A conversation with Liliana Valenzuela

In this episode of Words on a Wire, host Daniel Chacón sits down with acclaimed poet, translator, and world traveler Liliana Valenzuela for a rich and reflective conversation recorded just after her return from a silent meditation retreat. Liliana discusses her journey as a “reverse Chicana”—a Mexican-born writer shaped by both Mexican and Chicano cultural traditions—and the ancestral and creative forces that shape her work. From her fascination with Aztec codices to solo travels through West Africa, Liliana shares the stories and experiences that inform her poetry collections Codex of Love and Codex of Journeys. The conversation also explores her influential career as a translator of major Latinx authors, including Sandra Cisneros Julia Alvarez, Cristina Garcia, Denise Chavez (and more), as well as her lifelong commitment to amplifying women's voices in literature.