Luis Rodriguez: Award Winning Author, Journalist, Activist

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Luis J. Rodriguez is an award winning writer, journalist, and activist. He is best known for his writings (novel, memoirs, short stories, and journalism) and activism in improving life in Chincanx communities throughout the U.S., particularly in Los Angeles and Chicago.
Rodriguez is proud of his Native American, Mexican, and Chicano roots. Having witnessed and experienced poverty, gang violence, drug addiction, health disparity, and other forms of injustice in his early life, he devotes himself to activism for disadvantaged communities. He is the founder and owner of Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural and Book Store, which provides cultural services and education to local students. He also established Tía Chucha’s Press that has published successful Chicanx and Latinx writers.
Always Running: La Vida Loca (1993) is a memoir of his youth, with vivid portrayal of Chicano gang life and his own struggle to break free. It won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, and was hailed as a New York Times notable book. It Calls You Back: an Odyssey through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing (2011) is a “sequel” to Always Running (2011). It further discusses struggles in an environment of drug addiction, violence, and crime. In 1998, Rodriguez won the Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature, and in 2014, he was named the Los Angeles Poet Laureate by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Rodriguez will read portions of his work and speak on the role of artistic activism in the community, followed by a Q &A session. A book signing event will follow immediately after the talk. Always Running and It Calls You Back will be available for purchase.

Illuminations: The Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative | Website | View More Events

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