I had wonderful time answering some very thoughtful questions about The Playwright’s House for Hypertext Magazine.
I spent nearly eight years working on this story collection before it found a home, so it was incredibly moving to read this wonderful review in The Kenyon Review, one of my favorite literary journals: “Despite all the light it shines on troubles in Cuban life, A Kind of Solitude is a love letter to Cuba as much as it as a critique of it, full of the heartbreak that comes from loving something flaws and all.”
I’m very excited about the following events with the amazing Cristina García, put together by Brown University’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. I’m very much looking forward to reading and having a conversation with her.
I was recently interviewed by all around exceptional human Christopher Romaguera for the Ploughshares blog. It was a pleasure speaking with Chris about my collection and my relationship to writing and Cuba 🇨🇺️
A few years ago, my good friend Jonathan Escoffery, after having read a different piece I’d written, said to me, “You should write a story about two friends working at a hotel in Cuba who want to marry a tourist in order to leave the country.” And so I did. The story, titled “Daredevils,” ended up being about a lot more than that initial premise, but it nonetheless owes its existence to Jonathan’s idea and encouragement.
Many people read this story, and offered feedback on it afterwards, which undoubtedly made it a stronger piece. A few months ago, I read from it during a visit to Brown University. Today, it was accepted for publication by a magazine I really like and admire, Third Coast. I can’t wait to see it in their pages! Huge thanks to everyone who had a hand in improving “Daredevils” along the way.
A few years ago, I read a fake news report that a giraffe had been stolen from Cuba’s National Zoo. I was, of course, somewhat disappointed that the story turned out to be false, but then I thought, “What if?” So I wrote a short story about it, which ended up dealing with friendship, race, American influence on Cuba, and animal cruelty. Today, that story, titled “The Man From the Zoo,” was accepted for publication by The Massachusetts Review. Huge thanks go out to Alina Collazo, Artem Derkatch, Shubha Sunder, and Ralph Rodriguez for their feedback and enthusiasm, which undoubtedly made this story better and encouraged me to send it out!
The latest issue of The Florida Review is out, and it contains the title story of my collection, “A Kind of Solitude.” It is a story about an old Cuban peasant with a troubled past who finds himself trying to decide whether to confess to an accidental crime he has committed, or bury the evidence for good.
This story got me into Boston University’s MFA program and in many ways changed my life.
Big thanks go out to the great people at The Florida Review and to everyone who provided feedback on this pieces years ago. I’m excited to see my work in such wonderful company.
Sandra Castillo, a Cuban poet who lives in Miami, wrote this wonderful online post about my poetry chapbook in the Miami Herald website. I am grateful for such a generous recommendation of my work!
You can check out Sandra’s latest poetry book here: http://cavankerrypress.org/notable_scastillo_eatingmoorsandchristians.htmlMi
And In The Land of Tropical Martyrs has gone into a 2nd print run, now a beautiful, perfect bound book. Huge thanks to editor Crystal Simone Smith and BackBone Press!
Happy to have a short story, titled “The Comforter,” in the latest issue of Southern Humanities Review!
Some great authors and poets also have work in it, including Kirstin Valdez Quade, Natalie Diaz, Jericho Brown, and Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
I originally workshopped this piece, which is set in Cuba, during my MFA years, and I’m grateful to all the people who offered helpful feedback to make it the story it is today.
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