Alan Palacios

What was your favorite book as a child?

While public access to literature was less common than I wished during my childhood, I recall Liliana Bodoc’s novel The Days of the Deer (Los días del Venado) as a work that left in me a distinctive memory of writing otherwise from a local lens. This novel also happened to include poetry in it, which made it even more precious.

What was the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

Creative writing comes as a practice of making sense of my life and that of others in a way that is true to the lived experience of being many selves at once. I write creatively because through this practice I can dwell resistantly, creatively, and imaginatively on the borderlands that one inhabits as many selves and remember this plurality.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

The risk of leaving the world where I grew up to move abroad and pursue studies, a career, and a different life.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

It would depend on the music and the kind of writing. In general, for creative writing, I rarely plan on putting on music myself, but I enjoy listening to it while working in cafes.