CantoMundo is an American

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

organization founded in 2009 to support Latino poets and poetry. It hosts an annual poetry workshop dedicated to the creation, documentation, and critical analysis of Latinx poetry.

History

CantoMundo was founded in 2009 in San Antonio, Texas when

Norma Elia Cantú Norma Elia Cantú (born January 3, 1947) is a Chicana postmodernist writer and the Murchison Professor in the Humanities at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Early life and education She was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to ...

, Celeste Guzman Mendoza, Pablo Miguel Martínez,

Deborah Paredez Deborah Paredez (born December 19, 1970) is an American poet, scholar, and cultural critic. She is the author of the poetry collections, ''Year of the Dog'' and ''This Side of Skin,'' and the critical study, '' Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the ...

, and Carmen Tafolla, inspired by the Cave Canem workshops for African-American poets, organized a workshop for Latino writers. The first workshop was held at the

National Hispanic Cultural Center The National Hispanic Cultural Center is an institution in Albuquerque, New Mexico dedicated to Hispanic culture, arts and humanities. The campus spans 20 acres and is located along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Avenida César Cháv ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

in 2010. From 2011 to 2016 the workshops were held at the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. From 2017 to 2019

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, in New York City served as home for the program and workshops."Poetry Friday: CantoMundo Retreat in NYC" by Ysabel Gonzalez, June 30, 2017 ''Dodge Blog'' http://blog.grdodge.org/2017/06/30/poetry-friday-cantomundo-retreat-in-nyc/ In August 2019, the

University of Arizona Poetry Center The University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson, Arizona, is among the most extensive collections of contemporary poetry in the United States. It is the largest such collection which is "open shelf." History of the collection and the center The ...

formally announced a three-year partnership to host the CantoMundo workshops in Tucson, Arizona beginning in 2020."UA Poetry Center Partners with CantoMundo" by Sarah Gzemski August 20, 2019 https://poetry.arizona.edu/blog/ua-poetry-center-partners-cantomundo CantoMundo is one of over 25 members of the Poetry Coalition, an alliance of nonprofit organizations that aim to promote poetry that is coordinated by the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

. In January 2019, the Academy of American Poets allocated a portion of a $2.2 million endowment from the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

to the Poetry Coalition, some of which went to CantoMundo.

Writing conference

During the four day writing conference, fellows are divided into two groups of 12-15 poets that engage in workshops with invited faculty members, attend keynote lectures, and participate in panel discussions. During the weekend, fellows also have the opportunity to share their work in front of an audience at the Friday and Saturday night readings which are free and open to the general public. Readings are sponsored by Columbia University's Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College, and the Office of the Dean of Social Science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Workshop faculty

* 2010:

Martín Espada Martín Espada (born 1957) is a Puerto Rican-American poet, and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches poetry. Puerto Rico has frequently been featured as a theme in his poems. Life and career Espada was born ...

and Demetria Martínez. Keynote by

Toi Derricotte Toi Derricotte (pronounced ''DARE-ah-cot'' ) (born April 12, 1941) is an American poet. She is the author of six poetry collections and a literary memoir. She has won numerous literary awards, including the 2020 Frost Medal for distinguished lifet ...

* 2011: Naomi Ayala and Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Keynote by Vikas Menon * 2012: Aracelis Girmay & Roberto Tejada. Keynote by E. Ethelbert Miller * 2013: Valerie Martinez &

Willie Perdomo Willie Perdomo is a Puerto Rican poet and children's book author. He is the author of ''The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'' (Penguin Poets, 2014), a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist, ''Where a Nickel Costs a Dime'' ( W. W. Norto ...

. Keynote by Natalie Handal * 2014:

Rafael Campo Rafael Juan Campo y Pomar (24 October 1813 – 1 March 1890) was President of El Salvador 12 February 1856 – 1 February 1858.

Lorna Dee Cervantes Lorna Dee Cervantes (born August 6, 1954) is an American poet and activist, who is considered one of the greatest figures in Chicano poetry. She has been described by Alurista, as "probably the best Chicana poet active today." Early life Cer ...

. Keynote by Sherwin Bitsui * 2015:

Sandra María Esteves Sandra María Esteves (born May 10, 1948) is a Latina poet and graphic artist. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and is one of the founders of the Nuyorican poetry movement. She has published collections of poetry and has conduc ...

. Keynote by Tim'm West * 2016:

Juan Felipe Herrera Juan Felipe Herrera (born in December 27, 1948) is an American poet, performer, writer, cartoonist, teacher, and activist. Herrera was the 21st United States Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. Herrera's experiences as the child of migrant farmers ...

& Carmen Tafolla. Keynote by

Natasha Trethewey Natasha Trethewey (born April 26, 1966) is an American poet who was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 2012 and again in 2013. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection ''Native Guard'', and she is a former Poet L ...

* 2017: Rosa Alcalá &

Rigoberto González Rigoberto González (born July 18, 1970) is an American writer and book critic. He is an editor and author of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and bilingual children's books, and self-identifies in his writing as a gay Chicano. His most recent projec ...

. * 2018: Daniel Borzutzky & Ada Limon. Keynote by

Douglas Kearney Douglas Kearney (born 1974) is an American poet, performer and librettist. Kearney grew up in Altadena, California. His work has appeared in ''Nocturnes'', ''Jubilat'', ''Beloit Poetry Journal'', ''Gulf Coast'', ''Poetry'', ''Pleiades'', ''Iow ...

* 2019: Monica De La Torre &

Natalie Diaz Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie Shahan Natalie ( hy, Շահան Նաթալի; July 14, 1884 – April 19, 1983) was an Armenian wri ...

. Keynote by Patricia Smith * 2020: Brenda Cárdenas & Urayoan Noel.

Current fellows (partial list)

* Amy M. Alvarez * Aldo Amparán * Diannely Antigua * John Manuel Arias * Mario Alejandro Ariza *

Oliver Baez Bendorf Oliver Baez Bendorf (born 1987) is an American poet. Early life and education Oliver Baez Bendorf was born on June 21, 1987, in Iowa City, Iowa. His poems sometimes feature the landscape of his childhood, and his writing about returning to Iowa ...

* Amy Sayre Baptista * Andrea Blancas Beltran * Sara Borjas * M. Soledad Caballero * David Campos * Andrés Cerpa * MK Chavez * Karla Cordero * Cristina Correa * Carina del Valle Schorske * Carolina Ebeid * Joshua Escobar * Lauren Espinoza * Eduardo Gabrieloff * Suzi F. Garcia * Ysabel Y. Gonzalez * Marcelo Hernandez Castillo * Paul Hlava Ceballos * Jen Hofer * Ricardo Maldonado * Sheila Maldonado * Carlo Matos * Jennifer Maritza McCauley * Jasminne Mendez * Florencia Milito * Michelle Moncayo * Lara Mimosa Montes * Brenda Nettles Riojas * Christina Olivares * José Guadalupe Olivarez * Maryam Ivette Parhizkar * Emily Perez * Zenaida Peterson * Noel Quiñones * Gabriel Ramirez * Reyes Ramirez * Julian Randall * Alexandra Lytton Regalado * Monica Rico * Joseph Rios * Raquel Salas Rivera * Leslie Sainz * Ruth Irupé Sanabria * Cintia Santana * Roberto Santiago * Nicole Sealey * Yvette Siegert * María Fernanda * Analicia Sotelo * Michael Torres *

Emma Trelles Emma Trelles is a Latina poet, writer, professor, and current poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California. Life Trelles earned an MFA from Florida International University in the 1990s, where she was mentored by the poet Campbell McGrath and f ...

* Norma Liliana Valdez *

Dan Vera Dan Vera (born South Texas) is an American poet and editor. Career Vera is the author of ''Speaking Wiri Wiri'', (Red Hen Press, 2013) and ''The Space Between Our Danger and Delight'', (Beothuk Books, 2009). His manuscript ''The Guide to Imagi ...

* Rich Villar * Vanessa Angélica Villarreal * Felicia Zamora

Former fellows (partial list)

* Millicent Borges Accardi *

Elizabeth Acevedo Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican-American poet and author. In September 2022, the Poetry Foundation named her the year's Young People’s Poet Laureate. Acevedo is the author of the young adult novels ''The Poet X'', '' With the Fire on High'', ...

* Gloria Amescua *

Francisco Aragón Francisco Aragón is a Latino poet, editor and writer. Life Born in San Francisco, California, Aragón's parents migrated from Nicaragua in the 1950s. is a graduate of Archbishop Riordan High School. He studied at the University of California ...

* José Angel Araguz * Diego Báez * Rosebud Ben-Oni *

* Marcelo Hernandez Castillo * Eduardo C. Corral * Anthony Cody *

Cynthia Cruz Cynthia Cruz is a contemporary American poet living in Brooklyn, NY. She is the author of six published poetry collections, and two works of cultural criticism. She currently teaches classes in the Graduate Writing Program at Columbia University. ...

* Barbara Brinson Curiel * Diana Marie Delgado * Michael Luis Dauro *

Denice Frohman Denice Frohman is a poet, writer, performer and educator, whose work explores the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. Frohman uses her experience as a queer woman from a multi-cultural ( Puerto Rican and Jewish) background in her w ...

* Ángel García * Carmen Gimenez Smith * Laurie Ann Guerrero * Celeste Guzman Mendoza * Juan Luis Guzmán * Leticia Hernandez-Linares *

Ire'ne Lara Silva Ire'ne Lara Silva is a Chicana feminist poet and writer from Austin, Texas. Her parents were migrant farmworkers. She has published numerous works of poetry and her short story collection won the 2013 Premio Aztlán Literary Prize. A central ...

* Raina León * Manuel Paul López * Sheryl Luna * Carl Marcum * Pablo Miguel Martínez * Florencia Milito * Juan Morales * PaulA Neves * Urayoan Noel *

* Emmy Pérez *

Ruben Quesada Ruben Quesada, Ph.D., is an American poet and critic. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In 2022, Dr. Quesada published an edited collection of essays, ''Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry'' was be published by University ...

* Natalie Scenters-Zapico * Carmen Tafolla * Lauro Vasquez * Javier Zamora

CantoMundo Poetry Prize

The organization has partnered with the

University of Arkansas Press The University of Arkansas Press is a university press that is part of the University of Arkansas and has been a member of the Association of University Presses since 1984. Its mission is to publish peer-reviewed books and academic journals. It wa ...

for an annual book prize. Edited by Deborah Paredez and Celeste Guzman, the first judge for the prize is celebrated poet

Rafael Campo Rafael Juan Campo y Pomar (24 October 1813 – 1 March 1890) was President of El Salvador 12 February 1856 – 1 February 1858.

References

External links

CantoMundo Website

CantoMundo page on Columbia
{{Authority control 2009 establishments in Texas American poetry American writers' organizations Arts organizations based in New York City Arts organizations established in 2009 Hispanic and Latino American organizations Hispanic and Latino American literature Poetry organizations