José Olivarez

Poet

Birthday February 14

Birth Sign Aquarius

Birthplace United States

#83087 Most Popular

About

Author, poet and educator whose first collection of poetry, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Paris Review and Poetry Magazine. He received fellowships from organizations like the 2016 Poets House Emerging Poets Fellowship, and a 2019 Ruth Lilly as well as a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation.

Before Fame

He attended Harvard University.

Trivia

In 2023, he released his second poetry collection titled Promises of Gold. He co-hosted the podcast The Poetry Gods. He worked for the writing and education organizations Urban Word in New York, and Young Chicago Authors. 

Family Life

His parents are Mexican immigrants.

Associated With

He served as a co-editor, along with Willie Perdomo and Felicia Chavez, of the anthology The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext.