Episode 21: Author Interview - Daniel Olivas, 'Chicano Frankenstein', and Immigration

In this episode, we are joined by Daniel Olivas, who - as well as having a successful career as a lawyer in California - is an acclaimed author of several works of prose fiction, poetry, dramatic texts, and non-fiction.

Our conversation with Daniel draws on his perspective as an attorney within the American legal system, writer, and grandson of Mexican immigrants. Central to this chat is a discussion of his novel Chicano Frankenstein (2024), a dystopian novel that imagines a future in which corpses are reanimated, have their memories and identities wiped, and are used to supplement America's labour force. Although clearly dystopian, Chicano Frankenstein is, at its heart, a tender, funny novel that explores how we find or make meaning in our lives.

As we discuss in our interview with Daniel, his reanimated characters can be seen as stand-ins for immigrants - or indeed any marginalised figure in modern society - and as such our conversation oscillates between a close literary discussion and broader social commentary, particularly with reference to American politics.

As a guest, Daniel is equal parts profound and entertaining, and we feel lucky to count him among the podcast's close friends, as he's been following along since our inception!

You can find out more about Daniel on his website here and you can follow him on Bluesky at @danielolivas@bsky.social. You can also read his article, 'Howling Into the Wind: On 41 years of Writing About the Abuses of the Immigration System' here.

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