Still is a poetry collection offering readers an intimate picture of your family’s journey as immigrants and the adversities and triumphs faced through the years. Why was this an important collection for you to share with readers?

In the last 7 years, I lost a significant number of my loved ones: my dad, my grandmother, my best friend’s mom, my cousins, my dog, etc. The relationship I thought was going to evolve into marriage broke down during this time. I felt life had stopped giving me things and had started to take them away, which makes absolutely no logical sense, but this is where I was at emotionally. Writing the poems that make up this book allowed me to process everything I was feeling during this time. This is why the book is called Still; I had to learn to be in the present moment and allow myself to feel and process whatever I needed to. Also, in Spanish, “still” means “todavia,” as in I’m still here. No matter what, I’m still here, and those that have moved on are with me in my memories and what they taught me. We’re here, and this is our story, and it means the world to me that anyone who reads this book will know them and love them, too.

Your work features so much emotion and many deeply personal experiences. Is there one selection that you hold close to your heart?

Your review singled out the poem “To-Do List.” When I turned 33, I traveled to Paris for my birthday, met a girl, and fell in love. After that I began to learn French because I wanted to communicate with her in her native tongue, to understand her unfiltered. I wanted to know her, and so much is lost in translation. I didn’t want to be the “dumb” boyfriend who just nodded and said “oui” or “oauis.” That long distance relationship lasted two years and disintegrated around the time my dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. I learned about the best of me as well as the worst of me. How kind I could be as well as how petty. It took me years to move past it. I haven’t spoken to her since she messaged me for my birthday the year we broke up. Once I had some perspective, I took my 5th grade reading level French and wrote “Liste à Faire,” or “To-Do List.” With its simple structure, it allowed me to first write it in French and then translate it to English, which took forever, and the French version probably isn’t as sophisticated as I would like it to be, but it was important for me to keep the promise I made to her even if it was only in my mind, even if I never told her. I think on some level I hope it makes its way to her, and that she knows that I hold no ill will towards her; that the years we spent together I treasure, even the bad times, because it made me who I am, which I hope is a better partner to the women who came after and the one I’ll end up with.

What do you hope is one thing readers take away from the experiences you share in your collection?

I hope they realize we are connected through our collective experience as human beings. That it is through these connections that we bridge the gaps between us and begin to heal each other. I want them to live life and truly experience it. To connect with others, love deeply, become people of substance, and most of all, to create.

Can readers expect to see more writing from you soon?

My first short story is coming out as part of an anthology from Indie Earth Books this winter, and I loved the experience. It’s probably one of my favorite things I’ve written and that has given me an idea for a novel. Also, I already have a number of poems ready for a second collection.

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