Catherine Valdez

Imperial Debris in Quisqueya and Beyond Catherine Valdez

Rooted in her Dominican Republic heritage, Miami-born Catherine Valdez is a "voice of an island, a people, one person--there, or transplanted over generations." She finds inspiration for her award-winning poetry collection from the narrative of immigrant identity and its ties to the Caribbean island's millennia of colonial rule. Both elegiac and edgy, her deeply personal poems mingle traces of history with timeless and universal messages. Valdez has gained international and national recognition for her writing, including the 2018 National Federation os State Poetry Societies Kahn Award, presented for Imperial Debris. This gifted young poet is completing degrees in creative writing and psychology at Columbia University.