Quick Summary
- Prize open to Latinx poets; Submissions open Nov. 1
As the comes to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis this fall, it will be a kind of homecoming for the late poet. California鈥檚 Central Valley was Montoya鈥檚 native region; his brother Maceo Montoya is a professor and their father Malaquias Montoya is a professor emeritus, both at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
Andr茅s Montoya鈥檚 first poetry collection, The Iceworker Sings and Other Poems, published in 1999, won the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize and went on to win the American Book Award. He passed away from leukemia in 1999 at the age of 31.
鈥淎ndr茅s鈥 poetry was rooted in Fresno and the Central Valley, but Andr茅s also viewed his own work and Chicano poetry more broadly as part of world literature,鈥 said , a professor in Chicana and Chicano studies and creative writing in the College of Letters and Science. 鈥淭he prize is an important vehicle to continue elevating and promoting Latinx literature and insisting that our poetry be part of these larger conversations.鈥
The Andr茅s Montoya Poetry Prize is open to Latinx poets residing in the United States who have yet to publish a full-length poetry collection. Submissions for the prize open Nov. 1 and close Feb. 16, 2024. The juror will be former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera. Visit for submission guidelines.
Established in 2004, it has been overseen by Francisco Arag贸n, founder and director of Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame鈥檚 Institute for Latino Studies.
At 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis it will be administered by Maceo Montoya and Le贸n Salvatierra, a poet and faculty member in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies. The relocation of the award is part of an initiative around 鈥, which Maceo Montoya became editor of last fall and that is now based at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
A celebrated voice cut short
Andr茅s Montoya鈥檚 first poetry collection, The Iceworker Sings and Other Poems, published in 1999, won the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize and went on to win the American Book Award. He passed away from leukemia in 1999 at the age of 31. A posthumous collection, a jury of trees, was co-published in 2017 by Bilingual Press and Letras Latinas, and a symposium 鈥淭ogether We鈥檒l Be a Song: A Celebration of Andr茅s Montoya鈥 was held the following year at California State University, Fresno, where he was student body president as an undergraduate.
Letras Latinas, in partnership with University of Notre Dame Press, is preparing an anthology of poetry inspired by the first 10 editions of the prize鈥痑nd will continue to support the prize by inviting future winners to read at Notre Dame.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been stewards of the Andr茅s Montoya Poetry Prize for 20 years and feel that it is a good time to pass the baton and breathe new life into this gesture in Andr茅s Montoya鈥檚 native region,鈥 said Arag贸n, a poet and an alumnus of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 creative writing program. 鈥淎nd who better to be crucially involved in this next phase than Andr茅s鈥 brother? The prize will be in good hands.鈥
The winning book will be announced May 18, 2024, on what would鈥檝e been Andr茅s Montoya鈥檚 56th birthday, and will be published as part of the University of Nevada Press New Oeste Series. Salvatierra, along with author Daniel A. Olivas, co-founded the New Oeste Series to showcase the diverse creative expression of Latinx writers in the American West.
Media Resources
Media contact:
- Jeffrey Day, jaaday@ucdavis.edu