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Letras Latinas, Part 14: A Conversation with Brenda Cardenas

August 31, 2025 • Think ND

Episode Topic: A Conversation with Brenda Cardenas

Listen in to an oral history conversation with award-winning Poet Laureate of Wisconsin Brenda Cárdenas, interviewed by writer and poet Maria Kelson, who at the time (as Maria Melendez) was an associate professor of English at St. Mary’s College, and was teaching a course on Chicana literature. Brenda and Maria discuss playing with multiple languages in poems, the joy of listening to the music and rhythm of words, Brenda’s lively ekphrastic collaborations with visual artists over the years, and the hope that comes from writing for the audiences of the future.

Featured Speakers:

Brenda Cárdenas, Wisconsin Poet Laureate
Maria Melendez Kelson, poet and author

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/504f05.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Letras Latinas.

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