Carmen Tafolla

Carmen Tafolla is an acclaimed Chicana poet, author, storyteller, performance artist, scholar, and professor emerita of bicultural bilingual studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, born and raised in the West Side barrios of San Antonio, Texas.[1][2][3] She earned a BA, MA, and PhD in bilingual education from the University of Texas at Austin, directed the Mexican-American Studies Center at Texas Lutheran College in 1973, and served as the first poet laureate of San Antonio (2012-2014) and Texas Poet Laureate (2015-2016).[1][2][4] Author of over 40 books including poetry, children's literature, and screenplays, she is the first Latina president of the Texas Institute of Letters and has received numerous awards like the Américas Award and International Latino Book Awards.[3][5][7]