Tim Z. Hernandez
Encyclopedia
Tim Z. Hernandez is an American writer, poet
, and performer.
From 2001 - 2004 Hernandez held a position with the California Council for the Humanities, where it was his job to travel to rural communities across the stretch of the San Joaquin Valley and listen to stories of migration and struggle. This experience profoundly impacted his life and his writing.
Shortly after, through a series of personal events, Hernandez eventually left painting and took up writing and performance art full time, studying Poetry and Performance at CSU Long Beach under the mentorship of Juan Felipe Herrera and Margarita Luna Robles. Since then, his performances have been featured at the Getty Center
, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Dixon Experimental Theater in NYC, The Loft Literary Center
, Intersection for the Arts
, Stanford University
, and at the Jack Kerouac School
, among other venues. In 2000 he was commissioned by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the National Fanny Mae Foundation to write and perform an original play on homelessness and poverty. From 2006 through 2011 he has worked with Poets & Writers Inc. and the California Center for the Book at UCLA, offering writing workshops to marginalized communities across the state of California.
He earned his B.A. degree in Writing & Literature from the first accredited Buddhist institute in the west, Naropa University
. . He holds an M.F.A. from Bennington College in Vermont.
Joseph De La Cruz that same year and began what he considers to be his first apprenticeship. De La Cruz taught him the basics of applying oil paint to canvas, and eventually helped him land his first solo exhibit by the time he turned eighteen. In 1999, a chance meeting with the bay area muralist Juana Alicia landed him an apprenticeship position in San Francisco. In the lineage of Stephen Dimitroff (chief plasterer for the Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera
), who was Juana Alicia's teacher, Hernandez studied with the master muralist for five months. The result, a 32 × 25 ft traditional fresco mural on permanent display at the San Francisco International Airport
. A week after its completion, a car accident ended his time in the bay area and landed him back in the central valley. Since then, he has been commissioned to paint murals for various organizations, and humanitarian endeavors, including groups such as the James Irvine Foundation
, the American Friends Service Committee
, Univision Radio
, and many others.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and performer.
Life
Born in Dinuba, California, he was raised in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California, having lived in the predominantly farm-worker communities, including Cutler, Reedley, Dinuba, Visalia, and Fresno. His family roots are in Texas, New Mexico, and East Los Angeles. Until the age of seven Hernandez's parents were migrant farmworkers, following the seasons across the southwest, including California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Colorado. It was during this time on the road that he developed an interest in travel and stories.From 2001 - 2004 Hernandez held a position with the California Council for the Humanities, where it was his job to travel to rural communities across the stretch of the San Joaquin Valley and listen to stories of migration and struggle. This experience profoundly impacted his life and his writing.
Professional
In his adolscent years Hernandez was immersed in acting as well as drawing. He participated frequently in school plays and poetry recitation contests since the age of six. As a teenager, he focused mainly on drawing and painting, eventually exhibiting his works in galleries and cultural centers across the west coast. During this time he kept numerous journals and wrote poems and stories.Shortly after, through a series of personal events, Hernandez eventually left painting and took up writing and performance art full time, studying Poetry and Performance at CSU Long Beach under the mentorship of Juan Felipe Herrera and Margarita Luna Robles. Since then, his performances have been featured at the Getty Center
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Dixon Experimental Theater in NYC, The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center is a nonprofit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Incorporated in 1975, the Loft's stated mission is "to support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature"...
, Intersection for the Arts
Intersection for the Arts
Intersection for the Arts, established in 1965, is the oldest alternative non-profit art space in San Francisco, California. Intersection's reading series is the longest continuous reading series outside of an academic institution in the state of California....
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and at the Jack Kerouac School
Jack Kerouac School
The Jack Kerouac School was founded at Naropa University in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa, and Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsbergand Anne Waldman. The school consists of the Summer Writing Program and the Department of Writing and Poetics, which administers the Master of Fine Arts in Writing and...
, among other venues. In 2000 he was commissioned by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the National Fanny Mae Foundation to write and perform an original play on homelessness and poverty. From 2006 through 2011 he has worked with Poets & Writers Inc. and the California Center for the Book at UCLA, offering writing workshops to marginalized communities across the state of California.
He earned his B.A. degree in Writing & Literature from the first accredited Buddhist institute in the west, Naropa University
Naropa University
Naropa University is a private American liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Oxford University scholar Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda.Naropa describes itself as...
. . He holds an M.F.A. from Bennington College in Vermont.
Painting
Hernandez began painting at an early age, eventually exhibiting in his first group show at the age of sixteen. He met the artistJoseph De La Cruz that same year and began what he considers to be his first apprenticeship. De La Cruz taught him the basics of applying oil paint to canvas, and eventually helped him land his first solo exhibit by the time he turned eighteen. In 1999, a chance meeting with the bay area muralist Juana Alicia landed him an apprenticeship position in San Francisco. In the lineage of Stephen Dimitroff (chief plasterer for the Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
), who was Juana Alicia's teacher, Hernandez studied with the master muralist for five months. The result, a 32 × 25 ft traditional fresco mural on permanent display at the San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
. A week after its completion, a car accident ended his time in the bay area and landed him back in the central valley. Since then, he has been commissioned to paint murals for various organizations, and humanitarian endeavors, including groups such as the James Irvine Foundation
James Irvine Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization established to benefit the people of California. It seeks to promote social equity and enrich the cultural and civic life of America’s most populous state through its grants in three areas: the arts, youth and education, and...
, the American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
, Univision Radio
Univision Radio
Univision Radio is the radio division of media giant Univision Communications, Inc., which also ownsthe Univision television network. The company was formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation. It is the eighth largest radio company in the United States, and the largest Hispanic radio...
, and many others.
Awards
- 2011 El Premio Aztlan Literary Prize for Breathing, In Dust
- 2011 International Latino Book Award, 2nd Place in Fiction, Breathing, In Dust
- 2006 American Book AwardAmerican Book AwardThe American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
for Skin Tax - 2006 Zora Neal Hurston Award for Diaries of a Macho
- 2003 James Duval Phelan Award by the San Francisco Foundation
- 2010 California Book Award Finalist
- 2010 Balcones Prize for Fiction Finalist
- 2010 Book of the Year Award Finalist
Audio CD
- Chile Con Karma: A Brown Lotus Project (Audio CD, recorded at Naropa University studios)
- The Central Chakrah Project: A Spoken Word Cura, (Audio CD, Arte Americas)
Anthologies (partial listing)
- New California Voices, Heyday Books. ISBN 9781597140676.
- The Devil's Punchbowl, Red Hen Press, 2010
- Border Senses (Border Senses Press)
- Wet: A Journal of Proper Bathing (University of Miami)
- Black Renaissance Noire (NYU)
- Many Mountains Moving (MMM Press)
- Undocumented: In the Gardens & the Margins (Baksun Books)
- Symposium (Baobab Tree Press)
- Square One (Colorado University)
- Mosaic Voices Anthology (Poppy Lane Publishing)
- Ram’s Tale Anthology ( Fresno City College)
- Flies, Cockroaches, and Poets Anthology ’02 (Chicano Writers & Artists Association)