Margaret Elysia Garcia
Margaret Elysia Garcia is the author of the short story collection Graft, to be published in October 2022, and the ebook Sad Girl & Other Stories (2014), and the audiobook Mary of the Chance Encounters (2016). She’s a member of Season 9 Community Literary Initiative, which seeks to democratize creative writing outside academia producing a poetry collection the daughterland, due in 2023. Her poetry chapbook, Burn Scars, about the Dixie Fire will be published in July 2022. She’s the co-editor of the forthcoming anthology Red Flag Warning to be published by HeyDay Books. Her creative work can be seen online and in print in many literary journals and websites. Margaret is the co-founder of Pachuca Productions/Las Pachucas Films: the only latinx based theatre troupe in the Sierras where she is the head writer and producer. Through her association with Plumas Arts she’s part of the Artists in the Schools program in Plumas County delivering theatre experiences to kindergarten through second grade. She’s the Poetry Out Loud coordinator for Plumas County high schools. She taught at the community college level for nearly two decades. She’s a reporter with Feather Publishing in Quincy, CA.
Juxtaposed.
The sky is blue and the rolling hillside is just a few parkways and minutes over from the coast. The sun is shining but not too hot. Temperate. The sliding screen door to the backyard is –like me–around 50. The backyard is both green and lush and controlled. The gardener will be by later today. […]
MoreInappropriate Mother
I am venturing into podcasting. That’s right. I’ve been asked to. I hate my voice and have a tendency to swear like a sailor—so I don’t imagine that this is for everyone. But every time I get into a conversation with my teenager she tells me “that’s inappropriate, mother.” It’s not easy having a 14 […]
MoreA Plea for the Arts
Get into the arts — and see what happens Yes. I’m still tirelessly pushing for arts and literature and libraries in Plumas County. We do hiking and contemplating our own outdoor navels here–especially if cows, horses, or footballs are involved. But you know, might need other things….
MoreHappy 2019!
Happy New Year. Thank you for reading. As an artist I have those depressive moments where I exclaim from my bed “I didn’t do anything last year. No book came out. I suck!” But the older, wiser me says scroll through your iCalendar. Surely, you did something? Surely, you learned something? Experienced something? I am […]
MoreSt. Nicholas Day Thoughts (not about st. nicholas but of parenting and such).
It’s the morning of our first real snow in Plumas County—though by midday it will be melting as it does in our new climate reality. Nothing holds forever. Nothing sticks. I am sitting in my former living room with my son who will go to work in a few hours and our remaining family cat, […]
MoreThoughts on Student Needs
I took a weekend off and went to teach a seminar workshop in Santa Cruz where I met some really inspiring UCSC students. I love getting the opportunity to return to teaching now and then—it keeps the teaching chops alive and it also means I keep abreast of student concerns and needs across the state. […]
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