“Sometimes, I catch myself wondering if that roll I felt under my feet is the beginning of the end. I look … More
Category: News
“1989 Caprice Classic,” a poem
“Is it talking dirty if you’re just listening? What you see in the picture is me. Passenger Front seat. Cinder … More
KCET Story: Third-annual Southeast L.A. River Arts Festival held entirely online
Where else are you going to see a Latinx Bob Ross in huaraches this weekend? And naturally, Beto RosSela (see … More
Teaching online? Don’t panic. Seriously.
Originally posted on Dear Reader:
Dear Reader, For this morning’s post, I am addressing it to my fellow academics. My fellow…
Yesika Salgado and I chop it up: video from 2019 LitLit Conference: Latinx/L.A. Poetics
That time when Yesika Salgado and I read two poems and talked: about how we became writers, who we’re in … More
Vickie in New York (and Vermont)!
To Collage, To Carry: A Fragmented Essay Writing Workshop, Sat. 8/24, NYC
To Collage, To Carry: A Fragmented Essay Writing Workshop, Sat. 8/24, 10am-12pm ACE Hotel, $40 per person, limited full scholarships … More
Upcoming readings: April and May 2019
Join us! All are free events. Friday, April 19, 2019, Skylight Books, 7pm. Book release parties for Kenji Liu‘s _Monsters … More
AWP 2019– Portland
Join Vickie for a book signing and cumbia dance party pop-up with poet Heidi Restrepo Rhodes, author of The Inheritance of … More
Vickie’s work at the Academy of American Poets, Poem-a-Day
Thanks to the poet and teacher TC Tolbert, my poem “Only We Make Beautiful Things Just to Destroy Them” is up … More
2018 PEN America Literary Awards
Recently, PEN America announced the winners of the 2018 PEN America Literary Awards for books of note for writers living … More
“How to preserve and maintain our joy”: Vickie on Words on a Wire Podcast, UTEP
Treat your ears and listen to some stories I have on how we can use writing to be self-determined, to … More
Radio spot! Borderlands New Wave Poetry at the Tucson Festival of Books
Gracias KXCI 91.3 FM, public radio in #Tucson where you can listen to me and Daniel Olivas read stories about … More
“…to not impose understanding or one version of order onto a space that is in the process of its own becoming.” LA Review of Books reads Palm Frond
Absolutely beautiful review of Palm Frond by the LA Review of Books via Isabel Gomez from Umass Boston. Thank you, … More
Best Poetry Books of 2017!
At Entropy, Palm Frond also made the list of best poetry collections this year! This list is FIRE, gracias ENTROPY. … More
Palm Frond at Remezcla!
At Remezcla, Dr. Ruben Quesada lists Palm Frond with other titles on youth and Latinx identity in the US. The … More
Vete a la Chingada, a party and a story (Rabid Oak)
From my memoir, a story about illusion and iluciones after college graduation. “Vete a la Chingada Party“: “I close my … More
New York Times Magazine: “Already My Lips Were Luminous”
Selected by National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes for the New York Times Magazine. “I do not know the language of … More
Fierce as Fuck: The Future of Poetry Is Brown & Queer. A BITCH Magazine Interview
From the Harriet Blog, via the Poetry Foundation: At Bitch Magazine: In “Fierce as Fuck: The Future of Poetry Is Brown & Queer,” Soraya … More
New on KCET, Youth Resistance and Los Angeles Photography
From my latest article on Artbound KCET: “The week of November 14, 2016, nearly 4,000 students from about 18 schools … More
Must-read Trans Canadian Writers
I’m gonna get right to the list in a second here, but I just want to tell you all how … More
“Ruda: Ten Remedies,” a play in Anthropoid
Image from Anthropoid website. A tia gives limpias and embroiders magic. A short play published in late December, “Ruda,” … More
Writing (US)Americ(k)a(s) with Aja Couchois Duncan, Hugo García Manríquez, Jen Hofer, y Amarnath Ravva
Avenue 50 Studio together with Writ Large Press and and Litmus Press present: Writing (US)Americ(k)a(s) October 15th | 8pm at … More
Juan Gabriel: How he helped families love their queer children– in HOY magazine
In Friday’s print edition of HOY magazine in Los ANgeles, reaching thousands of hispanohablantes, I discussed how our working-class immigrant … More
From the Stacks at the Poetry Center
Everyone should visit the generous, lovely staff at the University of Arizona, Tucson’s Poetry Center. A tremendous … More
Macondo Writers’ Workshop 2016– open mic recordings
Thanks to Joseph Rios, here is a sample of the open mic at Macondo Writers’ Workshop 2016 in San Antonio. … More
Entropy–adding to an epic poem with epic girl drama
“Susi stopped being my best friend once she got bangs and a hickey. Because I’ve heard her say it, I … More
“Conditions” by Jen Hofer– a translation
“— ninety thousand children crossing the border in the last three years what thirst what listening what refuge what desert … More
Poetry Center Award, Summer Residency at the University of Arizona, Tucson
Vickie is thrilled to have been selected by Natalie Diaz for the 2016 Summer Residency at the Poetry Center. Stay … More
Finally your dreams don’t bite: new poems at Omniverse
I’m the Aztec God of War. Relentless ash, the devil at my elbow. I consume lick-flames hotter than your vieja. … More
Southeast Los Angeles writing featured at AWP 2016
Join me as I moderate two panels at the #AWP16 writers’ conference happening in LA this year! Latinx writers … More
How Bell Gardens is Banking on Bicycle Club Casino’s Luxury Hotel
The sign illuminates eight lanes of the neighboring 710 Freeway. In contrast to the new monument to luxury, the gritty … More
“Tell me a lie, chula. No, darling, not that one”: new poems at The Volta
Read these four new poems just published January 1st at The Volta. This issue was curated by J. Michael Martinez … More
Cha Cha Nail Covers Take Over the World
This story is part of KCET Departures’ series of articles and essays on the Informal Economies of L.A. and how … More
Allendale Library Reading, Dec. 5, 4-6pm
Dr. Craig’s Poetry Excellence Awards Go To…
Source: Dr. Craig’s Poetry Excellence Awards Go To… More great insight and critique from Dr. Craig (Santos Perez).
Worth Gold: Feminism and Leadership at the Miss Bell Gardens Pageant
Bell Gardens City Council members with the 2015 Miss Bell Gardens Court. Photo: City of Bell Gardens “All the court … More
I can defend myself: One mother’s story, a whole community’s struggle
Laverne Cox thinks Zoey Luna rocks and you will too. In this interview, Zoey and her mom, two Downey residents, … More
“Faking Business,” a new story up at the JFR
What happens when your arch nemesis shows up at a random Commerce quinceañera in the same Payless platforms? Find out here at … More
The Time is Now: Radical Feminism at Rock Camp in Southeast LA
Excerpts from the KCET Departures’ essay, “The Time is Now for Chicas Rockeras in Southeast L.A.”: After the “Radical Body … More
Lost Girl: Tales of Loving and Leaving El Monte
Having narrowly escaped death, what Benita had to say couldn’t wait. The day she found her old journal in a … More
Topless women in sheer nightgowns, burning chile, and teenage softball girls in love: my new essay is up!
Read the essay, “Kissing,” a chapter from my memoir right now at The Offing. The essay will also be in … More
A Man in His Backyard: sightseeing in City of Commerce with author Stephen Gutierrez
Read Vertiz’s new essay on KCET: “A Man in His Backyard: sightseeing in the City of Commerce with author Stephen … More
Vertiz teaches free classes in Boyle Heights, sponsored by the Center Theater Group
HOY Los Angeles newspaper wrote a feature on Vickie Vertiz, detailing her desire to teach creative writing, her upcoming book, … More
Latina Leadership in Bell Gardens, a new KCET essay
“In the parking lot of the Food-4-Less supermarket on the corner of Atlantic and Slauson, two high school students stood … More
How Eleven Brothers Made El Pescador a Thriving Set of Family Restaurants
After five presidents and three recessions, El Pescador seafood restaurants are more popular than ever. Read my new essay on immigrant … More
New Essay on KCET’s Departures
“…now I know what the garden gives.” – Jorge Segura, educator and photographer, Downey, CA Read a love letter I … More
“Pets”– a cine poem
For those with philandering fathers or a penchant for the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, I offer you a cine … More
On KCET’s Departures, “Bell Gardens? That’s Indian town!”: 1980s Pow Wows and Cultural Persistence
My family has lived in Bell Gardens since 1976, but we never drove past a pow wow at a local … More
What You See, What You Take With You, in UCLA’s Parrafo magazine
Along with many talented writers, the awesome Sesshu Foster among them, Vickie published a poem in Parrafo magazine’s Los Angeles … More
