In this special episode of Writing Latinos, with the writer Justin Torres, we tried something new. Torres reads a short vignette on air—“Youth: The Palisades as a Backdrop” by the Afro-Puerto Rican writer, Jesús Colón—and then we discuss it together. We had so much to talk about! Historical references. Readings of imagery. His message about gender, class, and race. “Youth” in the context of Colón’s other writings. The vignette as a powerfully evocative genre that Torres uses in his own writing. And what a treat to do this with Torres, a professor at UCLA and the author of two stunning novels: We the Animals, which was made into a feature film, and Blackouts, the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.

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View a transcript of the episode here.

Credits:

Writing Latinos is a production of Public Books. The show’s host is Geraldo Cadava, co-editor-in-chief of the magazine, and show’s producer is Tasha Sandoval. Our theme music is “City of Mirrors” by Dos Santos.