BEST OF PABLUM
“What is ‘schligy’?” you may ask. Well, it’s a word, among many, that 18-year-old author Zach Estudillo coined!
Zach has always been fascinated with words, poetry in particular, and was motivated during the pandemic to write and publish his first book: Best of Pablum: Tracks of Trash from an Eighteen-year-old (SCHLIGY Streams), a collection of poems detailing Zach’s journey on figuring out his purpose and finding his why.
Zach was expecting a quiet launch after publishing his book on Amazon without anyone knowing but garnered overnight popularity after his mother (shoutout to her!) found Best of Pablum when searching “Estudillo” on Amazon and immediately shared it on Facebook.
Since then, Zach has sold 56 copies (and hopefully more) that have reached a wide range of readers from all over the world.
His inspiration to even commence on his “little project” stems from the fact that he wanted to embark on a “side hustle,” while balancing the college rigor at UC Berkeley.
“All money-bag-chasing aside,” he mentions, “I sought inspiration from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton and how Miranda weaves storytelling with bars and intricate couplets.”
He also credits Amanda Gorman who was the youngest poet to read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony, given that Zach and Gorman both were student delegates for the International Congress of Youth Voices founded by Amanda Uhle and fellow San Franciscan Dave Eggers.
Zach self-published Best of Pablum during his first year of college remotely, and compiled a collection of poems and excerpts from previous pieces he wrote during his time at SOTA. Although he studied World Dance during his tenure, he emphasizes he would rather write “the grooves of the pen instead of the grooves of choreography.”
The themes in Best of Pablum center around misrepresented voices, which extends to him being an introvert and having an omitted voice since he does not like to talk.
“We have two ears and one mouth. We could talk less but listen more.”
Best of Pablum Description:
“What do Generation Z "Zoomers" think? What do they believe? Delve into the mind of one introverted individual who happens to be born in 2002. Discover the core values of such person who happens to write poems inundated with meme-culture references, vapid undertones of shower thoughts, and poignant lines that may or may not strike you as "wow, this dork probably has no friends." This happens to be a book and you - the reader - happen to read this description. It is what it is...”
Best of Pablum: Tracks of Trash from an Eighteen-year-old expresses Zach’s truths (ironically forcing him to talk) and is a very quick read.
BEST OF PABLUM: TRACKS OF TRASH FROM AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD (SCHLIGY STREAMS) ~ ZACH ESTUDILLO, WORLD DANCE 2020