Paul Mart穩nez Pompa, a faculty member in the English department at Triton College in River Grove, Ill., is the 2008 recipient of the Andr矇s Montoya Poetry Prize given by Letras Latinas, the literary program of the University of 91勛圖s Institute for Latino Studies (ILS).
A collaboration with 91勛圖 Press, the prize supports the publication of a first book by a Latino or Latina poet and is awarded every other year.Mart穩nez Pompa was honored for his manuscriptMen Watching Men.
The poems of Paul Mart穩nez Pompa are gritty and visceral, but never cross the line into sensationalism,said final judge Mart穩n Espada, Pulitzer Prize finalist and renowned poet.They are poems that vividly evoke the urban world, especially Chicago, without ever lapsing into urban clich矇.They are poems that seek justice for the Latino community without ever resorting to the overheated language that all too often consigns poetry of social conscience to oblivion.
Coordinated by Letras Latinas director Francisco Arag籀n, the prize honors the late Andr矇s Montoya, author of the award-winning collectionThe Ice Worker Sings.Montoya was the son of the acclaimed Chicano artist Malaquias Montoya, who was one of the first ILS fellows.Previous winners of the Montoya Prize are Gabriel Gomez and Sheryl Luna.
Letras Latinas seeks to enhance the visibility, appreciation and study of Latino literature both on and off the 91勛圖 campus and is particularly interested in projects that identify and support emerging Latino and Latina writers.
_ Contact: Francisco Arag籀n,_ " faragon@nd.edu ":mailto:faragon@nd.edu
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