Meet Lorraine Avila, a 2024 COURAGE to WRITE Writer of Note working on her fiction novel, Dieasperra.
Dieasperra follows Solgone and Estela to the Dominican Republic to honor the memory of their late kin, Luna, who died by suicide at Kite Beach. The story weaves the past and the present to reveal the generational haunting of their family as a repercussion of colonialism’s impact on the land.
“As a lifelong lover of stories and a recipient of their healing capabilities, I hope Dieasperra gives permission to readers from global diasporas and histories tangled with violence to tell their own stories and rupture traditions of silence. This hope comes from a deep belief that when we free ourselves by telling the truth, especially historical truths that impact our contexts, we also liberate our circles and cultural and global communities.”
An exciting update from Lorraine: “I am working on completing a revision of Dieasperra, writing a novel, and teaching at Rutgers University.”
Lorraine is a storyteller and literacy educator from the Bronx with Caribbean roots. She is the author of “Malcriada & Other Stories” and “The Making of Yolanda La Bruja,” which was voted as one of 2023 NYPL’s Best Books for Teens.