I’ve had the fortune of befriending and working with many dazzling writers from Puerto Rico and the diaspora since joining Festival de la Palabra in 2011, the brainchild of world-renowned author, professor and literary activist Mayra Santos-Febres. This yearly celebration of Puerto Rican literature and voices opened up a whole new world for me as a writer unsure of where I belonged, as an artist born and raised in the strange (Interzone) limbo between two cultures: that of precious Puerto Rico and of the sprawling United States; of the global crossroads of New York City where I was born, as well as Oregon, California and Baja Norte, México where I lived from 1988 to 2006. (More below.)

The “noir” style in film and literature appealed to me at an early age, as someone born and raised in the Bronx during its most horrific period: the 1970s/1980s. The grit and horrors people romanticize from those times were everyday life for those of us from New York’s most infamous borough. Coming of age amidst it infused all my creative work (music included) with a dark edge that came naturally. This began with early tomes of poetry that grew into micro-fictions that grew into macro-fictions, alongside electronic and other music projects beginning in 1989 and ending in 1998, when I ended my musical journey to focus on creative writing.

So when I saw the cover for Akashic Books’ upcoming San Juan Noir yesterday (to be published bilingually, as I understand) I felt a rush of many complex emotions, as though decades of wandering from one project to the next finally led me somewhere meaningful. I’m thrilled to announce that this groundbreaking volume will “hit the shelves” in October 2016 and hope that it’ll introduce its riveting storytellers to a whole new audience of eager readers. There are no words to describe my gratitude at being chosen to accompany the following authors on this tantalizing journey:

Wilfredo J. Burgos Matos, Ernesto Quiñonez, Mayra Santos-Febres, José Rabelo, Luis Negrón, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Ana María Fuster Lavin, Janette Becerra, Manolo Nuñez Negron, Tere Dávila, Edmaris Carazo, Alejandro Álvarez Nieves, and Manuel Meléndez.

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