Victor Hernández Cruz (born February 6, 1949) is a Puerto Rican poet. In 1981, ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' named him one of America's greatest poets.Nicolas Kanellos, "Hispanic Firsts", Visible Ink Press; ; p. 40.

Biography

Early years

Hernández Cruz was born in

Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico Aguas Buenas (, ), popularly known as "''La Ciudad de las Aguas Claras''" or "''The City of Clear Waters''", is a Aguas Buenas barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Cordillera Central ( ...

. In 1954, his family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and lived in

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the east ...

. There he received his primary and secondary education. He began to write poetry while attending Benjamin Franklin High School.

Poetry career

During his high school years, he wrote various poems, including "Snaps". In 1969, Random House published his collection ''Snaps'' and the following year his poetry began to appear in various publications including ''

Evergreen Review ''The Evergreen Review'' is a U.S.-based literary magazine. Its publisher is John Oakes and its editor-in-chief is Dale Peck. The ''Evergreen Review'' was founded by Barney Rosset, publisher of Grove Press. It existed in print from 1957 until ...

'' and ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

''. In 1970, Hernández Cruz worked with New York's "Poetry-in-the-school" program. He moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1973 and served as a visiting poet in various colleges. From 1973 to 1975, he read and performed his works as a traveling troubadour, covering much of the United States. Hernández Cruz received fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

. In 1981, the April issue of ''Life'' proclaimed Hernández Cruz a National Treasure when they included his name among the greatest American poets. He is the first Hispanic in the US to have this honor bestowed on him.

Memberships

Hernández Cruz is a distinguished member of the famed

Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...

school of poets (also referred to as the Nuyorican Movement). He tweaks syntactic conventions of English and Spanish to communicate his own voice. He was Chancellor of 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 outrea ...

.Reuben, Paul P
"Chapter 10: Victor Hernandez Cruz."
''PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide.'' June 10, 2009. Accessed January 10, 2010.

Awards

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is a Canadian poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. I ...

* Guggenheim Foundation *

fellowships

Works

* ''Papo Got His Gun'', 1966 (chapbook). * ''Snaps'', Random House, 1969. 135 pp. * * * * * * *

Reviews

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

wrote about ''Snaps'':

Poesy news from space anxiety police age inner city, spontaneous urban American language as Williams wished, high school street consciousness transparent, original soul looking out intelligent Bronx windows.

References

External links

Griffin Poetry Prize biographyGriffin Poetry Prize reading, including video clipOnline interview with author
on Letras Latinas Oral History Project. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez Cruz, Victor 1949 births American male poets Living people People from Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male writers 20th-century Puerto Rican poets 20th-century American poets 21st-century Puerto Rican poets 21st-century American poets People from East Harlem Hispanic and Latino American poets