C.L. Martinez
<Poet, Educator, Writer>
<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. also 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.
CONTRA: TEXAS POETS SPEAK OUT is a poetry anthology of over 40+ amazing writers from West, North, East, Central and South Texas. Edited by Rooster Martinez and Chibbi Orduña, CONTRA's mission is to: a) activate people to register to vote; b) activate people to GO VOTE; and c) donate all profits from book sales to MOVE Texas.
In collaboration with Write Art Out, FlowerSong Press, and Gemini Ink, Texas poets have donated work that speaks to these times we're living in, the fears people are facing, the just activism being fought in the streets, the importance of representation, a commitment to a pro-democracy nation, and hope for the future.
To order from Flowersong Press, click: HERE.
<Poems, Performances, & News>
Poems:
"I use chopsticks very well"; "The Rites of Home"; & "Ten-Years-Young (1728) appearing in The Acentos Review.
"Terror(tory)" & "How long is long enough?" appearing in Scalawag.
"An Untitled Brown Poem" appearing in Huffington Post Latino Voices.
Performing:
"An Untitled Brown Poem" appearing in Huffington Post Latino Voices.
"Woke AF" published by GET.
"Abrasive Be" published by Write About Now Poetry.
"Barrio Yard Sale" a group piece poem with Chibbi Orduña & Eddie Vega, published by Write About Now Poetry, (Houston, TX).
"Write, Share, Be Heard" a TEDxYouth Talk (San Antonio, TX).
NEWS:
"Local poets encourage voter participation in politically charged anthology" by James Courtney, published in SA Report, Oct. 2020.
"Book Review" by Ed O'Casey in Voices de la Luna, May 2020.
"San Antonio Welcomes Spoken Word Artists for Southern Fried Poetry Festival" by James Courtney, published in the San Antonio Current, June 2018.
"San Antonio Poets Who Should Be On Your Radar" published by the San Antonio Current, April 2018.