Listening to Puerto Rico Teach-Out

Mayra Santos-Febres is an award-winning Puerto Rican author, poet, novelist, professor of literature, essayist, literary critic, and community activist. Her work focuses primarily on themes of Afro-diasporic identity, female sexuality, the erotic, gender fluidity, desire, and power. She is the Executive Director of Festival de la Palabra, which seeks to internationalize Puerto Rican literary production through the annual festival, writing workshops, and visits to schools across the island to promote literacy and the love of reading among children. She has published children's books.

In her conversation with Professors Anderson and Moreno, Puerto Rican author Mayra Santos-Febres speaks about the impact of Hurricane María on Puerto Rico, the island’s relationship with the U.S., and how she considers the current moment to be an opportunity for change and resurgence in Puerto Rico. She also talks about how her team at Festival de la Palabra, which was scheduled to happen two weeks after Hurricane María hit, recalibrated efforts to bring literature and provisions to the most affected communities across the island.