Blas Falconer

Blas Falconer is an American poet, editor, and professor.

Works

Blas Falconer is the author of four full-length poetry collections: A Question of Gravity and Light (University of Arizona Press, 2007); The Foundling Wheel (Four Way Books, 2012); Forgive the Body This Failure (Four Way Books, 2018); and Rara Avis (Four Way Books, 2024), which won the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry.^[1] His poems have appeared in literary journals, including The Adroit Journal,^[2] Alaska Quarterly Review^[3], Green Mountains Review^[4], The Harvard Review^[5], The New York Times^[6], Poetry^[7], and Terrain.org^[8].

Along with poets Beth Martinelli and Helena Mesa, Falconer co-edited Mentor & Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets (Southern Illinois University Press, 2010).^[9] With writer Lorraine M. López, Falconer co-edited The Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity (University of Arizona Press, 2011).^[10]

Falconer is Editor in Chief of Poetry International Online.^[11] Previously, he served as the poetry editor for both Zone 3 Press and Zone 3.^[12][13]

Biography

Raised in the suburbs of Washington D.C., Falconer spent most summers in Salinas, Puerto Rico, with his maternal grandmother.^[14] Falconer is a Professor of Poetry in the MFA program at San Diego State University.^[15]

Education

Falconer holds a B.A. from George Mason University,^[16] an M.F.A. from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston.^[17]

Awards

• 2009: Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award from Poets & Writers^[18]
• 2011: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship^[19]
• 2025: Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry for Rara Avis^[20]

Bibliography

Poetry collections

• The Perfect Hour (Pleasure Boat Studio: A Literary Press, 2006). ISBN 1929355319.
• A Question of Gravity and Light (University of Arizona Press, 2007). ISBN 0816526222.^[21]
• The Foundling Wheel (Four Way Books, 2012). ISBN 188480098X.^[22]
• Forgive the Body This Failure (Four Way Books, 2018). ISBN 1945588179.^[23]
• Rara Avis (Four Way Books, 2024). ISBN 1961897024.^[24][25][26]

Edited essay collections

• Mentor and Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets (Southern Illinois University Press, 2010), co-edited with Beth Martinelli and Helena Mesa. ISBN 0809329891.
• The Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity (University of Arizona Press, 2011), co-edited with Lorraine M. López. ISBN 0816528675.^[27][28]