Featured Poets: 2010 Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival

FEATURED POETS for 2010 are: AMALIA ORTIZ, DEF POET--star of HBO's "Russel Simmon's Presents Def Poetry Jam"; MICHAEL GUINN, extraordinary slam poet from Fort Worth; JESSE G. HERRERA, poet from Laredo, Texas; YOLANDA BARRERA, poet from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; ARNULFO VIGIL, also from Monterrey!

Featured Poet Jesse G. Herrera

Jesse G. Herrera, a.k.a., “The Dude,” was born in San Antonio, Texas on April 10, 1953. (Yeah, back when Truman was President, but he never met him). Jesse was raised in Laredo, Texas, and calls Laredo his hometown. His passions are poetry, photography, & riding his Harley, but that don’t pay the bills. Hence, in real life he drives an 18 wheeler for Big Brown during the graveyard shift going on 31 years. He wrote his first poem while taking a creative writing course at Laredo Community College in April of ‘98. It was there that he was turned on to poetry by Professor Randy Koch. Jesse had no idea what he was getting into, yet the seventh sense that tells artists to create clicked on. Another big influence on Jesse was the great Chicano poet Trinidad Sánchez, Jr. It was through Trino that Jesse was given a greater insight into his Chicano roots. Jesse appreciates the support and encouragement of the poetry editor for the Texas Observer, Naomi Shihab Nye, a great and well traveled poet. Jesse’s first poetry reading away from the gravity of Laredo was in McAllen, Texas in the summer of ‘98. Ever since then, la gente del Valle have been very special to Jesse because of their hospitality and kindness.

Featured Poet Amalia Ortiz

La Feria, Texas native Amalia Ortiz has appeared in three episodes of Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry on H.B.O. Amalia created and stars in Otra Esa on the Public Transit, a powerful one-woman stage show about destination and destiny, on the bus in San Antonio.

In 2006, TeatroFest featured Amalia with Maria Ibarra in Real West Side Story, and also Borderplex Electronica - 6 theater artists of the Rio Grande Valley, creating an activist multimedia show in 12 days. As a member of Chicano Messengers of Spoken Word, she co-wrote and performed the poetry/theater piece Fear of a Brown Planet, in San Francisco, Miami, Denver, and Houston. Not only inspirational, but also notable, her poetry awards include: team 2nd place at the National Poetry Slam, and first Latina to reach the National Slam finals; San Antonio Puro Slam MVP and 3-time champion; San Antonio Current editors' "Best Local Poet 2002"; the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Award, from Sandra Cisneros; Open Slam Champion and Tag Team Champion (w/ Gary Mex Glazner), at Taos Poetry Circus 2001. A long way from La Feria, Texas, where she grew up, and from San Antonio, Texas, where she first burst onto the poetry scene, Amalia is now based in Inglewood, California, finishing a book of short stories. In 2007, she coached Brave New Voices' youth poetry camp and slam championship in San José, after touring California with MadMedia/Reset Collective's What Are You Doing Tonight?.

http://www.amaliaortiz.net

Featured Poet Michael Guinn

Michael Guinn is an amazing poet, with a history of slam championships and a heart toward getting young people excited about spoken word. Michael Guinn is a native Texan who holds a Masters Degree in social work. What he witnessed as a caseworker for Child Protective Services "is what inspired him to write poetry. Since then he has become one of the nation's top advocates for social justice using the art of high-powered poetry and spoken word performances.

Michael Guinn is an internationally-renown spoken word artist. He is the Founder and Slam Master for the historic Fort Worth Poetry Slam Team (which is featured every Tuesday at the Embargo located in Downtown Fort Worth). He has published over 13 books and recorded 4 volumes of poetry and spoken word. His workshops for creative writing and performance poetry have received national acclaim. Mr. Guinn has done what no other performance artist has done, which is find a way to fuse the art of poetry and spoken word in a way that makes it entertaining, educational and socially significant for various audiences. This is why he is one of the most sought after artists in the country.

See more at http://mikeguinn.com/.

Featured Poet Yolanda Barrera

Yolanda Barrera, nace en Río Bravo, Tamaulipas, y desde 1980 vive en Monterrey.

Después de concluir sus estudios universitarios, desarrolló su labor periodística en la sección cultural del periódico El Norte, donde mantuvo relación y contacto con la intensa vida cultural del Monterrey de fines de los años ochenta. Allí mismo dio a conocer algunos de sus primeros poemas en la hoja Ensayo, en la cual publicaban sus textos escritores de su generación.

La poesía de Yolanda Barrera, en apariencia centrada en una visión intimista que explora el yo, sobrepasa esta limitante gracias a la búsqueda de la forma y la experimentación con el lenguaje poético. En 1990 inicia un nuevo periodo al frente del área de Comunicacion del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. Durante su labor en este espacio continúa escribiendo, aunque sin publicar sus textos. De sus ejercicios de introspección surge su primer poemario, Naim, que edita en el año 2000. Posteriormente se integra al area de Comunicación del Ballet de Monterrey. Su compromiso con el oficio poético prosigue y Barrera da a conocer en el 2009 Mar Abierto, su segundo volumen de poemas (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León), con ilustraciones del artista visual Francisco Larios Osuna Los textos de este libro brindan una mayor madurez y continúan en la vertiente de la exploración interior.

Featured Poet Arnulfo Vigíl

Arnulfo Vigíl nace 1956, Montemorelos, N.L. México. Poeta, editor y periodista. Ha obtenido el Premio Nacional de Poesía Benemérito de America, por el libro La banda de los querubines laicos. El Premio Nacional de Poesía Efrain Huerta por el libro Lourdes y Jorge. A su vocación de poeta se ha sumado la de investigador literario con varias muestras: Escalera al cielo; Poesía gay regiomontana (con Ernesto Castillo); Oh Janis; Sin limite de tiempo, Crónicas de la lucha libre; el ojo de vidrio, Antología de la Crónica en Nuevo León; Es fundador de la revista OFICIO con 20 años ininterrumpidos. [Top]

[2010 Registered Poets] [2010 Featured Poets] [2010 Schedule of Events] [2010 Venues] [2010 Poetry Pachanga] [2010 Sponsors & Sponsorship Opportunities] [2010 Volunteer Opportunities] [2010 Youth Poetry Slam] [2010 Adult Poetry Slam] [2010 Registration] [Boundless 2010 Anthology Submissions] [2010 VIPF Home]