Carolina De Robertis
WEBSITE
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Twitter: @caroderobertis
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolinaderobertis
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ATTENDEES TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR work?
The book Radical Hope is intended as a space in which readers can find whatever they most need in these dangerous times: a balm, a torch, a rallying cry, a sanctuary, a power source, a point of connection or awakening -- all that and more from a broad range of leading contemporary writers. My hope is that readers will, in these pages, find tools for sustaining themselves as we all keep working to create a better world.
ANY UPCOMING EVENTS OR WAYS TO DONATE?
The best way to support our work with Radical Hope would be to consider sharing the book with those whose spirits might be raised by the voices found therein, and, if you have positive experiences with the book, to consider sharing about that online. Also, consider looking into the contributing authors' other works -- they are all incredible novelists, poets, journalists, and thinkers in their own right, and their voices are essential and profoundly valuable to our collective future.
WHAT LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENCOURAGE FROM EVERY ATTENDEE?
Let's all keep doing the good, hard, beautiful work of shaping the future we desire.
WHAT MARCHING ORDERS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENCOURAGE FROM EACH ATTENDEE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE?
We may sometimes feel helpless, but, in fact, every mighty river is composed of many drops. Together, we can carve canyons! ¡Sí se puede!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?
"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." -Audre Lorde
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
Oh, so many! For a while now I've been slowly making my way through Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, which is giving me a great deal of food for thought. I've also got several novels going: Einar McBride's stunning A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, Cristina García's forthcoming (and fantastic) Here in Berlin, and Arundhati Roy's new, colossal The Museum of Utmost Happiness.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING SELF-CARE DURING THESE TIMES?
Since the election, I have started training in kung fu, and this has been one marvelous space for rooting in my own power, and cultivating it in a community of warriors who share a common purpose of striving for the greater good.
BIOGRAPHY
Carolina De Robertis is the editor of Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times, a collection of essays featuring leading writers in a kaleidoscopic view of the way forward for progressive communities. She is also the author of the novels The Gods of Tango, Perla, and the international bestseller The Invisible Mountain. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages, receiving wide acclaim on several continents, and they are frequently taught in college curricula throughout the country. They have been named Best Books of the Year in venues including the San Francisco Chronicle, O, The Oprah Magazine, BookList, and NBC. She is the recipient of a Stonewall Book Award, Italy’s Rhegium Julii Prize, and a 2012 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, among other honors.
A writer of Uruguayan origins, De Robertis is also an award-winning translator of Latin American literature, serving as a bridge for international voices into the U.S. publishing world. A long-time activist, she spent ten years in the non-profit sector before publishing her first book, working on the frontlines of sexual assault prevention, immigrant rights, multilingual coalition-building, and reproductive justice. This passion for social change continues to shape her work as an author, professor, and member of the literary community. De Robertis currently teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University, and is a sought-after speaker both nationally and internationally.
She lives in Oakland, California with her wife and two children.