Author Spotlight: Sonia Gutiérrez

What are some key themes present in your book?

Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma (El Martillo Press, 2024) explores a variety of themes, including love (the human connection), the spirit world, racism, homophobia, white supremacy, sustainability, by honoring the environment. As a Chicana/Latina ecofeminist poet, my bilingual poetry advocates for the planet and humanity’s well-being.

What was your writing process? Your editing process? Did you adopt a unique process for this book, or do you have a “go-to” approach for all your writing?

Some poems in Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma originated from pressing thoughts that demanded my attention. I needed time to think, to sit down, to write, and to type the poem—the message—into existence. My poems like luminous fantasmitas haunted me until I set them free. I recorded the idea on my iPhone, on a napkin, or wherever inspiration struck; the early drafts of these poems could take a day, a week, months, and sometimes, though rarely, even years to complete. I envision the poems in this collection as precious diamantes from deep below the Earth; as a poet, I have broken through the surface and must share an important message with humanity.

How did your relationship with your family influence your writing?

My parents are illiterate, yet they are the true poets in my family, making me a descendant of Oral Tradition. My mother, Estelita, would call me to dinner using poetic language: “Sonita, afila tus dientitos porque ya casi está la comida” (“Sonita, sharpen your little teeth because food is almost ready”). Who else speaks like that? My mom, a poet now in the spirit world, would share these loving words. For me, poetry comes from a place of curanderismo but with words.

Growing up, my father spoke with the eloquence of a poet or philosopher. He would sit my sister and me down in a chair and pose philosophical questions to us. At times, I would respond with a blank stare, and my father would say, “No estás lista.” (“You are not ready.”) My parents are my literary maestros; both taught me the richness of Oral Tradition, to think critically about the world, and to engage the listener with sacred palabras.

How did writing this book transform you?

This fourth book, Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma, saved me. I remember driving to Rosarito, Baja California, my second home, and immersing myself in my writing, specifically my manuscript, Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma. I had never approached poetry in this way, but it made sense at the moment. Writing poetry is my flow—my happiness—what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls flow theory. Since 2023, the worst year of my life, marked by a toxic work environment and a breakup, I needed to self-medicate myself, and for me, that medicine came through poetry. I knew continuing to work on the poetry collection during that difficult time would heal me, and it did! Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma was the antidote I needed. This latest book, released in 2024, truly saved me.

You can often tell a lot about a book by how it begins and how it ends. What is the first line and last line of your book?

Opening line from the first poem, “Wicked World,” in Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma, a bilingual poetry collection

I was five / Tenía cinco

Last line in the last poem, “Cosmos”

And, you, who are you? / ¿Y, tú, quién eres?

How did you get into writing? Can you pinpoint a memory where it all began for you?

During my time as a graduate school attending California State University San Marcos, I found myself guilty for not affording gifts for my beloved parents and best friend. And that’s when the voice came to me. My voice. I heard my voice say: “You do not have money, but you have words.” That’s how poetry came to find me. I began writing poems for my best friend, Rich, and my parents on special occasions. In my early twenties, when money was tight, I would craft poems, buy the coolest, affordable frames at Pic‘N’Save, and gift framed poems to my loved ones.

You know, reflecting on your questions, I realize that I was a writer at eighteen without even realizing it. At the start of classes, my English professors would showcase my work, by reading excerpts from my essays and poems during the first five minutes.

Do you have a new project that you’re working on? Could you tell us a bit about it?

Yes, I’m working on two: The Adventures of a Burrito Flying Saucer and Sana Sana Colita de Rana: Poems to Not Perish / Sana Sana Colita de Rana: Poemas para no morir. For this question, I will focus on The Adventures of a Burrito Flying Saucer, an illustrated book. During the pandemic, musician and poet, Profe Francisco J. Bustos provided an online platform to foster community, the Puente Drum Circle. Bustos encouraged attendees to write “a la brava,” on the spot, and so that day we all wrote about food. The idea of the burrito flying saucer came out on paper effortlessly—a story that I had been contemplating in my imagination. For this book, the voice I heard in my head was the Alacranes Mojados’s lead singer, Chunky Sánchez, whose music I admired and listened to during my college days. I also had the honor of reading alongside Chunky Sánchez for Georgette Gómez’s Fundraiser when she was running for San Diego City Council. In The Adventures of a Burrito Flying Saucer, I personify the burrito, much like the badass Chicano Chunky Sánchez. In this book, the burrito tells the story of the history of the burrito and four Chicanitas who are embarrassed to eat burritos at school. I dream of collaborating with Chicano artist, El Moises, for this project.

Sonia Gutiérrez is the author of two full-length bilingual poetry collections, Spider Woman / La Mujer Araña (Olmeca Press, 2013) and Paper Birds: Feather by Feather / Pájaros de papel: Pluma por pluma (El Martillo Press, 2024), recipient of an honorable mention for the ILBA’s The Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award—One Author—Bilingual, and the novel, Dreaming with Mariposas (FlowerSong Press, 2020), winner of the Tomás Rivera Book Award 2021, the International Latino Book Awards 2022, and the ILBA Book into Movie Awards 2023. She teaches composition, critical thinking and writing, and creative writing. Sonia Gutiérrez is currently working on her first illustrated book, The Adventures of a Burrito Flying Saucer and Sana Sana Colita de Rana: Poems to Not Perish / Sana sana colita de rana: Poemas para no morir, a bilingual poetry collection. She lives in the Californias. To learn more about Sonia Gutiérrez and her work, visit www.soniagutierrez.com. 