Posted by Seattle University Alumni Association on Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 2:48 PM PDT

On Mexican Independence Day, September 16, Seattle University professor Dr. Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs and six alumni will celebrate the publication of their new anthology of Chicanx/Latinx poetry entitled In Xóchitl In Cuícatl: Floricanto. One Hundred Years of Chicanx/Latinx Poetry (1920-2020).

First editor Gutiérrez y Muhs compiled this 724 page historic, bilingual book. Not only does it feature her poetry, but also works from alumni Aldo Resendiz, ’11, Alexander Ziperovich, ’13, Carlos Sibaja-García, ’13, and Joshua Holguín, ’12. Two other alumni contributed to the anthology. Marianne Mork, ’16, served as principal editor while Veronica Eldredge, ’16, designed the book’s cover artwork and was copy editor.

Gutiérrez y Muhs collaborated with Juan Velasco Moreno of Santa Clara University and Armando Miguélez, Director of the Academic Language Institute and of the Centro de Estudio Hispanounidenses of Miguel Hernandez University in Alicante, Spain. Gutiérrez y Muhs met Miguelez in 2016 when she was the invited poet at the opening of the Centro.

The four alumni poets were selected by all three editors. Gutiérrez y Muhs shared how historic and invaluable it is that they are going to be published alongside 62 renowned poets spanning 100 years of Chicanx/Latinx poetry. “I’m very excited for them because this opens a lot of doors for them in poetry. They were all my students,” she enthused.

The book will launch at GRITO de POESÍA in San Jose on September 16, Mexican Independence Day. A celebration of Chicanx life and culture, the free event will include readings by 20 poets included in the anthology. To learn more, visit the event’s registration page. 

A reading is being planned for Seattle in the future. The Seattle University Alumni Association is a sponsor and will provide event information when it is available.