Martín Espada Examines Love, Justice and the Contemporary American Experience in New Collection of Poetry

AMHERST, Mass. – Martín Espada, professor in the UMass Amherst Department of English and winner of the Poetry Foundation’s 2018 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, published a new collection of poetry titled “Floaters.” Espada’s book “offers exuberant odes and defiant elegies, songs of protest and songs of love from one of the essential voices in American poetry,” according to the Norton publishing website.

“Floaters” takes its title from a term used by some Border Patrol agents to describe migrants who drown trying to cross the Rio Grande at the U.S./Mexico border. The book was written in response to the deaths of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month old daughter Angie Valeria. A photo of the drowned Salvadoran father and daughter caused outrage and drew attention to the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border. The poem also responds to allegations that the photo was faked.

The collection has received early praise. The Boston Globe calls it “A work of grace-laden defiance,” and describes how “Espada lands jabs of bright, hard wisdom” with his verse. The Chicago Review of Books names “Floaters” one of the 12 Must-Read Books of January, saying, “Both elegiac and irrepressible, this is an essential read for anyone interested in poetry as a form of protest.” “Drawing on history, personal experience, and keen observation,” notes Publishers Weekly, “this impressive collection is unique for the way it captures the world-weary voice of a poet and political activist who doesn't simply call for change, but offers a sense of the long, difficult struggle toward justice.”

Espada was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1957. He earned a B.A. in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a J.D. from Northeastern University. As an attorney, he served as supervisor of Su Clínica Legal, a legal services program for low-income, Spanish-speaking tenants in Chelsea, Mass.

Espada has dedicated himself to the pursuit of social justice and fighting for the rights of Latino/a communities. He cites his greatest influence as his father, Frank Espada, a community organizer, civil rights activist and documentary photographer who created the Puerto Rican Diaspora Documentary Project.

In addition to the Ruth Lilly Prize, Espada has received a Shelley Memorial Award, a Robert Creeley Award, a National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award, a PEN/Revson Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His poetry collection “The Republic of Poetry” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.