Puerto Rican poet (born 1957)
Martín Espada (born 1957) is aPuerto Rican-American poet,[ 1] [ 2] University of Massachusetts Amherst , where he teaches poetry.Puerto Rico has frequently been featured as a theme in his poems.[ 3]
Espada was born inBrooklyn, New York . He was introduced to political activism at an early age by his father,Frank Espada , a leader in the Puerto Rican community and the civil rights movement.[ 4] B.A. in history from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison and aJ.D. fromNortheastern University (Boston, Massachusetts) . For many years, he worked as a tenant lawyer[ 1] The Immigrant Iceboy's Bolero , featuring photography by his father. This was followed byTrumpets from the Islands of their Eviction (1987) andRebellion is the Circle of a Lover's Hands .[ 5] Poet Laureate ofNorthampton, Massachusetts .[ 6] Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize , a lifetime achievement award given by the Poetry Foundation to a living U.S. poet that carries a $100,000 prize. Espada was the first Latino recipient of the honor.[ 7]
About his first and subsequent visits to meet family in Puerto Rico, Espada said it was "absolutely transformative", an "absolute revelation", "a process of self-discovery", and that "going there affirms you have a history". His poem "Coca Cola and Coco Frio" is about that.[ 8]
In 2009, Espada performed inThe People Speak ,Howard Zinn 'sA People's History of the United States [ 9]
In 2021, Espada won the National Book Award for Poetry for his poem "Floaters" about two migrants, Oscar and his daughter Valeria, who drowned crossing the Rio Grande at the U.S. Border.[ 10] [ 11]
Espada is a professor at theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst ,[ 12] Shelburne Falls , Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Artists Foundation Fellowship in Poetry, 1984 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, 1986 PEN/Revson Foundation Fellowship in Poetry, 1989 Paterson Poetry Prize, 1991 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, 1992 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant, 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, 1997 Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, 1997 Gustavus Myers Center Outstanding Book Award, 1998 Pushcart Prize, 1999 Independent Publisher Book Award, 1999 Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts, 2001 Antonia Pantoja Award, 2003 American Library Association Notable Book, 2004 Robert Creeley Award, 2004[ 13] Charity Randall Citation, 2005 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 2006 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Best Books, 2007 Library Journal Best Poetry Books, 2007 Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement, 2007 Premio Fronterizo, 2007 National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award, 2008 USA Simon Fellowship, 2010 Massachusetts Book Award, 2012 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award, 2012 International Latino Book Award, 2012 Walt Whitman Birthplace Poet in Residence, 2012 Busboys and Poets Award, 2014 Academy of American Poets Fellowship, 2018Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, 2018[ 14] National Book Award for Poetry , 2021[ 15] [ 16] The Immigrant Iceboy's Bolero , Waterfront Press, 1982,ISBN 9780943862330 Trumpets from the Islands of Their Eviction , Bilingual Press, 1987,ISBN 9780916950729 Rebellion is the Circle of a Lover's Hands , Curbstone Press, 1990,ISBN 9780915306954 City of Coughing and Dead Radiators , W.W. Norton, 1993,ISBN 9780393312171 Imagine the Angels of Bread , Norton, 1996,ISBN 9780393039160 A Mayan Astronomer in Hell's Kitchen , Norton, 2000,ISBN 9780393048889 Alabanza: New and Selected Poems 1982-2002 (W.W. Norton, 2003 US, 2004 UK)The Republic of Poetry ISBN 9780393069709 La República de la Poesía (Mago Editores, Chile, 2007)Crucifixion in the Plaza de Armas , Smokestack Books, 2008,ISBN 9780955402814 La Tumba de Buenaventura Roig (Terranova Editores, Puerto Rico, 2008) Soldados en el Jardín (El Gaviero Ediciones, Spain, 2009)The Trouble Ball ISBN 9780393080032 ISBN 9780393343564 Vivas to Those Who Have Failed ISBN 9780393249033 Floaters : Poems , W.W.Norton, 2021,ISBN 9780393541038 Jailbreak of Sparrows: Poems , Knopf, 2025,ISBN 9780593537121 Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology , University of Georgia Press, 2018,ISBN 9780820353159 Seeds of Fire: Contemporary Poetry from the Other U. S. A. Smokestack Books.ISBN 978-0955402821 ^a b "El Andar Magazine" .El Andar Magazine .Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .Martín's own years of growing up in the 60s in the projects of East New York and, later, in the seemingly soft suburbs of Long Island, where he was kicked around for being Puerto Rican. ^ "Martín Espada Receives Inaugural Letras Boricuas Fellowship" .College of Humanities & Fine Arts . November 18, 2021.Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .^ "Academy of American Poets profile" .Archived from the original on 2009-11-19. Retrieved2010-03-27 .^ "Acclaimed Poet and Professor Martín Espada to Deliver Reading on May 2" .UMass Amherst . April 20, 2022.Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .^ "Poetry Foundation profile" .Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved2010-05-13 .^ "Bill Moyers website" .Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved2012-05-09 .^ "Martín Espada awarded 2018 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize" .poetryfoundation.org .Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved2018-05-03 .^ "Poet Martin Espada" .Fresh Air Archive: Interviews with Terry Gross . November 16, 1993. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .^ The People Speak Archived 2010-07-13 at theWayback Machine ^ " .YouTube . January 16, 2020.Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .^ "Poetry inspired by a viral photo of drowned migrants wins the National Book Award" .NPR.org . November 18, 2021.Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .^ "Martín Espada uses poetry as a form of advocacy" .News . April 8, 2022.Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .^ "Robert Creeley Foundation » Award – Robert Creeley Award" .robertcreeleyfoundation.org .Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved2018-03-23 .^ "Martín Espada awarded 2018 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize" .poetryfoundation.org .Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved2018-05-03 .^ "National Book Awards 2021" .National Book Foundation .Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. RetrievedNovember 17, 2021 .^ Andrews, Meredith (August 30, 2022)."National Book Foundation Announces 2022 Fall Season of NBF Presents" .National Book Foundation .Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2022 .
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