Jasminne Mendez

[3] She is co-host on the poetry and writing podcast series, InkWell, a collaboration between Tintero Projects and Inprint Houston.

[1] She received a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the Rainier Writer's Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University.

[8] Mendez's writing and performances focus on making visible the experience of Afro-Latinos in the United States.

[9] Mendez's first book, Island of Dreams (Floricanto Press, 2013), is a mixture of poetry and memoir written from the perspective of her own teenage self and highlights the challenges of growing up Afro-Latina in the United States.

[1] Her second book, Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays & Poems (Arte Público Press 2019) is a multi-genre memoir that explores her experience with chronic illness.

[1] In 2018, she served as the Senior Contributing Editor of Queen Mob's Tea House, a digital international literary journal.

[16] In 2018, Mendez created the blog Plátano Poetry Café in order to help make visible the work and experiences of Afro-Latina/o poets.

A woman stands at a podium.
Jasminne Mendez reads her poetry at an " Arte Público Press Author Reading" that took place during the XV Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference on February 20, 2020, at the University of Houston Downtown .