Meet the Poet: Xavier Cavazos

Xavier Cavazos is a Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion (‘95) and the author of three award-winning poetry collections: Barbarian at the Gate (Poetry Society of America), Diamond Grove Slave Tree (Ice Cube Press), and The Devil’s Workshop (Cleveland State University Poetry Center), winner of the 2024 Eric Hoffer Medal Provocateur Award. His poetry has been widely anthologized, including in Best American Experimental Writing (BAX) and Under the Pomegranate Tree: Best American Latino Erotica. Currently, Cavazos serves as a senior poetry editor for Poetry Northwest and teaches in the Professional and Creative Writing Program at Central Washington University.