They said I was frothing at the mouth

An excerpt from
Preparatory Notes for
Future Masterpieces
by Maceo Montoya

Excerpted from "Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces: A Novel" by Maceo Montoya. Copyright © 2021 by Maceo Montoya. Excerpted by permission of University of Nevada Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Order a copy of Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces from University of Nevada Press!

Maceo Montoya is an author, artist, and educator who has published books in a variety of genres, including four works of fiction: The Scoundrel and the Optimist, The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, You Must Fight Them: A Novella and Stories, and Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces. Montoya has also published two works of nonfiction: Letters to the Poet from His Brother, a hybrid book combining images, prose poems, and essays, and Chicano Movement for Beginners, which he both wrote and illustrated. Montoya’s paintings, drawings, and prints have been featured in exhibitions and publications throughout the country as well as internationally. He has collaborated with other writers on visual-textual projects, including Laurie Ann Guerrero’s A Crown for Gumecindo, Arturo Mantecon’s translation of Mexican poet Mario Santiago Papasquiaro’s Poetry Comes Out of My Mouth, and most recently, David Campos’s American Quasars. Montoya is an associate professor in the Chicana/o Studies Department at UC Davis where he teaches courses on Chicanx culture and literature.

---