St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s José Cacayo Ballesteros, Steven Muller Distinguished Professor of the Arts and professor of international languages and cultures, will present “Mother Tongue: A Poetry Reading by José Cacayo Ballesteros” on Friday, April 12, 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. in Anne Arundel Hall’s Blackistone Room. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. This reading may contain mature content.
In his final reading as the Steven Muller Distinguished Professor of the Arts, Ballesteros will read work he has completed during his tenure including both published and unpublished poetry, translation, and storytelling/oral history, including a collaborative poetry/film project.
Ballesteros has taught for over 25 years and has published extensively as a poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of the book of poems “Lovedust” (Izote Press, 2014), co-author of the textbook “Voces de España” (Cengage, 2014), and editor of three books of poetry including the first bilingual D.C. Latinx poetry anthology “Knocking on the Door of the White House” (Zozobra Publishing, 2017). His translation work for over 20 years has straddled both the professional and literary worlds and he is currently finishing his second book-length poetry translation. His academic writing has been heavily influenced by his passion for history, political science (particularly political economy), feminist and queer theory, and varied forms of artistic expression.
Ballesteros is currently an editor for the Library of Congress' “Latin American Handbook” where he annotates and analyzes the latest poetry publications from Ecuador and Bolivia.
Ballesteros is most passionate about teaching. He sees that work as a practice that creates the space necessary for students to empower each other to build the world they'd prefer to inhabit. The achievements for which he is most proud include seeing his students succeed beyond the College and that of co-creating of the DeSousa-Brent Scholars Program.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education through 2024-2025. St. Mary’s College, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Approximately 1,600 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.
