Virgil Suárez

Poet Virgil Suárez was born in Havana and left Cuba with his family when he was just 12. Eventually settling in the United States, he earned a BA from California State University, Long Beach, and an MFA from Louisiana State University and is currently an associate professor of creative writing at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His tenth volume of poetry is The Painted Bunting’s Last Molt (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020).

In both his poetry and his prose, Suárez seeks to capture the experience of migration. His poems trace the emotional upheavals endured by those in permanent exile. Peppering his narrative, free-verse poems with references to family members, friends, historical figures, and both real and imagined situations, Suárez connects his personal experience as an immigrant with larger themes of identity, history, and language.