Education:
M.F.A., Creative Writing, University of New Mexico, 2010
Concentration: Poetry
Dissertation: Contraband, full-length poetry manuscript
B.A., English, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2006
Concentrations: English Creative Writing
Experience:
Contributor, 2012-Present
NBC Latino
Sex and Advice Columnist, 2012-Present
Cosmopolitan for Latinas
Reader, 2012-Present
Another Chicago Magazine
Contributor, 2012
Mamiverse
Book Reviewer and Editor, 2012-Present
Kirkus Book Reviews
Contributor, 2012- Present
The Huffington Post Latino Voices
English Teaching Assistant, 2007-2009
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Courses: Composition 101 and 102, E-portfolio Composition 101, Intersession English 101, Freshmen Learning Community 101, and Introduction to Creative Writing 224
Instructor, 2009
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Course: Independent Study, The Craft of Fiction
Book Club Leader, 2009
Amy Biehl High School, Albuquerque, NM
Guest Instructor, 2008
Amy Biehl High School, Albuquerque, NM
Course: Introduction to Poetry Writing
Fulbright Scholar, ESL Teaching Assistant, 2006-2007
Secundaria Manuel de Falla, Madrid, Spain
Courses: English, History, Science, and Health
Workshops:
Search for Common Ground workshop on the role of lifestyle journalism and the image of Muslims in the United States in Washington, DC, 2012
Presentations:
“Treading on the Wires’: Desire in Chicana Poetry.” Paper presentation and poetry reading at the Louisiana Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture, 2009
Publications:
Poetry
“Portrait of a Wetback,” Copper Nickel, No. 18, 2012
Audio recording of “Crossing,” “The Loop” and interview on American Public Media, 2012
“The Loop,” Anti-, 2011
“Circles,” Pleiades, Vol. 31 No. 2. 2011
“Kindness,” Drunken Boat, No. 13, 2011
“Orchid” and “Las Pulgas,” Hunger Mountain, 2010
“Earthquake,” Whiskey Island, No. 56, 2010
“Juárez,” Witness, Vol. 23, 2010
“Fiesta Mexicana,” Crab Orchard Review, Volume 14, Number 2, 2009
“Lavapiés,” Hayden’s Ferry Review, No. 45, 2009
“To You,” “Mother,” “Spain,” “Crossing,” “Atlas of a Body,” “The Hammam,” Hanging Loose, No. 91 and 93, 2007, 2008
Non-Fiction
“I Wanted To Marry A Latino And Fell For A White Guy,” Jezebel, 2011
“Five Fascinating Latinas for Women’s History Month,” Ms. Magazine, 2011
Other
Contributor Spotlight for Hayden’s Ferry Review, 2009
Awards and Honors:
Manuscript Semifinalist in Crab Orchard Review First Book Award judged by Chad Davidson, 2012
Featured poet with Richard Blanco at Palabra Pura poetry reading series curated by Francisco Aragón, 2012
Semifinalist in Provincetown Fellowship, 2012
Nominated for Best New Poets by Anti-, 2012
Featured Poet with Traci Brimhall at Rhino reading series, Evanston, 2012
Featured Poet at First Friday Reading at Saint Paul’s Cultural Center, Chicago, 2011
Manuscript Semifinalist in Crab Orchard Review Poetry Contest judged by Yusef Komunyakaa, 2011
Honorable Mention American Poetry Review Contest, 2010
Passed my dissertation defense with distinction, April, 2010
Nominated for Associated Writing Programs Poetry Award, 2010
Graduate Assistant to Director of Creative Writing, 2009
Featured poet at Sumner and Dene Art Gallery, 2009
Poetry Reading with Jimmy Santiago Baca at 516 Arts Gallery, 2008
Fulbright Scholarship to Madrid, Spain, 2006-2007
Graduated Magna Cum Laude and with Highest Distinction, 2006
First place in undergraduate poetry contest, 2006
Phi Beta Kappa, 2006
Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, 2005
Hispanic Scholarship Fund, 2004
Study Abroad Scholarship, 2004
Honors College, 2002-2006
President Award Program Scholarship, 2002-2006
