A Conversation with Rigoberto González
Listen in on an oral history conversation with poet Rigoberto González, interviewed by Francisco Aragón, director of Letras Latinas, as part of the Letras Latinas Oral History Project. Discover González’s journey from his artistic beginnings as a child who read avidly in a home environment that did not prioritize books and his first encounter with Truman Capote’s work (as an actor) to the power of nonfiction writing as a gift to younger generations and why he believes the community of Latinx poets should have room for everyone.
Experience the Episode
Presented by Institute for Latino Studies
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 12:00 pm
Listen in on an oral history conversation with poet Rigoberto González, interviewed by Francisco Aragón, director of Letras Latinas, as part of the Letras Latinas Oral History Project. Discover González’s journey from his artistic beginnings as a child who read avidly in a home environment that did not prioritize books and his first encounter with Truman Capote’s work (as an actor) to the power of nonfiction writing as a gift to younger generations and why he believes the community of Latinx poets should have room for everyone.
The Letras Latinas Oral History Project produces video interviews of Latinx writers visiting the Notre Dame campus with the aim of making them available as an online resource for faculty, students, scholars, and the community at large. For more information, please visit the Letras Latinas website.
MoreMeet the Faculty: Francisco Aragón
Francisco Aragón is the son of Nicaraguan immigrants. He is the author of the three books of poetry, most recently After Rubén (Red Hen Press, 2020). Previous collections include Glow of Our Sweat (Scapegoat Press, 2010) and Puerta del Sol (Bilingual Press, 2005). He is also the editor of the award-winning anthology The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press, 2007). His poetry has appeared in over twenty anthologies and a range of literary journals.
Aragón joined the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame in 2003 where he is a professor of the practice. In 2004 established the Institute’s literary initiative, Letras Latinas, which is a founding member of the Poetry Coalition, a national alliance. His activities in the literary field include serving on the board of trustees of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) from 2008-2012. In 2010 the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) honored him with their Outstanding Latino/a Cultural Arts and Publication Award, and in 2017 he was named a finalist for Split This Rock’s Freedom Plow Award for poetry and activism.
A CantoMundo fellow and a member of the Macondo Writers’ Workshop, he has performed his poems widely at universities, art galleries, and festivals, including the Dodge Poetry Festival and the Split This Rock Poetry Festival. Aragón teaches courses at Notre Dame in Latinx poetry and poetry writing and continues to direct Letras Latinas. For more information, visit his website.
Meet the Poet: Rigoberto González
Rigoberto González is the author of eighteen books of poetry and prose. His awards include Lannan, Guggenheim, NEA, NYFA, and USA Rolón fellowships, the PEN/ Voelcker Award, the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, the Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of American Poets, and the Shelley Memorial Prize from the Poetry Society of America. Contributing editor for Poets & Writers, he is the series editor for the Camino del Sol Latinx Literary Series at the University of Arizona Press, and the editor of Latino Poetry: A Library of America Anthology. Currently, he’s Distinguished Professor of English and the director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey.
Letras Latinas 20th Anniversary Event: Poetry & Conversation featuring Richard Blanco and Rigoberto González
Join us on campus as Letras Latinas’ 20th anniversary celebration continues on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 5:00p.m. For this sixth installment of our yearlong celebration, we welcome Presidential Inaugural Poet and National Humanities Medal recipient, RICHARD BLANCO. He will be joined by RIGOBERTO GONZÁLEZ, award-winning writer, editor, and critic, whose most recent book, Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, we will also be celebrating. Special guest SUSANA PLOTTS-PINEDA, from the Library of America, will be on hand to speak about this ground-breaking volume.
Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Reception to follow at the conclusion of the event.
Free and open to the public.
Co-sponsors: Creative Writing Program, the Center for Social Concerns, Department of Romance Languages and Literature, Initiative on Race and Resilience, the Poetry Foundation, the St. Joe County Public Library (South Bend, Indiana), and José E. Fernández Hispanic Caribbean Studies Initiative. For more information, please visit the Letras Latinas website.