Wendy C. Ortiz
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Wendy C. Ortiz (born 1973) is an American essayist, creative nonfiction writer, fiction writer, psychotherapist, and poet.


Background

Wendy C. Ortiz was born in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1973. She earned her
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in Liberal Arts from
The Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...
in 1995 and lived in
Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...
for eight years before returning to Los Angeles where she presently resides. While living in Olympia, Washington, Ortiz was a mudwrestler, library worker, and editor and publisher of 4th Street, a handbound literary journal. Ortiz earned her
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
in Creative Writing (2002) as well as her
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in Clinical Psychology (2010) from Antioch University in Los Angeles, California. She was co-founder, curator and host of the Rhapsodomancy Reading Series, which began at the Good Luck Bar in Los Angeles in 2004 and continued through 2015. Ortiz was a
Writer-in-Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
at Hedgebrook in 2007 and 2009. In 2015 she adapted a short play from her essay "Spell" in collaboration with and directed by Meera Menon for One Axe Productions. In Spring 2018, she served as visiting writer of creative nonfiction in the MFA Program at CalArts. Wendy is a psychotherapist in private practice.


Works

Ortiz is the author of three books: ''Excavation: A Memoir,'' (Future Tense Books, 2014) ''Hollywood Notebook'' (Writ Large Press, 2015), and ''Bruja'' (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016). A second edition of ''Hollywood Notebook'' will be published by CCM and WritLarge Press in 2018.


Critical Reception

Amy Sachs at ''Bustle'' named ''Excavation: A Memoir'' one of "11 Groundbreaking Books About Women Making History With Their Thinking, Activism, And Courage" and JoAnna Novak at ''Bustle'' calls Ortiz, one of "9 Women Writers Who Are Breaking New Nonfiction Territory." Of her books ''Excavation'' and ''Hollywood Notebook,'' Lesley Heiser at ''The Rumpus'' wrote, "With her bold books, Ortiz defies society to ignore her, to resist her. But we're becoming more and more aware of her. Her dark blossoming is changing us." Of ''Hollywood Notebook,'' Jeva Lange at ''Electric Literature'' said, "The entire project becomes nearly reminiscent of the self-musings of Maggie Nelson, if Nelson were consulting astrological charts rather than philosophy…''Hollywood Notebook,'' then, is a sui generis gem, and one to take advantage of immediately." Ellie Robins at the ''Los Angeles Times'' called the prose in ''Bruja'' "spare and at times mesmerizing" and added, "Ortiz celebrates hedark side of the human mind, nowhere more so than in ''Bruja''...It's testament to Ortiz's courage as a memoirist that she's willing to live for a while on this submarine plane, among the elements that dictate her fate — and to invite her readers along for the show." The three books have appeared on a number of new books, best books, and other literary lists around the web. All three books are taught around the United States in various undergraduate and graduate creative writing programs.


''My Dark Vanessa'' controversy

On January 19, 2020, Ortiz helped generate a prepublicity firestorm over a then unpublished novel by
Kate Elizabeth Russell Kate Elizabeth Russell (born 1984) is an American author. Her debut novel, ''My Dark Vanessa'', was published in 2020 and became a national bestseller. Biography Russell was raised in the town of Clifton, Maine, attending John Bapst Memorial Hi ...
titled ''My Dark Vanessa'' when she tweeted "can’t wait until February when a white woman’s book of fiction that sounds very much like Excavation is lauded, stephen king’s stamp of approval is touted, etc,." Although Ortiz is described as having acknowledged that she had not read Russell's fictional work, she would write an essay in which she alleged the novel's 'eerie story similarities' to her memoir. ''Excavation: A Memoir'' and ''My Dark Vanessa'' share themes of intergenerational sexual abuse by a teacher, yet the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
has reported that 'Reviewers who looked at both books saw no evidence of plagiarism.' Nevertheless, in response to social media comments, and in the wake of the controversy over American Dirt,
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
, who had originally tapped ''My Dark Vanessa'' as a selection for her influential Book Club, rescinded the selection. As a result of the accusations of plagiarism and appropriation, Russell made a public statement disclosing that ''My Dark Vanessa'' had been inspired by her own experiences with sexual abuse as a teenager


Bibliography

'' Excavation: A Memoir,'
Future Tense Books, 2014.
''Hollywood Notebook,'
Writ Large Press, 2015.
''Bruja,'
Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016.


References


External links

*
Rhapsodomancy homepage



Book Review of Hollywood Notebook in the Los Angeles Review of Books



Book Review in The Rumpus

Interview with Arielle Greenberg in Aster(ix) Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Wendy C. Living people 1973 births 21st-century American poets American women poets Poets from California Writers from Los Angeles 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American essayists American women essayists