Get to know our authors, the foundation and heart of Yellow Arrow Journal, and what writing means to them through our monthly series.
W.o.W. #51
Jesenia Chávez
Describe an early experience where you learned that language has power.
Walking into kindergarten, I did not know English. I knew Spanish and I felt worried and scared. I did not know how to ask to go to the bathroom, but the teacher figured it out. This taught me the importance of language at an early age. I have two older siblings and they would make up words that were English, like “perota,” for ball in Spanish, as if adding the “r” sound made it English. Being a native Spanish speaker, playing with language, learning English, and watching my parents struggle to learn it and their beautiful accents, these experiences taught me early on the power of language.
What does your inner writing voice tell you?
It tells me to write about the powerful women in my life, the beauty in the day-to-day interactions, visions and contradictions that are all around us and inside us, too. It tells me to let it flow girl!
What is your writing Kryptonite? Your most interesting writing quirk?
My Kryptonite is self-doubt and fear, as these stop me from writing. I don’t really have an interesting writing quirk—I like stories and story-type poems; these color my words and provide them with a home.
What are you currently working on?
I am working on being a kind human to the children and families I work with at my school with my teaching. I am working a poetry collection with Alegría magazine and also a pandemic-born storytelling podcast called Que Me Cuentas, a mostly Latinx storytelling podcast. I am working on my confidence and embracing the words poet, writer, and storyteller one line at a time.
Jesenia Chávez is a proud Chicanita, public school teacher, writer, poet, and storyteller. Her writing is inspired by her parents’ migration to Los Angeles from Chihuahua, Mexico, her teaching career, her sense of loss in the rapidly changing landscape of Los Angeles, and all the small moments in between when she can catch her breath and put pen to paper. She has also recently ventured into the podcasting world by cohosting Que Me Cuentas, a mostly Latinx storytelling podcast with a friend. She believes in the healing power of poetry, dancing, nature and lots of hugs. Her piece “Uprooted Roots” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal Vol. VI, No. 2, ANFRACTUOUS.
Jesenia participated in “An Exploration of Belonging: The Anfractuous Reading” last year. You can hear her read “Uprooted Roots” below and find the reading in its entirety on the Yellow Arrow YouTube channel. Learn more about Jesenia on Instagram @chabemucho and @quemecuentaspod.