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Ricardo Ruiz
he/his
Poet
The son of potato factory workers, Ricardo hails from Othello, Washington and his works often draw from his experience as a first-generation Mexican-American. He is passionate about elevating the marginalized voices from rural communities and takes pride in being a conduit for cultural connection. His own struggles straddling cultures provide insight to the difficulties of the Mexican migrant worker and their families.
Ricardo holds a Associates Degree in Business and Accounting from Big Bend Community College where he was recognized as Student of the year in both Business and Economics and English Composition. He also holds a Bachelors of Art in English: Creative Writing from the University of Washington and is an Army Veteran. While in the military Ricardo was recognized as Distinguished Honor Graduate and Distinguished Leader during his Advanced Leadership Course. His debut collection of poetry was selected as a finalist for the Washington State Book Award in Poetry 2023 & reached #1 on the Hispanic American Poetry chart Amazon.
Ricardo’s happiest moments are when he is spending time with his children, writing with his daughter, playing video games with his son, cuddling his dog Pepe, enjoying a round of golf, and cooking with his wife Christine. Ricardo takes pride in being a conduit for cultural connection and brings marginalized voices into the center of all conversations that he is in. His own struggles straddling cultures provide insight into the difficulties of the Mexican migrant worker and their families.
About Their Work:
“Where even is Othello?” Ricardo asks at the end of his poem “Splitting Up the Move,” highlighting the disorientation of a child of migrant workers shuffled amidst family and strangers, pulled along by unseen causes and toward an unknown destination. The voices that populate these deeply empathetic collaborative monologues and stories of migrants and veterans all struggle with being “bound up in not knowing” the place, the language, the intentions of American employers and and border guards, and truck drivers who promise work and safe travel but often would douse them with pesticides and ask them to shape-shift like cargo to fit even the smallest of storage spaces. And yet, hell’s image is not what pulls through Ricardo’s listening ear. In spite of the struggle with the oppressiveness of America’s xenophobic and dehumanizing economy, what’s most striking are the voices of these workers and migrants, the beauty of their observations and perceptions that belie an, at-times, relentless hope they might find a world that welcomes and values them.
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Books (for purchase):
We Had Our Reasons (Pulley Press 2022)
Online Work:
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