WELCOME TO NEPANTLA
Bridges span liminal (threshold) spaces between worlds, spaces I call nepantla, a Nahuatl word meaning tierra entre medio. Transformations occur in this in-between space, an unstable, unpredictable, precarious, always-in-transition space lacking clear boundaries. Nepantla es tierra desconocida, and living in this liminal zone means being in a constant state of displacement–an uncomfortable, even alarming feeling. Most of us dwell in nepantla so much of the time it’s become a sort of “home.” Though this state links us to other ideas, people, and worlds, we feel threatened by these new connections and the change they engender.
– Gloria Anzaldua
WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE
Nepantla: A Journal Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color is an intentional community space. Our mission is to nurture, celebrate, and preserve diversity within the queer poetry community. Through this journal, we are attempting to center the lives and experiences of QPOC in contemporary America. Thus, we view the journal (and our reading series) as part of a whole artistic project and not individual fragments of work. We believe that (here) the high lyric must encounter colloquial narrative. Here, we must provide space to celebrate both our similarities and our differences. We are one community with an array of experiences; we write in different formats, in different tones, of different circumstances. Nepantla is not the sort of journal that can project a singular voice (not if we want to reflect the various realities of our community). Nepantla is a journal of multiplicity, of continual reinvention.
ACCOUNTABILITY CULTURE
Nepantla is not an apolitical literary journal. We stand strongly against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism, xenophobia, etc. We do NOT believe in the notion of “craft” as an excuse to justify oppressive language. If (for some reason) you, the reader, feel discriminated against by the language used in our poems then please let us know. Keep us accountable. We have done our best to provide a safe space for the QPOC community. We hope you enjoy the fierceness!
ISSUE #1
(click image above to access the full online journal)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
To download an epub file of the Nepantla Journal Issue #1 click here.
ISSUE #2
(click image above to access full length pdf of Nepantla Issue #2)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Natalie Martínez | EKPHRASTIC REMAINS & ENUMERATIONS |
| Julian Talamantez Brolaski | in the cut |
| Ife-Chudeni Oputa | Lessons on the Body: How Not to Itch |
| Luis Lopez-Maldonado | TRANSvisible |
| Joshua Jennifer Espinoza | I Dream of Horses Eating Cops |
| Jess X. Chen | Last Words of the Honey Bees |
| Fatimah Asghar | Orphan |
| Vanessa Borjon | Michoacan |
| Hieu Minh Nguyen | Again, What Do I Know About Desire? |
| Shane Allison | BUSCH GARDENS PHOTO |
| Franny Choi | Thirst |
| Nahshon Cook | Imagine |
| Aziza Barnes | The Clouds Can’t Hold Shit |
| Marcelo Hernandez Castillo | Drown |
| Lillian-Yvonne Bertram | If in its advance the plague begins to fiercen |
| Joshua Aiken | See Blk Boy Run |
| Francisco Aragón | Unknown Distances |
| Vickie Vertiz | Agua en Gotas |
| andriniki mattis | how to live btwn the lines |
| Samiya Bashir | Ha ha ha niggers are the worst |
| L.G. Parker | I Didn’t Want To Be Good |
| Nicole Mitchell | Birthday Girl |
| Aurel Haize Odogbo | BIRTH-MONGER |
In conversation: Alok Vaid-Menon & Cece McDonald
In conversation: Carl Phillips & Rickey Laurentiis
To download an epub file of the Nepantla Journal click here.
(Click the image above for a pdf of Nepantla Issue #3)
—
* “Hyena (An Absolution Chant for the Beloved Community)” is reprinted by permission from A Toast in the House of Friends (Coffee House Press, 2009). Copyright © 2009 by Akilah Oliver.
** Copyright 2005 June Jordan Literary Estate trust; reprinted by permission. www.junejordan.com
*** Previously published in the cardboard chapbook tierra 2010: poems, songs & a little blood. Chibcha Press, Long Beach, Califas. 2010.
To download an epub file of the Nepantla Journal click here.
