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A way with words: Damien Flores named city's new poet laureate
Damien Flores has been named the city鈥檚 seventh poet laureate. He will serve a two-year term representing Albuquerque鈥檚 diverse poetry community.
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Participating in poetry slams as a teen led to a literary career filled with accolades for Damien Flores.
He has now achieved the highest recognition for a poet and has been selected as the city of Albuquerque鈥檚 seventh poet laureate. Flores succeeds Anna C. Martinez, who served as poet laureate between 2022 and 2024.
The Albuquerque Poet Laureate Program celebrates poetry by recognizing a resident poet who makes meaningful connections, honors and serves the community, elevates the importance of the art form and shares poetry with Albuquerque residents, according to the city鈥檚 website. APLP is coordinated by a five-person committee made up of poets and artists. The poet laureate is chosen biannually by a separate seven-person committee that represents the diversity of Albuquerque and its poetry community.
Flores said he was initially shocked when he received a call from Don McIver, Albuquerque poet laureate program committee member, who shared the news. When it finally sank in that he had been selected as the city鈥檚 poet laureate, Flores looked back on his accomplishments that led him to this prestigious honor.
鈥淚 feel like I earned my mileage,鈥� he said.
The Albuquerque native grew up in Old Town and graduated from Albuquerque High School and the University of New Mexico. He received recognition as a member of the national champion Albuquerque Poetry Slam and the UNM Loboslam teams.
鈥淥ur city, and our people, are rooted in artistic traditions that go back generations,鈥� Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of who we are. Damien has made his mark representing Albuquerque around the country and our community benefits greatly from his ongoing contributions to our unique culture.鈥�
When Flores received the call that he was the new poet laureate, it took him back to his younger days when he traveled from one poetry slam to the next. He was planning to be in Denver for a concert the day before his announcement ceremony on Sunday afternoon. Flores decided to attend the concert and drive back to Albuquerque after the show.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly what I used to do when I was a teenager, when I was first starting out in the poetry slams,鈥� he said. 鈥淧oets like Don McIver and a bunch of my other poetry slam friends, we would go on these long road trips with slams and tournaments all around the country over the years. And a lot of times when we had to go to a slam, when it was over we鈥檇 have to get right back in the car or the van and drive straight back home because somebody needed to get to work by 8 a.m. the next morning.鈥�
As a teen, Flores aspired to be a published writer. Being dedicated to his craft earned him the coveted 2024 Chatter Fellowship and the New Mexico Writer鈥檚 Grant in recognition for his literary and community contributions.
鈥淚鈥檝e known our incoming poet laureate since he was a teenager finding his poetic voice, and I鈥檓 eager to witness the depth and vision he鈥檒l bring to our program in his role over the next two years,鈥� Shelle Sanchez, director of the city鈥檚 Arts and Culture Department.
Flores has been honored twice as Poet of the Year by the New Mexico Hispano Entertainer鈥檚 Association. He also is a recipient of the Lena Todd Creative Writing Award from UNM鈥檚 English department.
鈥淭he strength of the Albuquerque Poet Laureate Program is that it relies on the strength of the Albuquerque poetry community,鈥� McIver said. 鈥淒amien will bring a new perspective of the power of poetry to speak for all of Albuquerque.鈥�
Poet laureate applicants must propose a community service project or literary project that could be an anthology publication or a set of performances with the goal of giving back to the community. Flores decided to use his more than 15 years of teaching experience to develop a poetry curriculum to be taught in New Mexico public schools as his poet laureate community project.
鈥淚 proposed a book,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a few different ways to produce it, but pretty much it is either a single volume or a series of poetry worksheets combined with poems that were written by New Mexico poets and other writers and also teaching guides for teachers for their students. So do an educational poetry lesson plan that could work together with the Public Education Department, public schools and various other school districts, in order to teach poetry but with a focus for middle school and elementary. And tailor the lesson plans to those specific age ranges and different grade levels in order to help promote literacy in New Mexico.鈥�
Flores said it is disappointing to see New Mexico at the bottom of the performance list when it comes to education. He said the goal of his lesson book would be to make writing and reading an enjoyable activity for students rather than a task. He said writing simple poetry, song lyrics, and making the lessons fun rather than focusing on strict academic standards will open up a new world to elementary and middle school students.
鈥淎s a teen, I was deeply inspired by the book 鈥楬ip Hop Poetry & The Classics,鈥� edited by award-winning poet and teacher Michael Cirelli,鈥� Flores said. 鈥淭he book is both an anthology and study guide, complete with creative writing prompts, reading comprehension questions, discussion topics, and lesson plans.
鈥淢y vision is to create a similar text, featuring diverse New Mexican authors to be used in classrooms to help teachers instruct poetry and students to further understand, appreciate, and write poetry.鈥�
