Dominique Santos. Libra | b. 1988 | Makati, PH / Oakland, CA
SUMMARY
I was born in 1988 and spent most of my early life in the arts district of Makati, in the Philippines, where the air smelled like gasoline and sugar. At twenty-two, I moved to California and never went back. In the years that followed, I worked mostly as a barista—long hours, good milk foam, bad posture. I was also in grad school. I wrote poems. On the side, I reviewed cannabis products, most of which I didn’t enjoy but pretended to. Eventually, I slipped into the back end of the cannabis industry: logistics, fulfillment, wholesale distribution. Warehouses, spreadsheets, cardboard cuts. I stayed there too long.
In 2013 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and since then, gluten has felt like both a betrayal and a dare. I listen to music on vinyl because I like objects and I like the way certain sadnesses sound when you don’t stream them. I read nonfiction, mostly theory—literary criticism, continental philosophy, slow books that make you feel either smarter or more alone. When I read fiction, I want something ancient or absurd. Mythology, folklore, poetry, romance that knows it’s trash, vampires that don’t sparkle.
The best job I’ve ever had was still being a barista. It made my addictions seem like hobbies. I’d visit coffee shops, call it research, and pretend that chasing the perfect latte was a noble pursuit. These days, I’m trying to let go of being chronically online. I’ve decided to stop pretending that digital noise deserves more attention than the feeling of needle on vinyl or the weight of a book in my hands. I live in the Bay Area now, walk my dog in parks that used to be cemeteries, and go to local shows where no one’s really watching. I have two master’s degrees focused on poetry — as a visual piece.
EDUCATION
Masters in Creative Writing – Poetry (San Francisco State University, San Francisco)
Masters in Creative Writing – Poetry ( University of the Philippines, Diliman)
Arts Baccalaureate – English Literature (University of Santo Tomas, Manila)
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