jimmy vega*
> short bio jimmy vega is the child of Mexican immigrants, a Chicano Los Angeles poet, educator, and interdisciplinary artist. vega is the author of future shock which was a finalist in the 2025 Alta California Chapbook Contest sponsored by Gunpowder Press. vega's debut poetry collection zirconium ash (What Books Press) was named one of 25 Best L.A.-Centric books of 2025 by L.A. Taco. A pushcart nominated writer, vega holds a BA from UCLA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from CalArts; their poems are widely anthologized. vega is currently the Interim Executive Director of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center.
> long bio
jimmy vega is the child of Mexican immigrants, a Chicano Los Angeles poet, educator, and interdisciplinary artist who creates and works in service of racial, environmental, and educational justice. vega is the author of future shock which was a finalist in the 2025 Alta California Chapbook Contest sponsored by Gunpowder Press. His debut poetry collection zirconium ash (What Books Press, 2025) was named one of 25 Best L.A.-Centric books of 2025 by L.A. Taco. A pushcart nominated writer he holds a BA from UCLA in English with a concentration in poetry and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, Creative Writing program, where he was awarded a John and Maria Laffin Trust Scholarship and a Lillian Disney Scholarship. vega has presented work at REDCAT, Poetic Research Bureau, The Sims Library of Poetry, Associated Writing Programs (Seattle, 2023) conference, Beyond Baroque, the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Central Library, the Thinking Its Presence conference, and at REEF Los Angeles as part of the group exhibition Spell/ing. vega’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Broken Lens Journal, Diode, Dunce Codex Magazine, along with work anthologized in Catching Fire: The Los Angeles Wildfires, Poetry Goes to the Movies, and Maintenant a Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing & Art. vega is commissioned to write new work by the city of Los Angeles, is a former English Language Learning Faculty Fellow at CalArts, and presently is the Interim Executive Director of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center. He lives and works in Los Angeles on unceded Tongva Land, with their partner Gladys, and schnauzer, Olive.
circa 2024 photo by @gldys.q (C)
circa 2024 photo by @gldys.q (C)