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San Antonio Poets Who Should Be On Your Radar

By San Antonio Current Staff and Gabriella Pawelek

It's National Poetry Month, y'all! San Antonio is full of talented and creative poets that write and perform such beautiful works. From PuroSlam members to community leaders, these local poets should totally be on your radar.

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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.
Courtesy

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
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.”
Courtesy photo

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