On Wednesday Oct. 2, writer Gabby Rivera visited Oswego State as a part of the “I Am Oz” series of speakers hosted by Oswego Campus Life.

Rivera, known for her work as a writer on Marvel Comics “America” series, which was the first series focusing on the queer Latina superhero America Chavez, and her 2016 book “Juliet Takes A Breath,” which is a fictionalized biography of Rivera’s life. The novel focuses on a young Puerto Rican lesbian woman moving out of the Bronx and into Portland, Oregon, as she struggles with her identity.

Identity plays a part in both “America,” and “Juliet Takes A Breath,” because to Rivera, writing is an important tool for marginalized groups to explore themselves and their culture.

“Writing is definitely a way for marginalized people and folks with ethnic backgrounds and different identities, writing is a way for us to explore our own histories and discover who we are,” Rivera said. “In ‘America,’ [Chavez] is on the ancestral plane because she doesn’t know where she’s come from. Her having a grandmother that brings her to the ancestral plane and shows her the history of her family and her people, that’s a really important moment.”

Rivera began writing at an early age as she grew up in the Bronx. Her mother taught kindergarten for 35 years in New York City, teaching her and her brother how to read at a young age. Beginning with poetry, Rivera wrote throughout her life and eventually moved on to novels.

“Writing is just something that I love to do, I’ve always done it. I’ve had different jobs and made a living in different ways and there’s always been the writing,” Rivera said. With Juliet and America, now I get to write and speak.”

The most important part of writing, according to Rivera, is to participate in a community of art and creativity to build an environment to grow skills.

“The best way to [get into writing] is to really build community. Hang out with people whose writing you like, throw your own open mics, have writing circles with people. Get to know folks, go to their events, have them come to your events. It’s really interpersonal and community-based for me,” Rivera said.

Rivera credits the communities the joined for the success of her novel, which she originally self-published in 2016 but was recently republished by the Penguin Random House publishing company.

“It was my queer communities, my POC communities, my feminist communities, that uplifted the book and wrote about it. That’s how Penguin Random House got interested,” Rivera said. “You write, you take the time, you dedicate, but you also get to know everybody else who’s writing the things you like, the things you find interesting.”

In her 2017 Marvel series, “America,” Rivera chose to send the young superhero America Chavez to college. Focusing on the experiences of people of color in higher education, Rivera said it was important to make Chavez’s fictional institutions feel like it was created for the character. Rivera chose to name Chavez’s college the Sonia Sotomayor University, named in honor of the current Supreme Court Justice.

“Sonia is the first Puerto Rican justice of the Supreme Court from the Bronx, and she’s this big blue hologram that greets you at the gates of the university,” Rivera said.

According to Rivera, college, in addition to a place of education, is also a time to find out who you really are.

“College is also a place where, you get to know [things] about yourself in a way that is less guarded and less judged. You can explore your interests, your identity, your sexuality. You’re allowed to be a little more free,” Rivera said.

Rivera attended Goucher College in Baltimore, where she “studied everything” but earned a degree in communications and theology. Thinking back to her time as a student, Rivera had advice for the students of today.

“First of all, you are enough. You’re doing great. Remember to breathe, remember to take naps, remember to eat snacks. Ask for help and be passionate about what you’re doing. Be curious, be passionate, be disciplined,” Rivera said. “If you’re the first person in your family to go to college, you’re the first person in your family to make it out of your neighborhood, know that you’re not alone … you got this.”

Photo provided by Campus Life