Edward Vidaurre
Edward Vidaurre’s writings have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Texas Observer, Grist, Poet Lore, The Acentos Review, Poetrybay, Voices de la Luna, as well as other journals and anthologies.
Vidaurre is the author of seven collections of poetry. Pandemia & Other Poems (Aztlan Libre Press, August 2020) will be his seventh collection. He is the 2018-2019 City of McAllen, TX Poet Laureate, a four time Pushcart Prize nominated poet and publisher of FlowerSong Press. Vidaurre is from Boyle Heights, CA and now resides in McAllen, TX with his wife and daughter.
Pandemia & Other Poems is available at https://aztlanlibrepress.com/pandemia-by-edward-vidaurre/.
Twitter: @VidaurreEdward
Facebook: @edward.vidaurre
Instagram: @edward_vidaurre
Email: vidaurre.poet@gmail.com
Boundless 2024, the official anthology of the 16th Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. Boundless is an eclectic collection of poetry from around Texas and the U.S.A., with contributions by poets from around the world. A Youth Anthology is also included! The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (V.I.P.F.) is held annually in deep south Texas.
Cover created by Priscilla Celina Suárez
Boundless 2022 is the official anthology of the 15th Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. Boundless is an eclectic collection of poetry from around Texas and the U.S.A., with contributions by poets from around the world. A Youth Anthology is also included! The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (V.I.P.F.) is held annually in deep south Texas. www.valleypoetryfest.org
Cover art by Fouad Reda, age 9, Mexican American with Arabic roots
The official anthology of the 14th Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. Boundless 2021 is an eclectic collection of poetry from around Texas and the U.S.A., with contributions by poets from around the world. A Youth Anthology is also included! The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (V.I.P.F.) is held annually in deep south Texas.
George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Eric Garner. Sandra Bland. Tamir Rice. . .so many others for so many years. In 2010 police killed over a thousand people in the U.S. Black people are 3x more likely to be killed by police than white people. 99% of killings by police from 2013-2019 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime. The names of the murdered will not be forgotten. We call on poets, writers, and artists to submit work for an anthology that addresses the continuing problem of police violence in this country and around the world.
Still I Rise brings together youth poets and artists from across the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, from 1st to 12th grade. As they deal with family, romance, discrimination, loss, fitting in, and many other aspects of their lives, these talented voices guide us across the Valley’s landscape. Inspiring, compelling, and full of hope during this pandemic, Still I Rise is a testament to the brilliance of the Valley’s youth.
Supported by The Academy of American Poets
Cover art by Celeste De Luna
Boundless 2020 is the official anthology of the 13th Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. Boundless is an eclectic collection of poetry from around Texas and the U.S.A., with contributions by poets from around the world. A Youth Anthology is also included! The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (V.I.P.F.) is held annually in deep south Texas. www.valleypoetryfest.orgPoetry
Sometimes the grind of life in modern America sucks Latin@s dry: between the daily micro-aggressions and institutional racism, la gente find themselves drained of that essential chispa. At times like those, we need a Chicano blood transfusion like the one Edward Vidaurre injects straight into our souls in his most recent collection. So just lean back and let yourself be guided through the graffitied recesses of our collective barrio by one of the most important poets of deep South Texas, whose unique voice blends street, Beat, form and striking breadth.
Edward Vidaurre’s debut poetry collection takes us from El Salvador to Southern California, to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. With imagery rich and language authentic, Vidaurre pulls no punches to bring the reader with him through each poem. “I Took my Barrio on a Road Trip” is a feast for the senses from mouth-watering lines from the kitchen of his abuelita, to the heart-stopping phrases of, “The Bullet of ’91,” to the troubling cacophony in “Bath Time, to the rending ache of, “Wounds of a Woman,” to the coarse truth of, “Friends.”
“I Took my Barrio on a Road Trip,” is an unapologetic introduction to an unflinching poet. His writing is raw, visceral, and cuts straight to the quick. Vidaurre reveals tender vulnerability with such literary strength the reader is left with only admiration, no trace of pity. A fantastic read and inspiring journey.
My ideas for this anthology, The White Picket Fence: Stories of Individuality as Rebelliousness, first spurred on March 17, 2024, while I interviewed Professor Brandi Wells on my radio show, The Collective. Wells came onto the show to discuss their recent novel, The Cleaner, and shared how the main character was queer, and their love interest is nonbinary. Wells made a point to share that the story didn’t focus on the characters’ sexuality or gender identities. The characters lived their lives without the trauma of homophobia or transphobia. Why would they need to when there were more important things like sinister CEO’s? It was a stimulating interview about transformation—analyzing how coming out as nonbinary affected Wells’ life while growing up in a rural Georgian town. We discussed how people want to fit in and how some people, like me, rebel against the feeling of sameness, rejecting conformity and societal norms. It was because of this conversation that I recalled when my little sister wanted to do everything I did, which inevitably led up to an encounter with The White Picket Fence.
-Gina Rae Duran
Edited by Gina Rae Duran and Edward Vidaurre