Peggy Robles-Alvarado Joins Borí Books & Café for Summer Writing Series

Damian Ali
May 28
3 min read

Updated: May 29

(L) Image courtesy of Borí Books & Café. (R) Poet Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Photo credit: Jorge Alvarado.

A literary space known for spotlighting multicultural voices is giving writers a chance to learn from one of the Bronx's most recognized poetic voices this summer.

Borí Books & Café will host Burn Me Back With Memory, Fire & Diasporic Reckoning, a free virtual writing series featuring award-winning poet Peggy Robles-Alvarado. The six-session program begins June 7 and continues on select Sundays through July, welcoming writers of all genres and experience levels to take part in conversations about memory, identity, language, and storytelling.

The workshops will be held virtually through Zoom on June 7, 14, and 28, followed by July 5, 12, and 19 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. Registration is required, and participants will receive Zoom information before each session.

According to organizers, the series will focus on ancestral memory, reclamation, and the role of Spanglish as a form of expression and cultural resistance. Writers will also be encouraged to create original work inspired by the connections between lineage, body, memory, and personal history.

The event continues Borí Books & Café's growing role as a literary and cultural gathering space in the Bronx. Founded by Rafiana Martinez, the independent bookstore has become known for creating programs that spotlight Puerto Rican, Afro-Latino, and diasporic voices through literature, conversation, and community-centered events.

Martinez said hosting Robles-Alvarado carries personal significance because the poet helped shape her own relationship with writing. "Peggy has been a source of inspiration to me in my writing, in womanhood, motherhood, and how I approach the world since my years in undergrad," Martinez said. "She was one of the first poets I read who made me fall in love with writing poetry."

“Our stories are complex, brilliant, political, funny, painful, magical, and they deserve a home that reflects that.” Read: Bloody, Beautiful, and Ours, Rafiana Martinez and the Vision for Borí Books & Café.

Robles-Alvarado brings decades of experience in education, performance, and literary arts to the series. A Jerome Hill Foundation Fellow and three-time International Latino Book Award winner, her work has appeared at Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, PEN America World Voices Festival, and HBO's Habla Women.

Her latest poetry collection, Burn Me Back, published by Four Way Books, was selected as a 2025 Booklist Editors' Choice for Adult Poetry.

Beyond her published work, Robles-Alvarado is also the founder of Robleswrites Productions, a Bronx literary arts organization focused on literacy, equity, and intergenerational community healing through storytelling and writing programs.

Speaking with Rhina Valentin on OPEN BxRx, Robles-Alvarado said, "I really believe that we are born storytellers, we're born poets, and our words and stories really, really matter."

Martinez said she hopes participants leave the series with stronger confidence in both themselves and their creative work.

"I know participants are going to write and read a lot, but I want them to leave with confidence in themselves, confidence in their writing, and a few new writing techniques they can utilize in the future," Martinez said.

She added that one goal of the program is to help create more opportunities for BIPOC writers to see their work represented in publishing.

The free series is funded in part by 'Poets & Writers' through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with support from the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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Peggy Robles-Alvarado: @robleswrites

Borí on Instagram: @boribooksandcafe

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