Contra: Texas Poets Speak Out

by M.R. "Chibbi" Orduna (Editor), C.L. Martinez (Editor)

Contra: Texas Poets Speak Out is a poetry anthology of over 47 writers from West, North, East, Central, and South Texas. Edited by C.L. "Rooster" Martinez and M.R. "Chibbi" Orduña, Contra's mission is to: activate people to register to vote; activate people to go vote; and use art in direct opposition to fascism and anti-democracy.

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.

The book includes works from Alexandra van de Camp, Amalia Ortiz, Amir Safi, Anel Flores, Aris Kian, Armando Lopez, Ayokunle Falomo, Buddy Wakefield, Sherrie "Candy" Zantea, Chibbi, Danny Strack, Ebony Steward, Eddie Vega, Edwardo Vidaurre, Emmy Pérez, Glori Adams, Bill Moran, Gregg Barrios, Gris Muñoz, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Jomar Valentin, Joshua Robbins, Joshua Nguyen, Kevin Burke, Lacey Roop, Naomi Shihab Nye, Natalia Treviño, Natasha Carrizosa, Octavio Quintanilla, Omer Ahmed, Paul Gerard Wilkinson Jr., RJ Wright, Rodney Gomez, C.L. "Rooster" Martinez, Ryan McMasters, Sarah Maddux, Jason "Shaggy" Gossard, Sheila Black, Sip, Six Gawd, Tariff Faizullah, Tova Charles, Viktoria Valenzuela, Vincent Cooper, Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson, Wendy Barker, and Zachary Caballero.

165 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2020

About the author

M.R. “Chibbi” Orduña is a Mexican-born, Texas-raised queer poet and spoken word artist, Editor in Chief of Write About Now Publishing and The Mixtape Literary Journal, and director and co-host of the Words and Shit video podcast. He attended Tin House in the summer of 2022, and has self-published 2 books, was a finalist for the 2021 Wax Nine Chapbook Competition and 2022 Robert Phillips Chapbook Competition, and the co-editor of the anthology Contra: Texas Poets Speak Out (Flowersong Press, 2020). His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Texas Review, Wax Wing, Los Angeles Poet Society, Allium, Cosmonaut Avenue, The Acentos Review, The Latino Book Review Magazine, Buzzfeed, We are Mitu, Button Poetry, Write About Now, and elsewhere. He travels the country performing his work in hopes that audiences feel empowered to embrace their identity, each other, and share their stories. You can find him on IG @gemineyes and on Twitter @gemineyespoetry.

Reviews

[Moniqa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic content, though I hope future editions employ a proofreader and typesetter.