Rodrigo Toscano

Rodrigo Toscano (born 1964 in San Diego) is an Hispano Americano poet and labor and environmental activist. He has worked with the Labor Institute since 2000 as a director of national projects. He is also a lifelong amateur classical pianist.

Life

Originally from San Diego, California, Toscano lived in San Francisco from 1995 to 1999, and Brooklyn, New York from 1999 to 2015.^[1] He works for the Labor Institute based in New York City, and lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[2] He has authored twelve poetry books and received multiple translations.

Awards

• 1998 Fund for Poetry
• 2005 Fund for Poetry
• 2005 New York State Fellowship in Poetry
• 2007 National Poetry Series Winner for Collapsible Poetics Theater (Fence, 2007)
• 2019 Edwin Markham prize for poetry
• 2025 National Poetry Series Finalist for WHITMAN.CANNONBALL.PUEBLA. (Omnidawn, 2025)

Works

Poetry

• Arbiter. Parenthesis. 1995.
• Partisans. O Books. 1999. ISBN 9781882022373.
• The Disparities. Green Integer. 2002. ISBN 9781931243254.
• Platform. Atelos. 2003. ISBN 9781891190155.
• To Leveling Swerve. Krupskaya. 2004. ISBN 9781928650232.
• Collapsible Poetics Theater. Fence Books. 2008. ISBN 9781934200186.
• Deck of Deeds. Counterpath. 2012. ISBN 9781933996318.
• Explosion Rocks Springfield. Fence Books. 2016. ISBN 9780986437342.
• In Range. Counterpath. 2019. ISBN 9781933996738.
• The Charm & The Dread. Fence Books. 2022. ISBN 9781944380229.
• The Cut Point. Counterpath. 2023. ISBN 9781933996837.
• WHITMAN.CANNONBALL.PUEBLA. Omidawn. 2025.

Dialogues & Interviews

• https://rodrigotoscano.com/interviews-dialogues/

Anthologies

• Anne Waldman; Nathaniel Mackey; Ruben Medina; Roberto Harrison, eds. (2017). Resist Much / Obey Little. Dispatches Editions. ISBN 9781944682323.
• Daniel Sack, ed. (2017). Imagined Theatres. Palgrave. ISBN 9781138122048.
• Manuel Brito, ed. (2017). The Canary Island Connection: 60 Contemporary American Poets. Zasterle. ISBN 9788487467509.
• Roxanne Power, ed. (2016). Viz. Inter-Arts: Interventions. Viz. Inter-Arts. ISBN 9780978621520.
• Douglas Kearney, ed. (2015). Best American Experimental Writing 2015. Wesleyan. ISBN 9780819576071.
• Carmen Gimenez Smith; John Chavez, eds. (2014). Angels of the Americlypse. Counterpath. ISBN 9781933996394.
• Dana Teen Lomax, ed. (2013). Kindergarde: Avant-Garde Poems for Children. Black Radish Books. ISBN 9780985083762.
• Sharmila Cohen; Paul Legault, eds. (2012). The Sonnets (Translating and Rewriting Shakespeare). Night Boat Books / Telephone Books. ISBN 9781937658076.
• Craig Dworkin, ed. (2011). Against Expression. Northwestern University Press. ISBN 9780810127111.
• Rebecca Wolf, ed. (2009). The Best of Fence (First 9 years). Fence Books. ISBN 9781934200063.
• Robert L Giron, ed. (2009). Voices Without Borders. Gival Press. ISBN 9781928589433.
• Monica de La Torre; Rocio Ceron; Cristián Gómez, eds. (2009). Malditos Latinos Malditos Sudacas. Ediciones el Billar de Lucrecia. ISBN 9786070021084.
• Barrett Watten; Carrie Noland, eds. (2009). Diasporic Avant Gardes. Palgrave. ISBN 9781137087515.
• Teresa Carmody, ed. (2007). The Noulipian Analects. Les Figues Press. ISBN 9781934254004.
• Lance Phillips; Geoffrey Gatza, eds. (2007). Here Comes Everybody (an Anthology). Blaze VOX. ISBN 9781934289044.
• David Lehman, Lyn Hejinian, ed. (2004). Best American Poetry 2004. Scribner. ISBN 0743257375.
• Leslie Scalapino, ed. (2004). War and Peace. O Books. ISBN 9781882022526.
• Val Stevenson; Todd Swift, eds. (2004). In the Criminal's Cabinet: An anthology of poetry and fiction. Nth Position Press. ISBN 9780954626815.