On Generational Pain & Resiliency
with Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of 'Woman of Light: A Novel"
#NuevasPaginasconLupita is a space that is both an archive and resource aimed to "spotlight" Hispanic/Latinx/e authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to new and/or old favorite Hispanic/Latinx/e authors and their books! So give this & every post a share to help us reach more readers!
How does it work?!
Here’s the deal, I came up with a set of casual/random/funny questions to ask each Hispanic/Latinx/e author, I interview. For now, the questions will all be the same but maybe in the future I’ll launch this into more specific questions to the author or maybe I’ll turn this series into a mini-podcast, or maybe……well, you get it! The possibilities are endless.
If you are new here don’t forget to check out all the other amazing interviews! We also have a great line-up of guest authors coming up so make sure you don’t miss an issue by subscribing now!
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Hey Heyyy Book Franz!
Another week, another Nuevas Paginas interview making its way into your inbox. But before we jump into today’s book - which I am so very excited to share with you all, I wanted to do a quick shout-out about an event I’ll be doing later this evening! I get to chat with Yasmin Ramirez, author of ¡Ándale, Prieta!: A Love Letter to My Family. I got to host Yasmin here not too long ago so I’m pretty excited to get to further our chat virtually. If you are able to join us tonight at 7 PM ET, sign up here.
Okay, now on to our special guest author for today. I read her debut short story collection a full year before it was out and since then I’ve been so in love with her work. When I found out she was working on a novel, I jumped up and down with joy like a kid that’s just been told - we are going to Disney World. The novel not only lived up to the hype, it exceeded all my expectations. I get chills thinking about what this author is doing for our community that is often left out of historical narratives as if we haven’t always existed here in some way or another. I’m incredibly excited for everyone to experience this book!
So without further ado, our special guest author today is….Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Woman of Light….
Could you tell me a bit about where this photo was taken? Is it special to your book in some way?
This photo was taken at the University of Wyoming across from the Carriage House, which is the small meeting space where my fiction workshops were held in graduate school. I remember studying with the late Brad Watson in that space, workshopping my first stories from Sabrina & Corina, and developing my ideas for Woman of Light.
Tell me about your book without telling me about your book - share any literary inspirations behind your book! If there are none, the gap you wanted to fill in the literary canon with your book.
With Woman of Light I wanted to offer a complex origin story to Chicanx people of Colorado and the American West that focuses on our indigeneity and multiculturalism. I was inspired by writers like Ralph Ellison, Katherine Anne Porter, Toni Morrison, and Isabel Allende among others. This book is deeply inspired by my family's oral tradition and highlights labor struggles in Colorado from the 19th century to The Great Depression.
What are two central themes in your book that you connect with the most and why?
Luz Lopez, our protagonist, is 17 years old and works as a laundress, law office secretary, and has visions of both the past and future. I am drawn to her ability to feel generational pain and resiliency, to observe the world around her with a quiet and steady mind. In many ways, Woman of Light is a novel about coming of age in America.
If a book was home, where would your home be?
The home of Woman of Light is my Auntie Lucy's old house on Denver's Westside, where my family would sit in the living room among the smells of green chile and beans while classic movies played in the background and our family photos lined the walls.
If your book was a famous musician who would it be?
Because this novel is largely set in the early 20th century, I'd have to say instead of a famous musician Woman of Light is most like the famous vaudeville actress Beatriz Escalona of San Antonio texas who rose to great fame with her street-smart and wise persona La Chata Noloesca.
Photo credit here
What comfort food could a reader pair with your book?
Homemade tortillas and a warm bowl of pinto beans with a dash of salt.
In what ways has access (or little to no access) to Hispanic/Latinx/e literature defined you as a writer?
I was driven to write not only because literature is my passion and my higher calling, but also because I saw the ways my ancestors’ lives and stories were not present in literature. My life's work is to change that.
Where can readers keep up with your work?
I love Instagram! Say hello to me at @Kalimaja
A huge thank you to Kali Fajardo-Anstine for taking the time to chat with me about her book! Please please make sure you purchase a copy (or request your local library carry a copy) of her book #SupportLatinxLit!
Kali Fajardo-Anstine is the author of Sabrina & Corina, a finalist for the National Book Award, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, The Story Prize, and winner of an American Book Award. She is the 2021 recipient of the Addison M. Metcalf Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her work has been honored with the Denver Mayor's Global Impact Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture and the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association Reading the West Book Award for Fiction. She has written for The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, The American Scholar, Boston Review, and elsewhere, and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and Tin House. Fajardo-Anstine holds an MFA from the University of Wyoming and has lived across the country, from Durango, Colorado, to Key West, Florida. She is the 2022-2023 Endowed Chair in Creative Writing at Texas State University. She is from Denver, Colorado.
Synopsis for Woman of Light Bookshop website:
Luz "Little Light" Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930s Denver, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors' origins, how her family flourished, and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion.
Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine's singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, family secrets, and love--filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.
The best way you can support Latinx/e authors and Latinx/e literature is by doing the following:
REQUEST that your local library carry a copy
PURCHASE a copy of a friend, family member, or your nemesis (hey! I’m sure they read too).
SHOUT about the book on any social media platform or to your friends and family!
SHARE this interview widely! Word of mouth does wonders for connecting readers to books.
REVIEW their books on any website that sells books!
The other day one of my cousins asked in our family group chat….” Hey! What kind of music does Lupita listen to?” and without even missing a beat my brother replied “AUDIOBOOKS”!
The moment audiobooks stepped into my life, they became my music. I listen to them on walks, while doing laundry and chores — basically any moment I have to myself. So if that is you too (or if you simply want to fit in more reading during your daily life) check out Libro.FM! If you use the code LupitaReads you’ll receive two audiobook credits for 14.99 USD with your first month of membership. These credits can be used on your choice of more than 250,00 audiobooks on Libro. FM.
And if you need some audiobook recommendations - I made a list just for you!