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Creative Drive is an international podcast featuring poetry and flash fiction from all walks of life. Submit your work today!

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Hello all,
Today we’re thrilled to present the flash fiction piece, “Baked Ziti” by E.H. Davis!

A FEW WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR: One thing was constant for me when as a boy I spent my New England summers lazing on the back porch, ignoring the allure of the nearby beach and the call of friends to devour the works of my favorite authors – I was determined to become a writer. I know, cliché, cliché; but clichés are often life’s first drafts – overwritten by struggle and accomplishment.
Nothing else would satisfy. No doubt I was being romantic, corrupted by the very books I loved. Still, I dreamed of living the rough-and-tumble life I’d only read about in the books of authors I admired, like London, Hemingway, Kerouac, and later Balzac, Henry Miller, and Mailer, and travel the world gathering experience for my own novels.
I’ve been writing through all the phases of my life, during good times and bad, in times of celebration and sorrow: marriage, births, deaths, and of the course the inevitable rejection by publishers and agents. The bulk of my writing is contained in ink-engorged journals, which I began in my twenties: some thirty notebooks in all. They’ve served as compost for the five screenplays, two novels (my M.A. graduate thesis and my debut novel My Wife’s Husband: A Family Thriller (Amazon, December 2019), a dozen published short stories, and a handful of essays, memoirs, film reviews, and occasional poems I’ve committed to ink.
As the saying goes, “Art is long and life is short.” I am grateful, still, to be building my “castles in the sky” and telling the stories that come from life keenly-observed and cherished.
For more information, check out the author Website!
Also check out E.H. Davis’ novel on Amazon!

—
Narrated by J. Alejandro

Music provided today by: https://musopen.org/

Sounds by: https://www.zapsplat.com/ and additional sounds by https://freesound.org/

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please consider subscribing and reviewing this labor of love, and don’t forget to tell your writer friends! Your support helps us tremendously! Or you can support by purchasing J. Alejandro’s poetry collection!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

Apple • RadioPublic • Google • Stitcher • Castbox • Spotify • YouTube • Podlink

Hey friends!
Let’s tink to a few things:

• Madd and I are becoming grown ass people looking to do some things around the house. Home improvement and the fact it took us forever to do it because tenant brain.
• Have you all seen Spotlight? This award-winning film is all we’ve been talking about lately.
• We went to Comedy Works South to see Taylor Tomlinson live. Who doesn’t need a laugh these days?

Hey, want to support the show? We got SWAG like a bunch of sellouts! More designs coming soon! If you want to help other ways, review and share this recorded program!

Air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com

Much love,

J&M

The show lives here: https://cruzfolio.com/our-kids-asleep-podcast/

• Maddie and I began production on her next audiobook. The subject matter is right up our alley, and we learned so much from the previous project that it feels like we’re more prepared this time around. After our session, I spent last night working on our post production settings, mainly to polish the final product a bit more. Last time around, I worked extensively on a preset for Maddie’s voice to clean up any lingering room reverb, normalization, and EQ stuff. We also worked on upgrading our recording booth under the stairs, so we didn’t get a chance to record Creative Drive last week (though I’m super excited to record this week’s episode tonight in the new and improved space!) I struggle a lot with audio compression, so I’m looking to tinker with it a bit more because last time, I didn’t venture far into those waters.

• I’m following writers on Twitter non-stop and I am finding great recommendations of books and stories to read. I am hoping to read more genre in the coming months, so this list may come in handy: The 30 Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2021 | Tor.com

• I can’t pretend to be fully informed on the attacks on Gaza. I am not an activist, nor do I follow politics as well as I should. It’s too much to bear at times. As I read the news, however, I am struck by more grief and horror. I am heartbroken for the oppressed who are at risk this very moment. As writers, we often intellectualize, shove our heads up our asses, theorize to make sense of things, but some situations are simply a primal scream. Innocent people are dying. Children were not born to become collateral damage, no matter what. I found this poem on Twitter from Noor Hindi, and I can’t imagine a better time for it: Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying by… | Poetry Magazine (poetryfoundation.org)

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Hey there,
I’d like to talk to you about a few things:

• How this audio play is helping me discover my writing stasis.
• Every day poetry is helping me get through busy days once again.
• Maybe it’s time to start planning for that epic one person show I am scared of creating.

Much love,

j

Come and see what we’re up to at https://cruzfolio.com/

Support the podcast by purchasing my latest poetry collection! Amazon.com: Flame to the Watering Hole: A Poetry Collection eBook: Cruz, Jaime Alejandro: Kindle Store

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Hello all!
Today we bring you the work of Christopher T. Dabrowski!

DEATHBIRTH: A flash fiction story by Christopher T. Dabrowski. Translated by: Monika Olasek

Support the author here: https://krzysztoftdabrowsk.wixsite.com/krzysztoftdabrowski https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063614135306

Christopher is an internationally published author from Poland. His work has been featured all over the world. Notable works:
Books in USA: “Escape” (2019 – Royal Hawaiian Press), “Anomaly” (2020 – Royal Hawaiian Press) Books in Spain:”La fuga” (2019 – Royal Hawaiian Press), “Anomalia” (2019 – Royal Hawaiian Press) Books in Germany: “Die Anomalie” (2020 – Der Romankiosk) Books in Poland: “Deathbirth” (2008 – Armoryka publishing house), “Anima vilis” (2010 – Initium publishing house), “Grobbing” (2012 – Novae Res publishing house), “Deathbirth and other stories” (2012 & 2017 – Agharta & Armoryka publishing house), “Z życia Dr Abble” (2013 – Agharta publishing house), “Orgazmokalipsa” (2016 – Alternatywne publishing house), “Anomalia” (2016 – Forma publishing house), “Ucieczka” (2017 – Dom Horroru publishing house) & “Nie w inność” (2019 – Waspos publishing house) ANTHOLOGY in: USA, England, Australia, Canada, Poland, Russia, Germany & India. And he published his stories in the following magazines: PLAYBOY (Slovak edition), USA, England, Czech Republic, Russia, Brasil, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Mexico
—
Narrated by J. Alejandro

Today’s music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/the-erthe-series-ongoing-project/the-woods-remastered https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kecap_Tuyul/tunnel-songs/2-1

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW this labor of love, and don’t forget to tell your writer friends! Your support helps us tremendously! Or you can support by purchasing J. Alejandro’s poetry collection!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/ Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/ For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

https://youtu.be/T5Kmtt62tR4

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Hi there,

I am working on an interactive audio drama, so I was thinking of spectacle this week. Specifically, I was thinking of how its tools can help us create works that are timely and thematically important, while providing a point of entry for a general audience. Does the magic and wonder help us tell difficult stories? I liked thinking out loud about this. More to come on spectacle intersecting with theme. A few bits of content I talk about:

• Scary Stories Documentary on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/516691/scary-stories

• Lovecraft Country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEvK1Zwi9XY

• JoJo Rabbit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4McUzXfFI

—

Visit us at cruzfolio.com for the latest writings and recordings by yours truly and my friends!

Support the podcast by purchasing my latest poetry collection! Amazon.com: Flame to the Watering Hole: A Poetry Collection eBook: Cruz, Jaime Alejandro: Kindle Store

Subscribe!

Hello all!

Today we bring you the work of Sherre Vernon!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sherre Vernon (she/her/hers) is a seeker of a mystical grammar and a recipient of the Parent-Writer Fellowship at The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. She has two award-winning chapbooks: Green Ink Wings (fiction) and The Name is Perilous (poetry). Readers describe Sherre’s work as heartbreaking, richly layered, lyrical and intelligent.

SUPPORT SHERRE’S WORK HERE: To read more of her work visit www.sherrevernon.com/publications and tag her into conversation @sherrevernon.
—
Narrated by J. Alejandro

Music provided today by:

https://musopen.org/music/108-nocturnes-op-9/ https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/verona/we-are-so-close-id-1414 https://musopen.org/music/43257-cobarde/ Sounds by: https://www.zapsplat.com/

—
Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW this labor of love, and don’t forget to tell your writer friends!

Your support helps us tremendously! Or you can support by purchasing J. Alejandro’s poetry collection!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/ Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/ For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

The podcast where J & Madd tink their glasses to 3 things.

Hey friends!
Today we come to tink our glasses to three things:

• Buying a Car in this economy. Man, we really are old, talking about the future and financial decisions on a podcast episode, good grief. It is what it is. Enjoy being an adult with us…
• We talk about the sublime Crazy Stupid Love, and how the pieces came together!
• We also discuss Raya and the Last Dragon, a family movie raising the bar!

NEW MUSICAL INTRO BY OUR SON!

Air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com

Much love,
J&M

Hey, want to support the show? We got SWAG like a bunch of sellouts! https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Our-Kid-s-Asleep-Podcast-by-ChillMachine/71043173.6IBXU?utm

More designs coming soon! If you want to help other ways, review and share this recorded program!

Subscribe Today!

Hey friends,

This week I’ve been haunted by Werner Herzog’s Lessons of Darkness. It is a masterful documentary on the aftermath of the oil fields in Kuwait in flames after the conflict. I had to talk about it, so I’m going to do it here, and hope to learn a few things from this meditative and heartbreaking work, as I need to pack a lot of tone and hopefully mood into my latest work: a new interactive audio play.

Check out the film for free here: https://shoutfactorytv.com/werner-herzog/lessons-of-darkness/54ebc59569702d04cb7a0c00

Much love,
j

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Hello all!

Today we are so excited to share 3 flash fiction stories by Lee Anderson!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lee has written short stories and essays for a multitude of small and large press publications, including “Fiction International” and “The Miami Herald.” He also wrote and staged two one-act plays in New York City, “Supper’s Ready” and “Little America.” He’s the author of the shocking horror novel “What Happened at Sisters Creek” and the critically-acclaimed short story collection “Dark Lords of the Trailer Park. Lee lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and calico.

SUPPORT THE AUTHOR HERE:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lee.anderson.writes/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/theleeanderson

Website: https://www.palmcirclepress.net

—
Narrated by J. Alejandro

Music provided today by:

https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree

https://musopen.org/music/108-nocturnes-op-9/

Sounds by: https://www.zapsplat.com/
—
Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW this labor of love, and don’t forget to tell your writer friends!

Your support helps us tremendously! Or you can support by purchasing J. Alejandro’s poetry collection!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/ Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/ For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

Subscribe Today!

Hi there!
I’m testing the Zoom L8 to look into podcasting in our living room. I ran the file through noise reduction through Audacity a few times for minimal post and this is what we got. We’ll see what the living room recording process looks like in the future, but for now, this is what we have to work with. Excited to record this way!

Hi there, let’s talk and reminisce from the heart:

• Today I finished the draft of Erin’s audio monologue!
• Is it me, or do you have to eat a big bowl of cereal before finishing a draft?
• Also, let’s go down memory lane and how audio memories get me in the right mindset to make stuff.
• And I think I started a musical project for my dad

What a weird, honest episode. I liked it. Hope you come along, my friends.
Much love,
j

Visit us at cruzfolio.com for the latest writings and recordings by yours truly and my friends!
Support the podcast by purchasing my latest poetry collection! Amazon.com: Flame to the Watering Hole: A Poetry Collection eBook: Cruz, Jaime Alejandro: Kindle Store

Subscribe!

Happy Thursday!
Today we are thrilled to present A Flash Memoir (Lebensborn, Avrum, Pandemic) by Miriam Sagan!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I’m Miriam Sagan, poet and writer. I founded and now run the creative writing program at Santa Fe Community College. Most recent books are MAP OF THE LOST (UNM Press) and SEVEN PLACES IN AMERICA (Sherman Asher). I’m working on site specific poetry installations.For Miriam’s extraordinary content, please visit: http://miriamswell.wordpress.com

A few words from Miriam about the work: This is a flash memoir. Why I put off difficult material until I was 66 years old and in lockdown in a pandemic…I do not know. Will it be published? I can’t predict. But I’m working on it anyway! My most recent published memoir Bluebeard’s Castle (Red Mountain, 2019) is about my near death experience as a young woman and my difficult fascinating activist father, who was on Nixon’s Enemies List. Hope you enjoy. I am not that focused on what I’ve overcome, but here is what helped me– feminism, Buddhism, bodywork, love, painting, music, community, landscape, the young, solitude, and pickled things in jars from farmers’ markets.

—
Narration by Madelyn Cruz | Original music by descheveler

Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW this labor of love, and don’t forget to tell your writer friends! Your support helps us tremendously!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

Support our projects by purchasing my poetry collection, now on Amazon!

https://youtu.be/MidUO1PfgqQ

Subscribe!

Hey all!

Happy National Poetry Month! Let’s get back on track with 3 wonderful poems by Linda Imbler!

• Gray to Black
• Ensorcelled Within the Moonlit Eyes of P’aqo
• A Backyard Incident in St. Louis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Linda Imbler is the author of five paperback poetry collections and three e-book collections (Soma Publishing.) This writer lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband, Mike the Luthier, several quite intelligent saltwater fish, and an ever-growing family of gorgeous guitars. Learn more atlindaspoetryblog.blogspot.com.

—

Narration by J. Alejandro and Madelyn Cruz

Music by descheveler

Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please subscribe and review this labor of love, and don’t forget to tell your writer friends! Your support would help us tremendously!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

Support our projects by purchasing my poetry collection, now on Amazon!

https://youtu.be/WFNyhNIiohs

Welcome to Our Kid’s Asleep Podcast, where we tink our glasses to three topics in pop culture, the news, and other shit shows!

Apple •RadioPublic•Google•Stitcher•Castbox •Spotify •Podlink

Hey friends!

Back to podcasting! Trying out our new mixer and we have some stories for you after a very exciting March! We also cover HBO’s Close Enough!

Oh hey, Maddie’s debut audiobook narration is out! Please consider checking out her amazing audio narration work! https://www.audible.com/pd/Liberty-Brought-Us-Here-Audiobook/B08ZYWRLKH

Hey, want to support the show? Leave a review or share with your friends! Also, we got SWAG like a bunch of sellouts!

More designs coming soon! If you want to help other ways, review and share this recorded program! Air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com

Much love,

J&M

Subscribe Today!

Hi there!
I’m testing the Zoom L8 to look into podcasting in our living room. I ran the file through noise reduction through Audacity a few times for minimal post and this is what we got. We’ll see what the living room recording process looks like in the future, but for now, this is what we have to work with. Excited to record this way!

Today, I go on a little ramble about outlining projects prior to starting, outlines in general, and how this has helped me through the last two weeks or so. I’ll keep talking about this later so consider this part 1 of many…

Make art. Make haste. Much love,
j

Visit us at cruzfolio.com for the latest writings and recordings by yours truly and my friends!
Support the podcast by purchasing my latest poetry collection! Amazon.com: Flame to the Watering Hole: A Poetry Collection eBook: Cruz, Jaime Alejandro: Kindle Store

The Mortal Kombat 2021 Film will bring out the nostalgia I left in Mexico. Eye Stuff. Couch.

• I am hyped for the new Mortal Kombat movie. I recorded this in February for The Writing Record and scrapped it, but it captures my love for the MK world so I figured what the hell, let’s get a few thoughts out there about being a Mexican kid falling in love with a video game and leaving for a new country. I sound a bit stuffy so just a heads up…

• My pessimism is always let down the eye doctor. I go into that waiting room and anticipate ocular tragedy, only to be told my eyes are moderately bad and everything is gonna be okay. On Monday, I went in for my yearly visit and was told my prescription changed. He mentioned things like keeping an eye on your eyes, and potential myopic degeneration may be in the future. But the eyeball innards were intact and healthy. It felt like an hour of mixed signals: it doesn’t look good. It doesn’t look good at all, and everything’s gonna be fine stop worrying. Regardless, I walked out of there convinced my eyes are finally fulfilling that long announced promise to give up on the whole vision thing. This was a weird week.

• We bought a couch with a pullout bed to turn our guest room on the second floor into a reading nook. It took three months to get to our doorstep and sat there for two weeks as Maddie and I figured out how to get the fucking thing up the stairs. We nervously walked about Home Depot figuring out how we would get this couch into the house, let along up the stair flight we imagine over and over again. We got home and try out the moving straps, stumbling in the great process of trial and error until we gain enough inertia to get the thing from one end of the garage to our door. We reached the point of no return, and we stubbornly persisted. In this ordeal, one of sheer determination or stupidity, you question your bones. You wonder if you can really take the weight. You consider what your life will be like when the couch comes sliding down the stairs to snap your leg in half at the foot of the stairs. The furniture in your home has turned on you and you are afraid. But in the idiocy of this task, Maddie and I found a willingness to push each other as hard as the furniture. We know our limits, we push each other in the best way. We listened to each other as we pushed one end of the couch in the air and tilted the thing upward and for a split second it could have come back down to flatten its misguided owners. We broke sweat, we persisted, we basket in the ecstasy of seeing the couch where it was meant to be. … So yes, you can push a couch up the narrow stairs, but you’re in your thirties. You’ve had a long week. And perhaps there are better ways to remind yourself persistence is key as long as you manage it in tandem with a carefully designed approach. Hire movers next time.

Make art. Make haste. Much love,

j

Support our projects by purchasing my poetry collection, now on Amazon!

Subscribe Today!

Whoa I’m back at it again!

Thanks for your patience as I come out of this allergy fog to start recording again!
I want to talk to you about my close call during our recent snowstorm, our toilet deciding to ruin everything, as well as how I hope to turn some of these experiences into narratives or short pieces. I hope this helps if you’re trying to do the same.

So good to record once more! Stay tuned for more Creative Drive episodes coming soon!
If you’d like to support our writings and recordings at cruzfolio.com, support Maddie and I by purchasing my poetry collection now available on Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D4L7BQ5/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_50G9H5FA3R5AQMEN4062

Make art. Make haste. Much love.

j

I was reminded by the Google doodle of the work of Zitkala-Sa, the great Yankton-Dakota writer and political activist who had a birthday a few days ago. I inadvertently threw myself down the rabbit hole of Native American suffering in the Old West. After all, I live where tragedy was once a way of life: Good old Wyoming. My sweet home. This land, where I raise my son and lay my head at night, is land that has been fought over, and seen disarray as manifest destiny trampled over tradition and culture much older than the relatively young greed of American conquest.

I love looking at old photographs of the time period and do so with a reverence I don’t fully understand. I wonder how Native Americans dealt with the unimaginable grief of being taken from their culture and molded into something else. I also recall reading about the Carlisle School and its “grand purpose” of re-educating children whose faces refused to find comfort in their new outfits. Their motto brought me deep sorrow: “Kill the Indian: Save the Man.”

I don’t intend to create parallels between the horror experienced by Native Peoples of America and what people of color experience today. It’s a different experience, of course, but yesterday’s unfiltered hatred toward the Other still lingers in various distilled societal forms. As I read about Zitkala-Sa’s fierce sense of duty and tales of her advocacy, I am humbled by the hurt she endured, and am reminded that the through-line of re-education, assimilation, and cultural subjugation, is still at play when people of color choose to adopt a mainstream American identity. Mainstream American identity, sort of like a shiny and new euro-centric sense of belonging we were sold in those high-energy TV commercials in the 90s, and everywhere we looked growing up. Seeing that ideal everywhere can cast doubt in the minds of brown kids. Even now, I second-guess where I land on the spectrum of culture guilt. I ask myself often, almost daily:

“Have I left my culture behind?”

“What if my code-switcher got stuck and now I’m just a coconut?”

“Did I become one of the good ones in their eyes for good?”

When I was in college, I was introduced to Richard Rodriguez’ often polarizing Hunger of Memory; A narrative about the author’s steep road to a Western education and the haunting isolation he experienced, particularly from his own family and culture. When I read it, I fumed over it for a long while. I wrote a five page essay in response to what I perceived as pomp, and accused Rodriguez of surrendering his culture no-questions-asked to the romanticized pursuit of becoming a Western intellectual. A traditional person of letters. Perhaps I didn’t have the academic scope and most likely, still lack the secular acumen to clearly see his point of view, but I felt a rage. A deep fervor that a person so intelligent, eloquent, and driven, would choose to leave his culture behind. I believed Richard, the son of Mexican immigrants, an immigrant himself, decided to forgo his background, to acquire a new one. Maybe I misunderstand his take on it.

Not so long ago, I was browsing through my bookshelves and I saw Hunger of Memory stowed away in the forgotten corner of my guest room bookshelf. It still pained me to recollect how I felt in college. I haven’t read it since. Not sure why I still own it. Perhaps as a strange reminder that I would someday be in the very position Richard Rodriguez wrote about. In this struggle of assimilation, I find that after living in the United States for 25 years, and growing up in a place like Wyoming, it seems as though assimilation took place in me and I forgot to pay attention when it occurred. I used to be mad at Richard because he predicted the wedge I often feel separating me from my family and my culture. I left my Mexican home in Evanston, as a Mexican young adult, and I went somewhere else to learn new things that contradicted everything I knew about life. I must have become an “American” somewhere along the way. Looking back on that critical time in my development, I now understand that to inhabit and keep my culture, is a responsibility. A choice.

I write with a clear understanding that assimilation happened to me. I didn’t know it was happening so I didn’t prevent it. I could have paid attention, sure. But who does at 19? I wasn’t asking myself whoa I feel really weird, it must be due to my decreasing Mexicanity levels and I need to sound the alarm so the compas can come help me gain full Mexicanity and rid myself of this cultural flux once and for all—

—I don’t think it happens like that. I just went out into the world and experienced a lot of new, interesting, and cool shit. While I consider myself a private person, my grave mistake has been to exacerbate this concealment. I grew too accustomed to withhold parts of myself from public view. In turn, my Latinidad is the aspect of me that has suffered the most. I could have done better being my true, weird, Latinx self. I could have been more proud. Unapologetic on all fronts. In a place like Wyoming, that can happen, you know? In a homogenized place, it is emotionally taxing to be the odd one out, so it helps to lie low sometimes. To survive. I then left for college, and the wedge truly appeared as I walked out of my parent’s house. I was no longer watching novelas or Sabado Gigante on the regular, I was listening to Wicked and watching Christopher Nolan movies and listening to Elliott Smith deep cuts and all the other cool shit I couldn’t find in a small town. All these things definitely inform who I am now.

The great thing about being a writer, however, is that all of this hodge-podge and cultural fusion inevitably comes out in the writing. Just when I think I wasn’t being myself, I look to my childhood poems, my college plays and even what I’m writing now, and I see so much melodrama lifted from the dense history of my extended family, myths I overheard at Socorro’s store around the corner while buying chiclets, my grandfather’s violin, my favorite Cantinflás movie, my father’s guitarist hands cracked in the Wyoming frost he worked in for years.

Yes, there is a Mexican in there after all.

And all of this Mexicanity comes out with a shot of Tequila from my querido Jalisco, as I write with my Amá’s tireless work ethic, featuring a serving of Euripides and Ionesco and Pinter and a soundtrack by Quasi and Neutral Milk Hotel as the backdrop of a Rocky Mountain sunset that reminds us of our mortality and deep existential purpose. It’s all there. There is room for all of that. And so I arrive to this:

This Mexican-American. This pocho. This coconut. This grown-ass brown man has a choice.

I have always had a choice.

My brown face. My strong brow that precedes me. My hair black hot as a tarmac below these pelting open skies. This is me. Y eso es todo. Soy yo mismo. And I am capable of being truthful about all that I am.

One last thing: While I was away at college, my Amá would send me care packages. She would freeze meals and ship them to me. Carne con chile. Frijoles Fritos. Chiles Rellenos. She sent me little gifts. Prayer cards. Family photos. Those spicy mango paletas. For years, she sent me reminders of where I come from. As if kindly asking me not to forget. All I had to do was put in the effort to strengthen that bond with my family. I haven’t done a very good job over the years. However, I am fortunate I can still mend these cultural wounds with the help of my people. Mi familia. Because unlike before, distance is no longer a barrier. I can find my Latinx community online. Even though he’s now passed, I can learn more about the history of the Native Peoples of Lake Chapala to discover my grandfather’s heritage. I can call my Amá and Apá in Mexico every night to catch up. I can google how to make pozole if I want to. I have a pathway to find again what once went missing.

We have a responsibility to be honest about who we are, and to do so proudly. So hold on to the voices of your parents, your abuelos, your folks. Don’t get too distracted like me. It’s quite a task in this hectic world, and while I’m certain that someone will inevitably disagree about how you go about celebrating your background, we can’t let external judgment dictate who we are. I’m a Mexican-American husband, father, and writer shaped by Wyoming’s expanse and cold winters. I am shaped by my father’s electric guitar and my grandfather’s Mariachi music. I’m the brown kid in theater class. The man who observes and writes. The family man trying to make his family proud. The guy in the middle. So to us in the middle, those neither here nor there, those straddling two cultures that may embrace us and reject us at once: Every day is an opportunity to reclaim our heritage, and bring it to the forefront boldly; because unfortunately, endless people of color past and the many unseen Others who came before us, did not have a choice at all.

j

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zitkala-Sa

https://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Memory-Education-Richard-Rodriguez/dp/0553272934

We can now see the surface of Mars as if we stood on its rusted sands.

I saw this beautifully stitched 360 panoramic shot of Mars by the Perseverance rover. How maddening that we can’t see our own humility in the distance between our planet and our red neighbor? How fucked up is it we still sit here throwing our bones at one another while a cosmic voyage can lead us to realizing our great human transgressions? I wish desperately to transcend. To become an astral being with infinite wisdom and clarity fit to know these unseen, untainted landscapes. I dunno. I dunno man. I thought of all these things in the tangle of my creature comforts, indulging in the human excess of snacking, ego, and Twitter. I can’t see beyond myself on most days. I dunno man. Is it possible to ruminate beyond earthly pleasure of sleeping and feeding, and the human impulse of carnage over progress? I dunno man. It gets pretty complicated. Like, you wanna be a star child but we got bills to pay ya know? I know I gotta get up early and I got to work like all day and when the day’s done I look up and I can’t see the skies because the pollution is up there in the clouds and in my eyes, and I just wanna go home and see my family because I got a shift coming up early in the mornin’ again and I hope we got pizza for dinner and maybe some Property Brothers or that singing competition show everyone likes.

I hope someone throws me a bone.

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

Welcome to another episode of thinking out loud:

• Priority number one right now is getting Erin’s monologue squared away. I have a clear breakdown in my mind of the structure, but I’ve yet to go back to our shared document. I’m hung up on that familiar feeling of not knowing the specifics about a character’s field. Their pursuits. While I am fascinated with our generation’s obsession with purpose and purity of fulfilment, I find myself grasping at straws for the details. I just have to be okay writing a shitty outline so I can see it on paper. Then Erin can take it and we can mold it into something amazing! Okay, I feel better about that…
• Ahren and Dane’s work on Prometheus has been such a light in recent weeks. I saved a screenshot of Ahren’s work on my desktop and I listen to Dane’s recordings often during these long days.
• My son and I started casually podcasting at his request. He’s taken to it nicely and looks forward to talking into the microphone every weekend or so. We talk about Minecraft, and Roblox, and we ended our last episode with my boy making some sick beats on the tablet using BandLab. My son gives me reasons to be proud every single day, and that weekend was no exception. I recorded an episode of The Writing Record on my phone about being inspired by a child’s uninhibited curiosity, and how we can replicate it. That’s a lot to unpack, so I will be re-recording the episode and sharing it soon. Amazing the things you can learn from your children. I love you, son. You’re an incredible soul.
• Interesting article. I think there’s a play here… Remote learning isn’t new: Radio instruction in the 1937 polio epidemic (theconversation.com)
• So far, I’ve written three poems in February. Not great, not terrible. The latest I wrote this morning after thinking of my grandfather this weekend. Born on Valentine’s Day. He was a tremendous human being and I can’t believe he has been gone almost twelve years. We miss him terribly, but hope to honor him every day with our kindness and positive actions. Love you, Pa Valente.

More to come on the other projects.

Stay safe out there. Make art. Make haste. Much love.

j

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Hello all! Today we present The Bard of Frogtown by A. Whittenberg!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A Whittenberg is a Philadelphia native who has a global perspective. If she wasn’t an author she’d be a private detective or a jazz singer. She loves reading about history and true crime. Her other novels include Sweet Thang, Hollywood and Maine, Life is Fine, Tutored and The Sane Asylum.

Support this writer here! https://www.amazon.com/Allison-Whittenberg/e/B001HD23P4%3F

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. If you have a sec, please subscribe and review this labor of love, your support would help us tremendously!

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive

https://youtu.be/nZICeDVZQAw

Hello friends!

Today we talk about VEEP, the HBO comedy (thanks Sam and Austin!), and why we have decided to watch it all over again. We also talk about how we escaped from politics by watching a show about politics. And something something The West Wing.

Hey, want to support the show? We got SWAG like a bunch of sellouts! https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/70302865

More designs coming soon! If you want to help other ways, review and share this recorded program! Don’t forget to air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com

Much love,

J&M

Hello all!

Today we have a wonderful episode featuring poetry and flash fiction by Lydia Tai!
A few words from Taiwanese-American writer Lydia Tai: “I write as not only a coping mechanism for my mental health but also to express my creativity through the English language and interpret the world as I see it.”

For more of Lydia’s work, please visit:

http://heroinchic.weebly.com/blog/poetry-by-lydia-tai

And be sure to follow Lydia on Twitter and Instagram!

About our Guest Reader: Brenda Zamora is an L.A. based actor recently seen in The Laundromat, now on Netflix! Follow her adventures on Instagram!

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life.

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive-…

https://youtu.be/jUHTJeUM4e8

Hello all! The first of multiple episodes coming this week! Today we present the poetry of Huda Tariq!

About the Author: Huda Tariq hails all the way from Pakistan. She has done her Graduation in Botany (Biology) and is dedicated to serving in the field of Education. “I absolutely love to write, all day every day, irrespective of genres or platforms and I love to surround myself with infinite emotions and feelings. Though I am not a big famous writer, I believe I will be. I have been published in different magazines and journals respectively. To enjoy and have a peek at my precious pieces you can follow my Instagram where I regularly post my work on Instagram!” https://www.instagram.com/huda.ht/

About our Guest Reader: Brenda Zamora is an L.A. based actor recently seen in The Laundromat, now on Netflix! Follow her adventures on Instagram!

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction!

https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive-…

https://youtu.be/YggYAGGCbCo

Subscribe Today!

Back at it again. Moving forward with audio only versions of these ramblings. I meditate on my hesitation to keep growing the Write/Rec Lab. I am relieved to vent about this, because I don’t want to let any of my collaborators down. Sometimes, if you take on too much, you need accept breaks. I may record this again to get to the point faster, so definitely don’t listen to this. This is actually a rambling I’m proud of, so I’m going to let it live out here in the open.
But before you go, just remember I believe in you and your creativity. Your creative soul has worth, and we need it now more than ever.

Much love,

j

https://cruzfolio.com/the-writing-record/

An update on what’s going on at the Write/Rec Lab!

Where did January go? I’m still unpacking 2020 and was supposed to be getting my shit together. Here’s what we have been working on this month:

• Talked to Erin yesterday, we’re going to work on an audio monologue perhaps about yoga and the elitism, cultish nature of the industry, and other quirks. Will create google doc for us to start fiddling around. Will be an interesting challenge to create something aurally enticing, at the same time highlighting her insane talent as a performer. Custom monologue and new production challenges, here we come!
• This weekend, Dane found a singer from Portugal on Fiverr to sing [Poor Prometheus] and it is enchanting and surreal. I’ve never had my words sung like this, and it was incredibly special. We have to deliberate and bring Ahren into the conversation whether this will be a good fit for the production or not. Lots to discuss. Ahren is hard at work on rendering and doing such an amazing job making the layers of the animation rich and exciting. This is a dream project come true.
• Hopefully in the next month or so once the schedules line up, we should be starting a children’s book project with my dear friends Dani and Trevor. A little big tale close to my heart tentatively titled, The Big Friendship Flight. I can’t wait to start collaborating with these brilliant creative and driven minds.
• Dust sent along the demo we recorded of, Cutter, the latest demo we recorded at his studio last week. It has some work but a great foundation. We spent a good hour originating a few ideas and I have some homework: to write two lyrics in the coming weeks with the kind of heartbreak or despair that one would hear in a song by Saliva. I’m really psyched about this because Dust is a phenomenal musician and I refuse to give him shitty lyrics.
• Brenda’s focusing on auditions in L.A., but she just recorded a few episodes of Creative Drive and killed it. We’re working on getting her new mic setup so she’s pretty excited about that. I wrote her a short audio monologue that I’m hoping we can produce in the next month or so. All things at their own pace.
• I’ve been thinking of Star Wars lately, thanks to a suggestion Anthony mentioned about hoping to do like a short homage film set in the planet Hoth. We’ll see if we can start scheming something. Treading into such fervent fandom is a bit intimidating and the lore is just overwhelming, but at least I can push myself out of my comfort zone to do something awesome.
• I’ll be following up with Jason about his short film project, as well as Kari and Craig about our zoom project, see if we can pick up where we left off now that 2021 is here!
• I’ve been meaning to design a cover for my dad’s singles, which will be coming out sometime in the next few months. I’m digging up some photos of him and trying to create something in the traditional mold of Mexican music. We’ll see what I can come up with, so that I can release his music online. He’s done covers of American country songs. Really happy that I can do this for him and get his music out there. He’s my hero.
• No Writing Record Episode this month but will get back to it once the work schedule gets back to normal.
• My son and I are chipping away, fashioning buildings and structures and monoliths in Minecraft’s creative mode. Nothing like getting to have a good time with my boy. I’m never short of inspiration around him.

It only took fifteen years or so, but this year is finally starting off the way I intended because for once, I am looking out and beyond myself. This year is indeed starting on the right foot, and I can’t thank my family and friends enough for that! Anyway, the year is long and I vow to reach out to more friends and bring more creative perspectives into the fold. As we pursue community, we have to remember that we don’t have to look very far. I know where my people are: they are here, at the ready, a multitude, offering support and art and joy. Now it’s my turn to give in return. Stay tuned for what’s to come! Check out our recent podcast episodes because there is a lot of new stuff over there.

Much love,

j

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Hey friends,

Welcome to Our Kid’s Asleep, where Madd and I discuss three topics over wine, or catch up with friends, or both. (and yes, our kid recorded the theme song).

Today’s guest is the one and only Dom Gordon, here to tell us about his new poetry collection, Melanin Muse, available now!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S8PK5W6/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_rGreGb6AQ8GGZ

We also throwback to our great times at Casper College, where we all met, as well as why Dom has a grudge against Maddie that now extends to my kid too.

Thanks for listening and much love!

J&M

We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com If you can, please subscribe, rate and review: It would help us tremendously!

Subscribe Today!

Hello all!

We have a great episode (part 1 of 2!) showcasing an amazing talent: A. Whittenberg!

A Whittenberg is a Philadelphia native who has a global perspective. If she wasn’t an author she’d be a private detective or a jazz singer. She loves reading about history and true crime. Her other novels include Sweet Thang, Hollywood and Maine, Life is Fine, Tutored and The Sane Asylum.

Support this writer here! https://www.amazon.com/Allison-Whittenberg/e/B001HD23P4%3F

Brenda Zamora is an L.A. based actor recently seen in The Laundromat, now on Netflix! Follow her adventures on Instagram!

Music featured: Chromatic Waves by Joel Loopez | Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7413-chromatic-waves | License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life. Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction!

https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive-…

https://youtu.be/s_Euk3xi8GA

Subscribe Today!

Hello there!

Welcome to the international showcase of writers from all walks of life! Today it’s my pleasure to present poetry by Dr. Thomas Davison. Thank you for sharing your work with us!

Dr. Davison is teaching at two all-male prison facilities in Northern Ohio. He has been deeply moved by his interactions with incarcerated students and has been motivated to create poems and short stories about these experiences. Thomas has started a non-profit dedicated to providing free one-on-one support services for felons. You can view more of his published work at: https://thomasdavisoncom.wordpress.com

COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR

TAKING A WALK IN MY YARD THIS MORNING: The State prison culture is unique. The felons live by their own code and set of values. There is no better place to observe this – then in the prison Yard. The following poem Taking a Walk in My Yard This Morning best captures what it truly feels like – for me. The prison ‘pecking order’ is complex and fluid. As you probably can imagine – there are some very hard people on the inside. The prison Yard is an integral part of prison life. It is the place where reputations are made – and lost. It is where leaders are crowned – and dethroned. It is where all social activities have their origins – and their endings. This is where individuals and gangs have their battles – and wars. Trips to everything important in a felon’s life: visitation, mess hall, chapel, etc., all pass through the Yard.

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MY HOUSE: Like most people I want to believe that I am a good judge of character. I have spent most of my adult life working with young men. In the US Army, with my son’s and grandson’s boy scout troops, with inner city college students, and with incarcerated felons. I also want to believe that I am a realist. There is no doubt that I am an optimist. I’m one of those folks who is always looking for that ‘silver lining’ in any situation. I have been accused of being a Pollyanna. That is not true. I see people for what they are – but – I also see people (especially my students) for their potential – of what they can become. The prison changes all men. For some this change is for the worse. Mental health is a huge challenge within the prisons. The following poem Just Another Day in My House – is my way of accepting that for some – there is not always potential – or a silver lining. For some there is only a slow sinking into the abysmal pit of: self-despair – anger – retribution – and ultimately madness. At the risk of being referred to as ‘Captain Obvious’ – prison has a dark-side.

HOLD ON: The first thing that I ever wrote about the state prisons was the following poem called Hold On. The feelings and stress felt by the prisoners is apparent every moment of every day. Half of the prison staff and administration – that I work and talk with – on an almost daily basis – sincerely believe their role is to punish felons for their offenses to society. Whereas, the other half (just as sincerely) believe that it is their role to rehabilitate these offenders. I am reminded of a boat with rowers on both sides. One side is rowing in what they believe is the best direction for their ship. While the other side is rowing just as eagerly to a totally different direction. Result – the ship is going nowhere – it is in the middle of the ocean spinning in tight little circles. Unable to change course. We as an American Society must decide if prisons exist to rehabilitate or to punish. It can’t do both.

Previously published works: Taking a Walk in My Yard This Morning – Teach. Write. A Writing Teachers’ Literary Journal Spring/Summer 2020. Just Another Day in My House – Black Petals, Issue #91, Spring, 2020

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life.

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive-…

https://youtu.be/BXDlEuRhqbY

Subscribe Today!

Hello there!

Welcome to the international showcase of writers from all walks of life! Today it’s my pleasure to present poetry by Varun Amatya. Thank you for sharing your work with us!

Comments from Varun: I am 34 years old and I write from Kathmandu, a city located in Nepal. I am a Phd. candidate majoring in Development Administration Field. I have spent many years of nights in thoughts until the sun would rise. These stories in my head range from personal development to human and nation’s development. Through the medium of poetry, I was able to express my expectation from my surrounding environment and my hope for an even better world. I write to either express myself – to myself, or other times to spread a message to others who are like me and sometimes even lost in this lonely world. Today, I wrote a poem to express the need for freedom in our individual life. Freedom from work, expectations of family and the control to drive our life in our own happy manner. With this poem I wished we all had the choice to work in our own pace rather than the pace required by the outside business platform. It is about a poet’s day-dream to feel free like a bird with the whole sky as its playing field.

Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets and writers from all walks of life.

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive-…

https://youtu.be/uW-IEa1noF4

Subscribe Today!

Hi everyone,

I recorded an episode last week but I hated doing it on my phone (now posted on youtube), so here’s a better recap of 2020, what I’ve learned three months into the Write/Rec Lab, as well as some words of encouragement to any of you about to start on your creative journey.
Let’s kick ass this year!

Much love,

j

Check out https://cruzfolio.com/the-writing-record/ to subscribe and review the podcast, I would greatly appreciate it!

J. Alejandro on Twitter @jwriterec!

https://youtu.be/i_II44obKvE

Hello everyone!

As we close 2020, I’d like to announce the next chapter of the podcast:

We would like to introduce Fuerza Creativa! This new podcast will be the Spanish counterpart of Creative Drive, where we will showcase more amazing poetry and short fiction from all over the world! Disfruten el primer episodio en Fuerza Creativa!

Título: El enigma de los tornillos Autor: Antonio Rolando Arenas

Obtuvo el título de Master of Arts with a Major in Modern Languages en Almeda University (USA, 2010), es Diplomado en Gestión Pública de la Provincia de Mendoza por la Escuela de Gobierno y Administración de la provincia de Mendoza – FCPyS, UN de Cuyo (Mendoza, 2012), es Profesor de Lengua y Literatura para el tercer ciclo de la EGB de la Educación Polimodal por el Instituto Superior del Profesorado PT-14 Escuela Italiana (Mendoza, 2013) y es Diplomado en Historia Argentina en Latinoamérica por la Escuela de Gobierno y Administración de la provincia de Mendoza-Instituto de Revisionismo Histórico Argentino e Iberoamericano Manuel Dorrego (Mendoza, 2015). Recibió el diploma del Curso Profesional de Analista Químico. Neptunos Formación. España, 2018.

Publicó el libro Interrogantes, el libro La página del buffet; una publicación literaria diferente y el libro Diálogos internos.

El Juego de los errores disponible en Barnes & Noble!

https://youtu.be/v_Jz45BoZto

Y tambien disponible en Facebook!

Oh, right. I forgot about posting this one. Here’s my latest collaboration with Wyoming Dance Arts to celebrate the Holidays: Fragments of Christmas!

All the best and Happy Holidays!

j & co.

https://youtu.be/DTqFLWGC1eI

BIG EPISODE TODAY, WE MADE IT TO 50!

We’d like to thank you so much for taking the time to listen in so far, and this is just the beginning! Today we’re joined by our amazing friends Ashley and Chris to talk about some heavyweight topics:

• Experiences in dog fostering.
• Hamilton! Finally we can catch up on the musical’s lasting impressions.
• A television program that forged friendships: The Office!

Come join us on this special episode, and once again, thanks for listening!
Much love,
J&M

We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com If you can, please subscribe, rate and review: It would help us tremendously!

Subscribe Today!

Podcast available on:

Hello all!

So happy to present 3 poems by Nayanjyoti Baruah!

FROM THE POET: I’m Nayanjyoti Baruah, from Assam, India. I’m pursuing M.A. in English Literature from Gauhati University. My poems have been appeared in Tayls, Rasa Literary Review, Felicity, Akhore, Meghali Budhidrom, The Fiction Project, A Too Powerful Word, Necro Magazine etc. I’m the Co-author of The Bag of Knowledge. I’ve written two essays and four short stories as well.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nayanjyoti2544/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nayanjyoti.baruah.3745

Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets from all walks of life.
Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/
Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/creative-drive-podcast/

https://youtu.be/uoWdyMG3OUs

The Writing Record now available on:

Hello friends!

If you don’t want to watch, here’s what I was reminded of this week:

• This week I challenged my workflow. It is hard to impose or question the way you do things, but being objective is half the battle.
• Break the week apart to see what you can get done on certain days. This may vary depending on your work schedule.
• Read to your partner. Have them read to you. Build something with your kids.

Much love,

j

Let’s connect!

https://www.instagram.com/writerec

https://cruzfolio.com/the-writing-record/

https://youtu.be/Qptc0pXlTm0

• I was inspired by a tweet shared by writer Susana Ramirez (previously featured on Creative Drive!). We needed to incorporate these three things: Crib, Tree, Shoe. I had to solve the puzzle. I had to make a narrative around it. So I scribbled together a flash fiction story! Thanks for allowing me to gather the pieces into something exciting!
• I went down the youtube and podcasting rabbit hole and found some tremendous guidance from Seth Godin. Loved this recent interview where he dropped some knowledge on working out our craft in the open.
• I succumbed to Audible and got us a Premium Plus. Alright Amazon, take my ears too. I guess I’ll be listening to some Seth Godin books ASAP!
• So here we go, I’m so happy to present my debut poetry collection! Flame to the Watering Hole is an assortment of my favorite moments of poetry of the last few years. I’m so thrilled to share it with you all!
• And do yourselves a favor: Read to your partner this weekend. Have them read to you. It’s medicine.

Happy Friday, friends. Much love,

j

Hello all!

It’s a pleasure to present Michele Mekel’s poetry today!

ABOUT THE POET: Living in Happy Valley, Michele Mekel wears many hats of her choosing: writer and editor; educator and bioethicist; poetess and creatrix; cat herder and chief can opener; witch and woman; and, above all, human. Her work has appeared in various academic and creative publications, including having her poetry featured on Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac. She is also a co-principal investigator for the Viral Imaginations: COVID-19 project (viralimaginations.psu.edu).

Viral Imaginations: viralimaginations.psu.edu

On Instagram! @ShaktiEnergy

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Creative Drive is an international podcast produced by J. Alejandro to bring visibility to poets from all walks of life.

Now accepting 3 poems or flash fiction! https://cruzfolio.com/you/

Acepto poesia y relatos cortos en español! https://cruzfolio.com/fuerza-creativa/

For more information about the podcast, visit https://cruzfolio.com/

https://youtu.be/kptoHKIPBAQ

Hello all!
Today we’re dropping some lessons learned about our foray into audiobook narration, specifically, about a tough lesson we learned working through ACX.

Also, Madd just finished reading Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. A thrilling look at the search for the Golden State Killer!

We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to air your grievances at ourkidsasleep@gmail.com And if you can subscribe, rate and review, it would help us tremendously!

Much love,

J&M

More episodes here! https://cruzfolio.com/our-kids-asleep-podcast/