New Barrio Writers chapter breaks ground in San Marcos, Texas!

A message from Marilyse V. Figueroa,
the new Barrio Writers Program Director of San Marcos, TX:

As a Master of Fine Arts candidate in Creative Writing at Texas State University, I could often feel the division between academic space and local culture. After all of what being a part of Barrio Writers had shown me, such as connecting our youth with higher education, I was empowered to close that divide in San Marcos, Texas.

I wanted to bring about more relationships within creative writing, cultural arts, and higher education, the three foundations of Barrio Writers teachings, and how those key points relate to San Marcos youth. Breaking ground in San Marcos is so important because it is not just a “college town,” but a place of sacred springs and rich cultural history. Often this history is not taught or goes unknown to the youth whose families have lived here for generations, through the floods and the segregation, and are still here making the culture of San Marcos what it is today. Through the sponsorship of the Center for the Study of the Southwest, a perfect partner for BW, the San Marcos chapter will start in spring 2017 with a 10-week workshop resulting in a live reading and a publication of the participants in the annual Barrio Writers Anthology. By focusing on the San Marcos area and the region of the Southwest, San Marcos youth and youth in surrounding areas will be empowered by their history and the vibrant culture of this place. 

Barrio Writers has shown me the ties between higher education and creative writing are not for those who can afford it, but for anyone with the desire to participate. I’m honored to be the new Barrio Writers Program Director of San Marcos and the CSSW’s Barrio Writers Program Coordinator. 

The San Marcos chapter will begin meeting February 4th, 2017 from 12- 2 p.m. at the Centro Hispano Cultural de San Marcos. We will meet every Saturday until April 8th, 2017 in which there will be a live reading to celebrate the youth’s work. 

Registration starts now! Find the Register Now link on our homepage and join our workshop! (Bus passes are available upon request.)

Marilyse V. Figueroa is a queer Latin@ who grew up hearing fairytales, myths, and her mother's cuentos from el campo. These inherited stories are the places she returns to write about the magic, light and dark, of este vida. Marilyse is currently an MFA candidate in Creative Writing, but her main passion is her community activist / educator role with the youth in the South-Central Texas region. She is the Director of Barrio Writers in San Marcos, Tejas, a position supported by the Center for the Study of the Southwest at Texas State University. When she is not making, you can catch her at events in San Anto or Austin as she loves to be involved with and support women-lead, queer, and inclusive spaces for all ages. She has works published in St. Sucia Zine, Chiflad@ Zine, Ellx Blog, and forthcoming short works in Accentos Review and Gemini Ink. Her zine All My Ays was created as a safe space for her writing & is available at Resistencía Bookstore in Austin and at Libro Mobile in Santa Ana, California. Marilyse's debut collection of stories, Benevolent Altar, is forthcoming from Broken River Books. 

For more information on the San Marcos campus, contact bwsanmarcostx@gmail.com.

Follow Marilyse @marilysevfigueroa on tumblr

#1 BW Workshop at Los Angeles Public Libraries Summer 2016

After a day of visiting LA libraries on July 7, 2016, BW Founder Sarah Rafael García taught a mini-workshops at the Cypress Park Branch Library under the theme "Mexican-American Studies through Contemporary Literature." She was hosted by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, along with empowering librarians.

For the next few weeks we will be featuring several youth from the various BW workshops on our blog! During the workshops the youth read, wrote and shared as a community. Focused on diverse U.S. Mexican-American narratives, they read and discussed works by U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, Ariana Brown, and Barrio Writers Lala Castillo, Marilynn Montaño and Illoheem.

After reading, they were asked to respond to a writer by doing a "response piece" or writing their own poem/story/personal narrative in similar style as the writers read in the workshop.

After writing, all the students were offered the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback from their peers. They were also invited to share on our blog!

Today's piece is by KEY, he created his own response through freewriting!

Freewriting: often done on a daily basis as a part of the writer's daily routine, usually for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Write without worrying about spelling, grammar, or making corrections (revisions or editing). It’s one way to reduce writer’s block and develop a natural voice. If you reach a point where you can’t think of anything to write, then write that you can’t think of anything, until you think of something else to write.

What makes KEY's words empowering is that he uses our diverse community members to create thought and give us insight on various narratives in the U.S. He helps us relate to our world and combat current issues in the U.S. Here is KEY's piece:

We shouldn't be judged by who we are

Who we like

Who we prefer

Our prefered partners

Our orientation

Our gender

Our race

How we live

How we dress

The colors of our skin

Under every piece of clothing

Behind everyone's eyes

Behind everyone's smile

We are the same

And we should be treated the same.

—KEY

Cypress Park Branch Library

#1 BW Workshop at Santa Ana High School

After a week of testing, BW Founder Sarah Rafael García taught 1-class period workshops at Santa Ana High School in Santa Ana, California under the theme "Mexican-American Studies through Contemporary Literature." She was hosted by an empowering high school teacher (History & Ethnic Studies) whose goal was to influence her students through creative writing—Yay for Mrs. Carah Reed!

For the next few weeks we will be featuring Mrs. Reed's students on our blog! During the workshops the youth read, wrote and shared as a community (60 mins: 20-reading, 20-writing, 20-sharing). Focused on diverse U.S. Mexican-American narratives, they read and discussed works by U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, Ariana Brown, and Barrio Writers Lala Castillo, Marilynn Montaño and Illoheem.

After reading, they were asked to respond to a writer by doing a "response piece" or writing their own poem/story/personal narrative in similar style as the writers read in the workshop. 

After writing, all the students were offered the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback from their peers. They were also invited to share on our blog!

Today's piece is by Juan Zúñiga, he created his own response through freewriting!

Freewriting: often done on a daily basis as a part of the writer's daily routine, usually for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Write without worrying about spelling, grammar, or making corrections (revisions or editing). It’s one way to reduce writer’s block and develop a natural voice. If you reach a point where you can’t think of anything to write, then write that you can’t think of anything, until you think of something else to write.

What makes Juan's words empowering is that he uses his own name to create thought and give us insight on his personal narrative in the U.S. He helps us relate to him, while we think of the importance of his name and presence in the U.S. Here is Juan's piece:

Zúñiga

The name is Juan Zúñiga,
not Zuniga.

The "ñ" is a piece of my tierra,
a sign that tells people "He's Mexican."

It's a letter that exists in México, not in the U.S.A.
It's a piece of me that U.S.A. tries to take away.

"No," they say that letter is not worth anything here,
because here you are Zuniga, nothing more.

But guess what, that letter is in me,
running through my veins—untouchable.

My I.D. says Zuniga, but my blood says Zúñiga.

—Juan Zúñiga

Check out his work! Powerful piece Juan, keep writing!