Artist statement (for the Tusen Takk Foundation)

I am a writer, a person that catches thoughts into printed words. I started to pen when little—I was a shy kid, and writing was the only manner I found to bond intimately and confidently with others. Besides, my mother was an eager reader, and even though we were a working-class family, there were books at home. I loved reading as well, I always encountered fun and company in novels. Thus, writing was a natural step for me to take.

I studied Journalism, which made me fall in love with nonfiction storytelling. However, at 29, I published a fiction short stories book: "Quiltras." This name is a feminine plural word I borrowed from Mapudungun (the Mapuche indigenous people's language) used in Chilean slang to name stray, mixed-race dogs. I am a halfbreed brown-skinned woman, raised in a proletarian neighborhood. I was ardent to create stories defying the white, European, and male canon literature. I did so, and still do.

My debut was a seed that germinated me into an author—I published two subsequent books, held creative writing workshops, was a literature professor at universities, founded a poetry press, and addressed talks regarding my work across Chile and abroad.

Art and creative disciplines are chains of generations, an hourglass where previous authors feed new ones. I follow Roberto Bolaño, Patti Smith, Svetlana Aliexevich, Toni Morrison, Violeta Parra, and Pedro Lemebel as if they were my best friends. I've promised myself to be honest when writing Journalism, and lie like the worst villain while telling fiction. And I am accepting that every time I try to pen a poem I write up prose.

What I've learned, so far, I’ve tried to share it. I would like to say to those who dream of being an author: write using the words you talk, avoid pretentious prose, let the text rest, read yourself aloud, edit and delete without compassion, and tell stories above all.

And finally: literature, poetry, and writing are about connection. You are, over there, far away from me, and can feel me anyhow. When you read my words, you hear my voice in your head, as if I were right next to you. As if we were together, because thanks to writing, we are.