Celebrate Poetry in English and Spanish

For those who have watched the Poetry Out Loud recitation competition in recent years, you may be familiar with the poem “Spanglish” by Tato Laviera. As the title suggests, the poem combines English and Spanish to discuss the blending of languages and culture. You can watch third-place 2022 Poetry Out Loud winner Oscar Manuel Landa Samano recite it below.

Laviera, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City, is far from the only poet to incorporate English and Spanish into his work. Below, you can find a collection of poetry, including “Spanglish,” that use both languages to express meaning. (Click on the name of the poem to read each poem in its entirety.)

"pues estoy creando spanglish/ bi-cultural systems/ scientific lexicographical/ inter-textual integrations/ two expressions/ existentially wired/ two dominant languages/ continentally abrazándose." From "Spanglish" by Tato Laviera

"My father liked them separate, one there,/ one here (allá y aquí), as if aware// that words might cut in two his daughter’s heart/ (el corazón) and lock the alien part// to what he was—his memory, his name/ (su nombre)—with a key he could not claim." From "Bilingual/Bilingüe" by Rhina P. Espaillat

"I ask her what’s wrong. She says her school project/ Is to ask a grandparent to tell them an uplifting story.// I tell her I’ll ask him in Spanish and then call her back/ And tell her the story. I tell dad, Natalia quiere saber// Un cuento del triunfo; algo de triunfar, I tell him,/ About your childhood. He says he doesn’t have a story." From "Pan Dulce" by Jose Hernandez Diaz

"Highway of Death — the indifference/ of snakes. Sky is ripe and everywhere/ the colors are breaking. ¿Quién es el jefe/ más jefe?" From "Narco" by Erika L. Sánchez

"And there, not the promised land, but barbwire and barbwire/ with nothing growing under it. I tried to fly that dusk/ after a bat said la sangre del saguaro nos seduce." From "Saguaros" by Javier Zamora