Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor –

When Kali Fajardo-Anstine got ready to book promotional events for her highly praised collection of stories “Sabrina & Corina,” San Antonio was high on her list of cities to visit to connect with potential readers. Not knowing anyone here, she wrote to the city government, hoping they would connect her with a literary organization in town. And they did. That’s how it came about that she is appearing Friday at a reading/discussion/book signing at Our Lady of the Lake University under the sponsorship of Gemini Ink. The event is free and opened to the public.

A native and current resident of Denver, CO, Fajardo-Anstine said she first wanted to write a historical novel about the community she grew up in but soon realized that she was not ready for such a long-term project. During her MFA studies at the University of Wyoming, the faculty encouraged the students to explore the short story format, which resonated with her because she grew up in a family of storytellers. Though her stories have been published in a variety of magazines and journals, “Sabrina & Corina” is her first book-size collection.

“I write about what I care about, women’s relationships, sisterhood, motherhood,” she said in a phone interview from Denver. “It was a natural thing for me not a conscious choice. I grew up in a matriarchal family and I have five sisters.” Violence against women is also present, men are often absent, and poverty, addiction and injustice are woven through the narrative as are love and loyalty.

Her characters are part of a mixed community of Chicana women of indigenous descent from Denver and S. Colorado who, in her opinion, are seldom, if ever, featured in contemporary American literature. In fact, many of her stories were repeatedly rejected by mainstream East Coast journals because the editors “probably did not relate” to her characters’ lives. Her first published story appeared in the Idaho Review.

Since its publication, however, “Sabrina & Corina” has received a lot of praise. Former San Antonian, Sandra Cisneros, said that the tales “blaze like wildfire with characters who made me laugh and broke my heart, believable in everything they said and did.” In a starred review, Booklist stated that “Fajardo-Anstine imbues her stories with a strong sense of place and the infinite unseen generations that coexist in even single moments.”

I read only four of the stories and I concur with the above descriptions. The writing draws you into the world of the characters to the point that you want to reach out to them. That’s how real and believable they are.

The author learned her craft from the masters. “I studied the stories of Alice Munro, Katherine Anne Porter and others, and analyzed their structure,” she said. “And from Alice I learned not to be afraid of revisions. Revising helped build my creative energy.”

The Denver community “has really showed up for this book,” noted the happy author. “People from my community are really hungry to get a book that speaks about them while also dealing with universal themes.”

“Sabrina & Corina”: An evening with Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Friday, April 26, 6:30 p.m.; Room L100, Sister Ann Sueltenfuss Library, Our Lady of the Lake University