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Claudia Castro Luna

Poet Laureate of Washington State 2019

Claudia Castro Luna was born in El Salvador. She received a BA in anthropology from the University of California, Irvine, an MA in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MFA in poetry from Mills College.

Castro Luna is the author of four books of poetry: Cipota Under The Moon (Tia Chucha Press, 2022); One River, A Thousand Voices (Chin Music Press, 2020); Killing Marías (Two Sylvias Press, 2017) and the chapbook This City (Floating Bridge Press, 2016). Her work has also been featured in six print anthologies and two digital anthologies. 

Castro Luna has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. In 2019, she was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow.

From 2018–21, Castro Luna served as the poet laureate of Washington State. She currently teaches at the Matteo Ricci Institute at Seattle University.

Claudia Castro Luna
Photo credit: Timothy Aguero
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Laureate Project
Poet Laureate of Washington State

Poet Laureate of Washington State

In 2019, Claudia Castro Luna was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Luna convened a series of poetry writing workshops and readings along the entire length of the Columbia River, from the point it enters the northeastern corner of Washington to its encounter with the Pacific Ocean, highlighting the importance of this natural resource.