June 2018 Newsletter

Hurricane Season is Here:
​3 Ways to Help Puerto Rico Today.

Hello Familia, Friends, and Fans,

Today is June 1st: the official start of hurricane season.​

Last September two major hurricanes--Irma and María--devastated Puerto Rico, impacting the lives of Puerto Ricans on the island and throughout the diaspora, my family and myself included.

Salinas, PR - Jan 2014

Salinas, PR - Sept 2017

Today marks DAY 254 since Hurricane María made landfall.

There are still Puerto Ricans without power. Recent studies estimate that as many as 5,740 Puerto Ricans died as a result of the hurricane (though the government continues to report only 64 deaths as the official death count).

As we approach this September 20th, I've been thinking a lot about last fall.

In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, people kept asking me, "What can I do?" "How can I help?"

Preoccupied with helping my own family and friends, I did not have quick or easy answers for people. There are still no easy answers because the island continues to face complex challenges.

But today I can offer you three concrete ways to help:

1. You can LEARN more about Puerto Rico, its people, literature, history, and current state of affairs. Read below to get your free resource guide.

2. You can GIVE $25 or $50 to Puerto Rico's Taller Salud--a feminist non-profit health organization serving communities in the northeast part of the island since 1979 that mobilized quickly after the storms. Read more about them and my fundraising campaign below.

3. You can SHARE the resource guide, what you learn from the guide, and the fundraising campaign. Educators can also TEACH using some of the materials they find in the resource guide.

In each of those ways you can help ensure that Puerto Rico--its contributions and its needs--are not forgotten or ignored.

I'm here to make it easy for you to complete all three steps.

Read the rest of this newsletter to learn more.

In the Newsletter:
- READINGS & RESOURCES
- BOOK CLUB?
- SUPPORT PUERTO RICO'S TALLER SALUD
- MY POST HURRICANE MARÍA REFLECTIONS

Thank you as always for your friendship and support.

En Solidaridad,

Li Yun

P.S. To get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

P.P.S. This newsletter includes "Amazon Affiliate" links. While I think you should all go out and support your local bookstore right now (!!!), I also know you might view and purchase my book recommendations on Amazon instead. Being an Amazon affiliate means that if you do choose to buy using my links, Amazon will send me a small commission at no cost to you.

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- READINGS & RESOURCES

I have created a FREE resource guide that includes a list of readings (poetry and fiction) and links to other helpful resources related to Puerto Rico, hurricanes, and relief and recovery.

TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE GUIDE,
CLICK HERE AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON MY WEBSITE.

Here is a sneak peak of what's inside:

• Huracanada by Mayra Santos Febres (Español)
  • In this poetry collection’s final two sections—“Las Manos Sucias” and “Sistemamundo”—Puerto Rican poet Mayra Santos Febres recounts the harrowing days on the island in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María, capturing the voices of the communities of women who surrounded her, of her own rumination, and of the hurricane itself.
    
    
• Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith
  • One of my absolute favorite books, this collection of poems about Hurricane Katrina—a National Book Award Finalist— contains eerie echoes of the post-hurricane response in Puerto Rico.
    
    
• “Letter to My Father” by Martín Espada
  • Espada’s poem, written in response to Hurricane María, focuses on Espada’s relationships to both his late father and to Utuado, his late father’s pueblo in Puerto Rico. You can listen to Espada read the poem or read it yourself by following the links below.
    • “Letter to My Father” audio and text in Poetry Magazine
    • “Martín Espada Reads ‘Letter to My Father’” on The Poetry Magazine Podcast. Espada reads “Letter to My Father” and the Poetry Magazine editors discuss the poem.

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- BOOK CLUB?

I would love to hear your impressions of Huracanada, Blood Dazzler, "Letter to My Father," and any of the other readings included in the guide. Hit reply and let me know what you think!

Would you be interested in joining an Online Book Club to "discuss" these three texts with others? Leave a comment and let me know if you're interested and I'll make it happen!

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- SUPPORT PUERTO RICO'S TALLER SALUD

Click her to SUPPORT PUERTO RICO'S TALLER SALUD

Taller Salud mobilized immediately after the hurricanes to deliver food, water, and medical supplies; since then they have run a hurricane preparedness campaign, provided legal assistance for those who want to appeal FEMA denials, and they continue to provide essential services, stepping in where the safety net falls short.

If 100 of you GIVE $25 TODAY, we will immediately reach my goal of $2,500.

If that same 100 people then SHARED this campaign with ONE PERSON willing to GIVE $25, we would surpass my initial goal and immediately reach my stretch goal of $5,000 for Taller Salud, an organization doing critical work on the ground.

Will you join this virtual community of poets, writers, artists, activists, educators, scholars, lawyers, doctors, nurses, healers, leaders, and philanthropists in supporting Taller Salud and Puerto Rico by GIVING $25 or $50?

Click here to get answers to your questions, including:

- Who is Taller Salud?
- Why Taller Salud?
- Why Now? Why this campaign?
- Who is Li Yun Alvarado?
- Thank You & A Gift
- Why GoFundMe? / The Fine Print

CLICK HERE to learn more about this campaign and GIVE $25 or $50 today.

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- MY POST HURRICANE MARÍA REFLECTIONS

The day before the hurricane, I Facetimed with my parents and grandparents to check in on their preparations. Hurricane María arrived right on the heels of Hurricane Irma, and my mom had not yet been able to secure a working generator.

During that conversation, I snapped two screenshot of my son looking at each of his living great-grandparents.

After landfall, I did not speak with my parents for SIX of the longest days of my life.

My only real solace during the wait were the social media reports trickling out and the information I gathered from a complex network of friends, family, and acquaintances living both on and off the island. Through these channels I learned that all my relatives, including my elderly grandparents, had survived the storm even before I was able to speak with any of them directly.

My parents were finally able to call, and we sprung into action. We activated our family and friend networks throughout the diaspora (CA, NY, WA, VA, IN, GA, FL ). My husband, brother, sister-in-law, cousins, close friends, and I mobilized to get supplies down to our people as quickly as possible.

One cousin traveled to PR with a satellite phone, allowing us to speak to relatives more easily. Another flew down with a generator. We ordered and shipped other supplies: batteries, bug spray, solar lanterns, solar showers, solar charger, battery pack, first aid kit, headlamps, battery fans, propane camping stove, and an ice maker.

I also compiled a list of actions people could take and organizations people could support and shared that thread on the wall of my Facebook Author page in order to help spread the word. On my personal page, I noted the number of days without power.

Today is DAY 254 and there are still parts of the island without power.

I was so grateful for everyone--and there were so many people--who reached out asking how they could help. I directed them to my long thread of organizations.

What I did not have the emotional energy and time to do last fall was raise funds for a specific cause.

Fortunately, my family members did not suffer any major losses and they have been able to return to a new normal. As far as supplies, they are in a better position than they were last fall, and are hopeful that this hurricane season will not be as brutal as the last.

Still, Puerto Rico’s electrical grid remains prone to island-wide black outs (the last one was on April 18). In addition, brutal austerity measures are dismantling an already weak social safety net.

I know my immediate family is doing well, but my Puerto Rican family at large is still hurting.

This knowledge motivates me to DO more. That is why I’ve created this guide and started this fundraising campaign.

I'm hopeful you will join me in sending my isla some love.

Thank you for reading and thank you for anything you have done and will do to support Puerto Rico!

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