FROM: Roanoke Review

Daniel A. Olivas is the author of nine books and editor of two anthologies. His latest books are The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories (University of Arizona Press, 2017) and Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press, 2017). Widely anthologized, Olivas has written for many publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Guardian, and BOMB. His writing has appeared in many literary journals, including PANK, Fairy Tale Review, MacGuffin, New Madrid, and The Prairie Schooner Blog. He shares blogging duties at La Bloga, which is dedicated to Chicanx and Latinx literature.

Olivia Samimy speaks with Daniel about his journey as a writer below.

Thank you for sharing “The Chicano in You” with us! It is such a clever and unique story. What inspired you to write it, and what was the most challenging aspect of creating this piece?

For many, the election of Donald Trump in 2016 was devastating. Specifically, with respect to those of us who have roots in Mexico and Latin America, his bigoted campaign for president officially started with a 2015 speech where he said, in part:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

So, he proposed building a wall along the southern border to keep all of these criminals and rapists out. My magical realist story that Roanoke Review published is the second of three stories inspired by Trump and his bigotry especially with respect to his anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies. With the 2020 election results, I hope I will not have to write anymore Trump-inspired stories. I suppose the most challenging part of writing “The Chicano in You” was reliving election night 2016. Read Rest of Interview Here