Luis J. Rodríguez

Luis J. Rodriguez is an acclaimed poet, novelist, journalist, and activist. Rodriguez has penned 16 books spanning poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature, notably the best-selling memoirs Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. (Simon & Schuster, 1994) and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing (Simon & Schuster, 2011). 

His literary accolades include the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, a New York Times Notable Book recognition, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, a Poetry Center Book Award, the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize. His children’s books, América Is Her Name (Curbstone Books, 1996) and It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way: A Barrio Story (Children’s Book Press, 1999), were awarded The Paterson Prize for Books on Young People, two Skipping Stones Honor Awards, and a Parent’s Choice Book Award. 

Rodriguez was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in East Los Angeles. From an early age, he was immersed in gang activities and substance abuse but simultaneously played a significant role in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and ’70s. In 1989, Rodriguez founded Tia Chucha Press, and by 2001, in collaboration with his wife Maria Trinidad Cardenas, he initiated Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural Bookstore. He has also been recognized for co-establishing community initiatives such as Chicago’s Guild Complex and Rock A Mole Productions. His substantial urban peace and gang intervention endeavors helped lead to the creation of the community-based Gang Intervention Model, approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2008, and disseminated nationally and internationally.

Rodriguez has showcased his work at prominent festivals, delivered TEDx talks, released a poetry-music CD titled My Name’s Not Rodriguez, and he co-hosts the Hummingbird Cricket Hour podcast with Maria Trinidad Cardenas. He has also penned plays and scripts, and consulted on TV series including FX’s Snowfall.

His contributions to literature and community have earned him the Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, a California Arts Council Legacy Fellowship, and the distinction of Los Angeles Poet Laureate from 2014 to 2016. Rodriguez oversees operations at Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore in Sylmar, California.