Lupe Mendez
Lupe Mendez | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976 (age 49–50) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer | Houston Independent School District |
| Title | Texas Poet Laureate (2022–2023) |
| Writing career | |
| Pen name | Guadalupe "Lupe" Mendez |
| Period | c. 1990s–present |
| Genre | Latino expatriate poetry |
| Literary movement | Librotraficante |
| Notable awards | John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry (Texas Institute of Letters: 2020) |
| Website | |
| thepoetmendez | |
Lupe Mendez (also credited as Guadalupe "Lupe" Mendez; born 1976) is an American poet, educator, and literary arts organizer based in Houston, Texas. He served as the 2022–2023 Texas Poet Laureate.[1][2] His debut collection, Why I Am Like Tequila, won the John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry, awarded by the Texas Institute of Letters in 2020.[3]
Early life and education
Mendez was born in 1976 in Jalisco, Mexico, and grew up in Galveston, Texas.[4] He attended the University of St. Thomas and later graduated with an Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso.[1][5]
Career
Mendez worked as an educator in Houston and was active in literary outreach and community-based programming.[6] According to the Houston Chronicle, he served as an educator with the Houston Independent School District and was involved in Houston's literary community.[7]
He is associated with literary organizing in Texas, including work connected to the Librotraficante movement and the founding of Tintero Projects, a Houston-based organization supporting emerging Latinx writers and writers of color in the Gulf Coast region.[6][8]
Mendez was appointed Texas Poet Laureate for 2022 (serving 2022–2023).[2][1] The Texas Observer highlighted his outreach to diverse communities and his interest in programming beyond the honorary title.[9]
Notable works
- Mendez, Lupe (2019). Why I Am Like Tequila. Willow Publishing. ISBN 978-1732209176.
- Mendez, Lupe (2025). Prayer Holding Night: New & Selected Works. TCU Press. ISBN 9780875659282.
- Mendez, Lupe (2026). We Exist in the Whisper: Huelga School Verses. Arte Publico Press. ISBN 9798893750300.
Awards and honors
- John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry (Texas Institute of Letters: 2020), for Why I Am Like Tequila.[3]
References
- ^ a b c "Lupe Mendez". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ a b "State Poets Laureate". Texas Commission on the Arts. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ a b "Texas Institute of Letters 2020 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). Texas Institute of Letters. February 26, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ "Oral History Interview with Lupe Mendez on July 6, 2016". The Portal to Texas History (UNT Libraries). July 6, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ "2022 Texas Poet Laureate Lupe Mendez". Holocaust Museum Houston. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ a b "Lupe Mendez". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ Gill, Julian (June 26, 2021). "'He always gives back': Houston educator Lupe Mendez named Texas Poet Laureate". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ "Lupe Mendez". TCU Press. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ Nuñez, Eli (October 7, 2022). "The Voice of Lone Star Poetry". Texas Observer. Retrieved January 28, 2026.