Judith Ortíz Cofer

Judith Ortíz Cofer was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, on February 24, 1952. She was raised on the island and in Paterson, New Jersey, before her family finally settled in Augusta, Georgia. She received her BA in English from Augusta College in 1974 and her MA in English from Florida Atlantic University in 1977.

Cofer published several poetry collections, including A Love Story Beginning in Spanish (University of Georgia Press, 2005); The Latin Deli: Prose & Poetry (University of Georgia Press, 1993), winner of the Anisfield Wolf Book Award; and Reaching for the Mainland (Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 1987). Cofer also published several works of prose, including the memoir The Cruel Country (University of Georgia Press, 2015). Her young adult book An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio (Orchard Books, 1995) received several distinctions, including The American Library Association Reforma Pura Belpre Medal and the Fanfare Best Book of the Year Award.

Cofer received numerous honors and awards, including grants from the Georgia Council for the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Georgia Humanities Center, and the Florida Fine Arts Council, among others. She was the Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia. She died on December 30, 2016.