Episode 144 with Gustavo Barahona-López, Master Crafter and Chronicler of Grief, Masculinity, and Beauty in his Poetry Collection, Loss and Other Rivers that Devour

Episode 144 Notes and Links to Gustavo Barahona’s Work 

 

    On Episode 144 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Gustavo Barahona, and the two discuss, among other topics, ideas of Chicanismo, Nepantla, and how these affected his early reading and writing, as well as salient themes of grief, loss, masculinity, and borders, real and imagined. Pete is so thankful to Gustavo for opening up about grief in his poetry collection and in this conversation.

Gustavo Barahona-López is a writer and educator from Richmond, California. He is the author of the poetry chapbook, "Loss and Other Rivers That Devour,” and in 2023 his debut full-length collection will be published by FlowerSong Press. 

 

Buy Loss and Other Rivers That Devour

 

Gustavo Barahona on Twitter

 

From Luna Luna Magazine: “gustavo barahona-lopez: on poetry, masculinity, and heritage, an interview with gustavo barahona-lopez” by Lisa Marie Basile

 

 

 

 

At about 7:50, Gustavo talks about language and reading and writing and storytelling and its impact and iterations in his childhood

 

At about 10:50, Gustavo recounts his father’s skill in and love for storytelling, and how Gustavo was shaped by this

 

At about 11:40, Gustavo describes his love for science fiction as a kid

 

At about 12:30, Gustavo talks about important his high school “Latino Literature” class was, and about meeting/hearing from Martin Espada and Jane Hirschfield  

 

At about 13:20, Gustavo responds to Pete’s question about the type of stories that his father would tell; Gustavo describes them as “epic”

 

At about 14:30, Gustavo plays arm-chair psychologist in explaining what drew him to fantasy/science fiction

 

At about 16:05, Pete asks Gustavo about ideas of representation in what he read growing up

 

At about 17:50, Gustavo cites work and writers that have given him “chills at will” throughout the years, including Aldurista’s “Yo Soy Joaquin,” Gloria Andaluza, and Tomás Rivera, whose title inspired   

 

At about 22:55, Pete asks Gustavo about contemporary writers who have inspired and shaped his work; Gustavo cites, among others, Eduardo Corral, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal, Alan Chazaro, Raina León, and Marcelo Hernández Castillo

 

At about 26:15, Pete and Gustavo discuss evolution as used in Gustavo’s collection, and Gustavo responds to Pete’s questions about the evolution of the meanings of “Chicano” in literature 

 

At about 31:30, Pete references lines from Gustavo collections and ideas of Nepantla and biculturalism/bilingualism and Gustavo discusses his own writing and history with the ideas

 

At about 34:40, Gustavo points out a poem that he believes best worked (only worked?) in Spanish 

 

At about 36:20, The two discuss ideas of masculinity and father-son relationships as themes while analyzing aspects of “Mi Padre: El Más Fuerte del Mundo” and Gustavo talks about being the son of such a big personality like his father and what has been and should be passed down to future generations 

 

At about 40:20, the two discuss ideas of awe in relation to the “indomitable” father 

 

At about 42:15, the two discuss ideas of grief as seen in Gustavo’s work 

 

At about 43:55, The two talk about masculinity as a repeated theme and how it comes out in various poem 

 

At about 44:30, Pete looks to make a connection between Gustavo’s poem “How to Make a Man” and Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue”; Gustavo describes the writing process of “Mi Padre, El Más Fuerte del Mundo,” and how it was written after his father’s cancer diagnosis

 

At about 45:30, Gustavo traces the evolution of his examination of his own childhood and its marking his views on masculinity 

 

At about 51:15, Pete is enthralled by a line about apologizing from Gustavo’s poem and asks him to describe its background

 

At about 54:15, Pete lays out the outline of Gustavo’s collection 

 

At about 56:00, Gustavo responds to Pete’s questions about the meanings of “rivers” from the title of the collection 

 

At about 57:15, Pete cites the “contradictions” and “in-betweens” of the poem’s collections and reads from a poem about 

 

At about 58:30, Pete points out an incredibly moving and apt line about those who feel grief and asks Gustavo if writing about grief was cathartic 

 

At about 1:01:15, Gustavo discusses exciting upcoming projects

 

At about 1:02:25, Gustavo reads from and discusses his poem “Mi Padre, El Más Fuerte del Mundo”

 

At about 1:06:25, Gustavo reads from and discusses his poem “Foundation”

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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 145 with Vanessa Bee, who is “a consumer protection lawyer with a freelancing habit.” She is “primarily interested in inequality, corporate power, the American Left, and Washington D.C.,” and she “also love[s] a good meandering essay.” Her experimental memoir, HOME BOUND: An Uprooted Daughter’s Reflections on Belonging, will publish on October 11.

The episode will air on October 11.