Season 5, Episode 6: The Problem of Maria - Poetry, Identity, and the Power of Being Seen with Pilar Quintana

Season 5, Episode 6: The Problem of Maria - Poetry, Identity, and the Power of Being Seen with Pilar Quintana

From The Starfish Storytellers by Liana Henry

June 11, 2026 · 45 min · Season 5 · Episode 6

About this episode

Liana Henry interviews Pilar Quintana about the intersection of poetry, identity, and the importance of visibility in storytelling.

Storytelling doesn't always happen in sentences, speeches, or traditional narratives. Sometimes it happens in images, emotions, metaphors, and poems. In this special Pride Month episode of The Starfish Storytellers , host Liana Henry sits down with poet, artist, educator, and arts advocate Pilar Quintana to explore storytelling through the lens of poetry, identity, and self-expression. The conversation begins with Pilar's powerful poem, The Problem of Maria , a deeply personal exploration of gender, culture, belonging, and the lifelong search to understand oneself in a world that often demands simple definitions. As a queer, genderqueer Cuban American artist, Pilar shares how poetry became a language for expressing experiences that traditional storytelling sometimes cannot fully capture. In this conversation, Pilar discusses: • How poetry allows people to express emotions that are difficult to put into words • The relationship between identity, culture, and storytelling • Growing up as the child of Cuban immigrants and navigating multiple worlds • The power of visibility and representation within LGBTQ+ communities • Why poetry can help people process experiences and emotions in…

People in this episode

Host: Liana Henry

Guest: Pilar Quintana

Topics covered

  • poetry
  • identity
  • self-expression
  • storytelling
  • visibility
  • representation

Keywords

  • poetry
  • identity
  • storytelling
  • LGBTQ+
  • Cuban immigrants
  • self-expression
  • visibility
  • representation

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Problem of Maria

Places: Cuban, LGBTQ+

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