Kara Morillo is a Stellar DMV Literary Citizen

Kara Morillo and I met during an event last year in D.C. with Melissa Rivero organized by Jamise Harper. We soon realized our mutual love for literature, the University of Maryland (UMD), and even that we had the same professors. It didn’t take long to realize I had met a stellar literary citizen in the community. Kara is committed to promoting diversity, gender equity, and social awareness through the power of literature and mindful language. She earned her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature at UMD, with a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. Her work focuses on amplifying literary voices from underrepresented groups in the United States. Besides being a feminist scholar, she is also a speaker, a facilitator, a yogini (she has been a yoga student for sixteen years!), and a cat lover.

You can follow her @karamorillo on Twitter and Instagram. She says, “I mostly post pictures of my diva cat Josie on IG, so follow if that’s your thing.” You can also check out her website to see what she’s up to. www.karamorillo.com

What does Dignidad Literaria mean to you?

Myriam Gurba and David Bowles developed this as a term of resistance, and I think it’s right to contextualize it that way. So to me, it’s a way of resisting the white supremacy in publishing, and in all of all institutions, that don’t allow for Latinx-centered art and literature. It resists the white gaze and allows for Latinx stories to be written by those who experience them first-hand, and those experiences are vast.

And since I’m here, there was some pushback on Twitter about this term and not recognizing Toni Morrison’s role in publishing, and it deserves to be addressed. Toni Morrison was the first black woman editor at Random House in the 1960s and ’70s. She was responsible for publishing the work of Angela Davis, Gayl Jones, and Toni Cade Bambara, among many others. She then strategically turns her position into an opportunity to write The Bluest Eye, published by Knopf. Frankly, she changed the entire trajectory of New York publishing for all underrepresented editors and writers, even though there are still limitations today. So we need to keep that in mind.

Can you share with us a couple of sentences that you were going to read during the Dignidad Literaria event that got canceled?

NOTE: Yes, as I was writing my dissertation, the memory of finding Julia Alvarez was strong, and I felt the need to write it. I still think it needs to be an essay.

On the day I discovered Julia Alvarez (How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991)), I did not know what I was looking for, but the wonder of encountering her on the page has remained with me. As an adolescent with a voracious reading appetite, I would accompany my mother on frequent book runs to Barnes and Noble. I learned to read from my mother, and there has never been a time where my bookshelves weren’t inundated with books.

The title struck me as peculiar, and I pulled it from the shelf and began reading immediately. The novel opened to a family tree of the Garcías, which would later serve as my road map for understanding the multiple narratives running throughout the book. The surname “García” existed within my own family tree, on my maternal grandmother’s side. I felt wonderful as I flipped through the thin pages, foreshadowing the appearance of not one, but four narrators: Yolanda, Carla, Sandra, and Fifi, all comprising the sisters García.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen out there during the Coronavirus pandemic?

I’m trying to distance myself, but I’ve seen some essentials completely gone, such as rubbing alcohol (which I needed), baby wipes (which a friend needed). So I haven’t seen anything too odd, but I feel sorry for new parents who need baby wipes right now. I also found out which of my friends are stocking toilet paper, which I highly recommend securing from them early.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done out there?

Last week, I bought two bunches of bananas on two different days even though I live alone and can’t eat them all. I honestly don’t know why I did that, but I just froze them for smoothies.

How does your literary community normally look like? And how does it look like now?

That’s a good question. I sometimes feel like there is a tension between writers and literary scholars, so my community was academics until I graduated from school. Honestly, my literary community is mostly digital, but then I get to meet brilliant people, like the interviewer, at different book events around D.C. So I guess I follow you all on social until we can meet in person. But those events are being canceled right now.

Do you have any anxiety tips to share with the rest of us?

I removed social media from my phone and log out from my accounts. I still go on Twitter, but it was stressful to see people loosely interpret what social distancing means on other platforms. So I’m giving myself 1–2 days a week to catch up on social media.

Also stick to your daily rituals, like if you make coffee or tea in the morning. If you are feeling anxious, put your feet on the ground. Breathe in deeply. Count all of your fingers and toes. Touch them all if you can. Listen to any sounds around you, even if they’re not pleasant. Just remember where you are. I like the Headspace app for meditation and sleep (I use it more for sleep, to be honest).

How can you help others?

Honestly, I think a lot of writers are hurting right now, so I’m happy to do any videos or other posts regarding anyone’s work. I also like to teach writing, because I think a lot of times people have a hard time contextualizing work. There’s a lot of reading the lines of a text, but not reading in between the lines.

What’s your go-to comfort food?

Trader Joe’s hatch chile macaroni and cheese (in the frozen section) and Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies right now. Frozen, of course.

How can we keep each other safe? (Emotionally or in any way you can think of)

Connection is key right now. Writing is already an isolated job, but it feels like we’re being pushed into another reality of that. So I think remembering to check on friends, family, and neighbors. And just asking or texting “How are you today?” and mean it. Americans tend to ask it as a rhetorical question. We need to stay in the present right now. Our culture is obsessed with goals and the future, but now is the time to focus on our needs at the moment.

Any books that you would like to recommend us?

I recommend Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown; she is a prophet of sorts and we need her way of thinking right now. I also really liked what Jaquira Díaz did with the memoir form in Ordinary Girls. It’s an experimental memoir but also eco-criticism in so many ways. I’m still thinking about it.

Any TV shows/movies that you would like to recommend us? (We’ll add them to our social distancing list)

I’m catching up on Superstore on Hulu, Sex Education and On my Block on Netflix. I need to finish Cable Girls, also on Netflix. I also recommend Roxane Gay and Dr. Tressie Cottom’s Hear to Slay podcast. They’re the smartest peas-in-the-pod on Earth.

What type of music is in your playlist?

This really depends on what I like dancing to at the time. I like Doja Cat and Selena Gomez’s albums right now for fun, danceable pop. They both brought a lot of joy and empowerment back to pop this year, as has Lizzo last year. Pop got really sad for a while. I also like Bad Bunny’s new album, as well as his activism. Snoh Aalegra. An artist from New Orleans named Boyfriend. And Chicana artist y La Bamba. And always Beyoncé. Rosalía too.

Any work from home tips?

YES! I’ve worked from home for four years, and this means you’re always at work. I would set an alarm for lunch, snacks, or other meals so you have that. As for having a set schedule, you’re likely not going to, and that’s the beauty of working from home. Granted, if you’re writing, stick the hours that work for you. For me, personal writing is when I just wake up and my mind is clear. But then I have to write for work, and I just do that in intervals. Factor in workouts or walks. And don’t feel guilty about napping. What’s great about working from home is that you can actually heal and reduce the stress that commuting otherwise brings on. And of course, capitalism doesn’t want us to nap but look, you need to nap right now. I’m not speaking for everyone, nor am I speaking for people who cannot work from home.

Have you thought about what would you do if you get cabin fever?

I’m hermitic by nature, but as I said, this is a new reality for us. I really just need to remind myself that I’m responsible for my community right now, not just myself. So a tough-love mantra is, “It’s not about you.” And it’s not. It’s about keeping all of us safe. You are part of a greater community, and your actions affect others. This is life or death.

Anything else you would like to add?

I get that yoga has entered the capitalist-matrix, but it’s originally ultimately a tool for personal liberation. It’s hard to be enclosed right now. So I recommend Yoga with Adriene or Yoga with Kassandra on YouTube. Or Yoga with Jessamyn. And if that’s not your jam, just remember to do something physical to stay in your bodies.