Feature: Writer & Poet D.L. Cordero

D.L. Cordero is a published sci-fi fantasy author, occasional poet, and horror dabbler working

out of Denver, CO. As a nonbinary, queer, Puerto Rican person, they utilize an intersectional

approach when writing, incorporating they/them pronouns, Spanish-English hybridization, and characters from a wide range of sexual orientations, genders, races, and abilities.

Cordero aims to write intriguing stories that center characters from marginalized communities, without making identity the crux of the story, thereby disrupting the pervasive narrative that all minorities do in books is struggle with who they are. Their work has been published by Borderless Magazine, Prometheus Dreaming Magazine, Post Journal, and on their website dlcordero.com.

When asked about what their writing means to them, D.L. shares the following:

"My writing is courage. I want to be brave, in words and action, and when I transform the dreams my subconscious cooks up into empowering stories for people in and outside the margins, I get closer to living with unabashed authenticity.

"My writing is an act of resistance. It embodies my audacity to thrive.

"Every moment I continue to breathe is a testament to my resiliency and the resiliency of those that came before me.

"But I am not only surviving. I am chasing my dreams, celebrating victories, and growing into my truest self. And those themes, intersectionality, recovery, fear, queerness, transness, racial diversity, disability, they are everywhere in my writing. Every time I get published, I subvert the notion that, “no one cares about those kinds of stories.” I am not voiceless. I am not invisible. I am here. My writing is proof of that.

"Lastly, my writing is hope. Hope for an inclusive literary future, and hope that I can find joy in dark places. My stories are gritty. They hit hard. But often, they are also darkly funny. When I laugh, despite despair, and mean it, I prove I have agency. My characters do too.

"Because we are more than our struggles. We are powerful. And we will build, whether others want us to, or not."

You can support and follow them on Instagram (@dlcorderowrites) and check out their featured piece below!

--

Sacrosanct is a community blog that amplifies the voices and art of LGBTQ2IA+ BIPOC. As a digital space for marginalized folks to self-define, self-actualize, and heal, Sacrosanct is firmly situated at the core of intersectionality while also providing mental health and community resources made for and by LGBTQ2IA+ BIPOC. To fund these LGBTQ2IA+ BIPOC artists for their contributions to the platform, consider leaving a donation here and follow Sacrosanct on Instagram and Facebook.