Meet Elodia Esperanza Benitez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elodia Esperanza Benitez.

Hi Elodia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
My name is Elodia Esperanza Benitez. I am twenty-six years old, born and raised in Gilroy, CA, but I have family across the United States and Mexico. 

As a child, I loved to read and was encouraged to read by my mother, Linda and Nana Julia. I began writing short stories and freeform poetry. When I was in my late teens, I was fortunate enough to connect with local cultural artists and writers who encouraged me to share my writing. Through poetry submissions and community friendships, I met my current publisher, Brenda Vaca, the founder of Riot of Roses Publishing House out of Whittier, CA. She and I worked together for the better part of a year to publish my current collection, “My Nana’s Hands,” available online and through book retailers now. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am proud to have been published through independent publishing house Riot of Roses. I appreciated the direct communication I had with Brenda and her perspective as a poet author herself. We had to make a few adjustments with our timeline due to printing delays. Thankfully, we expected that with my release of December 5th being smack in the middle of the holiday season. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a poet. My work has been published in EASTSIDE Magazine out of San Jose, CA, and in the MALCS (Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio) Academic Journal. I have a self-published collection entitled, “Love in Many Faces” and my current collection published via Riot of Roses Publishing entitled, “My Nana’s Hands”. 

I am most proud of “My Nana’s Hands”. The collection was a labor of love and dedicated to my Nana Julia, who has passed away. 

Nothing sets me apart from others. I tend to dislike the question because it implies that there is something extraordinary about my becoming an author and poet. I worked on my craft and translated my experiences into art in the hopes of forming a connection with other people. If you connect with my poetry, it means you recognize something within my words that is within yourself. If anything about me was set apart from others, I couldn’t accomplish that connection. 

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I hope the industry is rich with poets and other mediums of writers from all walks of life. Give everyone a book deal. 

Pricing:

• My Nana’s Hands- 20.00

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @elodiabenitez