Born and raised in Paterson, NJ, Rosa Alcalá has published three books of poetry, most recently, "MyOTHER TONGUE." She is the editor and translator of "Spit Temple: The Selected Performances of Cecilia Vicuña," a runnerup for a PEN Translation Award, and "Cecilia Vicuña: New & Selected Poems."

She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Yaddo, MacDowell, and Fundación Valparaiso. She is associate professor in the Department of Creative Writing & Bilingual MFA Program at the University of Texas-El Paso.