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CURRICULUM VITAE

​Valerie Martínez

 

EDUCATION

  • Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing/Poetry: University of Arizona, 1989

  • Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, in English, Vassar College, 1983

 

EMPLOYMENT

  • Co-Director, CHART-Santa Fe (Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, and Truth) Project. Manage and administer a team of 18 community members/facilitators and one evaluator for 12 months of community engagement to foster truth, healing, and reconciliation in the wake of controversies over statues and monuments. A project of Artful Life, funded by the City of Santa Fe. August 2021-July 2022. www.chartsantafe.com

  • Founding Director, Artful Life. Direct large-scale arts and community development projects. Artful Life projects have worked with over 80 artists and over 400 residents to co-create significant works of public art. 2015-present. www.artful-life.org.

  • Director of History and Literary Arts, National Hispanic Cultural Center. Directed over 20 programs and projects (including festivals, conferences, series, workshops and special events), a library, archives, special collections, a genealogy center, and 2-4 exhibits per year. February 2018-July 2021.

  • Director, Common Ground Santa Fe. Formed, trained and directed a Santa Fe-based facilitation team that assisted the City of Santa Fe with three, large public engagement sessions for its Midtown Campus Project. The project resulted in a report with recommendations for the City of Santa Fe about how to improve its method and practices for effective community engagement. January-August 2018.

  • Co-Coordinator, Common Ground Albuquerque (with Dr. Shelle Sanchez and Charlie Wisoff, Albuquerque) a project launched and funded by the New Mexico McCune Foundation focused on how neighborhoods can better impact how they develop and how municipal agencies can engage more effectively and meaningfully with community. May 2017-May 2018.

  • Consultant/Facilitator for a wide range of community, for-profit and non-profit meetings and conferences with specialization in creative facilitation, teambuilding, and consensus facilitation.  2008-present.

  • Executive Director and Core Artist, Littleglobe, Inc. (Santa Fe, NM) Littleglobe projects create art/performance and nurture community capacity through large-scale, community arts engagement. January 2008-May 2015. www.littleglobe.org.

  • Visiting Associate Professor, Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL). Graduate and undergraduate instruction in poetry and literature. August 2012-May 2013.

  • Poet Laureate, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM). The tenure encompassed 63 public readings and events, a body of work about Santa Fe, and an educational/community outreach project. March 2008-March 2010.

  • Guest Lecturer. University of New Mexico. (Albuquerque, NM). Intermediate Poetry, Fall 2008; Institute for American Indian Arts/IAIA (Santa Fe, NM). Creative Nonfiction. Fall, 2010.

  • Director of Interdisciplinary Studies, Dept. of Creative Writing, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies/CHI, College of Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM). August 2005-May 2009.

  • Associate Professor of English & Creative Writing. Department of Creative Writing & Literature. College of Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM). Fall 2003-May 2009.

  • Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Department of English, Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA). August 2000-May 2003.

  • Assistant Professor. Department of English & Philosophy, and Director of the University Writing Center, New Mexico Highlands University/NMHU, Las Vegas, New Mexico, August 1996-May 2000.

  • Secondary Teacher. U-TECH High School (Big Bend, Swaziland). Sept. 1994-May 1995.

  • Principal and Head Teacher, Primary School Teacher. Baha’i Primary School, Mbabane, Swaziland. August 1993-May 1994.

  • ​​Adjunct Faculty (1989-1993) and Graduate Student Teacher (1987-1989). University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), teaching Freshman Composition and Poetry classes.

 

PUBLICATIONS

​

POETRY

Books

  • Count, a book-length poem, University of Arizona Press, August 2021.

  • "A Hundred Little Mouths,” a poetry/prose chapbook commissioned by visua and performance artist Susan Silton for the Crowing Hens Whistling Project. SITE Santa Fe, November 7, 2015.

  • And They Called It Horizon. Sunstone Press, December 2010.

  • Each and Her (a book-length poem). Winner of the 2011 Arizona Book Award for Poetry and Honorable Mention in the 2011 International Latino Book Awards. Nominated for the PEN Open Book Award, William Carlos William Award, Ron Ridenhour Book Prize, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award, University of Arizona Press, September 2010.

  • Absence, Luminescent (second edition). Four Way Books, August 2010.

  • This is How it Began (long poem). Special, hand-press edition, Palace Press, March 2010.

  • A Flock of Scarlet Doves: Translations of Uruguay’s Delmira Agustini (translations from the Spanish). Sutton Hoo Press 2005.

  • World to World (poems). University of Arizona Press, 2004.

  • Absence, Luminescent. Winner of the Larry Levis Prize and a Greenwall Grant from the Academy of American Poets. Four Way Books, 1999.

 

Poetry in Anthologies (Selected)

  • How to Read (and Write About) Poetry, by Susan Holbrook (Broadview Press 2022, second edition); poem "Granite Weaving" (based on Jesus Moroles's granite sculpture by the same name), page 44.  The poem originally appeared in Poetry magazine, March 2016 issue.

  • Counterclaims: Poets and Poetries, Talking Back. An anthology in which many of the most influential voices in contemporary poetics respond to well-known statements about poetry by W.H. Auden and Theodor Adornos, including Valerie Martínez, Susan Wheeler, Cynthia Hogue, Mary Ruefle and C.D. Wright. Edited by H.L Hix, Dalkey Archive Press, 2020.

  • Vivo Text & Image. Poems "Rising Tide," “sky mix,” and “Skyline”which accompany paintings by Gary Oakley. Vivo Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, Issues 2017, 2018, 2019.

  • Resist Much, Obey Little: Inaugural Poems to the Resistance. Poems "Where Resistance Shapes Itself," "Six Principles of Nonviolence" and "Life, Liberty, Property." Edited by Boughn, Bradley, Cardenas, et. al. Spuyten Duyvil Press/Dispatches Editions, February 28, 2017.

  • Ley Lines (writers and artists in conversation). Edited by H.L. Hix. Commentary on passages in Each and Her. Wilfried Laurier University Press, 2014.

  • Wingbeats II: Exercises & Practice in Poetry. “Dip, Rise, Dive: Personal Questions and the Leap Into Poetry.” A generative exercise for writers, teachers and courses. Eds. Wiggerman and Meischen. Dos Gatos Press, 2014.

  • Synergy: La Onda de la Palabra/Wave of the Word: Visual Art, Writing and Community-Making. Poem “Lines” and Shadow Box “Untitled:” This anthology documents a two-year project (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) in which artists (including Valerie) worked together with artists experiencing homelessness or housing instability in collaboration with ArtStreet, a program of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless. Old School Books, 2012.

  • Santa Fe: Exploring the Past, Defining the Future. Edited by Rob Dean. Excerpt from "Listen" (poem). Sunstone Press 2011.

  • El Palacio: Art, History and Culture of the Southwest: Interview of Valerie Martínez by Carmella Padilla. El Palacio Press, August 2010.

  • All Trails Lead to Santa Fe: An Anthology Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610: poem “Listen.” Sunstone Press, 2010.

  • Santa Fe Nativa: Hispana/o Voices for a New Mexico, A Cuartocentenario Anthology: excerpt from “And They Called it Horizon.” University of New Mexico Press, 2009.

  • Return of the River: Writers, Scholars and Citizens Speak on Behalf of the Santa Fe River. Poem “Blue Winding, Blue Way.” Sunstone Press, May 2008.

  • Crossings: Origins and Celebrations of Día de Muertos. Poem “On the Road to Mictlán.” Eds. Catalina Delgado Trunk and Shelle Van Etten de Sánchez. National Hispanic Cultural Center, 2008.

  • Dreams for the Railyard Park. Poem “Days Like This.” The Trust for Public Land, September 2008.

  • Efforts and Affections: Contemporary Poets and Their Mentors: essay “Mapping the Next World” (about Joy Harjo) and poems by Martínez and Harjo. Eds. Rachel Zucker and Arielle Greenberg. University of Iowa Press, 2008.

  • Metamorfosis: Voces femininas, palabras español. Poem: "El mundo al mundo." Instituto Cervantes con el Centro Nacional de la Cultura Hispana. March, 2008.

  • Just Outside the Frame: poems “Palenque” and “Girl.” Edited by Miriam Bobkoff & Miriam Sagan. Tres Chicas Books, 2005.

  • Shine on You Crazy Diamond: Poems by Teens and Their Mentors: poems “Four from the Body” and “Winter Tableau.” Sunstone Press, 2004.

  • Renaming Ecstasy: Latino Writings on the Sacred: poems: “The Annunciation,” “Tesoro,” “Invocation,” “O Story of Influence,” “Heat of Breath.” Bilingual Press, December 2002.

  • New American Poetry: A Bread Loaf Anthology. “Camera Obscura” and “Ever So, Between.” University of New England Press, 2000.

  • American Poetry: Next Generation. “Coastal” and “Into the Next One.” Carnegie Mellon Press, 2000.

  • Touching the Fire: Fifteen Poets of Today’s Latino Renaissance. Ten poems. New York: Doubleday, 1998.

  • The Best American Poetry. “Into the Next One.” New York: Scribner, 1996.

  • Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: Contemporary Writing by Native Women of North America. Assistant Editor. New York: Norton & Norton, 1997.

​​

Poems in Journals and Magazines (Selected)

  • The American Scholar, excerpt from book-length poem, “Count.”  Issue: Autumn, 2019.

  • Best American Poetry Online. Excerpt from "A Hundred Little Mouths," edited by Emma Trelles, October 23, 2016.

  • Poetry. “Larry Levan (Snake)” and “Granite Weaving” (ekphrastic poems that are part of the PINTURA:PALABRA Letras Latinas/Smithsonian project). March 2016.

  • Edible. “Each One” (poem). Winter 2015/Spring 2016 Issue.

  • Eleven Eleven, "Is All," Issue 16, 2014.

  • Taos Journal of Poetry and Art, excerpt from "Count," a book-length poem-in-progress, June 2013.

  • New Mexico Poetry Review, Centennial Edition. “Easter Pilgrims,” 2012.

  • Mas Tequila Review. “River Ode.” Fall, 2010.

  • Santa Fe 400th Commemoration. “Listen.” Sunstone Press, 2010.

  • American Poetry Review. Excerpt from Each and Her, August/September 2008.

  • Breach Press: A Journal of Experimental Latino Poetry, excerpt from Each and Her, August, 2008.

  • Mandorla. Excerpt from Each and Her, August 2008.

  • Brindin Press. Twelve translations of poems by Delmira Agustini. www.brindin.com, 2008.

  • Santa Fe Broadside, Spring Anthology, Part II. “Palenque,” “Girl,” and “Sweep.” Issue #37, May 2004.

  • Heliotrope: “Is it the Sun” and “Anecdote.” Spring, 2004.

  • Notre Dame Review: “Heritage” and “Hollow Where You Are.” Spring, 2004

  • World Order: Religion, Society, Polity, Arts. “Aureole,” “The Eye of Earth,” “Bowl,” “Nude,” “World to World,” “Heat of Breath.” Summer, 2002.

  • The Drunken Boat. Introduction to the work of Delmira Agustini, and six poems and translations: “The Poet and Illusion/El poeta y la ilusión,” “Untitled/Debout sur mon orgueil…,” “Nocturne/Nocturno,” “Immutable/Lo inefable,” “Intimate/Intima,” and “Your Mouth/Tu boca.” Spring 2002 (www.thedrunkenboat.com, ed. Sieferle and Todd).

  • Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review. “Invocation,” “It’s Happening,” Spring 2002.

  • Poet’s Market (Writers Digest Books). Excerpt from “And Seeing It” used as an example of the kind of poetry published by Puerto del Sol, 2001 and 2002 editions.

  • Drunken Boat. Introduction to Delmira Agustini and translations: “Weighing the Anchor,” “Prayer,” “My Sad Muse,” “In the Light of the Moon,” “Explosion,”“The Knot,” Fall 2001 (www.drunkenboat.com, ed. Ravi Shankar).

  • Solo. “Behold,” Fall, 2001.

  • Luna. Translations of Delmira Agustini: “You Were Sleeping,” “The Ineffable,” “The Swan,” “Oh, You!” “Shrouded in Pride…” Spring 2001.

  • Orizon. “So We Will Hush” and “In a Universe This Vast.” Fall, 2000.

  • New Mexico CultureNet, poems, translations, bio, artist’s statement, middle & high school curricula, review of Absence, Luminescent; summer 2000 (www.nmculturenet.org).

  • Colorado Review. “I See, I Am.” Spring 2000.

  • AGNI. “The Angels of Reason” and “Late in the Century.” Spring 2000.

  • Luna. “Not Unlike” and “Where the Air is Thick.” Volume I, Issue 2. Spring 2000.

  • Amigos Bravos: Friends of the Wild Rivers. “River Ode.” September, 1999.

  • New Mexico Vehicle Project. “Wealth.” On public buses in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and Taos, New Mexico, starting in 1999.

  • Bloomsbury Review, “To the Wind That Blew All Night…” July/August, 1999.

  • Confluence. “Meridian,” “Into the Next One,” “Pastorale” and “Coastal.” Fall, 1998.

  • Permafrost. “The Annunciation” and “On Absence.” Fall, 1996.

  • Prairie Schooner. “It is Not,” “Absence, Luminescent,” “Nocturne” and “Tesoro.” Winter, 1994.

  • Puerto del Sol. “And Seeing It.” Winter, 1993.

  • Prairie Schooner. “Prayer” and “Outside: Winter Solstice.” Fall, 1993.

  • Parnassus: Poetry in Review. “Night of Fathers.” Vol. 17, No. 1, 1992.

  • Riverrun. “The Little Number.” Fall, 1991.

  • Rhetoric Review. “Savor, Harvest,” “Geode,” and translations of Miguel Mendez. Winter, 1988.

  • Vassar Review. “Death Valley” and “Wordless.” Fall/Winter, 1982.

 

NONFICTION

Essays

  • "Peopleness: Ethnicity and the Latinx Poem" (essay), Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry (University of New Mexico Press, 2022).

  • CHART-Santa Fe Final Report—Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth, with Co-Author Jenice Gharib. www.chartsantafe.com

  • “Arts Engagement and Community Transformation: A Case Study in The International District Project of Southeast Albuquerque.” Green Fire Times, July 2014.

  • “Rivers Run Through Us: Toward a Living Planet--Can Public Art Change the World? Meet the Artists Who Think So." Public Art Review, Issue 49, Fall/Winter 2013.

  • "Maps to the Next World: Creative Community Engagement in the Southwest US," Maryland College Institute of Art (MICA) Community Arts Convening & Research Project, Fall 2011.

  • "The Limits of My World: Developing and Practicing a More Inclusive Language in Community Arts Engagement, MICA Community Arts Convening & Research Project, Fall 2011.

  • Introduction to Ask Me Who I Am: Writing and Art by New Mexico Youth in Foster Care, an anthology of writing and art by CYFD youth, edited by V. Martinez (Project Director/Project Artist) and Maureen Burdock (Project Artist, Book Designer). Littleglobe Press, December 2010.

  • “Lines and Circles: Understanding Contemporary Santa Fe” in Lines & Circles: A Celebration of Santa Fe Families. Sunstone Press, 2010.

  • “LaChiPo: A Decolonial Poetics” in Breach Press. (http://www.breachjournal.com/main.html) 2010.

  • “Mira la Mirror: Mexican and Mexican-American Poetry and the National Divide.” Latino Poetry Review, Fall 2009.

  • “Diversity, Understanding, and Reconciliation in Santa Fe.” Sustainable Santa Fe Resource Guide, November 1, 2008 (English version) and La Voz de Nuevo Mexico (Spanish version). March 28, 2008.

  • “Learning About Legacy: OSH Internship Program.” The Quarterly Newsletter of the Friends of New Mexico History Foundation. Winter 2008.

  • “Living History: Learning With Purpose.” Vistas (the alumni magazine of the College of Santa Fe. Fall 2007.

  • “Mapping the Next World” (about Joy Harjo). Efforts and Affections: Contemporary Poets and Their Mentors: U. of Iowa Press, 2008.

  • “Sacred Image, Sacred Language: Where Modern and Postmodern Meet.” Tiferet. February 2004.

  • “Delmira Agustini.” The Drunken Boat. (www.thedrunkenboat.com) Spring 2002.

  • “Missing Link: The Necessity of Poetry in the Composition Classroom.” Writing on the Edge, Spring 2002.

  • “Lilies of the Flesh: The Poetry of Delmira Agustini.” Drunken Boat: www.drunkenboat.com, Fall 2001.

  • “From Water Into Air: Latina Poetry at the End of the Twentieth Century.” New Mexico Culture Net: www.nmculturenet.com, Fall 2000 and Spring 2001.

 

LITERARY AWARDS AND HONORS

​

  • Arizona Book Award for Each and Her, 2011.

  • Honorable Mention: International Latino Book Awards for Each and Her, 2011.

  • Book Award Nominations for Each and Her: National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize, Ron Ridenhour Award, PEN Open Book Award, William Carlos Williams Award, 2010-2012.

  • Poetry Everywhere short film/animation series: Valerie’s poem “Bowl” (from World to World, University of Arizona Press, 2004) selected for the, created by the Poetry Foundation, premiering in 2009. The series features “animated interpretations of great contemporary poems” that will be “shown to millions of viewers on public transportation systems in six American cities.” (http://poetryfoundation.org/journal/video.html) 2013.

  • Poet Laureate of the City of Santa Fe, Appointed by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Tenure: March 2008-March 2010.

  • Nominee: USA Fellowship for Each and Her, 2007.

  • Finalist, The Green Rose Prize, New Issues Press, for World to World, 2001.

  • The Book Sense 76, Absence, Luminescent listed as a featured book selection, Spring 2000.

  • Greenwall Grant, The Academy of American Poets, for Absence, Luminescent, 1999.

  • Finalist, Bunting Fellowship (Radcliffe College), 1999.

  • Nominee: Pushcart Prize for the poem “Meridian,” 1998.

  • The Larry Levis Prize, for Absence, Luminescent, 1997.

  • Finalist, Intro Award Competition, for Absence, Luminescent, 1996

  • Finalist, Walt Whitman Award, for Absence, Luminescent, 1995.

  • Finalist, National Poetry Series, for Absence, Luminescent, 1990.

​

​PAPERS, PANELS, PRESENTATIONS (SELECTED)

 

  • Panel Presentation. "Author Meets Critic, Deconstructing Heritage Tourism and Heritage Narratives in Mexican-American Communities."  Struggle and Liberation Today International Conference, March 5, 2021.

  • "Writing Medicine: The Role of Artists in Cultural and Community Healing." (Michelle Otero, Valerie Martinez, Anel Flores, Chasity Salvador, Maya Chapina). Panelists offer reflections on their healing practices, from hosting pláticas following the Pulse Nightclub shooting, to working with Central American migrants at the border, to rewriting the centuries-old proclamation for the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Associated Writing Programs (AWP) national conference, San Antonio, March 7, 2020.

  • Keynote Address:  "The Past, Present and Future of American Poetry." National Federation of State Poetry Societies Diamond Jubilee Convention,  Santa Fe, New Mexico, June 26, 2019.

  • "The Art of Trauma." (Susan Ayres, Wendy Chin-Tanner, Alice Anderson, Valerie Martinez, C. Russell Price). The panelists consider how we write poetry and narratives about the debilitating consequences of trauma on the body, mind, and soul. In commenting on their own work and the work of others, they discuss the craft, ethics, and emotions in writing about and through trauma. Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, Portland, OR.  March 30, 2019.

  • "True to Ourselves: Authenticity in Creative Placemaking Practice and Process:" Valerie Martinez, Billy Joe Miller, Shelle Sanchez, Nkazi Sinandile on “authenticity” (being true to ourselves) and why creative placemaking must be community-designed and community-led and embrace a long-term process that involves relationship-building, creative collaboration, and sustained engagement between community members. CPL Summit/West Panel, February 8, 2019, Albuquerque, NM.

  • "Latinx Literary Activism." This panel convened fellows and faculty from CantoMundo (Celeste Guzman-Mendoza, Valerie Martinez, Denice Frohman, Javier Zamora), a national organization for Latinx poets, to discuss their literary activism as organizers, publishers, editors, performers, and directors of organizations that serve Latinx writers. Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, February 9-11, 2017, Washington, DC.

  • "Beyond Our Borders: Three poets Read Poems about Latin America.” Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, March-April 2016, Los Angeles, CA.

  • “Contemporary Issues Series: Spirited,” highlighting the changing demographics of Albuquerque’s neighborhoods in the International District as well as Artful Life’s arts-based development model. The Albuquerque Museum, in collaboration with its “Only in Albuquerque” exhibit. October 11, 2015.

  • "Canto Mundo Fellows and Faculty Share their Stories of Teaching Latina/o Poetry." Associated Writing Programs (AWP) National Conference, February 28, 2014.

  • "Ekphrasis in Contemporary Poetry," a panel presentation at the Library of Congress, Friday, February 14, 2014.

  • “Will Write for Food: Writers Working Outside Academia,” with Chloe Miller, Alison Hicks and Patricia Lewis. Panelists discussed writing lives outside academia, including entrepreneurial ventures in online teaching and mentoring, editing and coaching services, workshops and retreats, and community engagement projects. Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, February 29-March 3, 2012.

  • “Poetry and (In)Formal Poetics”—a reading, panel presentation, and discussion. Texas Institute for Literary and Textual Studies (TILTS) Spring Symposium. February 21-24, 2012

  • “LaChiPo and the New Latino Poetics/Politics” with John-Michael Rivera, Rodrigo Toscano, Valerie Martinez, Roberto Tejada, Danielle Cadena Deulen, Carmen Giménez Smith. Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, February 2-5, 2011.

  • “Translation/Trans-Latino: Writing Across the Borders” with Daniel Borzutzky, Mónica de la Torre, Kristin Dykstra, Valerie Martinez, Urayoán Noel, Lila Zemborain. Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, February 2-5, 2011.

  • “Artists, Organizers and Passionate People: Growing Public Programs and Long-Term Partnerships,” with Shelle Sanchez, Director of Education, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Carlos Contreras, Poet and Educator, Catalina Delgado-Trunk, Visual Artist and Education, Valerie Martínez. New Mexico Association of Museums Annual Conference, November 3-6, 2010, Las Vegas, New Mexico.

  • “When Your Story Becomes My Story: Image-Based Teaching and Learning,” a symposium as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Picturing America: The Human Connection program. September 2010, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

  • “Write the Relationship: How Can Poetic Friendships Enhance Our work?” Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference,April 2010, Denver, CO.

  • “Creative Voices: Writers as the Custodians of Memory.” National Hispanic Leadership Institute Conference, Albuquerque, Nov. 5, 2009.

  • “Sibling Rivalries: Spoken and Written Word Poetry and the Literary Tug-of-War.” A Panel Presentation, College of Santa Fe, February 2009 and Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, April 8, 2008, Albany, NY.

 

PROJECTS: ARTS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

 

  • Co-Director (with Jenice Gharib), Santa Fe Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, Truth (CHART) project - 12 month community engagement process laying the foundation for addressing historic and contemporary issues and making progress toward healing and reconciliation for the Santa Fe community.

  • Director of History and Literary Arts, National Hispanic Cultural Center (see above). Directing over 20 programs as well as exhibits, a library, archives, and special collections.

  • Program Manager (with project coordinator Jennifer Lucero), Youth Artist Team, in the International District of Albuquerque, New Mexico. coordinating art projects that produce works of public art and performance co-created by teens who live in the neighborhood and fellow  residents.  See www.artful-life.org. 2019-2020.

  • Program Manager, We Are the ID in the International District of Albuquerque, NM, an arts and community development project in the most ethnically diverse legislative district in New Mexico. Since 2011, projects have raised and invested over a half million dollars into the neighborhood through a range of arts engagement projects. 2011-2019. See www.artful-life.org.

  • Program Manager (with project coordinator Maria Bustamante), Youth Artist Team, in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. coordinating art projects that produce works of public art and performance co-created by teens who live in the neighborhood and fellow  residents..  See www.artful-life.org. 2019-2020.

  • Program Manager (with project director Michelle Otero), El Puente/Community Tables, in the South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This project creates artful public spaces that reflect and serve residents the South Valley of Albuquerque--building opportunities for viable food businesses to emerge and functioning as points of meaningful interaction, connection, and dialogue. 2015-2018.

  • Program Manager (with project director Monica Sanchez), El Puente/Barelas, in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. coordinating art projects that produce works of public art and performance co-created by residents and professional artists.  See www.artful-life.org. 2015-2019.

  • Program Director & Core Artist: EKCO Poets creating poetry-as-performance that responds to art and issues of urgency to women. Each year, 4-5 women poets come together to write, collaborate, and compose an original performance piece. Created by Valerie Martinez & Maureen Seaton in 2009, EKCO bridges poetry reading, spoken word performance, and community engagement. 2009-present. Visit www.artful-life.org for details.

  • Charter Member and previous Board President: TIASO Artist Cooperative. TIASO is a professional services collective serving full and part-time artists and writers who are committed to working in, with, and on behalf of community. The TIASO Co-op provides key support services to artist members. www.tiasocoop.com. 2012-2015 (Developing Committee), 2016-2018 (Board Director and Full Member). Present, Board of Directors.

  • Program Co-Director (with Shelle Sanchez and Julia Mandeville): Women & Creativity, an annual, month-long series that celebrates women’s creativity across the disciplines, featuring more than 70 collaborative performances/exhibitions, workshops, performances and creative events in the month of March. In 2015, to mark the 11th year of the project, we feature 11 curated collaborations dedicated to inventive, resourceful, inspiring programming that integrates myriad creative fields. Learn more: www.womenandcreativity.org. 2007-2018.

  • Program Co-Director (with Bobbe Besold and Dominique Mazeaud): Rivers Run Through Us. From May 16-21, 2012. Martinez, Besold and Mazeaud walked the l54-mile length of the Santa Fe River (from 11,000 to 6800 ft), launching a continuing eco-art project that generates works of art (along the river), promotes awareness, engages community, and illuminates our relationship with river systems, earth and water. Learn more: www.riversrunthroughus.net. 2012-2018.

  • Artistic Director. Lines & Circles—A Celebration of Santa Fe Families. This project brought together three and four generations of 11 Santa Fe families to compose/create a unique family “work” (story, short film, photograph, woodwork, quilt, sculpture, pottery, recording, etc.) accompanied by an original poem. The families worked together and with the Valerie as well as affiliate artists for 18 months. The finished pieces constituted an exhibit entitled, “Lines & Circles: A Celebration of Santa Fe Families,” premiering at the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission Gallery from January through March of 2010. The goal of the Lines and Circles project was to nurture and celebrate the Santa Fe community, create and strengthen bonds within and between families, and generate a body of art and poetry that commemorates family life. Sponsored by the City of Santa Fe, the Lannan Foundation, and Littleglobe.

  • Program Director: The Littleglobe Center for Creative Community Engagement. The CCCE, a precursor to the TIASO Artist Cooperative, was a training initiative that convened and trained a pool of skilled artists and cultural practitioners to undertake significant and meaningful community engagement projects both in the southwest and beyond. 2009-2012.

  • Program Director/Artist: Artist-to-Artist and Open Books: two projects with youth ages 16-21 in foster care or Independent Living Programs with the NM Department of Children, Youth and Families (CYFD). In 2010 (“Open Books”) Valerie and artist Maureen Burdock helped youth create personal journals/sketchbooks via creative workshops, culminating in a book, Ask Me Who I Am: Writing and Art by New Mexico CYFD Youth (published December 2010). In 2011 (“Artist-to-Artist”), youth were paired with a professional artist or writer as apprentices for ten months, working toward a portfolio of art or chapbook of writing and public presentation of their work. 2010-2012.

 

SPECIAL PROJECTS (Selected)

​

  • Collaborative Poet: Project Interchange,  a live dialogue between poets in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, contemplating connection, community, and the differences and similarities between our two cities. The conversation is projected live on large-scale, outdoor walls simultaneously in both cities. A collaboration between @orphansigns and @axlecontemporary. Albuquerque poets: Valerie Martinez, Amaris Ketcham, Mallika Singh, and Jaye Elizabeth Elijah. Santa Fe poets: Darryl Lorenzo Wellington, Loretta Trujillo, Arte Romero y Carver. Friday, June 16, 2023, 9 pm, Harwood Art Center (ABQ) or the Fairgrounds (Santa Fe).

  • Collaborative Artist: Exquisite Corpse 2017, a one-of-a-kind blind collaboration “played” by a group of invited artists and poets (including Valerie Martinez) who produce mixed-media works and collaborative poems. In 2017 there were 51 participating artists including sculptors, painters, photographers and poets. On November 2, 2017 seventeen masterpieces (produced by three artists/poets each) premiered at the St. Petersburg, Florida Museum of Art. The exhibition travels through spring 2018.

  • Collaborative Artist: Polyphony: Women's Voices. Vocals and Poetry, December 12, 2015 (San Miguel Mission, Santa Fe) and December 13, 2015 (St. John's Cathedral, Albuquerque).

  • Collaborative Artist: The Whistling Project, with Susan Silton and the Crowing Hens. A chapbook, "A Hundred Little Mouths," was commissioned by Silton for the Hens performance at SITE Santa Fe 20th Anniversary, with reading. November 7, 2015.

  • Collaborative Artist. Lifesongs, a project which pairs people in nursing homes and hospice care with writers and composers. Together, the team of three create original pieces of music that are presented in concert with Young Voices of The Santa Fe Opera; Dolce Suono of the University of New Mexico; Your Song, a threshold choir; and musicians and vocalists. 2011-2012.

  • Collaborative Artist. SALVE: Women on War and Warriorship, a composed and improvisational music and spoken word performance piece, based on interviews with women veterans, that investigated women’s personal insights into the experience of war and warriorship 2009 - 2010.

  • Collaborative Artist. Common Ground TOC (Torreon, Ojo Encino, Cuba New Mexico), a 6 month arts engagement project with 80 intergenerational residents (ages 5-80) resulting in a multi-media performance. 2007-2008.

  • Collaborative Artist. Memorylines Santa Fe: Voces de Nuestras Jornadas, a new opera performance commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera as part of its 25th anniversary celebration in 2007. Created through intensive ensemble work by a diverse artist team and Santa Fe community residents.

  • Collaborative Artist. Poems and Pics: a traveling exhibit and anthology organized by the Institute of Latino Studies and granted a 2005 NEA project grant. The exhibit features the work of 10 Latino/a poets alongside the work of 10 Latino/a artists, culminating in the publication of an anthology. Valerie Martínez’s poem, “Invocation,” was paired with a painting by Kathy Vargas. The exhibit traveled to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Albuquerque (the National Hispanic Center) and other cities.

  • Librettist: Where the Sun Meets the Sky Meets the Mountains, an interactive, inter-media opera-in-motion that was performed on a Santa Fe Trails city bus. September 2011.

  • Lyricist: At the Statue of Venus, featuring music by Jake Heggie and Glen Roven. Poem, “Bowl” (by Valerie Martínez) is part of Roven’s cycle: “Santa Fe Songs” sung by soprano Talise Trevigne, GPR Records, 2012.

  • Collaborative Artist: Synergy: La Onda de la Palabra/The Wave of the Word. With artists Cynthia Cook and Catalina Delgado-Trunk in collaboration with client-artists of Artstreet (a program of the City of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless)—poetry, mixed-media art, papel picado and spoken word performances. Collaboration began in October of 2010 and continued through 2012 when a book about the project was published. Exhibitions of art and poetry: April 1, Harwood Art Center and May 13, 2011, National Hispanic Cultural Center. Spoken word performances by Valerie and Artstreet poets on both April 1 and May 13 on the streets of Albuquerque.

  • Lyricist. 400th Symphony, celebrating the 400th year commemoration of the city of Santa Fe. Composer: Brent Michael Davids. 3rd movement text: Valerie Martínez, from her long poem, “And They Called It Horizon” (Palace Press and Sunstone Press 2010). World Premiere, October 10, 2010, Santa Fe. New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

  • Lyricist. New Mexico Fragments. Composer: Stephen Bachicha. Text “New Mexico Fragments” by Valerie Martínez. World Premiere, September 28, 2010, Santa Fe (Santa Fe Concert Association). Singer: soprano Susanne Mentzer.

  • Coordinator: The First, Second and Third Annual Ursinus “Poem-Palooza,” fall 2000, 2002, and 2002, featuring readings by Ursinus student-poets, audio and visual poetry, performance poetry, a student poetry slam and the Dead Poets (Faculty) Slam. Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA.

  • Installation Artist: “if we lift the veil and what will we see and then will the mourning…:” a poetry and art installation for quiet contemplation, in response to September 11, 2001. On display September 9-September 13, 2002, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA.

 

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY TEACHING

 

University of Miami (2012-2013)

Graduate

Forms: Poetry as a Form of Community

Advanced Poetry Workshop

Undergraduate

Intermediate Poetry Workshop

Advanced Poetry Workshop

 

The University of New Mexico (2007, 2010, 2012)

Intermediate Poetry Workshop

Advanced Poetry Workshop

Sharing the Same Space: An Arts-Based Approach to Racial Healing

 

The College of Santa Fe (2003-2009)

Introduction to Creative Writing

Intermediate Poetry Workshop

Intermediate Creative Nonfiction Workshop

Advanced Creative Nonfiction Workshop

Southwest: Matter, Memory, Imagination (interdisciplinary)

Freshman Interdisciplinary MAP Core Classes (team taught):

The American Southwest: (Humanities, Science, Freshman Composition)

Beauty (Humanities, Art, Freshman Composition)

Living History Internship

Masterpieces of American Literature

Nineteenth Century American Literature

Sr. Level Seminar: Emily Dickinson & Melville’s Moby Dick

 

Institute for American Indian Arts (2010)

Creative Nonfiction

 

Ursinus College (2000-2003)

Poetry Writing I

Poetry Writing II

Advanced Creative Writing

Twentieth Century Poetry & Poetics

Global, Postmodern Poetry

Honors Projects in Poetry

Women’s Literature

Creative Nonfiction

Advanced Expository Writing

Freshman Composition

Native American Women’s Literature

 

New Mexico Highlands University (1996-2000)

Graduate

Creative Writing: Advanced Poetry I

Creative Writing: Advanced Poetry II

Major American Poets

Methods of Tutoring & Teaching Writing

 

Undergraduate

Creative Writing: Poetry I

Creative Writing: Poetry II

Introduction to Poetry

Native American Women’s Literature

Contemporary Latino Literature

Freshman Composition

Basic Reading & Writing

 

University of Arizona (1987-1993)

Introduction to Poetry

Freshman Composition I

Technical Writing

Freshman Composition II

Honors Composition Developmental Reading & Writing

 

 

WORKSHOPS (SELECTED)

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  • “Generative Craft Intensive: The Book-Length Poem”  Valerie's most recent books of poetry have been book-length projects – one about femicide (Each and Her) and the other about climate change/disruption (Count). During this intensive, poets will consider and explore a book-length poetry project by engaging in brainstorming for potential topics, a mapping exercise (writing, drawing), reading from book-length works, and bursts of free writing. The intensive will also address the particular challenges of writing a book-length poem and its particular pleasures, including research, sustaining a large project, composition/ arrangement, and revision. July 7, 2023. Taos Writers Conference.

  • "Querencia," 8 week writing workshop for adults around the idea of home, place, space and belonging. December 2020-January 2021 with a culminating reading, Gutierrez Hubbell House, February, 2021.

  • "Creative Age: Memoir Writing," an 8 week workshop for 55+ adults utilizing photos, objects, ephemera, documents and other works from the Palace of the Governors exhibit as inspiration for writing.  Albuquerque Museum. August-September, 2019.

  • Master Class in Poetry, a week-long advanced poetry master class. UNM Summer Writers Conference in Santa Fe, July 24-31, 2016.

  • “Embracing the Strange,” a week-long beginning/intermediate poetry workshop. Taos Summer Writers Conference, July 2015.

  • “Pintura: Palabra--An Ekphrastic Poetry Workshop for Advanced Latino/a Poets,” with Brenda Cardenas. In conjunction with the Smithsonian's "Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art" Exhibition. Washington, DC, February 15-16, 2014. Sponsored by the Institute for Latino Studies and the Smithsonian.

  • “Dip, Rise, Dive, a workshop for Active Minds” and members of the NAMI student organization, Florida International University and University of Miami, March & April, 2013.

  • “Why Write?” a mini-retreat for writers at the end of 2012 Taos Summer Writers Conference, July 20-21, 2012. Taos, NM.

  • “Write a Memoir in Poetry or Prose,” a five-week memoir workshop for poets and writers. Albuquerque, New Mexico. March 7-April 4, 2012.

  • “Turning the House Upside Down: The Art of Revision,” a two-day workshop where poets practice creative approaches to revision, taking incipient poems and moving them toward final versions. Poets are challenged to undertake “unusual acts of revision” that will enable them to imagine, see, and hear their poems in new ways. Taos Summer Writers Conference, 2010.

  • “The Letter: The Visual Poetics of Written Correspondence,” a letter-writing experience with visual artist Gary Meyers in response to “Beyond Our Shores” (paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe) and the world premiere of the new opera, “The Letter” (Paul Morevic). July 23, 2009. Sponsors: The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the Santa Fe Opera.

  • “On the Brink: Writing the Unpredictable Poem” at the National Latino Writers Conference, May 21, 2009.

  • “Snapshots: The Art of Identity and Writing the Self,” National Latino Writers Conference, May 22, 2009 and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, November 18, 2008.

  • “The Centrifugal Poem,” a week-long workshop designed for intermediate and advanced poets who wanted to significantly revise their poems. Taos Summer Writer’s Conference, July 14-18, 2008

  • “Metamorphosis: Bookmaking and Poetry,” an afternoon workshop for teens. Southside Public Library, Santa Fe, June 9, 2008.

  • “Creative Openings,” a three-day writing workshop for New Mexico teens and young adults, as part of the Voces program (for New Mexico high school students), sponsored by the National Hispanic Cultural Center. June 27, 28, 29, 2006, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

  • “Taking the Stage,” a workshop for women wanting to translate their poetry and prose into plays. With Elsa Menendez and Monica Sanchez. Women and Creativity, March 2006, Albuquerque.

  • “How to Teach a Poem (and Urge Your Students to Fall in Love with Poetry),” an in-service training for Santa Fe High and Capital High English teachers. October 11, 2004, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

  • “Writing Your Family, Writing Yourself,” a four-week community writing course for Santa Fe adult learners. March and April, 2004.

  • “Alter-Egos: The Poetry of Strange Beings and Strange Things,” a personae poem workshop for high school poets. New Mexico 2004 Poetry Jam—a poetry conference for New Mexico high school poets and their teachers.

  • “Keeping a Journal: The Art of Inspiration and Self-Reflection,” a workshop which examined excerpts from journals by well-known artists, writers, and travelers and introduces creative strategies for starting and keeping a personal journal. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council as part of the Commonwealth Speakers Program. Schoolhouse Senior Center, Folsom, PA, October 23, 2002.

  • “Clearing the Spring, Tending the Fountain,” six, weekly poetry workshops for New Jersey teachers, sponsored by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Haddonfield Memorial High School, March 2001; Appel Arts Center, March 2002; Lenape High School, March 2003.

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