Book published by Ashland Poetry Press receives top honor

ASHLAND, Ohio – A book published in English and Spanish by the Ashland Poetry Press, “The New York City Subway Poems/Poemas del metro de Nueva York,” was the recipient of a significant honor recently during the 23rd annual International Latino Book Awards – the major book awards in the U.S. exclusively for Latino and Hispanic writing.

“The New York City Subway Poems,” authored by Carlos Aguasaco, won the gold medal in the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award – One Author – Bilingual category. Aguasaco is one of the central figures of the new Hispanic-American poetry in the U.S. and he serves as an associate professor of Latin American Cultural Studies at the City College of New York.

“This is a distinction that fills my heart with pride. Thank you to my editors and to the readers,” said Aguasaco during a virtual ceremony.

Edited by Jennifer Rathbun, a former professor of foreign languages at Ashland University and associate editor of the Ashland Poetry Press, “The New York City Subway Poems” was published in 2020 and received high praise from experts.

“Carlos Aguasaco’s poetry collection renders a voice to the next immigrants’ wave, the last nomads of our world, those that daily ride the subway and continuously reshape the metropolis. In this bilingual collection, the poet emphasizes the migrant experience and daringly reveals a lyrical itinerary through the city of New York,” remarked Juan Armando Rojas Joo, who was the inaugural chief diversity officer at Ohio Wesleyan University.

The Ashland Poetry Press, founded in 1969 by Robert McGovern and Richard Snyder who were professors in the department of English at Ashland University, publishes and promotes the best poetry submitted from new and established authors writing in English as well as translations of Spanish poetry into English. It has published more than 100 volumes of poetry and books about poetry.

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.