Jennifer Maritza McCauley's poetry explores dualities like the relationship between identity and language. To paint that duality, she often mixes Spanish, English, and different voices that are natural to her, with lines like "Oye: /this talk / ain't school-taught."
The poet and professor of literature and creative writing says her style has been influenced by poets like Mayra Santos-Febres, a celebrated Afro-Puerto Rican multigenre author like herself.
"My cultural identity is very important to me," she tells POPSUGAR. "I often write about being both Black American and Puerto Rican and living in in-between spaces and different worlds — and where those worlds overlap. I'm proud of my heritage and like to explore it in my poetry."
