On April 8, One Book One Bronx will host poet José Olivarez for an intimate conversation about his critically received book Citizen Illegal. The event will take place during a five-week book club discussion of his book and poetry workshop hosted at Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education. 

Meeting schedule
Wednesdays 6:30-8p, March 25, April 1, 8, 15, & 22, 2020
Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, 928 Simpson St., 6th Floor
José Olivarez will attend on April 8
Click here to register

In this “devastating debut” (Publishers Weekly), poet José Olivarez, who was raised in the Bronx, explores the stories, contradictions, joys, and sorrows that embody life in the spaces between Mexico and America. He paints vivid portraits of good kids, bad kids, families clinging to hope, life after the steel mills, gentrifying barrios, and everything in between. Combining wry humor with potent emotional force, Olivarez takes on complex issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and immigration using an everyday language that invites the reader in, with a unique voice that makes him a poet to watch.

One Book One Bronx is a weekly book club that hosts restorative conversations related to gentrification, social justice, women’s empowerment, and criminal justice. Reading selections reflect the racial, economic, and gender demographics of the Bronx and build bridges to engagement while (re)sparking a love of literature.