Name: Lucy-Téa Anderle

Track: “Death of the Love Letter”

Education: Wellesley College

Hometown: Carmel, California

How was your 18-year-old self naive? My 18 year old self  subconsciously believed my ability to pass as white would ensure a life free of racism.

What one-word description would you find most flattering? Intrepid.

What do you wish people weren’t judged for? Their transgressive, exciting sex lives.

What ethical question confounds you? Lately I’ve been plagued by ethical questions of what it means to study at institutions of higher education whose founding depended on the coercion, subjugation, and eventual destruction of Native American populations as well as Black slavery. I worry about the ethics of tailoring historical amnesia to modern morality.

In a sentence, be the biggest critic of your writing: My writing is frivolous, complacent, decadent drivel dedicated to stroking of my own overfed ego.

How would you hope to be impressed by your future self? I hope to be impressed with how well my “ivory tower” education has translated to salient work that changes people’s lives. I hope to radiate joy and multi-cultured poise and always smell of expensive French perfume.