Reid Writers of Color Keynote featuring José Olivarez

A Reading, Keynote Talk and Q and A with 2026 Reid Writer, José Olivarez

José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants, and the author of two collections of poems, including, most recently, Promises of Gold—which was long listed for the 2023 National Book Awards. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. Along with Felicia Rose Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he co-edited the poetry anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT. Alongside Antonio Salazar, he published the hybrid book, Por Siempre in 2023. He lives in Jersey City, NJ.

In 2018, he was awarded the first annual Author and Artist in Justice Award from the Phillips Brooks House Association and named a Debut Poet of 2018 by Poets & Writers. In 2019, he was awarded a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Paris Review, and elsewhere.

As a performer and educator, Olivarez has delivered workshops and performances across the United States and México at festivals like the San Antonio Book Festival, the Wisconsin Book Festival, The National Book Festival, the O Miami Poetry Festival and more. He has presented at universities including Northwestern University, The University of Missouri- Kansas City, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, SUNY College at Geneseo, Napa Valley College and more.

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