Poet Raúl Sánchez
Raúl Sánchez is a bilingual (English, Spanish) and sometimes trilingual (Nahuatl) poet and community collaborator. He was the 2019-21 City of Redmond Washington's Poet Laureate. He teaches bilingual poetry to middle school students through the Jack Straw Cultural Center. He has volunteered for PONGO Teen Writing at the Juvenile Detention Center. His second poetry collection "When There Were No Borders" was released by Flower Song Press, McAllen, TX, July 2021. In 2022 he served as a judge for the 12th "Poetry Moves" poetry on buses in Vancouver, WA. In 2021 Raul translated Ellen Ziegler's book for the Museum of Mexican Toys located in Mexico City. During COVID Raul began the Poetry in the Park biweekly readings at the Meadowbrook Pond in NE Seattle which is a continuing project. During COVID he felt the need to reach out to people and he installed a "Poetry Pole/box" in front of his house. Aside from poetry, Raul had collaborated with Orquesta Northwest, not only as a board member but also as an artistic contributor. He works with the community at Casa Latina and Path with Art among others. He was selected as a 2014 Jack Straw Writer. He was a mentor and a judge for the 2014 Poetry on Buses Project and a TEDx participant in Yakima WA.
My objective is to embrace my roots, my culture, my family and my purpose which is teaching, mentoring, sharing with youth what I’ve learned about poetry over the years. We need what the living planet is giving us, therefore it needs to be protected and revered. The inclusion of the Nahuatl language is to honor the history behind me. The language of my ancestors, the language I inherited and the language I speak where I live.