Living on the border can be a mix of two cultures.

One Rio Grande Valley author is sharing his experiences through his writing. One of his books is even a finalist for several awards, putting the Valley on the map in the world of literary arts.

Weslaco native Gume Laurel has been writing for years. His passion for putting pen to paper started at a young age, and now he's giving readers a first-hand account of what it's like to live on the border.

"I remember in Pre-K, before I was able to write actual words, I would just draw pictures and tell people what the story was," Laurel said.

Laurel says his teachers helped influence his writings.  

"As I got older, at [Weslaco Independent School District], I had teachers that helped me focus on the craft of writing and to develop it over time to where now here I am publishing books," Laurel said.

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He's published several books throughout his career. His stories highlight the underrepresented Hispanic community, especially those who identify as Latino or Chicano.

"I think early on in my poetry, I, which is something a lot of people do, they have their emotional poetry where it's all about relationship type stuff, but then also they'll all have separately kind of the way they experienced the world specifically through their heritage," Laurel said.

Valley native Gloria Anzaldua was also a big influence in his poetry.

"So the Valley really influenced my writing based on the culture. She grew up in the Valley, I think Gloria Anzaldua has done an immense study into it, being the fluidity of our identity based on our culture," Laurel said.

He says that concept is important in his writings.

"We are just not one thing or another, but this merging of two identities and that intersectionality coming through in the stories that I write," Laurel said.

His book, Assimilated Natives, is a collection of borderland poems; it was published last year.

"First couple poems, I know I wrote well over a decade ago, like 10–12 years ago, and of course they've been edited countless times since then," Laurel said.

He entered his book into the International Latino Book awards, and on Tuesday, he's an award finalist in three categories.

"I saw that as a huge opportunity because specifically that's the heart of my writing, the Latino experience," Laurel said.

Those categories include the Best in English Poetry by a Single Author, Best Audio Presentation and Best Video Presentation.

"I had to re-read the results multiple times in the course of the days following because I was like 'no, there was a typo' or 'I'm probably reading the wrong honors sheet,' so it's exciting," Laurel said.

The International Latino Book Awards ceremony will take place October 25 in Oceanside, California.

Laurel wants to make sure the Latino and Chicano culture feels seen through his work.

"I feel that the most important element to books in reading is inclusivity and I feel a lot of the time people can be off-put by books for poetry, especially because it feels overwhelming," Laurel said. "Reading books and literature, that's for everybody and so with poetry, I try to make my poetry as accessible as possible."

Along with poetry, Laurel also writes what are called Hi-Lo books for publisher West 44 Books. Hi-Lo means High Interest, Low Readability.

"High verse novels, and Hi-Lo books, they're told through a series of poems, they're briefer, so it's simpler vocabulary words," Laurel said.

Laurel's literary works can be found wherever books are sold. They are also available at local bookstores like Ante Books in McAllen, Buho in Brownsville or Storybook Garden in Weslaco.

They're also available at the McAllen and Weslaco public libraries.

Gume Laurel is Made in the 956.

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