Grisel Y. Acosta

Instructor at The Writing Center

Academic Interests: Latino literature; poetry; oral tradition/songwriting and folktales; language and identity; intersecting cultures and identities; education reform.

Current research project(s):  Environments in Caribbean Latino literature, with a focus on Carib Indian and African influence on composition practices.

Publications: “House of Walls,” in Private International Photo Review; “Pressure Mix,” in Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female Poets and MCs; “Cubanita,” in After Hours Literary Magazine; “Chica!Go! (Part I),” (an excerpt) by Urban Life Center

Conference Presentations: Featured speaker and workshop leader, The Geraldine Dodge Annual East Brunswick Poetry Festival and Conference, April 2007

Hometown: Chicago

Previous degrees: B.A. in journalism from Columbia College Chicago and M.Ed. in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago

Current Hobbies: Writing, composing songs, painting, studying the arts

Favorite Authors: Reinaldo Arenas, Sandra María Esteves, Piri Thomas, Pedro Pietri, Joyce Carol Oates, Dashiell Hammett, Nelson Algren, Maya Angelou

Ultimate Vacation: A two-year trip around the world with stops in Morocco, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Thailand, China, Japan, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, among others.

Email: grisel.acosta@utsa.edu