Naomi Ayala is the author of three books of poetry – Wild Animals on the Moon (Curbstone Press); This Side of Early (Curbstone/Northwestern University Press); and Calling Home: Praise Songs and Incantations (Bilingual Press, University of Arizona). She is the translator of Luis Alberto Ambroggio’s La arqueología del viento/The Wind’s Archeology, and La sombra de la muerte/Death’s Shadow, a novel by His Excellency José Tomás Pérez, the Dominican Republic’s Ambassador to the United States. Naomi has translated and published poems by Lope de Vega as well as the film script for the documentary Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas. Her most recent poems in English appear in Gargoyle, Barrelhouse, Poetry, Salamander, and DoveTales: Letters from the Self to the World. She has received artist fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts, U.S. Congressional Recognition for Community Service, and a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy of Environmental Justice Award.

www.naomiayala.com  | Skype: Naomi.Ayala

HoCoPoLitSo is pleased to announce that its long-standing Bauder Writer-in-Residence and school programs are now significantly supported by a generous endowment from Dr. Lillian Bauder, community leader and resident of Columbia known for investing in educational access and advancement. Since the 1960’s, Lillian and her late husband Don have been engaged in civil rights and social justice efforts, and have supported the arts. Since the 1960’s, Lillian and her late husband Don have been engaged in civil rights and social justice efforts, and have supported the arts.