LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ
Sandra Cisneros has called him the poet prophet of our time. Here’s just one reason why: As the 2014 Los Angeles poet laureate, Mexican-American poet, critic and activist Luis J. Rodriguez was supposed to curate six events and visit two libraries. He did 110 events and visited 40 libraries. “I wanted to be a poet laureate that was in every neighborhood,” says Rodriguez, who is the author of 16 books, including the 2012 best-selling autobiography, “Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.” and 2020’s “From Our Land to Our Land: Essays, Journeys & Imaginings from a Native Xicanx Writer.”
Over the course of his 66 years, Rodriguez has changed lives as a peacemaker among gangs and facilitator of prison writing workshops. Through Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Book Store, which Rodriguez co-founded in 2001, he has helped bring low-cost or free arts and literary programming to the marginalized communities of Northeast San Fernando Valley.
Tia Chucha’s has been a beacon during the pandemic, as all workshops and readings have gone virtual, and the book shop is doing better than it has in 20 years. They even started a social justice book club in the wake of the George Floyd shooting this summer.
“Young people are hungry,” Rodriguez says. “They are looking for revelatory, meaningful words. For language that moves thoughts and hearts.”