When I approached Papo in 2017 about doing a book, the goal was to launch a chapbook division at 2Leaf Press, with his chapbook being the first. He came up with the idea of PAPOLíTICO, which I immediately loved. I loved the idea of publishing some politically inspired poetry, especially in the surreal age we find ourselves living in today.
I first heard Youssef Alaoui recite poetry from a DVD that filmmaker Vagabond produced and played for me, and I found his poetry well-written and very interesting. When I got to know Youssef better, I found him equally interesting, a Latino Moroccan poet who speaks three languages living in California. While he is well-known and well-respected in his local community, I never heard of him, but I wanted to know more about him and his work.
When I sent out a call for books for Spring 2018, jason vasser-elong, who was a contributor to BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED (2017) sent me his manuscript for SHRIMP. The title caught my attention, and I asked myself, “What does this mean?” When I went through it, I got the sense that this was a guy searching for answers about self.