During her own school days, Veronica Reyes hated English classes–and “couldn’t write”.
Today, Veronica describes herself as “The East L.A. Poet”–and she teaches college-level writing classes. The honors she’s received for her writing include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, as well as a finalist award for the prestigious Andres Montoya Poetry Prize. Her first published book of poetry, “Chopper! Chopper! Poetry From Bordered Lives,” will be released on October first.
Veronica, who uses her writing to “bridge” all the communities that are important in her life, talked about her background, her life as a lesbian Chicana artist, and her work empowering students–and shared some of her poetry from her forthcoming book.