Christopher Soto (aka Loma) is a queer latinx punk poet & prison abolitionist. Their first chapbook, “Sad Girl Poems” was released from Sibling Rivalry Press at the end of January. They’ve worked at the Poetry Society of American and received an MFA in poetry from NYU. Poets & Writers will be honoring Christopher Soto with the “Barnes & Nobles Writer for Writers Award” in 2016. They founded Nepantla: A Journal Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color with the Lambda Literary Foundation and cofounded The Undocupoets Campaign in 2015. Their poems, essays, interviews, and reviews have appeared in The Feminist Wire, VIDAWeb, and The Offing. Originally from Los Angeles, they now live in Brooklyn.
Here, Loma talks about El Salvadorian food, methodical table setting placement, and the excitement and guilt of some Ben & Jerry’s.
On their all-time favorite meal:
My family is from El Salvador so I get really excited about pupusas de queso con loroco, kolashampan, salvi horchatta, bistec, yucca frita, chiccaron, platano con crema, frijoles, abuelita’s hot chocolate with salvi quesadillas, etc. There is this restaurant in Brooklyn called Bahia which I always go to with Javier Zamora, a close friend and amazing Salvi poet.
On what the light looks like during their favorite meal of the day:
I’m a sunset kinda person. I was born in the Los Angeles area. I enjoy a nice meal on the beach or waterfront with the sunset and a small breeze. The beach smells like home.
On snacking while writing:
I like dried mangos and dried apricots. I also like cashews, trail mix, sometimes popcorn. On the side, I’ll have a glass of water or a juice (apple and cranberry juice are nice).
On their go-to late-night snack:
I try not to keep ice cream in my apartment but this is my most frequent late night craving. I try to not eat too late at night but sometimes this happens. Reese’s peanut butter cup ice cream or the rocky road ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s get me excited and feeling guilty.
On their food quirks:
I don’t think I have any. Sometimes, people tease me about how symmetrically I place my fork, knife, plate on the table. My friends sometimes tease me about being prude, orderly, precautious. I like to think of myself as the punk child of an accountant. Rebellious and methodical.
On their last meal:
My last meal was a hot chocolate from Starbucks at LAX. I’m sitting at the airport right now, traveling back to Brooklyn. This past week I visited family and friends in Los Angeles. I was in the spa with my sister last night. Today I will be back in the cold, cuddling next to my partner. The snow is nice too, sometimes.
