raquel gutiérrez
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Raquel Gutiérrez is a critic, essayist, poet, performer, and educator. Gutiérrez's first book Brown Neon (Coffee House Press) was named as one of the best books of 2022 by The New Yorker and listed in The Best Art Books of 2022 by Hyperallergic. Brown Neon was a 2023 Finalist for the Lambda Literary Prize for Best Lesbian Biography/Memoir, a 2023 Finalist for the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses' Firework Award in Creative Nonfiction and Recipient of The Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. They are a 2025 recipient of the United States Artist Fellowship and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Fellowship in Poetry. Their first poetry collection, “Southwest Reconstruction,” is out late Fall 2025 on Noemi Press. Gutiérrez has lived on unceded lands of the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui people since 2016.
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photo credit: L.F. Guizar