Questionnaire 6: Mauricio Novoa
Name:
Mauricio Novoa
What was your experience navigating academia? What factors impacted your journey?
In high school I didn’t think I’d go to college because it didn’t seem like a place meant for me – and attending college as a 1st Gen Salvadoran with no money solidified that feeling. Not to say I should never have attended, but through experiences in academia it became clear these institutions weren’t made for anyone not a wealthy straight white man. I had to find community among peers in a world of individualism, find ways to work with professors who didn’t know what to do with me, and learn all the hidden costs that come with college. Fortunately, I met peers who had similar backgrounds that were a great support system and was part of a college prep program called Collegiate Directions that helped ease the transition.
What advice do you have? What do you wish you knew?
It’s important to build a community that will support you as you work towards your goals, especially if you’re going to be in an academic space. The word community gets thrown around a lot, but proximity doesn’t equate to support. Have the people you can lean on, who will care for your work as you do, that you trust and love so you don’t get burnt out.
Has being a first-gen student or a student with cultural class boundaries led to any
advantages to your journey and/or your art?
Having to work through things as a first gen student and writer definitely helped with problem solving skills and resilience. If I didn’t know something I had to seek the knowledge out or ask questions to those who knew, which were surprisingly skills many of my peers didn’t have because the answers were handed to them. For my poetry, it strengthened my relationship with my core audience because I could never operate under a “universal” framework. Who am I writing for and why? Others will read it or not, but did I feel like I wrote true to who I wanted to write for.
Can you share an anecdote of a time when you especially felt your background impacted
your experience in academia?
During my writing courses in undergrad and graduate school, I’ve had peers and professors ask me to include footnotes in my writing that explain and/or translate phrases and words because they didn’t understand them. More time was spent asking me to clarify things they couldn’t relate to as opposed to doing the work of learning on their own as they read and caring for the content of the piece.
How would you like to see creative writing culture change?
I think more of an emphasis on large awards and fellowships and caring about the numbers of everything like views and sales and more on how art is important for us as people to process the world. More and more capitalism forces all aspects of our lives to be treated as business, and we’re told to learn to sell ourselves as opposed to how can we ensure we’re a part of making creative writing open to everyone.
Your own publications or projects you'd like to share
I started a free substack where I’ll share future writing as oppose to trying to publish them traditionally. You can find it at mauricionovoa.substack.com
Other writers/artists you'd like to highlight
Writer friends! Justin Davis, M L Mutrux, Quique Aviles, Sami Miranda, Janel Pineda, Willy Palomo, Marcus Jackson, Jo’Van O’Neal
Bio
Mauricio Novoa is the author of Memorias From The Beltway (Red Salmon Press/FlowerSong Press 2020) and the zine Is It Worth Waking Up Tomorrow? (2026). He is Salvadoran-American originally from Glenmont, MD, lived in Austin, TX for several years and currently lives in Gettysburg, PA.
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