Join our community of readers for a bimont hly book club where we will discuss titles centering queer Latine voices a nd stories with library staff and \;Los Bookis\, a podcast for queer Latine bookworms. \;This space will center queer Latine authors and celebrate storytell ing\, community\, and conversation.
\nLos Bookis Meetup
Thursday\, September 10th
6:15 PM &ndash\; 7:45 PM<
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Alligator
Tears: A Memoir in Essays
Edgar Gomez
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Ask for a copy of the book at the Circulati on desk in the Mt. Pleasant Library! Or send us an email at \;mtpleasantlibrary@dc.gov \;if yo u have any questions.
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About the Book: Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essay s
\nA darkly comic memoir-in-essays about the scam of the American D ream and doing whatever it takes to survive in the Sunshine State&mdash\;f rom the award-winning author of High-Risk HomosexualIn Florida\, one of th e first things you&rsquo\;re taught as a child is that if you&rsquo\;re ev er chased by a wild alligator\, the only way to save yourself is to run aw ay in zigzags. It&rsquo\;s a lesson on survival that has guided much of Ed gar Gomez&rsquo\;s life.
\nLike the night his mother had a stroke wh ile he and his brother stood frozen at the foot of her bed\, afraid she&rs quo\;d be angry if they called for an ambulance they couldn&rsquo\;t affor d. Gomez escaped into his mind\, where he could tell himself nothing was w rong with his family. Zig. Or years later\, as a broke college student\, h e got on his knees to put sandals on tourists&rsquo\; smelly\, swollen fee t for minimum wage at the Flip Flop Shop. After clocking out\, his crew of working-class\, queer\, Latinx friends changed out of their uniforms in t he passenger seats of each other&rsquo\;s cars\, speeding toward the relie f they found at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Zag. From committing a little bankruptcy fraud for the money for veneers to those days he paid his phone bill by giving massages to closeted men on vacation\, back when he and hi s friends would Venmo each other the same emergency twenty dollars over an d over. Zig. Zag. Gomez survived this way as long as his legs would carry him.
\nAlligator Tears is a fiercely defiant memoir-in-essays charti ng Gomez&rsquo\;s quest to claw his family out of poverty by any means nec essary and exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is : a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a priz e that will always be out of reach. For those chasing the American Dream a nd those jaded by it\, Gomez&rsquo\;s unforgettable story is a testament t o finding love\, purpose\, and community on your own terms\, smiling with all your fake teeth.
\nAbout the Author: Edgar Gome
z
Edgar Gomez is a queer NicaRican writer born and raised in Florida.
He is the author of the memoir High-Risk Homosexual\, winner of the Ameri
can Book Award\, a Stonewall Israel-Fishman Nonfiction Book Honor Award\,
and the Lambda Literary Award. Their sophomore book\, Alligator Tears\, wa
s called "triumphant\, dazzling\, and unfailingly stylish" by Publisher's
Weekly\, received a Florida Book Award\, and is a finalist for the Lambda
Literary Award for Gay Memoir. \; A graduate of the University of Cali
fornia&rsquo\;s MFA program\, Gomez has written for The LA Times\, Poets &
amp\; Writers\, Lithub\, New York Magazine\, and beyond. He has received f
ellowships from The New York Foundation for the Arts\, The National Endowm
ent for the Arts\, and The Black Mountain Institute. He lives between New
York and Puerto Rico. Find him across social media @OtroEdgarGomez.
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What We&rsquo\;re About:
📖 C
entering queer Latine authors in every book we read
💬 Engagin
g discussions\, creative activities\, and community connection
&nb sp\;
\nWho Can Join:
Everyone interested in re
ading and uplifting queer Latine voices!