San Antonio Poets Who Should Be On Your Radar

J Alejandro
J. Alejandro has been on several Puro Slam teams but is perhaps most recognized for his work as an open mic host. He is a regular host of the Blah Poetry Spot, the PWA open mic, and Etc Etc open mic.
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Natalia Treviño
Natalia Trevino was born in Mexico City and moved to San Antonio with her mother when she was four. Her first book of poetry is Lavando la Dirty Laundry (a personal favorite), and besides that, her poems have appeared in several publications.
Photo via nataliatrevino.com

Rod Carlos Rodriguez
Rod Carlos Rodriguez is a prolific poet, with a few collections to his credit, and a longtime mainstay in the SA poetry scene. Rodriguez has hosted the Sun Poets Society open mic readings for more than 23 years.
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Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson
Vocab Sanderson is a spoken word, hip-hop, and poetry artist. Her near-two decade long career has been fruitful with involvement in the community: she is a Writer in the Community with Gemini Ink, she’s published in the Pariah Anthology and the Texas Observer, and she hosts various events around Texas, including Verse, Jazz & Poetry with a Purpose.
Photo by Chris Conde

Amalia Ortiz
Amalia Ortiz has worked on projects like Def Poetry, Carmen de la Calle, Cancion Canibal Cabaret, and Speeder Kills. Besides that, her debut book of poetry, Rant, Chant, Chisme won one of NBC’s 10 great Latino books.
Photo courtesy of Amalia Ortiz

Darrell Pittman
Darrell Pittman is a husband, father of three, educator and poet. He taught in the public school system in San Antonio until 2013. Pittman is an active performer in SA’s vibrant spoken word scene. His statement on poetry: “I try to touch the heart, inspire the mind and move the soul. However, if I get one of the three, I am happy.”
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Jesse Cardona
Jesse Cardona’s poetry has been all over: twice he was the Voz de San Antonio, he’s been published in various literary journals, and his poem “Bato con Khakis” went all the way to New York. His poetry collection, Pan Dulce, was published in 1998.
Photo via Facebook / Jacinto Jesus Cardona

Jenny Browne
Jenny Browne is the author of three collections of poetry, the most recent being Dear Stranger. She’s worked in schools and in libraries to enhance literacy in the community. Some themes in her work are exploring culture and different backgrounds, such as age and economic status.
Photo via Get Creative San Antonio

Anthony "The Poet" Flores
Anthony “The Poet” Flores has represented San Antonio six times at the National Poetry Slam. On top of that, he’s been the Grand Slam Poetry Champion three times.
Photo by Casey Howell

Laurie Ann Guerrero
Born on the southside of San Antonio, Laurie Ann Guerrero is the former poet laureate of San Antonio and of Texas. Trust us, her work speaks for itself, buuuuut it’s worth noting that she’s been named a top ten debut poet and one of her books, A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying, was listed as a must-read work in Chicano literature.
Photo via Facebook / Laurie Ann Guerrero

Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye has a Palestinian father and an American mother, and themes of culture and roots are reflected in her work. Her first collection of poetry is titled Different Ways to Pray, and her most current poetry collection is titled Transfer. In her vast volume of work, she’s won four Pushcart Prizes, a Paterson Poetry Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and even more honors and awards.
Photo via Instagram / 1440multiversity

Chibbi Orduña
Chibbi Orduña is a nationally recognized poet whose poems have been featured on HuffPost, Mitú, and the Write About Now YouTube channel. He coached and anchored the 2017 Puro Slam Team to its greatest accomplishment since 1999 at the National Poetry Slam - 3rd Place in Group Piece Finals. He’s a regular host of the Blah Poetry Spot.
Photo by Christopher Diaz

Natasha Hernandez
While she’s gained some well-deserved attention for her work on St. Sucia, the zine she started with Isabel Ann Castro, and her previous publication the San Anto Pos, Wow! zine, Natasha Hernandez is a formidable poet as well (not to mention a nurse and a DJ). Her work, often intensely personal, richly and at times excoriatingly explores life as a young Latina in San Anto.
Photo by Victor Luna

Carmen Tafolla
Carmen Taffola was not only the poet laureate for San Antonio from 2012-2014, but was the poet laureate for the state of Texas from 2015-2016. She’s written more than 20 books, including poetry and children’s books. She’s won multiple literary awards, including the Tomas Rivera Mexican American Award for Children’s Books twice.
Photo via poetryfoundation.org

Octavio Quintanilla
Octavio Quintanilla is the current poet laureate of San Antonio. While he teaches at OLLU for the MA/MFA program, he also wrote If I Go Missing, which was published in 2014, along with continuing to submit to various publications. He’s also on the Board of Directors for Voices de la Luna.
Photo via lifeandlegends.com

Nathan Zertuche
Nathan Zertuche, too, is a founding member of FreshInk. In 2015, he won La Voz. Performing with Jessica Tilton-Zertuche, he is a co-Slam Champion of the 2016 Puro Flam finals.
Photo via Instagram / natezen_art

Diamond Mason
Diamond Mason is on one side an After School Programs Director. On the other side, she’s a poet who has competed all over Texas and is an involved member of the San Antonio poetry community. She’s a founding member of FreshInk, a youth poetry slam, a member of PuroSlam for four years in a row, and in competed in Texas Grand Slam, among others.
Photo via Facebook / Diamond Mason

Claudia Delfina Cardona
Claudia Delfina Cardona is a Tejana poet proudly born and raised in San Antonio. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s University and a current MFA Poetry Candidate at Texas State University, where she is also the Editorial Fellow for the Center for the Study of the Southwest. She is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Chifladazine, an online and print publication that is dedicated to showcasing the creative work of Latinas and Latinxs. Alongside Suzy Gonzalez, Isabel Ann Castro, Ana Ortiz, Natasha Hernandez, and Isabel Ramos, Cardona is on the organizing committee for the San Anto Zine Fest.
Courtesy photo

Wendy Barker
Wendy Barker is currently the poet-in-residence and a professor of creative writing at UTSA. Her most recent collection of poems is called One Blackbird at a Time, while her first collection is called Winter Chickens and Other Poems. Her work has been described by Alicia Ostriker as “full of ferocity and rapture, a joy to read.”
Photo via UTSA

Jessica Tilton-Zertuche
Jessica Tilton-Zertuche, like Diamond Mason, is a member of FreshInk. In addition, she was a finalist for both La Voz and Viva Poesia.
Photo via Instagram / tiltonica