José Olivarez

José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/ Jean Stein Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. It was named a top book of 2018 by The Adroit Journal, NPR, and the New York Public Library. Along with Felicia Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he co-edited the poetry anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT. He is the co-host of the poetry podcast, The Poetry Gods. In 2018, he was awarded the first annual Author and Artist in Justice Award from the Phillips Brooks House Association and named a Debut Poet of 2018 by Poets & Writers. In 2019, he was awarded a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. Source

now i’m bologna

my parents were born from a car. they climbed out

& kissed the car on its cheek. my grandmother.

to be a first generation person. 23 and Me reports

i am descendant of pistons & drive trains. 33%

irrigation tools. you are what you do. my first job

was in a lunch meat factory. now i’m bologna.

it’s not so bad being a person. the front seat of a car

is more comfortable than the trunk. when they were babies

my parents dreamt of being Lamborghinis. not

people. you are what your children grow up to do.

if i put my parents' names on papers, what happens?

the answer is no comment. the answer is quién sabe.

the answer is yo no sé, pero no es abogado.

people are overrated. give me avocados.

Published:

2018

Length:

Regular

Literary Movements:

Contemporary

Anthology Years:

2025

Themes:

Bilingual

Family

Humor & Satire

Identity

Immigration