Years active 2006–present Name Yosimar Reyes | Role Poet | |
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Born September 22, 1988 (age 35) ( 1988-09-22 ) Guerrero, Mexico Occupation Poet, Activist, Educator | ||
Yosimar reyes girls night out men s story project uc berkeley
Yosimar Reyes (born September 22, 1988) is an undocumented American poet and activist, who was born in Guerrero, Mexico and raised in East San Jose, California. He has been described as "a voice that shines light on the issues affecting queer immigrants in the U.S and throughout the world."
Contents
- Yosimar reyes girls night out men s story project uc berkeley
- Yosimar reyes pride
- Early life and education
- Career
- References
Reyes uses spoken word poetry as a tool to empower queer, working class, and immigrant people to tell their stories. He has been a guest speaker at universities across the United States including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UCLA and Princeton University as well as numerous galleries and community organizations.
As of 2016, Reyes serves as Arts Fellow at Define American, a media and culture organization founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas which "uses the power of stories to [...] shift the conversation around immigrants, identity and citizenship in a changing America." He previously served as Public Programs Coordinator at La Galería de la Raza in San Francisco.
Yosimar reyes pride
Early life and education
Reyes was born on September 22, 1988 in Atoyac de Álvarez, Guerrero, Mexico. At age 3, he migrated to the United States with his family. Raised in East San Jose, he “came out” to his family and community at the age of 16, the same year he began to share his poetry publicly.
Reyes attended Latino College Preparatory Academy, where he was awarded his high school diploma in 2006. After briefly attending Evergreen Valley College, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University in 2015.
Career
Reyes began writing poetry in middle school, upon realizing the power of language after first being called “joto,” a derogatory Spanish term used to refer to gay men.
Reyes' first publication was the result of his winning first place in a writing competition in San Jose. At age 17, he won the title for the 2005 South Bay Teen Grand SLAM Champion, repeating his win in 2006. In 2007, he was featured in a Youth Speaks documentary titled 2nd Verse: the Rebirth of Poetry.
In 2009, he self-published his first chapbook, For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly, which garnered national and international acclaim. Musician Carlos Santana provided support for Reyes' first volume.
His work has been widely anthologized, including in the collections Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry (Floricanto Press); Queer in Aztlán: Chicano Male Recollections of Consciousness and Coming Out (Cognella Press); and Joto: An Anthology of Queer Xicano & Chicano Poetry (Kórima Press).
In June 2016, Reyes premiered a staged reading of Prieto, his first autobiographical solo show, in collaboration with Guerrilla Rep Theater, Galería de la Raza, and Define American.
In addition to his literary practice, Reyes has curated multidisciplinary art exhibitions, including Homegirrlz: Demos and Remixes and Migrating Sexualities: Unspoken Stories of Land, Body and Sex.
He is the co-founder of La Maricolectiva, a community-based performance group of queer undocumented poets. He is also associated with Dreamers Adrift.
Reyes has been recognized as one of "13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World" by The Advocate magazine.