Lotería: Poems

By Esteban Rodriguez

Using the image presented on each card of Lotería as a catalyst for exploration and self-reflection, Rodríguez’s eighth collection unveils the familial journey between two countries and cultures through both a surreal and narrative lens. Lyrical, insightful, and honestly engaging, Lotería sheds light on a world that doesn’t so easily reveal itself.

A traditional game of chance popular in Mexico and in Mexican American culture, Lotería is poetically rendered in Esteban Rodríguez’s eighth collection, with each poem revolving around one of the fifty-four cards. Using the image presented as a catalyst for exploration and self-reflection, Rodríguez unveils the familial journey between two countries and cultures through both a surreal and narrative lens. Here, a mother unearths a severed hand in the desert. A father discovers his heart among a heap of discarded items. And at one point, the speaker—toggling between his role as witness and son—finds himself in a canoe on a river contemplating the meaning behind an authentic experience. Lyrical, insightful, and honestly engaging, Lotería sheds light on a world that doesn’t so easily reveal itself, adding to Rodríguez’s prolific and important oeuvre.

Paperback / Poetry / American / Hispanic & Latino / Subjects & Themes / Family

0.3" H x 8.3" L x 5.3" W (0.22 lbs) 82 pages