Myriam Gurba

Myriam Gurba is the editor-in-chief of Tasteful Rude. She is also the author of the memoir Mean, a New York Times editors’ choice. O, the Oprah Magazine, ranked Mean as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time and Publishers’ Weekly describes Gurba as having a voice like no other. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Paris Review, TIME.com, and the Believer. Gurba has been known to call shitty writers pendejas and has no qualms about it. Along with Roberto Lovato and David Bowles, she co-founded Dignidad Literaria, a grassroots literary organization that seeks to revolutionize publishing.

Beautifully Ruined: A Case for Re-visiting Kate Braverman’s Lithium for Medea

by | March 14, 2023

Punk! Real estate! Venice Beach! Myriam Gurba re-introduces readers to Kate Braverman’s cult classic Lithium for Medea.

Photo of a man holding a surfboard at Venice Beach.

No Princesses: Reflections on the Passing of Sacheen Littlefeather

by | October 24, 2022

Critic Myriam Gurba reflects on the passing of Sacheen Littlefeather and her attempted takedown by a notorious “pretendian” researcher.

sacheen littlefeather against an indigenous Mexican tapestry

The Doctor’s Tongue

by | June 30, 2022

Myriam Gurba maps her sexual miseducation in California schools, homes, and medical offices.

woman at gynecology office

Julian

by | January 21, 2022

A woman’s pandemic relationship with a cat deepens her humanity.

Cat showing his fangs

Honoring Our Literary Ancestors: On Arcelia and Giovanni’s Room

by | November 11, 2021

Organizers of Giovanni's Room unite to honor literary ancestors

acelia portrait

On Toni Morrison’s Spiritual Vision: a Conversation with Nadra Nittle

by | October 26, 2021

Nadra Nittle takes meticulous inventory of the ingredients that enliven Toni Morrison’s spiritual vision.

Toni Morrison Book Cover

The Word You May Be Looking For is “Stalking”

by | October 8, 2021

From “Bad Art Friend” to the Miya Marcano murder to reports of femicide, writers shy away from a crucial word: stalking.

Woman being stalked by man

We Are The Ones Who Got Away

by | September 21, 2021

The Petito case challenges us to consider how we language romantic harm. Domestic violence seldom stays at home.

arizona highway

Nonprosecutable: A Review of Shiori Ito’s Black Box

by | July 13, 2021

Through personal narrative, journalist, survivor, and activist Shiori Ito examines rape culture in Japan.

black box book cover

Stories For Stoners: An interview with Marijuanera Mala Muñoz

by | June 29, 2021

Mala Muñoz is without a doubt a Chicana who smokes her fair share of weed.

Marijuanera hero

Pocas Pero Locas, Episode 3: “Wassup, M’ija?”

by | June 1, 2021

After a gang unit stopped my 14 year old cousin for driving in a stolen hoopty, they took her to Eastlake Juvenile Hall and handed her over to a new abuser: a cop.

Desiree Gurba

Pocas Pero Locas, Episode 2: Chicken Soup for the Homies’ Soul

by | May 27, 2021

An older homegirl, a hood mom whom Desiree considered her mentor, announced, "I'm jumping you in."

Desiree Gurba

Pocas Pero Locas: An Interpersonal Chicana Essay Where Two Primas Make Sure Shit Gets Told Right

by | May 18, 2021

Myriam Gurba writes about her cousin Desiree, female gangsters, cholas, Mexican bad asses with big hair, and the criminalization of survivors.

Myriam and Desiree Gurba, 1988

Her Taste For Speed: Rachel Kushner’s “The Hard Crowd”

by | April 28, 2021

The Hard Crowd offers us a portrait of Kushner through her preoccupations, obsessions, concerns, affinities, and distastes. Her writing on others is always writing about the self and in this sense, she is always doing donuts, flashing the lens externally so as to make an entire revolution, pointing the eye inward once again.

Myriam with the Hard Crowd

Matt Gaetz: an Extraordinarily Ordinary Creep

by | April 6, 2021

What makes the accusations against Matt Gaetz so plausible is the ubiquity of men like him. Many of them work for state, like my former coworker John William Gunde, a high school teacher arrested for sex with a minor, currently on paid administrative leave.

Matt Gaetz