Christopher Martinez – Curriculum Vitae
c.l.martinez83@gmail.com
Education
University of Texas at San Antonio- June 2010
BA in English
Philosophy Minor
Our Lady of the Lake University- San Antonio, TX, 2015-2018
MA/MFA Creative Writing, Literature and Social Justice
Teaching Experience
Palo Alto College (Alamo Colleges; San Antonio, TX) – Instructor of English. Fall 2019 - Present. Teaching an undergraduate (ENGL 1301 and 1302) composition courses, lessons included: online discussion topics, weekly journaling, four major writing assignments, a final portfolio, and oral presentations
The University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, TX) – Adjunct Instructor of English. Spring 2019. Teaching undergraduate (ENGL 1311 & 1312) composition courses, lessons included: online discussion topics, weekly journaling, four major writing assignments, a final portfolio, and oral presentations.
St Philip’s College (Alamo Colleges; San Antonio, TX) – Adjunct Instructor of English. Spring - Summer 2019. Teaching an undergraduate (ENGL 1301) composition course, lessons included: online discussion topics, weekly journaling, four major writing assignments, a final portfolio, and oral presentations.
Our Lady of the Lake University (San Antonio, TX) – Adjunct Instructor of English. Fall 2017 - Spring 2019. Teaching two undergraduate (ENGL 1313 & 1314) composition courses per semester, plus two composition lab courses. Lessons included: online discussion topics, weekly journaling, four major writing assignments, a final portfolio, and oral presentations.
Writers in the Community. July-August 2016. This summer workshop series was sponsored by Gemini Ink and developed for children grades 3-5 at Ella Austin Community Center to introduce, develop, and foster an appreciation for literary art forms such as poetry and creative nonfiction writing. The series concluded with the children performing their works at St. Phillips University.
The Spilled Ink Project: Performance & Writing Workshop. An all ages poetry workshop hosted alongside Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson centered on the creative writing and performance process. April 2016.
Lanier High School Residency, 2015-2017. Host weekly poetry workshop sessions with creative writing students, organizer of youth lead poetry events, and constructing creative writing projects for students.
The Blah Poetry Spot- Workshop Facilitator 2012-present. creating writing prompts, leading poetry workshops, finding and facilitating spaces to host poetry workshops for youth and adults.
Fresh Ink Youth Slam-Youth Slam Team Coach, Summer 2015 & Summer 2016; Coaching, mentoring, workshopping, and accompanying the 2015 Fresh Ink Youth Slam team that competed at Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival in Atlanta, GA and Washington D.C.
Haven for Hope Homeless Shelter- Workshop Facilitator, 2013; Hosted weekly writing workshops with the residents of Haven for Hope.
Conferences, Speeches, & Panels:
Presentations and Conferences
“Colloquium.” Lee College English Division, Aug. 2023.
“Spotlight San Antonio and South Texas: ‘Puro San Antonio.’” Association of Writers and Writing Programs. Performer and Presenter, San Antonio, TX. March 5, 2020.
“From Page to Stage” People’s Poetry Festival. Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX. Feb 28, 2020.
“VersoFontera 2020'' Our Lady of the Lake Rio Grande Valley, La Feria, TX. Feb 22, 2020.
“English MA-MFA Program. OLLU Strategic Planning Day: Graduate Student Life Assessment Breakout Session.” Our Lady of the Lake University. Graduate Student Representative, San Antonio, TX. 29 Sept 2017.
“Fresh Ink Youth Slam presents Poetry Slam 101.” San Antonio Book Festival. Moderator, April 8, 2017.
"Real Talk, Real Action: Road Maps to Authentic Cultural Diversity.” Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference. Panelist, Washington, D.C. February 2017.
“The Importance of Social Justice in Higher Ed: Our Lady of the Lake Social Justice Program.” Gemini Ink Mini-Conference. Panelist, San Antonio, TX, 2015.
Creative Writing Conferences & Presentations
“Bx3 Poetry Reading.” Palo Alto College, San Antonio, TX. April 2025.
“Living Writers Series”. MiraVista College, Oceanside, CA. 2022.
“Time to Think in the Facebook Era” Gemini Ink Writers’ Conference: Writing in the New Century. Panelist, San Antonio, TX. July 2018.
“SLAM” Gemini Ink Writers’ Conference: Writing in the New Century. Panelist, San Antonio, TX. July 2018.
“Spoken Word: Say It Like It Is.” Gemini Ink Writers’ Conference. Panelist, San Antonio, TX. April 2017.
“Narratives of Change: From the Classroom to the Community.” Gemini Ink Writers’ Conference. Panelist. San Antonio, TX. April 2017.
“A South Texas, Chicano, Slam, Street, Urban, and however else They Decide to Label Me as: Poet.” Intersections: Identity and Ideology. Panelist, Texas A&M-SA. San Antonio, TX. February 2017.
“Diaries of a City Poet: Urban Writer Tell All.” Gemini Ink Writers Conference. Panelist, San Antonio, TX, 2016.
“Write, Share, and Be Heard.” TEDxYouth San Antonio. San Antonio, TX, 2015.
“The Future is Scary and Beautiful.” Lanier High School Senior Address. Speaker, San Antonio, TX, 2015.
Community Involvement & Public Engagement
San Antonio Individual Artist Grantee. October 2024 to March 2027. Awarded.
Awarded the grant to produce a literary and performance project to be shared with the greater San Antonio community.
San Antonio Individual Artist Grantee. October 2021 to March 2023. Awarded.
Awarded the grant to produce a literary and performance project to be shared with the greater San Antonio community.
The Echo Project: Connecting Community Across Generations, January 2021
Curriculum Building with San Antonio Poet Laureate, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson and in part due to a grant from the Academy of American Poets.
The River City Rumble Poetry Slam. April 2022 - Present. Event Director.
Oversaw and lead the marketing, volunteer coordination, and tournament scheduling for the River City Rumble Poetry Slam, a poetry competition featuring poets from across Texas.
The Mixtape Literary Journal. Fall 2021 to Fall 2022. Co-Editor in Chief.
Acting co-editor in chief of an online literary journal which accepts and publishes literary work for the public for free.
Southern Fried Poetry Festival. June 2015-June 2018. Event Director.
Strategizing the marketing, volunteer coordination, business and nonprofit partnering, and event scheduling for Southern Fried Poetry Festival (June 12-17, 2018), the third largest poetry slam in the nation.
Common Currents: 300 Years, 300 Artists. Jan 18, 2018. Performer.
To celebrate the city’s Tercentennial, Common Currents commissioned local artists and poets to perform work centering on a specific year of the city’s history.
The Blah Poetry Spot- Workshop Facilitator. 2012-present. Creating writing prompts, leading poetry workshops, finding and facilitating spaces to host poetry workshops for youth and adults.
Ramas y Raices: Teach Us Something New. March-Sept 2017. Organizer and Editor.
In collaboration with the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and Lanier High School, youth writers met with elder citizens of San Antonio’s Westside to conduct interviews and write poems about their discoveries. The project ended in the publication of a book of the student’s work and a release party at the Mujer Arts Cooperative of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center.
Bards and Brew II. Jan 29, 2016. Performer.
Hosted by San Antonio’s 2014 -2016 Poet Laureate, Laurie Ann Guerrero, at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts, the event showcased selected poets, musicians, and local brewers. Additional readers included: Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, Laura Van Prooyen, and Sheila Black.
Writers in the Community. 2016-present. Workshop series sponsored by Gemini Ink for children grades 3-5 at multiple local learning institutions such as Ella Austin Community Center. These workshops introduce, develop, and foster an appreciation for literary art forms such as poetry and creative nonfiction writing. The series concludes with the children performing their works such as St. Phillips University.
The Spilled Ink Project: Performance & Writing Workshop. April 2016. An all ages poetry workshop hosted alongside Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson centered on the creative writing and performance process. http://geminiink.org/conference-youth-workshop/
Lanier High School Residency, 2015-2017. Host weekly poetry workshop sessions with creative writing students, organizer of youth lead poetry events, and constructing creative writing projects for students.
Fresh Ink Youth Slam-Youth Slam Team Coach. 2015-2016. Coaching, mentoring, workshopping, and accompanying the 2015 Fresh Ink Youth Slam team that competed at Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival in Atlanta, GA and Washington D.C.
Haven for Hope Homeless Shelter- Workshop Facilitator. 2013. Hosted weekly writing workshops with the residents of Haven for Hope.
Publications
Book Publications (includes forthcoming)
Poem Publications
“(Re)defining Literacy” in Our Word is Our Vote: Texas Poets, Alabrava Press, 2025.
“Ranfla Starship” & "In 2020, it’s like the whole barrio learned what the word “essential” is." in Huizache Magazine, twelfth issue, fall 2025.
“Tribe” & “In a Texas losing its library tongue” in Anger is a Gift: Poetry Anthology of Resistance and Response Poems to the 2024 Election, Flowersong Press, 2025.
“Travel Essentials”, “Camote”, “Will the birds recall our ballads?”, “By their own god, they are monsters”, & “Loconuts II”, CTN: The Journal of Ideas and Creativity, Catch the Next Inc., ISBN:979-8-89589-606-8, Fall 2024
“Southern Nights” & “To this day, we still refer to the empty bottles and beer cans as bodies”, The Cost of Our Baggage, A Gnashing Teeth Publishing Anthology, 2024.
“& if not tomorrow”, “Lunar Half-Way Port 78237”, and “Nepantla, USA Circa 3030”, Até Mais/Until More: An Anthology of Latinx Futurism, Deep Vellum, Fall 2024.
“The last time I saw you”, The Acentos Review, Oct 2023
“Black Fur” & “Recetas”, Voices de la Luna, Feb 2023
Wasim Akram & Allen Iverson on the Blacktop” & “Kool Kool Guy”,
Huizache Magazine, 10th issue, Fall 2022 (“Kool Kool Guy” a 2023 Pushcart Nominee)
“Somos Cosmicanos”, KENS5 Hispanic Heritage 2021, KENS5, September 2021.
“Poem 4.” RiverSedge Journal, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Summer 2021.
“The Gospel According to Healthy Coping Mechanisms.” RiverSedge Journal, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Summer 2021.
“I use chopsticks very well.” The Acentos Review. Summer 2019
“The Rights of Home.” The Acentos Review. Summer 2019
“Ten-Years-Young (1728).” The Acentos Review. Summer 2019.
“Running Joke.” Fifthwednesday Journal. Fall 2018.
“Gentrify This.” Fifthwednesday Journal. Fall 2018.
“On the night my white friend got arrested.” Scalawag Magazine. 2018.
“Mumble Broken Ghost.” Litter: a twitterary magazine. Oct. 2017.
“Circuits.” Sagebrush Review. Vol: XII, May 2017.
“At the Thought of Prayer.” Sagebrush Review. Vol: IX, 2016
“Footballtown, USA.” Sagebrush Review. Vol: IX, 2016
“Thawing Spirits.” Sagebrush Review. Vol: IX, 2016
“Abrasive Be.” Pilgrimage Press. 2016
“Arañas.” The Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Issue 2. 2016
Theater Play:
American Pride, Overtime Theater, (writing credit; 2016). Winner of Alamo Theater Arts Council Globe Award - American Pride, original script of a play and Overall Production, 2016.
Anthologies:
Contra:Texas Poets Speak Out (Flowersong Press, 2020)
Administrative Experience
Write Art Out Inc., Co-Founder and Executive Director (2017 - Present).
The Blah Blah Blah Poetry Spot, Co-Founder and Curator (2012-present).
Fresh Ink Youth Slam, Assistant Director. (2014-Present).
The Thing Itself Literary Journal, Poetry Editor. Spring 2016 issue.
Honors and Awards
Residency
Lanier High School, 2015-2017
Awards
Bx3 Poetry Slam -SFPT Team Member 2025 (Finals MVP)
NACCS Tejas Poetry Book Award 2024
Bx3 Poetry Slam -SFPT Team Member 2024
San Antonio Individual Artist Grant – October 2021
PuroSlam Poetry – Team Member 2020 (1st runner up)
National Poetry Slam Group Piece Finals, 2017, 3rd place.
PuroSlam Poetry – Team Member 2017 (2nd runner up) 3rd
Alamo Theater Arts Council Globe Award - American Pride, original script of a play, 2016
Alamo Theater Arts Council Globe Award - American Pride, overall production, 2016
Southwest Shootout Poetry Festival. Puro Slam Poetry, 3rd Place finish, 2016.
PuroSlam Poetry - Southern Fried Team Member 2016
The Blah Poetry Spot -SFPF Team Member 2015
The Blah Poetry Spot -SWSO Team Member 2014
PuroSlam Poetry - Finalist 2015
PuroSlam Poetry - Grand Slam Champion 2014.
PuroSlam Poetry -Finalist 2013
PuroSlam Poetry -Team Member 2012 (1st runner up)
PuroSlam Poetry -Team Member 2011 (1st runner up)
Major Featured Readings
Universities/Schools
MiraCosta College (Oceanside, CA); Cal State Dominguez Hills (Los Angeles, CA); Texas A&M CC (Corpus Christi, TX); The University of Texas at San Antonio (SATX); Schreiner University (Kerrville, TX) University of Incarnate Word (SATX); Our Lady of the Lake University (SATX); Brennan High School (SATX); Lanier High School (SATX; Ellison High School (Killeen, TX); Irving Middle School (SATX); Navarro Academy (SATX); Lytle High School (Lytle, TX); South San Antonio High School (SATX); Texas A&M (Bryan/College Station)
Literary/Performance Venues/ Miscellaneous
Haven for Hope Homeless Shelter (SATX); Fresh Ink Youth Slam (SATX); Good Samaritan Community Center (SATX); Austin Poetry Slam (Austin, TX); Balabajoomba Poetry Slam (Corpus Christi, TX); Border Slam (Laredo, TX); Soul Sessions S.A. (SATX); Poetic Seduction (SATX); Houston VIP Slam (Houston, TX); Neo Soul (Austin, TX); Rip the Mic Poetry Slam (San Marcos, TX); Write About Now (Houston, TX); Mic Check Poetry (Bryan, TX); Puro Slam (SATX); Kick Butt Coffee Open Mic (Austin, TX); Soul Sessions (Abu Dhabi, UAE), Open Mic Hooka Spot (Abu Dhabi, UAE); 2nd Verse (SATX); Opened for R&B recording artist Dwele (2014); the Love Jones Experience (SATX, 2016).
Festivals
The National Poetry Slam (Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Oakland, CA; Denver, CO) Una Noche de La Gloria Art Festival (SATX; 2013,2014); Lenguas Libres (Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; SATX, 2011); Sneakerpalooza (Wittie Museum, SATX, 2013); Spitfest (Austin, TX); Southwest Shootout Poetry Slam (Houston, TX; Denver, CO);Southern Fried Poetry Festival (Greensboro, NC; Little Rock, AK; Fayetteville, NC); Gemini Ink Writer’s Conference: The State of the Book (San Antonio, TX. 2016, 2017, 2018), Great Book Series: Voices on Violence (San Antonio, TX. 2016), Teen Art Fest at the San Antonio Public Library (SATX, 2016).