Join us for a FREE monthly reading series, Malvern’s Multi-Verse, in which we explore the infinite possible (multi)verses of Austin’s boundless literary universe! Space-time might be flat and stretch out infinitely, but Malvern’s Multi-Verse is well-rounded, lasts for about an hour, and includes free cookies! Yes indeed, it’s the best of all possible worlds…

This month’s guest is mónica teresa ortiz, who will be discussing, among other things, her forthcoming collection muted blood, which probes the intersection of policing and borders across bodies, sexualities, ethnicities, genders, asking what it might take to thrive. Responding to Spicer’s After Lorca, ortiz conjures “the skeleton of that tender-hearted crocodile,” Lorca’s ghost, to witness resistance, resilience, against violence and erasure.

mónica teresa ortiz was born and raised in Texas. Her work has recently appeared in Winter Tangerine Review, Texas Review, Southwestern Literature, and her first poetry collection, muted blood, is forthcoming from Black Radish Books in summer 2018. ortiz also is the poetry editor for Raspa, a Queer Latinx literary journal and can be found on Instagram or Twitter: @elgallosalvaje.