Platica Y Poetics Ep.7 w/ Jen Yáñez-Alaniz

A sensory delight and candid platica, Episode 7 with poetic comadre Jen Yáñez-Alaniz was a sweet dive into the sensuous universe she conjures in her debut poetry chapbook, Surrogate Eater. Our tableside exchange swirled around the intersections of pleasure, activism, and scholarship, with Jen guiding us through her approach to pleasure activism — reclaiming joy, desire, and pleasure as forms of resistance and empowerment. We grazed on topics such as how her poetry challenges societal norms, particularly concerning the body, sexuality, and identity within cultural contexts that often attach shame to female and queer bodies. Through this dialogue, we reclaimed the sacred through the body, turning poetry into a life-affirming, liberating force. Jen’s words resonated with the power of pleasure as a radical act, not just for the self, but for collective healing — especially within divine and marginalized communities.