“Currently I would say writing is my medium. I sing and perform but right now I’m not doing much of that so I’d say poetry and story-telling. Personal essays. My style is writing about experiences I have or things that are meaningful to me. Whether it’s something I have personally experienced or whether it’s something that resonates with me it’s always got a personal connection.
As I was coming to work at Goshen College, I heard about an anthology that was being put together by two published Latina authors and they were going to put together a book of poetry featuring Latina poets in the midwest. I thought I’d try to submit some stuff and they chose all four of the pieces I had submitted and they were so impressed that somebody was using form, like, “Oh, somebody actually wrote a sonnet!” so that was the first time I actually thought of myself as an actual poet, getting put in that anthology.
When I was at Goshen College I took a one-week intensive workshop with Rhoda Janzen and we studied prosody which was form and I discovered that I liked having those boundaries and it helped me be more precise and intentional about what I was trying to say to use some set form. I do still write free verse but form really got me to think more critically about what I had to say.
I love the scene in Goshen. My professional life is in Elkhart but my social life is in Goshen. I think about Art House and being a part of their board, being in Urinetown, that space being a mainstay is so unique and incredible for a city the size of Goshen. It’s pushed the envelope and really added to the overall cultural enrichment of the city. There are so many local bands that are so good. Goshen is so accessible and I think it’s because of “la gente” the people. The people make Goshen what it is.”
