Celebrate Hispanic Poets for Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept 15 to October 16, 2024.
Dive into Hispanic poetry’s rich and diverse world this Hispanic Heritage Month. We’ve put together a list of must-read Hispanic poets, each with a unique voice and perspective beautifully showcased through their poetic talents. The Hispanic and Latinx community is diverse, with a complex past and unique experiences, especially surrounding immigration, assimilation, and belonging. Each of these poets offers profound insights into their cultural identity, social justice, and the complexities of living between worlds in a way only they can express.
From Richard Blanco’s rhythmic verses to Aja Monet’s revolutionary words to Yung Pueblo’s inner wisdom, these poets invite you to explore their stories, struggles, and triumphs. Whether you’re looking to reconnect with your roots or simply want to experience the beauty of Hispanic poetry, these collections are a perfect place to start your journey. So, let these Hispanic poets guide you through a world of cultural pride, resilience, and artistic expression.
Richard Blanco
President Obama chose Richard Blanco as the first Latinx, immigrant, and gay Presidential Inaugural Poet in U.S. history. His poetry focuses on cultural identity and themes of place and belonging. Born in Spain to Cuban immigrants but raised in the United States, he grew up in a close-knit Cuban community. His work is full of emotional storytelling, tributes to his heritage, and challenges of social norms.
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How to Love a Country
Yesenia Montilla
Yesenia Montilla is an Afro-Latina poet & a daughter of immigrants. Before turning to poetry during the pandemic, she worked in a cubicle, dreaming of making a life as a poet and poetry teacher. Montilla describes herself as a “late bloomer” because she believes she didn’t write her first “serious” poem until her thirties. Now, her collections are filled with verse focusing on radical love and collaboration.
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Muse Found in a Colonized Body
Aja Monet
Aja Monet isn’t just a talented poet but an activist fighting for freedom. She has worked to bring awareness about police brutality toward women, built a social justice arts community in Miami, and organized protests in Nazareth to support the Palestinian people. Monet’s poetry is music and art, and her music and art are poetry. She moves between mediums effortlessly, weaving together her messages of abolishing systems of oppression, gathering community, and revealing truths.
Florida Water: Poems
Marisa Tirado
In her first poetry collection, Marisa Tirado closely examines Latinx identity and language loss due to assimilation through her own personal story. Her degree in literary translation is reflected in her poetry, especially when discussing the complications of living between two languages. Her collection offers readers a portrait of Southwestern music and culture as it explores Tirado’s life through the songs of Tejano star Selena Quintanilla.
Selena Didn’t Know Spanish
Yesika Salgado
Yesika Salgado is a Salvadoran poet who grew up in Los Angeles. She uses her voice for poetry and body positive activism. Through her social media following, she is determined to make poetry as accessible as possible through live poetry events. The two-time National Poetry Slam finalist has published several poetry collections all about her family, her culture, Los Angeles, and living in a fat body. Her most recent collection discusses themes of love, loss, and gentrification.
Hermosa
Jose Olivarez
The son of Mexican immigrants, Jose Olivarez has published two poetry collections, both of which have been considered for major poetry awards. He has also co-edited a poetry anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol.4: LatiNEXT, featuring Latinx poets of all nationalities, genders, races, and writing styles, exploring their connection to Latinx culture. Olivarez performs his work around the country as well as co-hosts The Poetry Gods podcast. His most recent collection explores different kinds of love, from familial to self to romantic.
Ariana Brown
Originally from San Antonio, TX, Ariana Brown is a queer Black Mexican American poet and author of two incredible poetry collections. Her work explores Black personhood in Mexican American spaces and her search for others who belong to the Black and Hispanic communities. Many of her poems also discuss queerness, lonliness, and girlhood. She has been writing and performing her poetry for a decade and is currently using her experience with writing and social justice to help others improve their writing skills.
We Are Owed
Yung Pueblo
Born in Ecuado, Diego Perez moved to the US as a child, but when he started sharing his writing on social media, he became known as Yung Pueblo. After experiencing the benefits of meditation, he started describing his personal experiences with the practice through poetry. His first two collections focus heavily on themes of self-healing, healthy relationships, and inner wisdom. His latest collection, The Way Forward, continues with these themes by focusing on intuition and personal transformation.
Whether you’re discovering these Hispanic poets for the first time or are already familiar with them, let these poems enrich your appreciation of Hispanic culture through the power of poetry. Pick up a collection, immerse yourself in their stories, and let their poetry speak to your soul.
