Undocupoets

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The Undocupoets are a group of poets who are current or former undocumented immigrants in the United States. The mission of the Undocupoets is to bring recognition to the work written by undocumented poets and to spread awareness about the societal barriers they face as writers. [1] The group was founded in 2015 by Castillo, Javier Zamora, and Christopher Soto aka Loma. [2] Undocupoets united to petition against citizenship requirements in book prizes, [2] but have grown to include a fellowship and more. It is currently co-organized by poets Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Janine Joseph, and Esther Lin. [2]

Contents

First book petition

In 2015, the Undocupoets published a petition with the literary journal Apogee, with over 400 signatures from writers, readers, editors, and organizers. [3] The point of this petition was to encourage major literary presses to remove the "proof of citizenship" requirement from their first book contests. [2] "As an undocumented person, it’s ingrained in you to read the fine print, so I knew from the time I got serious about writing that many contests barred us from entering ... It was out of anger and disbelief that no one else seemed to know about these exclusions that we [Hernandez Castillo and fellow cofounders Christopher Soto and Javier Zamora] started circulating the petition. From there it snowballed." [4] The petition was focused on eleven press prizes including: Letras Latinas (Andres Montoya Poetry Prize), BOA Editions, the National Poetry Series, the Academy of American Poets, Persea Books, the Poetry Society of America, the Poetry Foundation, Sarabande Books, Crab Orchard Review, and Yale University Press. [5] Many prizes ended up changing their requirements, [6] [7] including the National Poetry Series, who said, "What really persuaded us is the fact that we did share the desire to find the best poetry out there and help get it published, which is one of the hardest things to do.” [7] [ dead link ‍] In 2016, they were awarded the Barnes and Noble Writers for Writers Award for their work. [8]

Fellowships

After the success of their campaign, the Undocupoets expanded their mission to include a fellowship in partnership with Sibling Rivalry Press. The fellowship provides financial support and mentorship to emerging poets who are undocumented or formerly undocumented, helping to amplify their voices and create a platform for their work. The initiative aims to dismantle barriers in the literary world and foster a more inclusive creative space. Applicants for their fellowship have hailed from the Philippines, China, Mexico, Brazil and beyond. [9] Despite the risk of proclaiming undocumented status by applying for the fellowship, submissions have doubled yearly since 2017. [9]

In 2015, Southern Humanities Review created a feature on undocumented writers, inspired by the Undocupoets. The feature brought attention to the experiences of writers navigating the challenges of undocumented status, showing the intersection between immigration and literary expression. “We’re always the subject of people’s stories,” said Yosimar Reyes, a 2017 Undocupoets fellow and DACA recipient. “I don’t think it’s ever occurred to people that we are also writers, thinkers, philosophers, and that we’re actually the agents of our own stories.” [10] Additionally, the fellowship inspired similar programs and conversations within the literary community, such as other journals and presses examining their inclusivity practices.

Previous and Current Fellows

Opening Availability and Achievements

The Undocupoets have continued to participate in the literary world to help expand the availability and opportunity for people to take part in poetry/literary contests. Examples of such include:

Through the Undocupoets organizations, there has been a shift in poetry contest eligibility. Organizations are beginning to consider and integrate people who reside in the United States without citizenship status.

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References

  1. ↑ "Undocupoets". Siblingrivalrypress. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Castillo, Marcelo Hernandez; Zamora, Javier; Soto, Christopher (2015-01-16). "Undocupoets Petition Against Contest Discrimination" (Press release). Undocupoets. Retrieved 2019-11-07– via Apogee Journal.
  3. ↑ "Undocupoets Petitions Poetry Publishers to Grant Non-Citizens & Non–U.S. Residents Contest Entry by Harriet Staff". Poetry Foundation. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  4. ↑ Kelemen |, Jasmina. "The Fine Print: PW Talks with Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Janine Joseph, and Esther Lin". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  5. ↑ Chang, Momo (2015-06-17). "Rethinking Poetic Citizenship". Poets & Writers. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. ↑ "Proof of Citizenship Not Required: Letras Latinas's Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize & Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize by Harriet Staff". Poetry Foundation. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  7. 1 2 Poets, Academy of American. "Walt Whitman Award Guidelines | Academy of American Poets". poets.org. Retrieved 2019-11-07.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Writers for Writers Award, Editor's Award". Poets & Writers. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  9. 1 2 "Thanks to Undocupoets, poets don't need papers to be heard". Los Angeles Times. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  10. ↑ "Thanks to Undocupoets, poets don't need papers to be heard". Los Angeles Times. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  11. ↑ "Undocupoets" . Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "UNDOCUPOETS PETITION: OUTCOMES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS [by Christopher Soto]". The Best American Poetry. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  13. ↑ "Esther Lin". New England Review. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-03.

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