It takes a community to nurture and support a writer and their writing. Throughout my journey, I have found support, nourishment, and homes with each of the following organizations across the country. Each space has helped shaped my identity as both a person and a poet, please go and learn more about the critical work they carry out.
Noemi Press: Founded in 2002 by Carmen Giménez and Evan Lavender-Smith, Noemi Press is a 501(c)(3) literary arts organization based in Blacksburg, Virginia, dedicated to publishing and promoting the work of emerging and established authors and artists.
Omindawn Publishing: Omnidawn Publishing, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, seeks to support and expand our community of writers and readers through the work we choose to publish, which questions, in both form and content, the prevailing limits of convention. Our intent is to explore internal and external boundaries and push, with compassionate insight, the limits of risk. Just as our name suggests—”omni” (in all ways and places) and “dawn” (the first appearance of light)—we publish creative works that open readers anew to the myriad ways that language may bring new light, insight, awareness, as well as a heightened respect for and appreciation of differences. At Omnidawn, it is a significant part of our mission to celebrate and include authors of different races, ages, genders, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and to include any/all those whose voices are underrepresented in publishing and in our culture at large. Founded by Rusty Morrison and the late Ken Keegan in 2001
Laureate Lab Visual Wordist Studio: The Laureate Lab at Fresno State is an experimental, cross-disciplinary open space to explore the dimensions|connections of sculpture, mov’t, words, performance, & mixed media. Founded in 2017 by U.S. Poet Laureate emeritus Juan Felipe Herrera, the studio serves as a space for students and community members to engage with pushing the boundaries and perceptions of creativity.
El Taller Latino Americano: El Taller Latino Americano is a community-based non-profit arts and education institution founded in New York City in 1979 to bridge the gap between Latin Americans and North Americans through the language of art, dance and music. Through their work they create a cohesive community by providing exposure to, understanding of, and respect for diverse cultural arts through a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural approach.
CantoMundo: CantoMundo is a national organization that cultivates a community of Latinx poets through workshops, symposia, and public readings. Founded in 2009 by Norma E. Cantú, Celeste Mendoza, Pablo Miguel Martínez, Deborah Paredez, and Carmen Tafolla, CantoMundo hosts an annual poetry workshop for Latinx poets that provides a space for the creation, documentation, and critical analysis of Latinx poetry.
Hmong American Writers’ Circle: Founded in 2004 by Hmong writer and poet Burlee Vang, HAWC has served as a forum to discover and foster creative writing within the Hmong community. Since its inception, HAWC’s efforts and achievements have been geared toward the creation of a visible body of Hmong American literature, the establishment of a Hmong literary culture, as well as to provide a nurturing space within a writers’ workshop for members to dialogue and hone their writing each month.
Community of Writers: For over 50 summers, the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley has brought together poets and prose writers for separate weeks of workshops, individual conferences, lectures, panels, readings, and discussions of the craft and the business of writing. Our aim is toassist writers in the refinement of their craft and thus, in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual support, move them closer to achieving their goals. The Community of Writers holds its summer writing workshops in Squaw Valley in the ski lodge at the foot of the ski slopes. Panels, talks, staff readings and workshops take place in these venues with a spectacular view up the mountain.
Chicanx Writers and Artists Association: Founded in 1991 by writers Andrés Montoya and Daniel Chacón, the Chicanx Writers and Artists Association is a collective of students that seeks to diversify and politicize the creative community of Fresno State and the Central Valley through literary events and projects. The annual publication of CWAA is the Flies, Cockroaches and Poets journal, which highlights the work of Fresno State students and community members.