C.L. Martinez

Bio

C.L. “Rooster” Martinez is a spoken word poet and educator from San Antonio, TX. He is the author of two poetry books: A Saint for Lost Things (Alabrava Press, 2020) and As it is in Heaven (Kissing Dynamite Poetry Press, 2020). He co-edited Contra: Texas Poets Speak Out, a poetry anthology, and was a writer on the 2016 play, American Pride, which won two ATAC Globe awards for Writing of a Drama and Overall Production of a Drama.

In 2012, C.L. co-founded the Blah Poetry Spot-a weekly, poetry open mic--and in 2017 co-founded Write Art Out Inc--a San Antonio literary not for profit organization specializing in writing and community outreach. In 2018, he was the event director which brought Southern Fried Poetry Festival--the third largest spoken word competition in the nation--to San Antonio. In 2014, he became San Antonio's Grand Slam Champion, and he received his MA/MFA in Literature, Creative Writing and Social Justice from Our Lady of the Lake University in 2018.