Earlier this year, I decided to write a story that dealt with how outsiders exoticize and romanticize Cuban people and the country’s crumbling infrastructure when traveling there. The story became, among other things, about a woman and her journey to keep her dilapidated building from collapsing while the American President’s impending visit looms over the country (this was inspired by Obama’s historic visit and the hope that it brought to the island at the time). It was a story that, more than any other I’ve written, made me feel like a real writer as I worked on it. Last night, the story was accepted for publication by one of my favorite literary magazines, The Kenyon Review.

Because my process has become a kind of communal endeavor, big thanks must go out to a list of people: Alina, Artem, Jonathan, Lauren, Shubha, Alison, Shuchi, and Sean: thank you all for your feedback and support!

 

The story is tentatively scheduled to come out next fall.