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Disquiet Literary Program

@disquietilp

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Disquiet is an international literary program held annually in Lisbon, Portugal. Contact: [email protected]

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On August 29, 2026, I read Dandelion: In His Shadow, a speculative fiction piece that was a top 6 finalist in the Kinsman Quarterly scifi open call and was also the piece I workshopped in Lisbon, Portugal this summer through the Disquiet International Literary Program @disquietilp with Brian Evenson. Please listen to the story and tell me if you think the story has legs ❤️✍🏾

I’m grateful to @kinsmanquarterly for publishing the short-story version of Dandelion: In His Shadow in Iridescence: The Second Dimension. This is a story I’m still building…right now, I’m imagining it as a novella, maybe something larger, depending on where the work takes me.

It took me a minute to post this because, honestly, the hotel internet connection during the reading was fighting for its LIFE because I was at a gala receiving an award for a separate event. 😭 I was a little embarrassed about the glitches and pauses, but then I listened back and realized… my voice sounds cute. So here we are. 😂🌼

Dandelion: In His Shadow follows a young woman whose encounter with a mysterious presence forces her to confront the blurred boundaries between memory, identity, consciousness, and the unseen forces shaping her life.

And now, you can read the story in full in Iridescence: The Second Dimension, which is a speculative fiction and poetry anthology bringing together international voices exploring myth, magic, dystopian futures, metaphysical questions, consciousness, time, and the strange realities that exist just beyond what we can see.

I’m especially proud to be part of a collection that centers BIPOC and underrepresented literary voices. Thank you @sistamonique for the support and the platform!

#writer #bookstagram #blackgirlmagic #dandelionInHisShadow #kinsmanquarterly

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The DISQUIET International Literary Program is now accepting applications for June 2027!

Ever since I came back from the program, I’ve been getting so many questions about my experience.

Instead of only answering everyone individually, I compiled twelve questions to answer here so that more people can find out about this literary program!

Thank you to all of my curious writer friends who inspired this post. ❤️

And more than that, thank you to the DISQUIET community— staff, mentors, panelists, and participants alike!— for making this such a magical experience. 🇵🇹

Applications close on December 15th!

For more information, go to www.disquietinternational.org and follow @disquietilp

#DisquietILP #Disquiet

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Poet Lauren Delapenha reads “Supermarketing” from Issue 31. Hear her read two more poems from The Common and discuss her process on the TC podcast - link in bio or wherever you get podcasts! #poetry #writingpodcast

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Recordações do @disquietilp DISQUIET - International Literary Program 💘 um dia tão especial para mim, no qual falei e li em inglês sem medo no @centronacionalcultura.

Obrigada por esta bonita oportunidade que nunca vou esquecer (e pela nossa amizade, @duffylala, e por tudo o que me ensinaste, @terriwitek ✨)

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2026 DISQUIET International Literary Program ✎

Muito, muito, muito obrigada to the DISQUIET International Literary Program for welcoming me to learn through workshops, readings, inspiring Fado Museums and performances, open mics, and so on in Lisbon, Portugal with open arms of shared sincerity and saudade.

Thank you to Jeff Parker, Scott Laughlin, Laura Breitenbeck, and every soul at DISQUIET and the Centro Nacional de Cultura for their care; also, to Desiree Bailey and Stefan Bindley-Taylor for a reverent poetry workshop, as well as the poets in it who were poems themselves, and selfless to lend their ears and voices for the sake of my poetry; of course, to Terri Witek, without whom I would never have wandered into the “well-ghosted” Fernando Pessoa Game workshop room, learned to listen to their lines and the transfigurations of writing; to the @stetsonhonors program, for the generous scholarship which made it possible to study abroad; and, lastly, to Colin and my family, who were my home amidst the newness of Portugal, and to God, who repeatedly silenced me into song with His beauty… Does He feel saudade for us, for all creation? 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Bem, Portugal and her people survived through literature. This program reminded me that literature is a form of survival. Mas, I must now write rather than solely reminisce. Eu te amo, DISQUIET!

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Week 2 of the DISQUIET International Literary Program!

My days were filled with fiction and creative non-fiction classes, an open mic at the prestigious Grémio Literário, publishing panels with Dzanc Books, The Paris Review, and Granta, a Bairro Alto writing marathon, a Fernando Pessoa-themed walking tour, and even a trip to Casa Fernando Pessoa museum!

And through it all, there were fantastic opportunities to learn from Luso and American authors whose work pushed us to think more about nostalgia, modern immigrant fiction, ambitious protagonists, and so much more. I'll tag them here so you can follow them, too:

While this is a late post, after the program, I took more time to explore Portugal, so my time in Lisbon still feels so fresh to me.

Truly, I'll hold it all close forever.

Stay tuned for my next post with advice for those participating in an international literary program like DISQUIET.

📸 Pictures by so many wonderful people in DISQUIET and beyond!

@disquietilp
@dzancbooks
@ParisReview
@Granta_magazine
@CasaFernandoPessoa
@Broteria_
@CentroNacionalCultura
@flad.pt
@GoodCompanyBookstore
@LerDevagar
@Tinta_nos_Nervos

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Disquiet awakened in me a deeper love for the craft of writing. Thank you @disquietilp

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Spaces of disquiet and surrender. These spaces are where my soul was stirred to chaos and beauty, an ache to persist in my pursuit of the written word. #writer

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On July 6, 2026, I had the privilege of performing my original incantata, Ginhigugma Ko Ikaw (I Loved You), during a Disquiet International open mic at the historic Grémio Literário in Lisbon, Portugal.

The piece is a conversation between an angsty human and the Divine Overlord, written as a dialectic between Ilonggo and English consciousness. It explores the tension and magic of two languages carrying the same prayer, the same grief, and the same fiery love.

Many told me the reading gave them chills or reduced them to tears.

Founded in 1846, Grémio Literário in the heart of Lisbon has been home to generations of Portugal’s greatest writers, artists, and intellectuals. For nearly two centuries, it has stood as one of Europe’s most important literary institutions, and I am proud to have my native Ilonggo tongue reverberate through its halls.

Will post more about this later so you can see how beautiful it was inside the Grémio Literário! Very proud to show off my language to the world!

#subsaharanmindanao #blackgirlmagic #writer #poetry #love

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A Short Reflection on the 2026 Disquiet International Literary Program

Attending the 2026 Disquiet International Literary Program @disquietilp and following the footsteps of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa was a rich and meaningful experience. It was rewarding to talk with writers of different backgrounds and hear from so many talented artists.

Lisbon is an inspiring literary city. Stories are reflected in the cobblestones and tiles lining the streets and buildings, prompting writers to continue recording their own observations. Miradouros (scenic viewpoints) are scattered throughout the many hills of Lisbon, quietly waiting for reflection. Sipping a glass of vinho verde at a rooftop café at the end of the day is a brilliant way to start recording those reflections.

#Women who write #writingwithaview #travel #disquiet

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My 4th trip to Lisbon and my 3rd to @DisquietILP, and my 1st international reading (which was so fun!). It was hot AF but I got some writing done, ate so much food, saw many old friends, met some amazing new-to-me writers, drank all the vinho verde, heard fado for the first time, and stayed up too late on several different miradouros.

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I still can’t believe what a trip and experience this was. Having just been to Portugal last year, I had some skepticism if my initial love for the country, and Lisbon specifically, would persist, but if anything it’s evolved and grown. Day trips to salt wine wineries, open mic nights for prose and poetry, chats and chess at miradouros, tearing out pages of Fernando Pessoa’s “The Book of Disquiet”, and cervejas with literary hero’s of mine.

“I love the Tagus because of the big city along its shore. I delight in the sky because I see it from the fourth floor on a downtown street. Nothing nature or the country can give me compares with the jagged majesty of the tranquil, moonlit city as seen from Graça or São Pedro de Alcântara. There are no flowers for me like the variegated coloring of Lisbon on a sunny day.” -Fernando Pessoa

#Lisbon #Disquiet #Portugal #WritingCommunity #FernandoPessoa

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