We were lucky to catch up with Miriam Damaris recently and have shared our conversation below.
Miriam, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Over the past two years I started a very meaningful path in my career, which impacted my life in a significant way. I started working as the Project Manager for El Proyecto de la literatura puertorriqueña/Puerto Rican Literature Project (PLPR) at Arte Público Press and founded Colectiva Feminista Colibri. And I feel that the recognition I’ve received highlights my commitment to the community. Both communities are very important to me: Houston and Puerto Rico. That’s the sum of everything when you are a writer. Every decision I made was a step further down my new path. So, I worked on several projects with a powerful message for the community, PLPR, my book Enraizada, and La Colectiva Feminista Colibrí which linked me with many other Houston community activist leaders and projects, such as theater, dance, poetry, etc…
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and I moved to Houston 10 years ago, thinking I would return to Puerto Rico at some point. Certainly, Houston has been so generous with me, not from day one, but gradually throughout my time here. It’s been a challenge to be Puerto Rican and have kids in a place that feels so far from Yemayá. But, the intentions behind my words and verbs (actions) are the results of my decisions. I want to be a writer, which means that I need to read every single writer and poet that I admire and even the ones that I don’t feel that kind of admiration for because I need to have a dialogue with the books and respect those who walked before me. I planned to work for my country and my community and, luckily, Arte Público and PLPR gave me the opportunity to develop my skills in the project. Last, but not least, I listened to myself and my sisters and that is the reason that Colibri was born, because of the community’s needs.
PLPR is a project that showcases the literature that feeds our culture; it is a bridge between Puerto Rico (the archipelago) and the diaspora. The project reaches beyond the individuals working on it. I am gracious to be able to work with beautiful people at this moment on this project, who are very competent and committed to our community. This includes Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura and Dr. Carolina Villarroel, Dr. Lorena Gauthereau, and students and also we are working with Ricardo Maldonado, Claire Jímenez, Ana Portnoy, Ana Castillo, Enrique Olivares. A beautiful team working from different locations.
My book is my baby. It’s a creature that I made with dedication, love, and respect. It’s part of my heritage, my shadows, everything that I was quiet about for a while and now I feel empowered to talk about these topics.
Finally, my Colectiva is my dream as a feminist. I am witness to a growing movement that does not belong to just Miriam Damaris, but is about and for more than one person, more than just me. Colibrí belongs to the community and is taking shape as it follows the community’s needs. Colibri listens to the community and the community responds to Colibri; it’s a genuine interchange.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I think the most important lesson that I learned from my journey is “Don’t rush anything,” every single project has its own time and you just need to keep going, when you are sowing you need to wait to see the results, you cannot rush the plant’s growth; you should keep cultivating different seeds, because you never know which plant is ready to grow and show her greatness. I learned that I can’t rush my path, because each book and each project has its own energy and own process, but also I internalized that you have to work on each one as they are unique and deserve the best of yourself because every time that you are participating in something you are giving a very special part of you, which means you are also sharing a part of your ancestors, of your culture, of your energy and life. You have to be the best version of yourself and also be humble enough to accept that you are always learning.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative or community leader is the community response. It was impressive when a woman who I didn’t know approached me and stated: ” I heard you and I decided to have a new life” after I read a poem I decided to write or to get out of a domestic violence situation. I feel that I don’t deserve all of that, though. Art is art by itself, sometimes we are just the medium that the art needs to manifest in this world, so we are just a little part of that great manifestation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.miriamdamaris.com/
- Instagram: @miriamcitafemme
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miriamdamaris
- Twitter: @MiriamDamarisM
- Youtube: @miriamdamarismaldonado
- Other: ColibriHouston
Image Credits
Credit Miriam with Puerto Rico flag Marie D. Castillo Credit to Miriam smiling: Rosaly Acosta y Dianny Henriquez