Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones — The Hurricane Book - with Patricia Coral

Watch author Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C.

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Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones pieces together the story of her family and Puerto Rico using a captivating combination of historical facts, poems, maps, bits and pieces of overheard conversations, and fragmented anecdotes. Organized around six hurricanes that passed through the island with varying degrees of intensity between 1928 and 2017, The Hurricane Book documents the myriad ways in which colonialism—particularly the relationship between the United States and the island—has seeped into the lives of Puerto Ricans, affecting how they and their land recover from catastrophe, as well as how families and citizens are bound to one another. Moving seamlessly from the personal, to the political, to the environmental, and back again, Acevedo-Quiñones takes the reader through her own experience of family dynamics, mental illness, and substance abuse—and their long-reaching echoes—all against the backdrop of Puerto Rico’s struggles and beauty. Through stories and poems of relatives, folklore, and necessary escape, she illuminates both the tenderness and heartbreak of relationships with relatives and homeland. An attempt at a colony’s etymology in a time when it is perpetually embattled by natural disasters, crippling debt, and the mass exodus of its people, The Hurricane Book is also an invitation to see the realities that many don’t want to see—a refusal to stay in the dark about ourselves or our collective history.

Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones is a writer from Puerto Rico. Her work focuses on questions of origin, etymology, dreams, and diaspora. Her poems and short fiction have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, wildness, Ambit Magazine, Radar Poetry, and other publications. In 2019, she was a finalist for the Phillip Booth Poetry Prize, judged by Mary Ruefle. She was also the runner-up for Split/Lip Press's 2020 Hybrid Chapbook Contest. Claudia lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Acevedo-Quiñones will be in conversation with Patricia Coral. Patricia Coral is a bilingual Puerto Rican writer and former Director of Events at Politics and Prose. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from American University, where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of FOLIO. Patricia writes creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, but frequently her words find their home in-between. She is a recipient of The Myra Sklarew Award and her work has been featured in Fireside Fiction, Literal Magazine, Houston Public Media, and Grace and Gravity, among others. Her memoir is forthcoming in 2024.

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Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online.