she spent two years feeling sorry for herself after receiving her MFA before moving forward with trying to put her poems in print. She also explains why she was looking for a press that centered artistic integrity and autonomy and why she centers the fullness of the Black experience in her work without the white gaze.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/black-and-published-207261/the-othered-point-of-view-with-andy-rojas-21682555"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to the othered point of view with andy rojas on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy