THE FLOWER in THE SKULL: Reading & Discussion with KATHLEEN ALCALá & GABRIELLA GUTIéRREZ yMUHS

The Flower in the Skull, by Kathleen Alcalá
Publisher Raven Chronicles Press
ISBN: 978-1-7354780-2-9
Trade paper, 6x9, Glossy Cover, 176 pages
Price: $17.99, independent bookstores; on sale on Raven website.

Spanning 130 years, The Flower in the Skull opens in the 1870s with Concha, an Ópata Indian woman who has fled to Tucson, where she works as a housekeeper and clings to memories of her old way of life. Her daughter, Rosa, feels the trauma of Concha’s loss but struggles to understand her mother’s culture. The story jumps forward to 1990s Los Angeles, where Shelly, a young Chicana woman, digs through historical archives in search of information about the Ópata people.

Inspired by the author’s research into her own family history, The Flower in the Skull illuminates the importance of a connection to ancestors—a connection that survives colonial violence and generational trauma.

Kathleen Alcalá was born in Compton, California, to Mexican parents and grew up in San Bernardino. Her six books include a short story collection, three novels, a book of essays, and The Deepest Roots, a combination memoir and blueprint for environmental sustainability. Kathleen is the co-editor of Weeping Women: La Llorona’s Presence in Modern Latinx and Chicanx Lore. A member of the Ópata Nation, Kathleen makes her home on Suquamish territory.

Dr. Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs is a poet and professor in Modern Languages and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Seattle University.  Gabriella is the author/editor of several poetry collections, books of literary criticism, first editor of Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia, 2012, essays and opinion pieces and many other articles and loose poems. She received her MA and PhD from Stanford University.  She has criss-crossed the nation giving keynote speeches and motivational talks, including the recent EKU Chautauqua keynote address: "(Inter)sectional (Inter)actions: Being Horizontal."