Martín Espada on Apr 29, 2026 | UCSB Arts & Lectures

“Martín Espada is a captivating storyteller and memoirist. His great subject is the drama of the Puerto Rican diaspora; his method is meticulously crafted portraiture of lives that intertwine with history, among them his own, radiantly defiant and fearless. One of our most important contemporary poets.” – Joyce Carol Oates

Winner of the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry for Floaters, and the only Puerto Rican winner since William Carlos Williams, Martín Espada is one of America’s most impassioned and urgent advocates. He writes with clarity about inequality, labor and migration, honoring the dignity of working people, especially in his own Puerto Rican community. His most recent collection, Jailbreak of Sparrows, confronts injustice with unflinching power and reaffirms poetry’s ability to bear witness. A former tenant lawyer with Su Clínica Legal in Greater Boston, Espada continues to bring the struggles and resilience of working people to the page. Join us for an evening of readings and commentary by one of America’s most vital literary voices, whose words transform resistance and compassion into unforgettable art.

Books will be available for purchase, courtesy of Chaucer's Books, and a signing follows the event