Naomi Ayala: a poet, a translator, an essayist, an educator, a community activist, et cetera, et cetera.

Naomi was born in New Haven, CT in 1964, returning back home to Puerto Rico with her family just one year and a half later. She remained on the island until, at age 15, she migrated to the U.S. An autodidact, she has no undergraduate degree but earned a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College in 2006.

Ayala has published three books – Wild Animals on the Moon; This Side of Early; and Calling Home: Praise Songs and Incantations – as well as one chapbook Molinos: Primeros Poemas. She is the translator of La sombra de la muerte/Death’s Shadow, a novel by His Excellency José Tomás Pérez, the Dominican Republic’s Ambassador to the United States. She is also the award-winning translator of La arqueología del viento/The Wind’s Archeology, a collection of poems by Luis Alberto Ambroggio. Ayala has also translated and published poems by Lope de Vega as well as the film script for the documentary Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas.

Ayala’s next book of poetry Peces que se escapan/Escaping Fish will be published by Flowersong Press. She’s a proud recipient of artist fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities as well as Special Recognition for Community Service from the U.S. Congress and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy of Environmental Justice Award.