In this political moment, BIPOC, queer, and trans voices serve as vital archives of visibility, social justice, and resistance. At this moment, we find ourselves surrounded by right-wing extremism, capitalism, and an empire that seeks to dehumanize us. But these writers that we are pleased to spotlight counter the fear and hatred with narratives that affirm life, history, agency, and identity.
Last year’s most notable books highlight for us the intersections of identity, displacement, and survival. They explore themes of migration, colonial legacies, queerness, grief, and belonging, leveraging language as both weapon and refuge. Some writers conjure speculative futures and autobiographical memory, while others confront present-day violence with scathing condemnation.
Their narratives expose the fractures of oppressive systems while offering us blueprints for collective survival, transformation, and joy. Bringing together diverse voices, these books serve as collective testaments to resilience and community. They amplify the lived experiences of Latinx, Black, Xicana, queer, disabled, working class, and undocumented writers, weaving together personal and political narratives.
From reclaiming ancestral knowledge to envisioning utopian futures, these collections showcase the power of art, archives, and poetry as tools for radical hope and socio-political transformations.
Don’t miss the chance to support these incredible writers and their powerful work!
Poetry collections
Danez Smith, ‘Bluff’
Saúl Hernández, ‘How to Kill a Goat and Other Monsters’
Sara Daniele Rivera, ‘The Blue Mimes’
Mosab Abu Toha, ‘Forest of Noise’
Yaccaira Salvatierra, ‘Sons of Salt’
Joaquín Zihuatanejo, ‘Occupy Whiteness’
Diego Báez, ‘Yaguareté White’
Pedro Iniguez, ‘Mexicans on the Moon: Speculative Poetry from a Possible Future’
Farrah Fang, ‘Quererme en La Luz’
Ariel Francisco, ‘All the Places We Love Have Been Left in Ruins’
JD Pluecker, ‘The Every Wild’
Refaat Alareer, ‘If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose’
José Antonio Rodríguez, ‘The Day’s Hard Edge’
Gume Laurel III, ‘Assimilated Natives’
Carmen Calatayud, ‘This Tangled Body’
José Hernández Díaz, ‘Bad Mexican, Bad American’
Zeynep Inanoğlu, ‘Patterns of Blood’
Alejandro Jiménez, ‘There will be days, Brown boy’
Tarik Dobbs, ‘Nazar Boy’
Poetry anthologies
Somos Xicanas, Edited by Luz Schweig
Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, Edited by Rigoberto González
Here to Stay: Poetry and Prose From the Undocumented Diaspora, Edited by Marcelo Hernández Castillo, Janine Joseph, Esther Lin
there is so much I want to tell you: a Corazón Collective anthology by Jen Yáñiz-Alaniz, Angelina Sáenz, jo reyes-boitel, Carmen Calatayud, ire’ne lara silva
This is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets, Edited by Kwame Alexander
Not Your Papi’s Utopia: Latinx Visions of Radical Hope (Forthcoming), Edited by Matthew David Goodwin, Alex Hernández, Sara Rivera
Non-fiction & Fiction
Ta-Nehisi Coates, ‘The Message’
Scott Duncan Russell, ‘Old California Strikes Back’
Silky Shah, ‘Unbuild Walls: Why Immigrant Justice Needs Abolition’
Rubén Reyes, ‘There is a Rio Grande in Heaven’
Jesse Manciaz/Xam’le Kuiz, ‘From Here to There and Back: Three Short Stories & a Poem’
Jonny Garza Villa, ‘Canto Contigo’
Gil Cuadros, ‘My Body is Paper’
E.G. Condé, ‘Sordidez’
Osmani R. Alcaraz-Ochoa is a writer, poet, and organizer living in San Antonio, Tejas.