Originally from Galveston, Texas, Lupe Mendez is the author of WHY I AM LIKE TEQUILA (Willow Books, 2019), winner of the 2019 John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters. He is the founder of Tintero Projects which works with emerging Latinx writers and other writers of color within the Texas Gulf Coast Region, with Houston as its hub. Lupe earned his MFA from the University of Texas atEl Paso and has received fellowships from CantoMundo, Macondo and the Crescendo Literary/Poetry Foundation’s Emerging Poet Incubator. Mendez’s work can be seen in print and online formats which include the Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast Journal, the Texas Review, Split This Rock, Poetry Magazine and Poem-A-Day from the Academy of American Poets. Mendez is the 2022 Texas Poet Laureate.
Lupe’s work reflects his roots in Texas ( including Galveston Island, Houston, and the Rio Grande Valley) and the Mexican state of Jalisco (specifically, Atotonilco El Alto, San Jose del Valle, San Juan de los Lagos, Guadalajara, Los Cuates, La Pareja). Mendez is the son of an undocumented Mexicano (who later became documented) and a Southern Tejana and his work remarks on issues from the political to the emotional in a way that intends to connect with both the novice reader to the pro poetic writer.
This event will be hosted in person. Admission is free and open to the public.
Please note: Face masks are required for all guests ages 2 and up. Complimentary masks are available at the Security desk.
