How To (Not) Write An Article

A critique of the nonprofit led art movement in the Rio Grande Valley

Essay | 2200 Words | 10 Minute Read

The announcement of upcoming workshop hosted by Neta (“Trucha”) RGV’s redundant, unscrupulous, untalented editor.

“Jonathon,
You have so much intelligence, your voice makes people listen. Continue forward.”

— Victoria Lopez, Unfolded Poetry co-founder and 2022 McAllen Poet Laureate, Fall 2015, personal inscription in her novel, Fire In May.

Last fall, I attended a workshop by the Unfolded Poetry Project titled, “Ode To Banned Books,” also led by the above-mentioned, “Avi” Vela. As a student of history and literature, censorship has been a consuming interest of mine for many years. I was therefore extremely disappointed to find that instead, the “workshop” was just an information session regarding attempts by Republican lawmakers to remove gender identity books from public schools, depicting sexually lewd representations, but above all promoting the anti-scientific trans ideology, as if they were on the same bar with classics like To Kill A Mockingbird an…