Achy Obejas
Benicia, CA
Poetry
Achy Obejas is the author of Boomerang/Bumerán, an unique and inspiring bilingual collection of poetry written in a bold, mostly gender-free English and Spanish that addresses immigration, displacement, love and activism. She also authored The Tower of the Antilles, which was a PEN/Faulkner finalist, among other honors. Her novels include Ruins and Days of Awe, which was a Los Angeles Times Best Books of the Year. Her poetry chapbook, This is What Happened in Our Other Life, was both a critical hit and a national best-seller. As a translator, Havana-born Achy has worked with Wendy Guerra, Rita Indiana, Junot Díaz and Megan Maxwell, among others. A recipient of a USA Artists fellowship, an NEA and a Cintas fellowship, among other awards, she lives in the San Francisco Bay area. She was one of the organizers of the #15novCuba Poesiá Sin Fin 2021 marathon in support of change in Cuba. She will use her time at Ragdale to work on new poems for her second poetry collection.