Poetry of Resistance: Voices for Social Justice

On April 20, 2010, nine Latino students chained themselves to the main doors of the Arizona State Capitol in an act of civil disobedience to protest Arizona's SB 1070. Moved by the students' actions, that same day Francisco X. Alarc n responded by writing a poem in Spanish and English titled "Para Los Nueve del Capitolio/ For the Capitol Nine," which he dedicated to the students. The students replied to the poem with a collective online message. To share with the world what was taking place, Alarc n then created a Facebook page called "Poets Responding to SB 1070" and posted the poem, launching a powerful and dynamic forum for social justice.

Since then, more than three thousand original contributions by poets and artists from around the globe have been posted to the page. Poetry of Resistance offers a selection of these works, addressing a wide variety of themes, including racial profiling, xenophobia, cultural misunderstanding, violence against refugees, shared identity, and much more. Contributors include distinguished poets such as Francisco Arag n, Devreaux Baker, Sarah Browning, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Susan Deer Cloud, Sharon Dubiago, Mart n Espada, Genny Lim, Pam Uschuk, and Alma Luz Villanueva.

Bringing together more than eighty writers, the anthology powerfully articulates the need for change and the primacy of basic human rights. Each poem shows the heartfelt dedication these writers and artists have to justice in a world that has become larger than borders. Poetry of Resistance is a poetic call for tolerance, reflection, reconciliation, and healing.

Francisco X. Alarcón is a Chicano poet and educator, and author of twelve volumes of poetry, including From the Other Side of Night: Selected and New Poems. His most recent books are Canto hondo / Deep Song and Borderless Butterflies / Mariposas sin fronteras. He founded the Facebook page ＂Poets Responding to SB 1070＂ and teaches at University of California, Davis.

Odilia Galván Rodríguez, eco-poet, writer, editor, and activist, is the author of four volumes of poetry; her latest is Red Earth Calling: Cantos for the 21st Century. She was the English edition editor of Tricontinental Magazine in Havana, Cuba. She facilitates creative writing workshops nationally and is a moderator of ＂Poets Responding to SB 1070＂ and ＂Love and Prayers for Fukushima,＂ both Facebook pages dedicated to bringing attention to social justice issues that affect the lives and well-being of many people.