Dreaming of You

by Melissa Lozada-Oliva

Genres: Feminist; Hispanic & Latino

Synopsis

"A feverish story of young adulthood, exploring how fandom and obsession shape how we relate to the world . . . Dreaming of You navigates the complexities of Latinx identity, self-loathing, love, and the loneliness of drifting into adulthood." —Miguel Salazar, Vulture

"At the center of this exploration of insecurities, joys, and identity stands Melissa Lozada-Oliva—an unapologetic poet who isn’t afraid of the rawness of the mind and is resilient in her writing— so much so that it feels like we’re talking to our best friend." —Bianca Pérez, Porter House Review

A macabre novel in verse of loss, longing, and identity crises following a poet who resurrects pop star Selena from the dead.

Melissa Lozada-Oliva's Dreaming of You is an absurd yet heartfelt examination of celebrity worship.
 
A young Latinx poet grappling with loneliness and heartache decides one day to bring Tejano pop star Selena Quintanilla back to life. The séance kicks off an uncanny trip narrated by a Greek chorus of gossiping spirits as she journeys through a dead celebrity prom, encounters her shadow self, and performs karaoke in hell.
 
In visceral poems embodying millennial angst, paragraph-long conversations overheard at her local coffeeshop, and unhinged Twitter rants, Lozada-Oliva reveals an eerie, sometimes gruesome, yet moving love story.
 
Playfully morbid and profoundly candid, an interrogation of Latinidad, womanhood, obsession, and disillusionment, Dreaming of You grapples with the cost of being seen for your truest self.

Release date: October 26, 2021

Publisher: Astra House

Print pages: 192

Sample

Hello, querido reader.
Do you like poetry?
Maybe you like songs?
Do songs get trapped in your
head like a rat on sticky paper?
Are you afraid of dying
and does it fuel you?
We aren’t trying to
sell you anything,
but consider hanging us
on your wall.
Primero que todo,
we love chisme.
What is a meal
without the seasoning of gossip?
What is a conversation without
a little talking-some-shit?
We make eyes
at each other through the trees.
We clink our beers together on rooftops.
We send messages later, on the car ride home.
We all know the story of Selena Quintanilla.
The Tejana pop star who was murdered
by her best friend and the manager
of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar.
There are heroes.
There are villains.
There are fans.
There are girls trying to find
their reflection in a rippling
pond, and then feeling startled
when a piece of gum falls out
of their mouth.
There is a frog that thinks
the gum is a fly and chokes to death.
Where were we?
This is a story of mirrors,
or what happens
when you bring the mirror
back from the dead and when
you look in it you see yourself
eating yourself.
This is about You,
except when it’s not about you.
This is a love story.
But it isn’t our story.
However, as chismosas, we feel
that it happened to us.
So we believe we are the best
ones to tell it.
We will try to
tell it to you
the best that we can.
First, let’s introduce
our speaker, Melissa,
who does not speak
entirely for us.
She is a girl who dreamsa lot.