Notes and Links to Myriam Gurba’s Work
Myriam Gurba is a writer and activist. Her first book, the short story collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. O, the Oprah Magazine ranked her true-crime memoir Mean as one of the “Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” Her recent essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessi...
Notes and Links to Myriam Gurba’s Work
Myriam Gurba is a writer and activist. Her first book, the short story collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. O, the Oprah Magazine ranked her true-crime memoir Mean as one of the “Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” Her recent essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award for Criticism, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction. She has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Vox, and Paris Review. Her next book, Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings, published by Timber Press, is out today, October 21.
Buy Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings
Myriam's Website
Los Angeles Daily News Review of Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings
At about 1:50, Myriam discusses her mindset as the book is to be published, and she shares early feedback and reviews
At about 4:05, Myriam talks about being inspired a bit by Borges’ short story collection, Labyrinths, and more so from mythologies for Mesoamerica and the Minotaur
At about 5:20, Myriam defines an important term
At about 6:30, Myriam talks about writing from the perspective of a child and connections to The Secret Garden
At about 8:30, “halycon” talk!
At about 9:20, Myriam talks about the book’s epigraph/opening saying, which comes from Myriam’s grandfather Ricardo Serrano Ríos, as well as an early message/challenge to the reader
At about 12:30, Myriam responds to Pete’s questions about the differences between carefree childhoods and an encroaching world of homes and development, and nature being pushed aside
At about 14:55, Myriam provides background on the book’s main locale, Santa Maria, and its changes in her lifetime
At about 15:45, The two talk about “claiming” of land and “renaming” and its connection to colonization
At about 18:20, Myriam discusses "indigeneity imposed from outside” in relation to a profound quote Pete notes from the book
At about 20:20, Myriam talks about Western terms and ideas that make it difficult to describe and document Chumash and other indigenous contemporary life and geographical boundaries
At about 22:15, Myriam shares the story from the book about Deborah Miranda and a young child’s shocked realization
At about 24:15, Pete notes some great puns, and Myriam expands on multiple meanings of “hoja” and connections between literacy and botany and the
At about 26:05, Myriam talks about her use of The Santa Maria Times and its archive in building a history of the “settler town through the perspective of settlers”
At about 28:00, Myriam highlights Santa Maria-born Ida Mae Bochmann as an example of a certain time of progressive and colonizing woman
At about 30:20, Myriam reflect on the “communal garden” that was pre-European California
At about 32:00, Pete and Myriam discuss the importance of paper and indigenous practices and priorities
At about 35:10, Myriam responds to Pete’s questions about how she balances the macro- and the micro-, the allegorical and literal
At about 36:45, BARS
At about 39:30, “allegorical memoir” and “botanical criticism” are two possible genres that Myriam imagines for her "kaleidoscopic" book; she also talks about her love of writing and solving puzzles
At about 42:00, Corn talk! Myriam shares some frightening stories about encounters with Midwestern cornfields
At about 45:50, The two discuss a resonant homecoming scene
At about 47:10, Myriam reflects on how local travel and local appreciation inform her argument about “[our] homes hav[ing] multitudes”
At about 48:45, The two discuss the humungous industry that is agriculture, and Myriam talks about focusing in on Santa Barbara County’s strawberry industry
At about 51:30, Myriam talks about the history of Japanese-American farmers dispossessed by the internment camps of World War II
At about 53:45, Myriam makes salient points about catharsis, emphasizing its conditionality-she cites “conditional catharsis”-and chats about susto and “cleansing”
At about 58:50, Myriam talks about “the ethos of the local” and recommends Octavia’s Bookshelf and The Theodore Payne Society , and she also shares book tour events
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 306 with Shea Serrano, an American author, journalist, humorist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, The Ringer and Grantland, as well as his books, including The Rap Year Book, Basketball and Movies, all of which charted on The New York Times best-sellers list.
The episode drops on Pub Day, October 28, the date the episode airs.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
