Five Questions with Katrina Ruiz

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Kayla Rae Candrilli: Your story, “Julio Bodega” in NANO 9.2’s queer feature, stuns me in its brevity, but also in its specificity and detail. I can see Julio and the speaker so clearly. What are your techniques to tackle character development in such a small space?

Katrina Ruiz: Thank you. I think with this piece in particular the image of Julio was so clear in my mind because I’ve encountered many “Julios” while living in New York and I felt for this story to work it had to focus on who he was and how he makes the speaker feel. As for my techniques, I like to play with form and mixing genres—many of my pieces start as poems and I think that within those constructs I rely heavily on images and precise language. While I’m writing, if I feel those images or poems lean more to a narrative or a specific character then I tend to change the form of the piece or create a hybrid that better suits the voice of the speaker.

KRuiz_photoKRC: This piece code-switches a very little bit. What would you say to a reader that felt unwilling to read your code-switched lines?

KR: For me, speaking and writing in English and Spanish doesn’t feel like code switching, it feels like home. “Julio Bodega” is probably one of the few pieces I’ve written that has very little code switching. This piece lives within the speaker’s mind. I can hear her describing and mulling over in her mind the very real yet ludicrous idea of entertaining Julio’s advances and so the Spanish expresses her surprise, the humor she sees in the situation. I’d be curious of a reader who might read my writing and skip over the lines or words that are in Spanish. I might ask them why they felt unwilling, but I don’t think I’d try to convince them otherwise. After I first read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and Drown by Junot Diaz, I learned that I didn’t need permission as a writer to write in both English and Spanish. My hope is that readers will want to come along with me and the journeys of my characters in whatever way they choose to speak.


KRC: What, for you, makes a successful flash piece?

KR: I think a successful flash piece makes you feel in an instant—brings you directly into its constructed world. Though the piece may be short in length there is depth in its narrative and imagery. I think a successful flash piece is that first blast of cold air when you step indoors from a raging hot summer day—immediate relief and lasting comfort.

KRC: Do you ever listen to music while writing? If so, what should we be listening to?

KR: I am always listening to music. Right now, I’ve been playing the Hamilton musical cast recording nonstop—it’s brilliant. Otherwise, I tend to listen to music that matches my mood or the tone of the writing I’m working on. I’m a big fan of shuffle on Pandora. I especially alternate between my Imagine Dragons and Gente de Zona stations—they strike a good balance.

KRC: What are you working on now? Anything for us to be looking forward to?

KR: I’m working on my first collection of poetry and flash fiction. I’m also continuing work on a play with my friend Kristie Soares. The play titled Arroz con Mango follows two friends from Miami growing up and growing apart while finding where they belong. We have a clip from a staged reading at the University of California, Santa Barbara that can be viewed here. I also have a poem in the forthcoming issue of the Florida-themed journal Saw Palm exploring the experiences of Cubans and Cuban-Americans in Florida.