Young Afro-Latina poet rewriting the literary world when it comes to representation

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A young Afro-Latina mom who’s a writer and poet is making a change when it comes to Latin culture representation in the literary world.

Jasmine Mendez is a Dominican-American poet, playwright and award-winning author of several books for kids and adults.

She was discovered by Arte Publico Press while at a reading at the library. Since then, she has published hybrid memoirs and a collection of poems.

She also wrote a children’s picture book called, “Josefina y Sus Habichuelas,” a sweet tale about family, culture, and Dominican traditions. The idea came to her when she was a young mother and teacher.

“As a teacher, I worked in bilingual classrooms and struggled to find adequate representation for the students I taught – that looked like them – to find characters and books that represent their lived experiences, and so I wanted to be a part of the change in that,” she said.

Jasmin’s latest YA memoir, “Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American,” came out this summer. She also has a poetry collection book called “City without Alter.” She is definitely paving the way and opening doors for others.

Jasmin has several projects and other books coming out but at the moment she can’t announce them yet.

If you want to learn more about her or her books, you can visit her website.