An Appropriation of Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez (original) (raw)

Book: Behind the Stars, More Stars -Interview with Editors

Portuguese American Journal, 2019

The book Behind the Stars, More Stars: TheTagus/Disquiet Collection of New Luso-American Writing is an essential new collection of contemporary American writers of Lusophone-country descent edited by Christopher Larkosh, Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Oona Patrick of the Disquiet International Literary Program in Lisbon.

The Sound of the Stars

Envisioning the Future: A Story Contest, 2020

This short story placed second in a contest called Envisioning the Future run by the Narrative Storytelling Initiative at Arizona State University. The contest asked for stories which present an "idea of what the future holds, given the environmental and societal changes underway". The winning stories were chosen by an interdisciplinary group of judges with expertise in climate science, sustainability, creative writing, and environmental literature. In my story, the narrator speaks from a time when the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic is intersecting with the escalating ecological crisis and economic depression. The narrator reflects on the social, envronmental and climate injustices driven by these intersecting crises, and describes how a grassroots movement of people came together in response, inspired by ideas of degrowth and dual power.

Reflections from Starstuff: Ecology, Wonder, and Shared Fragility

Late at night, while I rework the stories of my lives—the stories I’ve been told, the stories I want to tell, the stories that make up the flesh of my body and the flesh of my imagination, the starstuff of my body and the starstuff of my imagination—there, every once and a while, in the dark glowing on the screen is Sagan, that smile, the hair, that tenor and tone of his voice, inviting, and I rework my fragile story of love again in the world, the shores of wonder feel just fine, and I want to wake up and wade out a little more into the possibilities of love, compassion, and justice—“to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” However strange it looks to us in the near future.