Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight: Natalie Scenters-Zapico

Natalie Scenters-Zapico used words to tell her story to the world. Scenters-Zapico began life in Juarez, Mexico, before her family relocated to El Paso, Texas. She grew up bilingual as the daughter of an American father and a Spanish mother. This duality worked in her favor as she attended school with Anglo-Saxon and Mexican students. At a young age, her writing talent emerged as a thyroid condition that led her to lonely times filled with poetry. The poet’s obsession led her to attend the University of Texas-El Paso, earning her bachelor’s degree.

Scenters-Zapico pursued her MFA in poetry at the University of New Mexico after UT El Paso. Before graduating from UNM, her poetry caught the attention of poetry lovers and publications, with selections in Tin House and Poetry Magazine. This attention led to publishing houses pushing to release her works to the masses.

Scenters-Zapico’s first selection, Ther Verging Cities, arrived in 2015 and immediately met with acclaim and recognition with the PEN American/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry and GLCA New Writer’s Award. Her 2019 collection, Lima: Limon, made it to the Griffin International Poetry Prize Shortlist and Kingsley Tufts Mid-Career Award Finalist.

Outside of her published work, Scenters-Zapico dedicated herself to educating others by teaching undergraduate and graduate programs at various schools, including her alma mater, UT-El Paso, the University of Nebraska, and the University of South Florida. Her work even translated to her becoming a fellow for programs such as CantoMundo, Poetry Foundation, and McKnight Junior Faculty. Her upcoming poetry collection will arrive in 2025 while serving as a steward for the Michael Kuperman Memorial Poetry Library.

Natalie Scenters-Zapico uses language and the arts to display her cultural duality and background. Her words continue connecting and inspiring upcoming Latin writers. Placing her life into poetry has connected her story with those outside her world. I will say, “Ms. Scenters-Zapico, we appreciate you making poetry a relatable forum to acknowledge your background without any hindrance.”

Poetry is for the people. We’re here to show that poetry has an integral place in our communities, but also an integral place in our sense of selves within a community.

Natalie Scenters-Zapico

Originally published at http://adreonpatterson.net on October 10, 2024.