¡Buenos Dias Everyone! I am so excited to be a part of the Queen Mob’s family and to start contributing essays, poems, articles, interviews, reviews, quirky musings and all things extra-ordinary.

For those of you who don’t know me at all, here’s a quick run down:

• I am a poet, essayist, published author, spoken word performer, literary podcast co-host of Ink Well, occasional playwright and actress, and curator of the Afro-Latinx poetry profile series Platáno Poetry Cafe. 
• I am also a wife, soon-to-be mother, K-12 educator & Writer in Residence with Writers in the Schools- Houston, and I have two fur babies: Whiskey(a Chiweenie) and Bailey(long-haired Chihuahua/Terrier mix)
• I love cupcakes, cake balls, red wine, the beach, yoga, arroz con pollo, and merengue and Bachata music. I love traveling anywhere but especially to Mexico, the Dominican Republic and other Spanish speaking countries with beaches and mountains. I’m obsessed with all things Frida Kahlo, and I enjoy wearing long flowy skirts, flowers in my hair and handmade jewelry because I know I’m actually a 75 year-old hippie trapped in the body of a 33 year-old Afro-Latina from Texas.

So…how did I get here? Editing for a mag as awesome as Queen Mob’s Teahouse?

Late last year I was approached by Ruben Quesada about curating and guest editing an Afro-Latinx Poetry Issue for Queen Mob’s. I was honored and excited that he asked me and got to work right away. The poems that were submitted to that issue from poets I knew and didn’t know, were quite phenomenal. It was difficult to narrow it down, but during that editing process I learned a lot about what it’s like to “be on the other side” of submissions, and the end result gave me great joy and a different sense of accomplishment as a writer/editor than I had ever felt before.

By curating that special issue, I was able to amplify the voices of so many Afro-Latinx poets who often go underrepresented and/or ignored in the literary world. For some of the poets, the Queen Mob’s issue was one of their first publications, and for others it was an opportunity to share work they hadn’t been able to find a home for anywhere else.

Even though I have been published many times and have received recognition for my own work, curating that special issue truly has been one of the top three highlights of my entire writing career. I knew then that editing, curating, and finding ways to amplify the voices and experiences of marginalized and underrepresented writers was what I wanted to do.

So, fast forward to April of this year, when the folks at Queen Mob’s reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in becoming a Senior Contributing Editor. I thought about it for about 24 hrs, (pretending to play hard to get) and jumped at the opportunity and said yes!

My hope/goal as a contributing editor is to find, write, and share with you all the stories, experiences, thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, and eccentric musings of poets, writers and artists who deserve to have a spotlight but don’t often get it. I am looking for work that highlights and amplifies the voices of people of color and indigenous backgrounds, the LGBTQIA+ community, differently-abled and chronically ill bodies, and any others who remain under represented in literary circles around the world.

I love work that bends and/or blends genre and form. I’m looking for writing that has more questions than it has answers and I’m addicted to stories that add nuance and a different dimension to an identity or group of people that are often misrepresented or stereotyped. If it’s uncomfortable to write it and it’s uncomfortable to read it..I’ll probably want to publish it.

I am looking forward to starting this incredible journey and I hope you enjoy the work that will follow.

If you have questions about me or my work with Queen Mob’s Teahouse feel free to email me at: jasminne@queenmobs.com

¡Abrazos! & ‘Till Next Time!

Jasminne Mendez