Demetria Martinez
Demetria Martinez is a writer, poet and activist based in La Cienega, New Mexico. Her books include the widely translated Mother Tongue (Ballantine), a novel that was inspired by her experiences as a reporter covering the Sanctuary Movement. After accompanying a Lutheran minister involved in transporting Salvadoran refugees into the United States, she was accused of conspiracy and other charges and was facing a potential 25 years in prison. Following a trial in 1988 a jury acquitted her on First Amendment grounds.
Her other books include a story collection, The Block Captain's Daughter (U. of Oklahoma Press); a collection of essays, Berlitz Tape Chicana (U. of Oklahoma Press); and two books of poetry, The Devil's Workshop (U. of Arizona Press) and Breathing Between the Lines (U of Oklahoma Press).
This year she has been translating her grandfather's corridos with Héctor Contreras López which will be published by the New Mexico Historical Review.