Jose Olivarez

José Olivarez (b. 1988) is an American poet, author, and educator from Calumet City, Illinois, son of Mexican immigrants, best known for his poetry collections Citizen Illegal (2018), a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and winner of the Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize, and Promises of Gold (2023), longlisted for the National Book Award. He is also co-editor of The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT and recipient of fellowships including the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation and the 2025 Chicago Public Library Foundation 21st Century Award. Famous Birthdays