The Board of the Macondo Writers Workshop has selected long-time Macondista Rachel Jennings for the Macondo Writers Workshop 2024 Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Award. The award includes registration and fees at the Chuparosa level as well as a travel stipend to attend the Macondo Writers Workshop in the summer of 2024.
Named in honor of Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa, a queer South Texas writer and thinker, who did groundbreaking work and whose life as a writer exemplifies the tenets of the Macondo Writers Workshop, the award honors her life and work. Anzaldúa’s legacy is one of resilience and perseverance and she embodies a lifelong commitment to “the work.” For Anzaldúa, writing meant transformation and discovery. One of her more famous quotes is “By writing I put order in the world, give it a handle so I can grasp it.” We believe the award represents Macondo’s effort to empower a Macondista by offering a space to do the same.
The Macondo Writers Workshop board selects the annual awardee on the basis of an exceptional record of service and generosity to the Macondo Writers Workshop community. Jennings has embodied a spirit of generosity and this award seeks to honor her and support her as a writer and valued community member.
Rachel Jennings
teaches in the English Department at San Antonio College. She also serves on the board, or Conjunto de Nepantleras, of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. She is a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop. She has published three volumes of poetry: Hedge Ghosts (2001), Elijah’s Farm (2008), and Knoxville Girl: The Walk to the River (2011). Her poems have appeared in a number of periodicals and anthologies.
