Citizen Illegal

(Hardback)

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In this stunning debut, poet Jose Olivarez explores the stories, contradictions, joys, and sorrows that embody life in the spaces between Mexico and America. He paints vivid portraits of good kids, bad kids, families clinging to hope, life after the steel mills, gentrifying barrios, and everything in between. Combining wry humour with potent emotional force, Olivarez takes on complex issues of race, ethnicity, gender,class, and immigration using an everyday language that invites the reader in. Olivarez has a unique voice that makes him a poet to watch.

Reviews

Citizen Illegalis right on time, bringing both empathy and searing critique to the fore as a nation debates the very humanity of the people who built it.
Eve Ewing, author ofElectric Arches

Jos Olivarez is fearless in Citizen Illegal, his debut poetry collection about life as a first-generation Mexican American. The book looks inward and outward, both intimate and expansive highlighting the shared frustrations and fears of fighting prejudice and systemic bias, while shouting what should be obvious: Mexican immigrants (like any population) are not a monolith. Olivarez forces readers to reckon with the very human consequences of our nation's actions at the border and beyond, at a time when those actions have created a real humanitarian crisis. Olivarez's writing is vital in both senses of the word full of life, and absolutely necessary.
Buzzfeed Books

Citizen Illegal is a poetic assault on the state and cultural processes that continue to stamp out empathy and humanity within the rise of todays migratory drift and its management by the state.
The Brooklyn Rail

Incredible... Olivarez gives us the poem as incantation, using language to transcend the limits of social constructions and the physical, temporal world.
The Rumpus

Jos Olivarezs work shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked stories of Mexican-Americans in the Midwest. This identity is illustrated throughout Citizen Illegal in all of its complexitiesthe connections between Mexican-Americans and labor and the all too familiar feeling of being ni de aqui, ni de alla (not from here, nor there).
Remezcla

To be Mexican in America is to be talked about, to be labeled and debated, all without being asked and respected. Citizen Illegal is pitch-perfect.
The Millions

Citizen Illegal is not only a commentary on timely and complicated issues of race, immigration, and ethnicity, but also a celebration, a journey toward a self and a family identity that is grounded not merely in geography but in the veined map of the heart.
Rhino Poetry

A high-octane take on the rhythms and contradictions of life as a first-generation child of Mexican parents.
Booklist

Poets like Jos Olivarez, a son of Mexican immigrants, are vital to keeping this nation from tearing apartif only we could get Citizen Illegal, his debut collection, into the hands of the anti-immigrant crowd.
Foreword Reviews

A necessary read... With a searing precision, Jos Olivarez takes aim at the American paradigm and how folding oneself to fit into it is fruitless.
AFROPUNK

In his stunning debut collection, Jos Olivarez explores the complexities of an identity in flux.Citizen Illegal acts as an oasis for acceptance and resistancean ode of gratitude for in-between spaces.
TheArkansas International

A poet never arrives ahead or behind schedule, but rather at just the right moment. Through his masterful demonstration of control over the pen, Olivarez has established himself as not only a voice to be reckoned with and mindful of, but also one that deserves to be respected.
Cultural Weekly

Jos Olivarezs Citizen Illegal uncovers the flaws in language and the systems those flaws perpetuate.
Newcity


Citizen Illegalis a fearless, instrumental, honest collection of poetry. In other words, the book isfire. Skilled, tender, funny, yet undecorated, Olivarezs poetry navigates the razor sharp duality and utter contradiction of citizenship. These poems helps us carry the weight of biases, the absurdity of our prejudices; they help us seek documentation for our humanity which cannot, by any means, be dictated by policy makers. Let it be said that these poems are also love poems. Olivarez chooses to use his voice, sometimes brutal, sometimes bloody and blistered, to confront our monstrosity, yet he never shies away from love, even when he exposes the lies we keep in order to live. Keep an eye out for Jos Olivarez: he might be the poet you need when its time to cross a line, destruct borders, and still come out on the other side with your dreams intact.
Willie Perdomo, author ofThe Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon

Citizen Illegalis a stunning piece of artwork from beginning to end. A vivid journey on Joss real life experiences which open-heartedly allows you to discover many of the things people dont often talk about: love, anxiety, fear, and hopefulness. This book is inspirational and culturally rich, giving you all types of feelings with first hand insight on what it feels like to be Latino. Poets like Jos and books like Citizen Illegal are essential to our community.
Luis Carranza, poet & member of Young Chicago Authors 2017 Bomb Squad

When I read this book, I can hear Jos reading these poems out loud to me, into a microphone, in conversation. There is not one time that I read his collection that I didnt cry. I cried of joy, of sadness, of just seeing and feeling the printed celebration and exploration of what it means to be a first-generation Mexican-American. If and when I need to be reminded of the love I have for being a first generation Mexican American, I am able to turn to these moments in this collection: a neighborhood in which we can be as open and loud and soft as we want to be. In this neighborhood, I can also find all the deafening shame and heart- breaking fear my family and I have tried to hide. Jos pulls this love and this family and these secrets onto a platform we, as a community, can celebrate, acknowledge, laugh, and cry juntitos. Muchsimas gracias a Jos por siendo tan valiente y integro. Llevar estas poemas conmigo por siempre.
Vicky Peralta, poet & member of Young Chicago Authors 2017 Bomb Squad

Author Bio

Jos Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. He is a co-host of the podcast, The Poetry Gods. A winner of fellowships from Poets House, The Bronx Council On The Arts, The Poetry Foundation, and The Conversation Literary Festival, his work has been published in The BreakBeat Poets and elsewhere. He is the Marketing Manager at Young Chicago Authors.