Episode 29 – The Border Simulator, with Gabriel Dozal

Gabriel Dozal discusses his debut collection, The Border Simulator, where the U.S.-Mexico border is redefined as a place of invention; crossing it becomes a matter of simulation. The poems accompany Primitivo, who attempts to cross the border, an imaginary boundary that becomes more real and challenging as his journey progresses; and his sister, Primitiva, who lives an alternate, static life as an exploited migrant worker in la fabrica. He chats with Taylor about the experience of writing and living the borderlands, and shares the process of translating the work, completed by Natasha Tiniacos.

Gabriel is a writer and educator from El Paso, Texas. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Arizona and he is a poetry editor for DIAGRAM. His work appears in Poetry Magazine, The Iowa Review, Guernica, The Brooklyn Rail, The Literary Review, The Volta, and elsewhere.

Hosted and produced by Taylor Miller; post-production and edition by Carlos Quintero.