Distinguished Voices: Myriam Gurba

Myriam Gurba shares an in-depth perspective on her work as the author of Mean and her now-written essay “Pocas Pero Locas”. This Distinguished Voices in Literature Event was held over Zoom during the pandemic and was able to be saved for others to connect, distinguish and affirm discussions from Gurba’s memoir. There is an evident disconnect in our world today as masculine energy assumes the manner we carry ourselves in this hetero-normative world and Gurba does not hesitate to call societal dictators out. Many prompts were discussed such as the struggle as a person of color, a survivor, and a woman in today’s world. Although her voice gives off a dainty and gentle tone, Gurba’s words, especially in the story, accentuate a tasteful vulgarity along with profanity to bring power to voices that are silenced. We learn that in her process, she was truly not able to connect with other experiences with a soft-spoken tone and was able to set herself apart. Her approach was beautiful as she was able to take fragments that recognize systematic oppression towards ethnically minorized communities and women. She began the event by reading the chapter “Googolplex” and discussing racial wars. Her reading of this brought deeper understanding as I had my interpretation of the reading and the tone only helped enhance this. We live in a structure derived from fruitful innocence but this strays from Gurba’s idea that being mean is what everyone is entitled to in this nightmare world. Additionally, she brings light to recent attacks on women and people of color in discussion as we have allowed those in the highest office also be the ones who harm us. In the chapter, she discusses a race war using a camp style to accentuate the struggles people of color face due to their ethnic background even at a young age.  

In her second essay, she reads an unfinished essay called “Pocas Pero Locas” which means “Few but Crazy” as she shares her childhood experiences with her cousin as they mimicked a chola lifestyle. I felt connected to this work as it acknowledges struggles in Hispanic households, crime, empathy, and acceptance of the truth. She shares her story through spontaneity and deep empathy as her innocent childhood game became a reality. This admires the significance of this innocence in our world and how all are valid. Here, she recognizes a struggle in culture as well as truths about opportunities and traumas that people of color are more likely to face.  

Gurba finishes by acknowledging the lack of empathy in our world today as well as her approach to trauma in a real way. Many might feel connected through her ghost stories and comparisons but she truly wanted all to be immersed as those who have sexual traumas do. There is beauty to this pain as this social project constructs empathy without granting interpersonal perspective to the reader. The distance insinuates a deeper respect and resonance and is done so flawlessly for understanding but not feeling in such a pornographic and exploiting manner. Additionally, her use of language to discuss the Hispanic-queer experience is similar to Benjamin Garcias’s as vulgarity becomes a technique to push a message as well as the discussion of granting truly beautiful permission. Overall, this event brought a deeper understanding of her work as everything is written so eloquently to drive atypical writing standards into literature.