Theresa Varela
Intuitive Astrologer
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Anthologies featuring my work
What They Leave Behind, A Latinx Anthology
ed. by Vanessa Ferreira
ISBN-13: 978-0-5789474-5-7
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What They Leave Behind is a collection of over 50 Latinx poets whose work bridges past and present to embody a new reality that celebrates the diaspora and all its complexities. Whether it’s through reclaiming language and learning to roll the r’s in our words, or by tracing the lineage from mother to daughter through bowls of masa and dirt, these poems serve the strongest cup of café con leche and demand we see ourselves as proud remnants of strawberry pickers, lotería players, hood healers, barrio prophets, and dreamers. They are the voices of a people always revising the definition of homeland and belonging who use storytelling as sustenance for survival. These poets of varied ages, nationalities, genders, sexualities, and poetic preferences use all that was left behind adding their own dose of empathy, outrage, ecstasy, and agony to alchemize each new day. They bear witness, testify, whisper, and shout, demanding not only to be heard but to be given the space to thrive. This anthology traces an infinite poetic line between where we came from and who we are while making a passionate call for justice, reclaiming traditions, and reconciliation as healing, not only for those who made it but also for those who didn’t, and continue to signal What They Leave Behind.
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Peinate:
Hair Battles Between Mothers & Daughters
ed. by Raquel I. Penzo
ISBN-13: 978-1-4974862-8-7
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"Hoisted onto the cosmetology throne at Blanca’s Beauty Salon on Fifth Avenue, I was still so short that they’d added a wooden slab on the seat for me to reach the mirror. My mother hovered at my side. Blanca, a large buxom woman whose blond hair was coifed into a French roll, lopped my braid off with a pair of sharp scissors...
SNIP...
I cried and everybody else in the room clapped. Through my tears in the mirror, I saw Blanca hand my braid over to my mother..."
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Sinister Wisdom/Out Latina Lesbians
ed. by Nívea Castro with Geny Cabral
E-book ISBN: 978-1-9449811-5-0
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An extraordinary collection of writing by Out Latina Lesbians including work by Janis Astor del Valle, Susana Cook, Alina Galliano, Alixa García, Marga Gomez, Cherríe Moraga, Monica Palacios, Bessy Reyna, and many more. Special thanks to the Open Meadows Foundation for a grant to support this issue.
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New Voices Anthology 2014
ed. by Raquel I. Penzo
ISBN: 978-1-4974862-8-7
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The New Voices Reading Series, presented by La Plum y La Tinta contains a handful of talented-yet-unpublished writers. Since its inception, close to a hundred wordsmiths have stepped up to the mic, breaking in new pieces and gaining new fans, making this underground show a crowd favorite. Assembled here is a collection of the best works of the best performers to read at the New Voice Reading Series.
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