For National Hispanic Heritage month, we celebrate Latinx alumni authors who offer readers the opportunity to dive into multiple genres. From poetry and short stories to chilling horror novels, there is definitely a book for everyone on this list.
1. William Archila, MFA ’02 (creative writing)
Archila is author of The Gravedigger’s Archeology. Originally from El Salvador, Archila’s book of poetry gives the reader a look into the life of a US immigrant and the complexity of emotions and struggles that they experience. Described as “an aesthetic and moral triumph,” Archila won the Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize for his work on the book.
2. Daniel Chacón, MFA ’94 (creative writing)
Chacón’s Kafka in a Skirt: Stories from the wall is a short story collection that takes an immersive dive into Chicano culture. It is described by New York Journal of Books as “bound by intention: We have passed through the mirror, or the wormhole, collapsing time; we are within Chacón’s ‘The Wall.’” Chacon chairs University of Texas’s creative writing program.
3. José Chaves, MFA ’99 (creative writing)
Chaves’ book The Contract of Love treats readers to a hilarious and heartbreaking story about being raised in America by a Colombian father. Goodreads describes his writing as “like a movie on the page.” Chaves’ creative writing and poetry have been published in numerous journals including, the Atlanta Review and X-Connect.
4. Felecia Caton-Garcia, MFA ’98 (creative writing)
Caton-Garcia is a remarkable author, regarded highly for her poetry collection, Say That. She focuses on taking ideas from the world around her, to create beautiful pieces expressing parts of society, history, and memory. She shapes her literature to express not just her words but her emotions as well. Her poetry has been published in former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s column, “American Life in Poetry.” She is a professor of English at Central New Mexico Community College.
5. Nicky Gonzalez, MFA ’18 (fiction)
Gonzalez is a fiction writer currently working on a chilling horror novel, Mayra, that follows a woman who receives a mysterious invitation to visit an old friend she hasn't heard from in years in the Everglades. Check out her short story Ghosting, a dark and sometimes comic story in which a woman who works in a Chuck E. Cheese-esque establishment is forced to reckon with her past. Gonzalez’s work has appeared in Massachusetts Review and Hobart. She has been awarded fellowships from Millay Colony for the Arts and the Hambidge Center.
6. Kirstin Valdez Quade, MFA ’09 (fiction)
Valdez Quade is the award-winning author of The Five Wounds. The Five Wounds follows the five-generation Padilla family as they deal with an unexpected birth in the family. The book was named “One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021” by Oprah Magazine, the Week, and the Millions and Electric Lit. The New York Times called The Five Wounds, a “Legitimate Masterpiece.” She is an assistant professor of creative writing at Princeton.
7. Chloe Garcia-Roberts, MFA ’08 (creative writing)
Garcia-Roberts is an extraordinary poet and translator. Her essays, poems, and translations have appeared in BOMB, Boston Review, A Public Space, Kenyon Review, Spoon River Poetry Review and Gulf Coast, among others. Garcia-Robert’s book, The Reveal, has received critical acclaim and was part of Noemi Press’s Akrilika “Series for Innovative Latino Writing.” Garcia-Roberts is deputy editor of Harvard Review.
8. Michael Sámano, BA ’92 (sociology)
Coordinator of ethnic studies at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, Sámano is the author of the interdisciplinary ebook, “Ethnic Studies: Dissent is Patriotic”. He thrives in the teaching environment and has sparked a thirst for understanding the bigger picture in his students. His book offers an in-depth introduction to the academic field of ethnic studies for college students and high school seniors.
9. Rafael J. Zepeda, Jr. MFA, ’74 (creative writing)
Zepeda’s book, Desperados gives us the sweet taste of adventure. The story follows the journey of a son through the Baja Peninsula of Mexico and beyond in his quest for his father. Zepeda is a professor of English at California State University. He received a fellowship with the National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing in fiction and is a winner of the Poets, Essayists and Novelists Syndicated Fiction Award.
- By Riley Ovall, Student Associate for the UO Alumni Association