Francisco X Alarcon

Francisco X. Alarcón was a Chicano poet, educator, and bilingual writer born in Wilmington, California, who spent much of his childhood in Guadalajara, Mexico, shaping his binational and bicultural identity. His poetry explored themes of Latino and gay identity, Mesoamerican mythology, Nahuatl language, and American culture, earning him awards like the American Book Award and PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award. He taught Spanish at UC Davis and published acclaimed collections such as Snake Poems and From the Other Side of Night until his death in 2016.