38 episodes

Welcome to Dear Literature, a new podcast where two friends, Alyssa and Vanessa, discuss books, writing, and publishing.

Dear Literature Dear Literature

    • Arts
    • 4.7 • 3 Ratings

Welcome to Dear Literature, a new podcast where two friends, Alyssa and Vanessa, discuss books, writing, and publishing.

    032: Buddy Reads: All the Rage

    032: Buddy Reads: All the Rage

    In this episode, Vanessa and Alyssa discuss All the Rage by Rosamond S. King (Nightboat Books). V-book: https://rosamondsking.black/V-Book

    CN: Violence against Black people; police violence; gun violence; rape/sexual assault



    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod



    Media Mentioned:

    Portrait of an Unknown Lady by María Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead (Catapult)

    Some of My Best Friends by Tajja Isen (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster) - 029: First-Half 2022 Releases

    018: Buddy Reads: Yolk

    013: Buddy Reads: Wound from the Mouth of a Wound

    "Going It Alone" by Rahawa Haile (Outside)

    “My Disability Forced Me to Become More Visible in my Work as a Translator” by Amanda Sarasien (Electric Literature)

    The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Phillyaw, performed by Janina Edwards (Tantor Media / West Virginia University Press)

    Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, trans. Anton Hur (Honford Star)

    Violets by Kyung-sook Shin, trans. Anton Hur (Feminist Press)

    I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee, trans. Anton Hur (Bloomsbury)

    • 56 min
    031: Dear Literature Check-In

    031: Dear Literature Check-In

    In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa chat about post-grad life, including current/recent reads, planned writing projects, employment, hobbies, and more!



    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod 



    Media Mentioned:

    Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard (HarperTeen)

    CN: War (colonialism), violence, police violence, death, alcohol use

    Incendiary + Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova (Disney-Hyperion)

    Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab (Tor Books)

    CN: war, violence, death, alcohol use, sexual content

    The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (Tor Books)

    Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery/Saga Press)

    CN: violence

    A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor)

    CN: Death, racism/colorism, violence, police violence

    Nuclear Family by Joseph Han (Counterpoint Press)

    CN: Drug use (weed)

    A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (Tor Books)

    CN: Violence, war

    Linguistic Revival: How Japan Restored the Native Ainu Language with “AI Pirika” by Keona Blanks (Rewired)

    • 1 hr
    030: Buddy Reads: Disability Visibility

    030: Buddy Reads: Disability Visibility

    In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The Twenty-First Century, edited by Alice Wong (Vintage).



    Essays Discussed:

    “The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness” by Jen Deerinwater

    CN: Settler colonialism, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, erasure, sexual assault, violence, suicide, suicidal ideation

    “While You Are Waiting to Be Healed” by June Eric-Udorie 

    “The Isolation of Being Deaf in Prison” by Jeremy Woody 

    CN: Sexual assault, language deprivation, isolation, incarceration, trauma, audism

    “Common Cyborg” by Jillian Weise 

    CN: Hate, misogyny, harassment, rape threats, death threats, racis, suicide, sterilization, ableism, eugenics

    “How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage” by Elsa Sjunneson

    “Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy” by A. H. Reaume

    “So. Not. Broken.” by Alice Sheppard

    "The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People" by s.e. smith



    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod



    Media Mentioned:

    Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology, edited by Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin, and Sarah Rafael García (Mad Creek Books)

    She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor)

    “I Needed to Know if My Favorite Books Were Products of Cultural Appropriation” by Cindy Fazzi (Electric Literature)

    A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (Tor)

    • 58 min
    029: First-Half 2022 Releases

    029: First-Half 2022 Releases

    Vanessa and Alyssa discuss their more anticipated releases for the first half of 2022

    "Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2022" & "61 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2022" by R.O. Kwon 

    I. The Octopus Museum by Brenda Shaughnessy | Odes to Lithium by Shira Erlichman | Deadline City | Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - II. Constellation Route by Matthew Olzmann | Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez | Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi | Violeta by Isabel Allende | The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn, trans. by Martin Aitken | Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu | Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda, trans. Sarah Booker | Reclaim the Stars: Seven Tales Across Time and Space, ed. Zoraida Córdova | Gallant by V.E. Schwab | The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories edited and collected by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang | Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library by Amanda Oliver | "Library as Infrastructure" by Shannon Mattern | The Promise of Access by Daniel Greene | Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong | Night Sky with Exit Wound | True Biz by Sara Nović | Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li  | Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service by Tajja Isen | The Trees Witness Everything by Victoria Chang | Siren Queen by Nghi Vo | Empress of Salt and Fortune | Swallowed Light by Michael Wasson | Neruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera | Woman of Light: A Novel by Kali Fajardo-Anstine | Sabrina & Corina | III. "Why PhDs Need to Study Creative Writing" by Anthony Ocampo | Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses

    • 1 hr 6 min
    028: Dear Literature 2021 Wrap-Up

    028: Dear Literature 2021 Wrap-Up

    In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa review their 2021 in books and writing.



    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod



    Media Mentioned:

    Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong (McElderry Books)

    “Twitter vs. MFA” by Denne Michele Norris (Electric Literature)

    Wound from the Mouth of a Wound by torrin a. greathouse (Milkweed Editions)

    World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatatil (Milkweed Editions)

    Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (One World)

    These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (McElderry Books)

    When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Díaz (Copper Canyon Press)

    A House Made of Water by Michelle Lin (Sibling Rivalry Press)

    Multiply/Divide: On the American Real and Surreal by Wendy S. Walters (Sarabande Books)

    Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet Books)

    Spinning by Tillie Walden (First Second)

    Kingdom Animalia by Aracelis Girmay (BOA Editions)

    Bestiary by K-Ming Chang (One World)

    Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Usborne)

    Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Copper Canyon Press)

    Having a Coke With Godzilla by Kazumi Chin (Sibling Rivalry Press)

    “Lydia Davis on How Translation Opens a Writer’s Mind” by Lydia Davis (Literary Hub)

    “Baba Yaga Is a Lesbian” by Mallory Pearson (Electric Literature)

    • 1 hr 4 min
    027: Buddy Reads: Multiply/Divide

    027: Buddy Reads: Multiply/Divide

    Vanessa and Alyssa discuss Multiply/Divide: On the American Real and Surreal by Wendy S. Walters (Sarabande Books).

    CN: Racism (anti-Black), enslavement, classicism, gentrification, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, violence (gang, gun, police), death



    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod



    Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (Simon & Schuster)

    CN (so far): Racism (anti-Black, including use of slurs), enslavement, Jim Crow, murder, violence, spousal abuse, drug use (mostly meth and prescription drugs), child neglect, abandonment, incarceration, terminal illness (cancer), animal death

    Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

    World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions)

    CN: Anti-Asian racism

    The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw (Erewhon Books)

    CN: Death, suicide, violence (including gun violence), gore, medical trauma, manipulation and gaslighting, graphic language

    We Won't Move: A Living Archive

    "A Cyborg Manifesto" by Donna Haraway

     “Why Don’t American Schools Value Creativity?” by Erin Crosby-Eckstine (Catapult)

    CN: Mention of emotional abuse in an intimate partner relationship, anti-Black racism, institutional oppression 

    Imani Barbarin (Crutches&Spice)

    “Starting Testosterone During Ramadan Led Me to the Sacred in My Trans Self” by Zeyn Joukhadar (Catapult)

    • 1 hr 2 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
3 Ratings

3 Ratings

Nomaris Garcia ,

Insightful

It’s so nice and easy to follow along, I would highly recommend!

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