Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.
© 2003 Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. All rights reserved.
Poet and educator Martín Espada was born in 1957 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his B.A. degree in history from the University of Wisconsin (1981) and a J.D. degree from Northeastern University School of Law (1985). He is currently (2003) a Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he teaches courses in creative writing, Latino poetry and the work of Pablo Neruda.
Espada has written extensively on the plight of Latinos in the United States and is an outspoken advocate for social justice in Latin America. Espada's father Frank Espada was a leader in the Puerto Rican community and in the U.S. civil rights movement. Martín Espada's published collections of poetry include: The Immigrant Iceboy's Bolero (1982), Trumpets from the Islands of their Eviction (1987), Rebellion Is the Circle of a Lover's Hands (1990; winner of the PEN/Revson Fellowship and the Paterson Poetry Prize), City of Coughing and Dead Radiators (1993), Imagine the Angels of Bread (1996; winner of the American Book Award), A Mayan Astronomer in Hell's Kitchen (2000) and Alabanza: New and Selected Poems, 1982-2002 (2003). A book of essays, Zapata's Disciple (1998), received an Independent Publisher Book Award. He is the editor of two anthologies: Poetry Like Bread: Poets of the Political Imagination from Curbstone Press (1994), and El Coro: A Chorus of Latino and Latina Poetry (1997), winner of a Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award. Other honors include a Massachusetts Artists' Foundation Fellowship, a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant, and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2001, he was named the first Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts.
Martín Espada married Katherine Gilbert in 1988. The couple has one son, Klemente Gilbert-Espada.
The Papers contain correspondence, poetry manuscripts and galley proofs, news clippings, contracts, posters, notebooks, photographs, video and audio recordings, and other materials documenting the literary career, personal life and social activism (1957-2006) of poet and University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Martín Espada. They also include manuscript drafts, background research material and reviews related to translations of Espada's poetry into Spanish and other languages, as well as translations by Espada himself of poetry in Spanish.
This collection is organized into fourteen series:
There is no restriction on access to the Espada Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from the Espada papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
[Identification of item], in Martin Espada Papers [Box #, folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.
Future additions to the papers are expected over the course of Mr. Espada's career.
The papers were acquired in October 2003. They were arranged and described by Mr. Espada over a period of several months in 2003. Accession number: 2003-210
The papers were acquired in October 2003. They were arranged and described by Mr. Espada over a period of several months in 2003.
Books by Martín Espada are available in the Amherst College Library or in the Archives and Special Collections; see the online catalog for details.
Edward J. Carvalho, "Puerto Rican radical: the effects of neoliberalism on the life and work of Martín Espada." Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2011.
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections, call number [x PS3555.S53 Z537 2011].
Series 1, BOOKS, 1982-2003, includes manuscript drafts, galley proofs, correspondence, contracts, promotional materials and reviews related to Espada's published books. Arranged chronologically by the author's work and then by format.
Series 2, AWARDS AND HONORS, 1983-2003, includes correspondence, press releases, newspaper and magazine articles, contracts and other materials documenting Espada's various literary and cultural awards and honors. Arranged chronologically.
Series 3, EVENTS, 1985-2003, documents special seminars, conferences and celebrations related to Espada's literary career and interests. Also included are some materials on poetry readings; see also Series 8, Readings, Lectures, Workshops and Prose
Series 4, TRANSLATIONS, 1989-2003, includes manuscript drafts, background research material and reviews related to translations of Espada's poetry into Spanish and other languages, as well as translations by Espada himself of poetry in Spanish. Arranged chronologically.
Series 5, INTERNATIONAL, 1998-2003, brings together material related to Espada's foreign concerns and activities. Subjects include Puerto Rico (particularly the island of Vieques, which was used by the U.S. military as a practice bombing target), Cuba, Ireland and Mexico. Arranged by the name of the foreign country and then chronologically within each country.
Series 6, CORRESPONDENCE, 1983-2003, comprises incoming and outgoing correspondence and e-mail printouts of both a professional and a personal nature. Correspondents include poets, writers, educators and social activists, including Edward Asner, Julia Alvarez, Philip Berrigan, Rafael Campo, Robert Creeley, Rita Dove, Marilyn Hacker, Donald Hall, Mark Jarman, Barbara Kingsolver, Galway Kinnell, Robert Pinsky, Adrienne Rich, Andrew Salkey, and Howard Zinn. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Series 7, CONTROVERSIES, 1995-2003, documents controversial political issues, events and organizations in which Espada was involved, including the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal (1995-2000), the Nike Poetry Slam (1997-2002), censorship, Poets for Peace (2001-2002), and Poets Against the War (2003). Arranged chronologically.
Series 8, READINGS, LECTURES, WORKSHOPS, 1982-2003, documents Espada's poetry readings, speeches, lectures and writing workshops. Arranged chronologically.
Series 9, MISCELLANEOUS WORKS BY AND ABOUT ESPADA, 1984-2003, includes articles, essays and public addresses written by Espada, introductions of other poets, special issues of journals edited by Espada, and articles and essays about Espada's work.
See also:
Edward J. Carvalho,
"Puerto Rican radical: the effects of neoliberalism on the life and work of Martín Espada." Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2011.
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections, call number [x PS3555.S53 Z537 2011].
Series 10, NOTEBOOKS, 1986-2003, contain Espada's personal daily notes to himself, including research notes; notes for poems and some poem drafts; notes for planning classes and workshops; and more mundane notes such as grocery lists and "to do" lists. Arranged chronologically.
Series 11, PERSONAL AFFAIRS, 1957-2003, includes a wide variety of personal material, including juvenilia (childhood drawings, writings, and family photographs); early academic work; unpublished poetry and prose; a copy of his high school's literary magazine, The Inquiry, in which Espada's writing was first published; papers relating to his teaching at Suffolk University Law School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; the photograph catalog of his father, Frank Espada ("The Puerto Rican Diaspora," 1989); poems by his son, Klemente Gilbert-Espada; and materials documenting a 2003 exhibition of art by his wife, Katherine Gilbert-Espada. Arranged by person, then chronologically.
Series 12, VIDEO RECORDINGS, 1984-2003, contains 30 videotapes of television broadcasts featuring Espada interviews and readings. (Tapes are in VHS format unless another format is indicated.) Arranged chronologically.
Series 13, GRAPHIC MATERIAL, 1983-2003, contains posters related to Espada's readings, broadsides illustrating his poems, and one folder of dust jackets from eight of his books. Posters and promotional materials are arranged chronologically; dust jackets in a single folder.
Series 14, AUDIO RECORDINGS, 1982-2003, is organized into two sub-series:
Sub-series A: Nicaragua, 1982: Radio documentaries and raw material recorded in Nicaragua in 1982.
Sub-series B: Interviews and Poems, 1982-2003: consists of audio and videocassette tapes and CD recordings of Espada's interviews on radio, and on other occasions such as a cancelled White House poetry event which resulted in a recording of "Poems Not Fit for the White House, February 17, 2003." Arranged chronologically