Graduate Center Commencement 2018
https://cuny.is/luisalejandroguzman
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Luis Guzmán Valerio

(él, he, er, il, ele, lui)

Doctoral Lecturer

I was born in Santiago de los Caballeros and have lived in New York, Key West, Santo Domingo, and San Juan. After I finished my doctorate, I decided to turn my intellectual endeavors towards literary translation and creative writing. Making Latin American literature available in English to a wider reading public is my passion. I enjoy collaborating with multilingual publishing venues such Latin American Literature Today, for which I am a volunteer translator; and Centro: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, which I help copy edit. My creative writing has appeared in Latino Book Review Magazine and Chicú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures.

Contact

[email protected]

Education

  • PhD in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2018
  • MPhil in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Languages and Literatures, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2015
  • MA in Translation, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, 2007
  • Certificate in Hispanic Literatures and Linguistics, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, 2004
  • BA in Modern Languages, Magna Cum Laude, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, 2001

    • Positions

    Doctoral Lecturer and Modern Languages Coordinator, Education and Language Acquisition Department, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY

    Academic Interests

    Literary Translation, Latin American Literature, and Creative Writing

    Publications

    Literary Translations

  • Adame, Ángel Gilberto. 2021. “Two Visits to Oklahoma.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1 No. 17, February 2021. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2021/02/two-visits-oklahoma-angel-gilberto-adame/.
  • Alcántara Almánzar, José. 2019. “Enigma.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, vol. 34, no. 1, 2019, pp. 4-9. https://journals.upress.ufl.edu/delos/issue/view/263.
  • —. 2022. “Life is Still the Same.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Issue 23, September 2022. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2022/09/seeking-publisher-from-life-is-still-the-same-by-jose-alcantara-almanzar/.
  • —. 2019. “Like a Night with Legs Wide Open.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Translators’ Corner. Observatory of the Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures in the United States. Cervantes Institute and Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University. https://cervantesobservatorio.fas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/002_rincon_traductores_alcantaraalmanzar-guzmanvalerio_0.pdf.
  • —. 2021. “Rivals.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Alchemy: A Journal of Translation, Summer 2021. https://quote.ucsd.edu/alchemy/rivals/.
  • —. 2007–2008. “Seaward Bound.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Sargasso: A Journal of Caribbean Literature, Language & Culture, vol. 2, 2007–2008, pp. 17-22. https://dloc.com/es/UF00096005/00033/images/28.
  • —. 2019. “The Queen and her Secret.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. BODY Literature, May 29, 2019, https://bodyliterature.com/2019/05/29/jose-alcantara-almanzar/.
  • —. 2019. “The Test.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, vol. 34, no. 2, 2019. https://journals.upress.ufl.edu/delos/issue/view/273.
  • Barrero Fajardo, Mario. 2023. “The Pillars of Álvaro Mutis’s Literary Universe.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1 No. 28, December 2023. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2023/12/the-pillars-of-alvaro-mutiss-literary-universe/.
  • —. 2021. “Álvaro Mutis, Reader.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1 No. 19, August 2021. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2021/08/alvaro-mutis-reader-mario-barrero-fajardo/.
  • Cerceau, Guillermo. 2022. “Héctor Murena: Between the Superficial and the Unfathomable.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1 No. 22, June 2022. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2022/06/hector-murena-between-the-superficial-and-the-unfathomable/.
  • Díaz Oliva, Antonio. 2022. “Rafael Gumucio: ‘With the Death of Nicanor Parra, the Happy Phase of Chilean Postmodernity is Over.’” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Issue 23, September 2022. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2022/09/rafael-gumucio-with-the-death-of-nicanor-parra-the-happy-phase-of-chilean-postmodernity-is-over-by-antonio-diaz-oliva/.
  • Fólica, Laura. 2024. “Spanish as a Language of Translation: Varieties in Conflict on the Current Editorial Market.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Issue 29, March 2024, https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/03/spanish-as-a-language-of-translation-varieties-in-conflict-on-the-current-editorial-market/.
  • Goldemberg, Isaac. 2018. “Holy Week Mass.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. FIVE:2:ONE #thesideshow Flash Fiction, November 2018.
  • Gomes, Miguel. 2024. “Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez: Challenges of the Market and Emotional Transparency.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Issue 32, December 2024. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/12/juan-carlos-mendez-guedez-challenges-of-the-market-and-emotional-transparency/.
  • Hanán Díaz, Fanuel. 2023. “Publishing Books for Children: A Specific Context.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1, No. 25, March 2023. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2023/03/publishing-books-for-children-a-specific-context/.
  • Hoyos Guzmán, Angélica. 2023. “Ritual in Body and Word: Poetry Written by Afro-Colombian Women.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1, No. 27, September 2023. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2023/09/ritual-in-body-and-word-poetry-written-by-afro-colombian-women/.
  • Inzillo, Humphrey. 2024. “Obsession and the Perfect Mystery: The Last Night of Patricio Rey.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, September 2024. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/09/obsession-and-the-perfect-mystery-the-last-night-of-patricio-rey/.
  • Land, Vera. 2024. “Intro: Three Writers, Three Rock Bands.” 2024. Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, September 2024. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/09/three-writers-three-rock-bands/.
  • —. 2024. “Enchanting, Irreconcilable, Golden Days: Los Tres, the Last Song”. Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, September 2024. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/09/enchanting-irreconcilable-golden-days-los-tres-the-last-song/.
  • Lezcano, Walter. 2024. “Good Thing It’s Never the End: The Beauty of the Noise, a Take on Suárez and Rosario Bléfari’s Trip.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, September 2024. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/09/good-thing-its-never-the-end-the-beauty-of-noise-a-take-on-suarez-and-rosario-blefaris-trip/.
  • Montjoy Forti, Paul. 2024. “Laughing Allowed.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Issue 30, June 2024. https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/06/laughing-allowed/.
  • Serna, Enrique. 2021. “Clear Drunkenness.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1 No. 20, November 2021. http://www.latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/en/2021/november/clear-drunkenness-enrique-serna.
  • Villarruel, Antonio. 2020. “Criticism and Policing: Contemporary Literary Thought in the Andean Region.” Translated by Luis Guzmán Valerio. Latin American Literature Today, Volume 1 No. 16, November 2020. http://www.latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/en/2020/november/criticism-and-policing-contemporary-literary-thought-andean-region-antonio-villarruel.

    • Creative Writing

  • 2023. “Books, a Love of Languages, and School.”In Una Visa por Tus Sueños: Finessing the Dominican Dream, edited by Yamberlie Tavarez, Dominican Writers Association Press. https://www.dominicanwriters.com/post/books-a-love-of-languages-and-school.
  • 2024. “I Usted to Be Latin, but Not Anymore.” In Pájaros, lesbianas y queers ¡a volar! An LGBTQ+ Anthology of Dominican Transnational Writers, edited by Yoseli Castillo Fuertes and Alicia Anabel Santos Díaz, Dominican Writers Association Press.
  • 2018. “In Washington Heights.” Chiricú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures, vol.3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 206-215. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/chiricu.3.issue-1.
  • 2024. “Mr. Greenberg.” Latino Book Review Magazine, 2024. https://www.latinobookreview.com/2024-magazine-selected-works–latino-book-review.html.

    • Reviews

  • 2025. “Edel Rodríguez — Freedom is a Verb.” Review of Worm: My Family’s Cuban American Odyssey by Edel Rodríguez and Freedom is a Verb directed by Mecky Creus and Adrienne Hall, Key West Literary Seminar, January 10th, 2025. Littoral. https://www.kwls.org/event-coverage/edel-rodriguez-freedom-is-a-verb/.
  • 2019. Review of An American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States, by Rosina Lozano. Spanish in Context, vol.16, no. 2, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1075/sic.00040.guz.
  • 2025. Review of Traveling Freely: Essays, by Roberto Carlos García. World Literature Today, forthcoming in May, 2025.

    • Scholarship

  • 2019. “Community Organizing in Sunset Park on the Eve of the 2016 Election.” Latino Studies, vol. 17, no. 3, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-019-00187-x.
  • 2018. “Perspectives from the Streets and the Classrooms in the Same ‘Hood: Linguistic Landscapes of Sunset Park, Brooklyn.” CUNY Academic Works. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2564.
  • 2018. Menken, Kate, Vanessa Pérez Rosario, and Luis Guzmán Valerio. “Increasing Multilingualism in Schoolscapes: New Scenery and Language Education Policies.” Linguistic Landscape: An International Journal, vol.4, no. 2, 2018, pp. 101-127. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.17024.men.
  • 2020. Menken, Kate, Vanessa Pérez Rosario, and Luis Guzmán Valerio. “Multilingual Ecologies and the Classroom Landscape.” Multilingualism, Translanguaging, and CUNY-NYSIEB, pp. 131-145, edited by the City University of New York-New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals, Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Translanguaging-and-Transformative-Teaching-for-Emergent-Bilingual-Students-Lessons-from-the-CUNY-NYSIEB-Project/CityUniversityofNewYork-NewYorkStateInitiativeonEmergentBilinguals/p/book/9780367434984.