Encuentro 28: Jarrard Raju–Magic in Life and Art

The new Encuentros Latinx Trans Visibility toolkit is now live! You can download it and our other toolkits here: https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/justice-local-church-ministries/justice/health-and-wholeness-advocacy-ministries/proyecto-encuentros-de-gracia-y-bienvenida-toolkits/

This new toolkit features stories from trans folks who you’ve heard on the podcast before–Ilán Carlos, Adora, and Yadi. This is an opportunity for you and your churches to open yourselves to the experiences of trans people, to learn, to grow, and to heal communities.

My guest today is another colleague of mine from the Latine anthology Where Monsters Lurk and Magic Hides, which comes out November 10th. Jarrard Raju is a fantasy author and proud witch. We have a great interfaith chat about their practice and experience of witchcraft, including how it’s represented in fantasy media and how its trendiness makes people inclined to hate it or ask practicing witches to show them something cool right off the bat without understanding the harm it can do in untrained hands. Stay tuned for the end of the episode where Jarrard shares an excerpt from their story “Under a Sea of Stars” about an afrolatino mermaid boy who falls in love with a human. Let’s get right into this encuentro.

Jarrard's social media

ig: @jarrardraju

Twt: @jarrardwrites

Podcast recorded by Taylor Ramage and edited by Storm Miguel Florez

Email the podcast at encuentroslatinxs@gmail.com