Next Extinct Mammal

Poetry. Latino/Latina Studies. LGBT Studies. "Like Whitman, Quesada is a poet of motion—journeying to the center of the US, where the traditions and innovations of first-generation Americans traverse the meditative starbursts of hills; ford rivers; cross prairies; and seek out 'the alpenglow of tomorrow and tomorrow.' From Costa Rica to Los Angeles and across the continent, Quesada's poems chronicle one family's history: from the courtship of his parents to their separation, from his childhood struggles to awakening desire from his mother's lottery winnings to his own personal losses, Ruben Quesada carries us toward 'that seam in space' where dream and experience intersect. This isn't the story of what it means to come to this country. It's the story of what it means to belong here"—D. A. Powell.

Born in 1976, a native of Los Angeles and a first-generation Costa Rican American, Ruben Quesada received his Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from the University of California, Riverside in 2007. He is completing a PhD in English at Texas Tech University, where he teaches English and creative writing. His translations of Luis Cernuda and Pablo Neruda have appeared in Stand Magazine and LUNA, as well as in a chapbook, Exiled from the Throne of Night (2008), from Aureole Press at the University of Toledo (Ohio). His awards include residencies from the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley, Idyllwild Arts Program, Lambda Literary Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, and the Santa Fe Art Institute.