Next Extinct Mammal

Poetry. Latino/Latina Studies. LGBT Studies. “Like Whitman, Quesada is a poet of motion—journeying to the center of the US, where the traditions and innovations of first-generation Americans traverse the meditative starbursts of hills; ford rivers; cross prairies, and seek out ‘the alpenglow of tomorrow and tomorrow.’ From Costa Rica to Los Angeles and across the continent, Quesada’s poems chronicle one family’s history: from the courtship of his parents to their separation, from his childhood struggles to awaken desire from his mother’s lottery winnings to his own personal losses, Ruben Quesada carries us toward ‘that seam in space’ where dream and experience intersect. This isn’t the story of what it means to come to this country. It’s the story of what it means to belong here”—D. A. Powell.