Meet Margarita Cruz | Margarita Cruz Received her MFA to President of the Northern Arizona Book Festival

We had the good fortune of connecting with Margarita Cruz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Margarita, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
When I was younger, I really wanted to be a writer because my family was full of storytellers but I only saw people who didn’t look like me become writers…and I think that kind of pushed me to keep trying to write and publish work. The community I grew up into were not writers, and so when I was in my undergraduate program I really looked for that community and found it in Flagstaff. There were writing events, readings, poetry slams, and people meeting everyday of the week.

When I needed it most, writing and writers were there for me. I know that it’s a harder profession to keep living sustainably in, but I just feel so passionate to share my experiences with others that they might feel like they, too, are not only seen but have the ability to write.

These days, I attend writing workshops and conferences across the country and teach English at the university level while coordinating literary arts programming as President of the Northern Arizona Book Festival.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I began performing poetry in 2018, and learned that I was less of a performer and more of a “page” poet. I showed up to as many reading spaces as possible, worked into as many workshops as I could, and really wanted to shape my craft as a writer.

A lot of my writing centers on grief and the family as a political structure. My own relationship with my family is a strained one that I think is really different as a first-generation Mexican-American woman navigating the world on my own. One thing many people don’t see on the outside of my work is that I don’t have that family support…I’ve worked multiple jobs since I was seventeen to be able to afford to do many things writers or artists of privilege get to do. For me, I have to put writing at the center of a lot of the things I do if I want to keep doing it otherwise, I just wouldn’t be able to afford the time to do it.

It’s hard work to write, and I never take it for granted. I want other women in my similar shoes to feel seen, to feel like our stories are less different than it feels. I want to have someone reading my work to feel hope and grief and that this human experience isn’t just isolated.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a friend visiting, I’d say that Flagstaff has a very awesome restaurant scene and the best hikes. I’d take a brewery and coffee tour! For breakfast before a hike, I’d head to Foret which has some of the best and innovative breakfasts. After a nice hike, I’d head to a brewery for lunch: I’m a huge fan of Dark Sky Brewery, both their kitchens are great — Atmosphere Kitchen is great pub food, the Pizzicletta kitchen in the Dark Sky also serves my favorite pizza.. From there, I’d recommend trying to catch some literary event happening. For nightlife, Flagstaff Brewing Company has something happening every weekend to catch some great local music or The Hive is a really great all ages space with some of the coolest bands.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
At my lowest point in my life, I was really shown a way out from the literary community in Flagstaff. Places like Juniper House: A Weekly Reading Series, Narrow Chimney/Cinder Skies Reading Series supported by the MFA at Northern Arizona University, the Northern Arizona Book Festival, Barley Rhymes: An open mic, the Flagstaff Poetry Slam…all of these places are not only filled with amazing writers, but people who really cared about each other.

Writing feels like it is such an isolating practice, but it doesn’t have to be. To me, writing has offered places where I found my found-family and friends who uplift me and my writing. I found some of my best friends and biggest supporters. Many thanks to all of the friends who write with me weekly now, Uptown Pubhouse and Stacy Murison who raised money for me to attend workshops in 2023, the people who make the Northern Arizona Book Festival possible and those who continue to show up to Poet Brews, a weekly open mic for writers that I coordinate.

Website: shortendings.com

Instagram: blue_margaritas

Linkedin: Margarita Cruz

Twitter: @blue_margaritas

Image Credits
Macondo Writers (Group Photo standing), Margarita Cruz every other photo