Poetry Flash: MARTÍN ESPADA, LAUREN MARIE SCHMIDT & GARY SOTO

Martín Espada‘s new book of poems is Vivas to Those Who Have Failed. Sandra Cisneros calls him “the Pablo Neruda of North American authors.” Recent collections include The Trouble Ball, The Republic of Poetry, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and Alabanza, whose title poem has been widely anthologized and performed. In all, he’s published fifteen books as poet, editor, essayist, and translator. A former tenants lawyer for the Latino community of the greater Boston area, he’s received a Shelley Memorial Award, a Guggenhein Fellowship, and he’s just won the prestigious 2018 Ruth Lilly Prize for lifetime accomplishment.

Lauren Marie Schmidt‘s new book of poems is Filthy Labors. Previous collections include Two Black Eyes and a Patch of Hair Missing, Psalms of the Dining Room, and The Voodoo Doll Parade, winner of the Main Street Rag Author’s Choice Chapbook Series. Among her prizes are the So to Speak Poetry Prize, Neil Postman Prize for Metaphor, and The Janet B. McCabe Prize for Poetry.

Gary Soto‘s a poet, essayist, and novelist. His new book of poems is a revised, updated edition of The Elements of San Joaquin, his first collection, originally published in 1977, about which La Bloga had said, “The poet has an impeccable memory for capturing the music and sounds of his childhood. He carries a heavy sense of nostalgia with…grace…” He has since published twelve poetry collections, including New and Selected Poems, which was a National Book Award finalist as well as three novels and a memoir among other books. He has also received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.