About the Author

Leonel Alvarado made Palmerston North his home in 2002, after living in the United States, when he came to lecture in Spanish language and Latin American literature and culture at Massey University. He has published several award-winning books of poetry, fiction and criticism in Latin America and the USA. His book, Xibalba, Texas, has recently been awarded the Central American Literary Award Rogelio Sinan in Panama. In 2013, his book, Retratos mal hablados, was judged runner-up in Latin America's most prestigious poetry award, Casa de las Americas, and has just been co-edited in Cuba and New Zealand. Whilst living in the Manawatu he has published poems in The Listener, Bravado, Swampthing Magazine and local newspapers.