About 4 years ago, I wrote a very personal piece specifically for Brevity‘s special issue on race, racism, and racialization, which they liked enough to publish. In the years since, the response to my piece, “\’in-glish\“, has been overwhelming, and I’m constantly touched that people from very different backgrounds and lives seem to connect to my own experiences. It’s since been included in an essay writing textbook, used as educational material for online learning, used in undergraduate creative writing courses, featured as an example for another creative nonfiction project, and featured in one of Creative Nonfiction’s Sunday Short Reads .
All this pales in comparison to finding out that “\’in-glish\” will be included in the upcoming The Best of Brevity: Twenty Groundbreaking Years of Flash Nonfiction, which will be published through Rose Metal Press in Fall 2020 (announcement). Looking at the list of other amazing authors, I have a serious case of imposter syndrome, where a part of me is just waiting for someone to tell me this is a very belated April Fools joke. I know the amazing quality of work that Brevity publishes year after year, and I’m humbled all over again that my piece is among them. Thank you, Brevity, for liking my piece enough to publish it.