Luisa Igloria Wins Poetry Prize

Luisa Igloria, associate professor of creative writing in the Old Dominion University English department, won the 2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry for "Juan Luna's Revolver," a poetry collection published by University of Notre Dame Press.

Sponsored by the creative writing program and English department at Notre Dame, in conjunction with the University of Notre Dame Press, the Sandeen Prize is awarded to authors who have published at least one volume of poetry.

In her collection Igloria traces journeys made by Filipinos in the global diaspora that began since the encounter with European and American colonial power. Her poems allude to historical figures such as the Filipino painter Juan Luna and the novelist and national hero José Rizal, as well as the 1,100 indigenous Filipinos brought to serve as live exhibits in the 1904 Missouri World's Fair.

"In 'Juan Luna's Revolver,' Luisa Igloria establishes herself as a singular and revelatory voice in American poetry," says Sabina Murray, author of "Forgery," "A Carnivore's Inquiry" and "The Caprices." "Here, she explores the dichotomy of Filipino: interwoven yet hermetically singular, acquisitive yet inventive, docile yet amok."

Igloria, a National Book Award winner in the Philippines, is the author of nine books and numerous writing awards.