Today on 30 Minutes we’ll hear remarks made at the 2018 Tucson Festival of Books at the Nuestras Raices stage, which was curated by the Pima County Public Library. This panel was called Borderlands New Wave Poetry and featured poets Daniel Olivas and Vickie Vértiz. The discussion began with an introduction by Social Justice Consultant Sarah Gonzales followed by readings and discussion. This is part 1 of a 2 part series.
Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.
Her writing is featured in the New York Times magazine, Spiral Orb, Huizache, Nepantla, Omniverse, the Los Angeles Review of Books, KCET Departures, and the anthologies: Open the Door (from McSweeney’s and the Poetry Foundation), and The Coiled Serpent (from Tia Chucha Press), among many others.
A 2018 Bread Loaf Environmental fellow, a Macondista and seven-time VONA participant, Vickie was also the 2015 Lucille Clifton Scholar at the Community of Writers at Sq. Valley in Lake Tahoe. Her work was chosen by Natalie Diaz for the 2016 University of Arizona Poetry Center Summer Residency Program.
Vértiz’s first full collection of poetry, Palm Frond with Its Throat Cut, was published in the Camino del Sol Series by The University of Arizona Press in September of 2017. Get a copy here.
Vickie has taught creative writing and given lectures at the Claremont Graduate University, 826LA, the Center Theater Group, and her alma maters Williams College, Bell Gardens High School, and UC Riverside, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2015. She lives in Los Angeles.
Her first poetry collection, Swallows, is available here from Finishing Line Press.
Daniel A. Olivas is the author of nine books and editor of two anthologies. His books include the novel, The Book of Want (University of Arizona Press, 2011), the landmark anthology, Latinos in Lotusland (Bilingual Press, 2008), and Things We Do Not Talk About: Exploring Latino/a Literature through Essays and Interviews (San Diego State University Press, 2014).
His latest books are The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories (University of Arizona Press, 2017), and Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press, 2017).
Widely anthologized, Daniel has written for many publications including The New York Times, El Paso Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, Huffington Post, High Country News, LAObserved, and Jewish Journal. His writing has appeared in many literary journals including PANK, Pilgrimage, Fairy Tale Review, MacGuffin, New Madrid, and The Prairie Schooner Blog. He shares blogging duties on La Bloga which is dedicated to Chicanx and Latinx literature.
Daniel, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, grew up near the Pico-Union and Koreatown neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He now makes his home northeast of downtown Los Angeles with his wife. They have an adult son who is a proud graduate of UCLA. Daniel received his degree in English literature from Stanford University and a law degree from UCLA. By day, he is an attorney with the California Department of Justice in the Public Rights Division.
