Lupe Mendez
Lupe Mendez is an American poet, educator, and literary arts organizer based in Houston, Texas. He served as the Texas Poet Laureate. His debut collection, Why I Am Like Tequila, won the Texas Institute of Letters' John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry.
Early life and education
Mendez was born in 1976 in Jalisco, Mexico, and grew up in Galveston, Texas. He attended the University of St. Thomas and later earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso.Career
Mendez has worked as an educator in Houston and has been active in literary outreach and community-based programming. According to the Houston Chronicle, he has served as an educator with the Houston Independent School District and has been involved in Houston's literary community.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.
Mendez was appointed Texas Poet Laureate for 2022. Reporting in the Texas Observer highlighted his outreach to diverse communities and his interest in programming beyond the honorary title.
Works
Poetry collections
*Awards and honors
- John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry, for Why I Am Like Tequila.