José Ballesteros, professor and chair of the Department of International Languages and Cultures, was the invited guest poet at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launch on April 11 of National Fair Housing Month. Ballesteros read two poems in Spanish from a set of five that he wrote, titled “Home Suites I-V” about his personal journey through the country and housing. The poems will be published on HUD’s website soon.
His poetry has been published in several journals in the U.S. and Europe, and has been anthologized in "Al Pie de La Casa Blanca: Poetas Hispanos de Washington, D.C." (Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española, 2010). His first book of poems, "Lovedust/Polvo enamorado" was published by Izote Press in 2014. Ballesteros is editor for Zozobra Publishing, an independent literary press he started in 2012 that publishes bilingual editions of previously unpublished Latino and Latina U.S. poetry.
